Why Worship?
1Chron 29:10 Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly; David said:“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.
This scripture occurs at the end of King David’s reign. David was a man after God’s own heart. He knew God, he loved God, and he worshipped God.
David wanted to build a temple for God. He thought it was not right for him and the people in his kingdom to live in beautiful homes, yet the ark of the covenant was still in a tent. But God would not allow David to build the temple because he was a man of bloodshed. So God chose Solomon to succeed David on the throne and build the temple.
Prior to the verses we read, we learn that David had drawn up the plans for the Temple according to God’s inspiration. He donated from his personal funds and then asked the people to make a sacrificial gift for the building of God’s temple.
And then he praised God. And he led the people in worship. He said all that he had was God’s anyway. So he called for the whole assembly to worship God.
And as one who serves adults toward the end of their life’s journey, I love that this scripture highlights that David, who was at the end of his life, was still focused on worshipping God. Let’s look at David a little closer to see if we can understand the heart of worship from a shepherds point of view
I. Innate need to worship God
A. Worshipped as a boy tending his fathers flock
1. Made up praise music to calm the sheep
Perhaps solitude gave him a greater understanding of who God is. Or perhaps in the midst of the noise he listened to that inner voice that said, i created you to praise me, I am worthy of your praise. Worship your God
2. David made up songs to calm King Saul
Wonder what would happen if you had a boss like Saul, prone to fits of depression and anger, if you began to sing praises to God in the midst of one of his outbursts.
B. David learned that the more he worshipped God, the closer he became to God
C. David learned the closer he became to God the more he could depend upon God
II. When the shepherd became a warrior the worship continued
A. David worshipped before battle and he worshipped after battle
B. David worshipped alone and he worshipped in a congregation
III. When the warrior became a king, he worshipped when he made good decisions and he worshipped when he made bad decisions
Do you see a recurring theme here? It’s all about God. Worship means we are proclaiming God’s worth. In essence we are agreeing with God that he is worthy of our praise
Why worship? God has given each one of us a need to worship. Martin Luther was one of the first people to say, if we don’t worship God we will worship something. We may not create a god out of wood, or stone and give it a name and then bow down to it. But if there is anything in our life that keeps us from worshipping God, then that is our idol.
We saw why David worshipped.
Why do we worship?
Do we worship because our parents raised us to worship?
Do we worship because we married into a family that worships?
Do we worship because it is the right thing to do?
Or have we, like David, developed a heart for worship?
If all of you arrived at church one day and there was no choir, no director, no organist, and no preacher, could you still worship? Yes, you could still worship because each of us brings a component to worship, but it is only when you believe and understand that God is worthy of your worship that true worship takes place. And you believe that!
We are Methodists! If there was no one up in the Chancel to lead the worship, you could do it yourself. All it would take for corporate worship is for one person to stand up and say, let us pray. Then someone else could stand up and say, let’s read the following scripture. And then someone else could say, let us give thanks to The Lord, at which point the rest of the congregation would say, it is right to give thanks to The Lord.
You have worship within you. It is part of your DNA. Just as Jesus proclaimed when He entered info Jerusalem one last time, if we do not worship Him the very rocks will cry out.
Why worship? Because God is worthy of our worship.
Why worship? Because we have to worship.
Worship is not for our benefit.. Worship is for God. We should come to church on Sunday morning with hearts so full of praise and thanksgiving that worship spills out of our hearts.
Ps 42:1. As the deer pants for the waterbrooks so my soul longs for thee o my lord
Romans 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Why worship?
Paul and Silas worshipped in a cold, dark prison
Why did they worship? Because God was greater than their circumstances
David worshipped before he went into battle and again after he returned victorious
Why? Because the victory was God’s
Peter worshipped when he had the vision of the sheet coming down from heaven
Why? Because God was expanding his understanding of who would inherit the kingdom of God
Job worshipped when he had lost everything and he worshipped when everything was restored.
Why? Because he understood God is worthy of our worship
We Methodists live in the present. We don’t generally cling to a date when we were saved because we understand salvation is not something from the past, it is a very present reality. And each day that we walk with God we are being sanctified holy and We become more holy every day.
But let’s take a really quick trip into the future
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We will sing and shout the victory
The book of the Revelation gives a clear image of what heavenly worship will be. Chapter 4 says
Revelation 4:9-11 (NRSV)
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty- four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Why worship?
Practice makes perfect. Don’t you want your worship to be perfect when you get to heaven? Don’t you want God to know how much you treasure Him right now?
Why worship? How can we love God and be called according to His purpose and not worship?
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Seeking Holiness 