When the Church Worships

Scripture: Psalm 16:7-11

“Worship” = The Decision to Come into the Presence of God,” = Event-Oriented!
God doesn't want us to come into His presence and then live in the world.
He wants us to leave the world and live in His presence.
Today we will conclude this series by looking at what God has wanted from us all along,
“A Lifestyle of Worship.”

•  A Lifestyle of Worship

A. The Nature of a Lifestyle of Worship

•  From the beginning of the Creation, God made us to live in His presence
a. Indeed, those who received His approval are those of whom it is said, they, “…walked with God”!
1) Enoch - ( Gen. 5:24 ), “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
2) Noah – ( Gen. 6:9 ), “...Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”
3) These did not walk “to” God, or “from” God. They were in His presence, “walked with God”!

b. People who “compartmentalize their lives” do not understand that God wants ALL our life!
1) ILLUST.: Sacred versus Secular –All vs. None, Some vs. Some, Less vs. More,

None vs. All
2) This was Paul's point in Rom. 12:1 , “Now I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
3) Therefore, today we are going to see how it is possible for us to live a “lifestyle of worship.”

B. Our Time as Worship

1. Jesus saw that every moment was a precious gift from God. He did not want to waste a single second!
a. When Jesus came to the end of His life, He said, ( Jn. 12:27-28a ), “My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.'”
1) It is easy for us to give this hour to God. No problems in here. No one is seeking to harm us.
2) But how about the time when others are after us in some sense? Do we give that time to God?!
3) Are we willing to live in His presence during every moment of the day???

b. This is what He expects, ( Eph. 5:15-16 ), “Be careful how you walk/live, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”
1) While our days may be filled with evil, how we respond and live in them is part of our worship!
2) God has given to us all the time that we have. What we choose to do with it is our gift to Him.
3) ( Jms. 4:13-16 ), “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
4) Jesus tells of a man who thought he had all the time in the world, ( Lk. 12:19-20 ),
“I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?”
5) What are we doing with our time? Are we bringing our time at work for God? at school? At home? etc., into the presence of God??!

C. Our Relationships as Worship

1. Do we bring our relationships into the presence of God, or would we just as soon He stay out of them?!!
a. God wants to come first in every relationship, ( Lk. 14:26 ), “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and
even his own life, He cannot be My disciple.”
1) Clearly we are called to love others, ( Mk. 12:31; Eph. 6:2 ), “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”… “Honor your father and your mother.”
2) Yet the love that we have for others must be greatly eclipsed by the love that we have for Jesus!
3) For we are surely looking at the priority of Jesus before every other relationship,
( Matt. 10:37 ), “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

b. God wants to be a part in every relationship.
1) Are we willing to bring every relationship in our lives into the presence of Jesus?!
2) Some people were eager to bring relationships to Jesus, ( Acts 10:24 ), “On the following day he [Peter] entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.”
3) While others were not so eager, ( Jn. 4:16-18 ), “Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, ‘You have well said, “I have no husband”; for you have had five
husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband, this you have said truly.'”
4) If we are ashamed to bring Jesus into every relationship, perhaps it is a relationship we shouldn't be in, ( I Cor. 15:33; Mark 8:38 ), “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.”…“Whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

D . Our Opportunities as Worship

1. How do you view life's interruptions; are they obstacles to be quickly dispatched, or opportunities to worship?!
a. Jesus saw interruptions as opportunities to glorify God!
1) ( Matt. 8:5-13 ), “When He entered Capernaum, a certain centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.' Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.' But the centurion said,‘Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed and I say to this one, ‘Go!' and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!' and he does it.' Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth..' And Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.' And the servant was healed that very moment.'”
2) ( Matt. 8:14 ), “When Jesus had come to Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying in bed sick with a fever…”
3) ( Matt. 8:16 ), “When evening had come, they brought Him many who were demon- possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”
4) How many of these things did Jesus plan? Zero! How many did He use to glorify His Father?!! All!!!

b. Are we using every opportunity that comes our way to glorify our heavenly Father??!
1) ( Gal. 6:10 ), “While we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
2) ( Col. 4:5 ), “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity!”
3) It is through life's opportunities that we can bear fruit for God, ( Jn. 15:8 ), “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

E. Our Life as Worship

1. When we give our lives to God, our worship not only glorifies Him, but it also helps others!
a. ( II Cor. 8:3-5 ), “I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave
themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”
1) They didn't have much, but they gave all they could to benefit others by first giving self to God!!!
2) This is the essence of the scripture with which I began today, ( Rom. 12:1 ), “I urge you therefore,….”

b. This is what our Lord did for us…
1) ( Matt. 20:28 ), “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
2) ( Eph. 5:1-2 ), “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
3) Thus, a life of worship is characterized by one that is lived by loving and serving others!
Galatians 3:26-27, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”