Living A Life Of Worship

1. Living A Life Of Worship Total Devotion – November 4, 2005

2. Some Introductory Matters Notes are not necessary. Just listen and pay attention.

3. Some Introductory Matters Much of what I’m going to say today comes from the works of John Piper

4. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters • A Little Bit About Me • What is Worship? • John 4:1-26 • Worshipping in Spirit • Worshipping in Truth • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

5. A Little Bit About Me God and Church (specifically, MBCLA)

6. A Little Bit About Me Tony Roma’s

7. A Little Bit About Me Board Games

8. A Little Bit About Me Spending Time with Grace

9. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me • What is Worship? • John 4:1-26 • Worshipping in Spirit • Worshipping in Truth • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

10. What is Worship? “Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.” - John Piper

11. Gladly? Yes, gladly! See Psalm 148:7-9 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, sea monsters and all deeps; 8 fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; 9 mountains and all hills; fruit trees and all cedars; So what do we know? Even mountains and trees can reflect God’s glory. But they do not do so willingly or gladly. Only humans have the ability to reflect God’s glory gladly.

12. Gladly? Note: If we do not gladly reflect God’s glory through worship, we will still reflect God’s glory through His justice in condemnation. See Psalm 76:10 10 For the wrath of man shall praise You; With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself. Also, be careful not to misunderstand the word “gladly.”

13. What is Worship? “Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.” - John Piper

14. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me  • What is Worship? • John 4:1-26 • Worshipping in Spirit • Worshipping in Truth • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

15. John 4:1-26 1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

16. John 4:1-26 10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11 She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw." 16 He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."

17. John 4:1-26 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." 19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

18. John 4:1-26 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

19. John 4:1-26 1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

20. John 4:1-26 10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11 She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw." 16 He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."

21. John 4:1-26 Proverbs 13:14 – The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn aside from the snares of death. John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 7:37-39 – Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 14:26 – "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” So the Word and the Spirit are the living water that Jesus offers.

22. John 4:1-26 10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11 She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 "You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw." 16 He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here."

23. John 4:1-26 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." 19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

24. John 4:1-26 23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

25. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me  • What is Worship?  • John 4:1-26 • Worshipping in Spirit • Worshipping in Truth • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

26. Worshipping in Spirit Worship is ultimately a matter of the heart and the mind. When we talk about worshipping in spirit, we’re focusing on the condition of our hearts. Biblical worship involves some sort of outward act. Even the Hebrew word for worship means to bow down. But outward acts of worship can be done in vain. How?

27. Worshipping in Spirit Outward acts of worship can be done in vain if done with the wrong heart condition. See Matthew 15:8-9/Isaiah 29:13 “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”

28. Worshipping in Spirit So how do we keep from worshipping God in vain? What must go on in the heart so that our worship is pure? Well, it’s more than just will power. There must be a coming alive of the feelings, emotions, and affections of the heart.

29. Worshipping in Spirit But what are these feelings, emotions, and affections? Let’s take a look at some examples: • Silence and Awe – Psalm 46:10, Habakkuk 2:20, Psalm 33:8 • Brokenness and Contrition – Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 57:15 • Longing – Psalm 42:1-2, Psalm 73:25-26, Psalm 63:1 • Hope – Psalm 42:5, Psalm 130:5 Ultimately, it is not any of God’s good gifts that we long for, but God Himself. – Psalm 27:4, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 37:4

30. Worshipping in Spirit What does all this tell us? Worship is an end in itself. If what changes normal outward acts into acts of worship are the feelings, emotions, and affections of the heart, then true worship can never be done as a means to something else. Genuine feelings cannot be manufactured or willed. Examples – wedding anniversaries and birthdays The real duty of worship is not outward, but inward. Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 32:11 – Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

31. Worshipping in Spirit “Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.” “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” But don’t think you’re giving God anything. The Three Stages of Worship 1. Joy – Psalm 63:5 2. Longing/Desire – Psalm 42:5 3. Sorrow – 73:22

32. Worshipping in Spirit The Enemy of Worship Hebrew 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

33. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me  • What is Worship?  • John 4:1-26  • Worshipping in Spirit • Worshipping in Truth • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

34. Worshipping in Truth John 4:24 – "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." See Psalm 1 and John 1 Examples – weddings and birthdays

35. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me  • What is Worship?  • John 4:1-26  • Worshipping in Spirit  • Worshipping in Truth • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

36. Worship as a Lifestyle Everything you do can be and should be an act of worship. Romans 12:1-2 – 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Practice the presence of God

37. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me  • What is Worship?  • John 4:1-26  • Worshipping in Spirit  • Worshipping in Truth  • Worship as a Lifestyle • Conclusion

38. Conclusion God and Church (specifically, MBCLA)

39. What’s Next?  • Some Introductory Matters  • A Little Bit About Me  • What is Worship?  • John 4:1-26  • Worshipping in Spirit  • Worshipping in Truth  • Worship as a Lifestyle  • Conclusion

40. The End