← ArchiveFactsGospel-Driven WorshipDateAugust 23, 2020SpeakerJared MitchellText—Passages in this sermonPsalms 1033:41Matthew 155:38John 45:42Psalms 955:45Hebrews 135:48James 516:17Psalms 13326:01Psalms 12226:01Hebrews 328:29TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00*music* *music*0:28*music* Well, good morning, church. That's a cool video, isn't it? Hey, it's good to be together this morning. I don't know about you, but I'm so thankful to Matt and the band for leading us so well today. You know, as we get into this sermon this morning and we talk about worship and what worship is and what it means for our lives,0:53I can't help but be extremely thankful for this team that we have on stage. And they've become such dear friends to me over the last year. And I'm thankful to God that we have a team here that leads us so well. So, Matt, thank you for leading us so faithfully this morning. Amen.1:21Amen. This morning, we're going to continue in our sermon series titled "Facts." And we're going to look at this topic of worship. Now, obviously, as the worship pastor here at Bethel, this topic of worship is on my heart a lot because I do believe that it is a mammoth responsibility to lead our church in worship. And I want you to know that there's never a day and there's never a night that I'm not incredibly thankful for the grace of God in my life.1:49And the power of Jesus Christ who works through us each and every week. So, when we think about worship, what are some of the things that we tend to think about? Maybe you think about music that's a given. We think about certain songs or certain hymns.2:18Maybe we think about worship as acts of service, loving our neighbors, reaching the community. Maybe we think about prayer. Maybe we think about giving. And all of these things are acts of worship. But today, I want to ask the question: Does God care about how we worship? Does God care about how we worship?2:46And I hope that all of us this morning could give a resounding yes. Yes, absolutely God cares about how we worship. See, the entire Bible is pointing to two things. And I believe it's these two things that make up our worship. It is revelation and it is response. The Bible is pointing to the revelation of what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.3:12And we are called to respond to that revelation through a life of faith and worship. One songwriter said this, he said, "Worship is like breathing. It's something that we were constantly created to do." And this is what God desires, does He not? What does Psalm 103 say?3:41And we quote this Psalm a lot around here. It says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, worship His holy name." But what does that mean to bless the Lord? How do we bless God with our worship? Does God need our worship? Does He beg for our worship? And no, God does not need our worship. But I fully believe that the word is clear that God delights in the praises of His people.4:09But the reality is that we can come into this room, we can sing all of the right songs, we can say all of the right things, we can leave this place, and we can go out and we can do all of the good deeds that we can think of, and we can still completely miss the point of worship. And that is because true worship is a heart issue.4:34True worship is a matter of the heart. And yes, it is so much more. But friends, it is never less. Let me pray for us this morning as we dive into the word, as we talk about worship. God, we thank you for this time that we can come into this corporate worship gathering. And we pray that you would just speak to us over the next few minutes.5:01Would you use your word to enlighten our hearts? Would you open up our minds to understand? Would you open up our ears to hear? Would you open up our eyes to see? And we give you all of the glory and we all say, Amen. So today, we're going to look at a few different passages throughout the word. And as I was preparing and praying through this message, I was asking myself, well, where do I go in the Bible to talk about a topic that the entire Bible talks about?5:26Do I go to Matthew chapter 15? Do I go to John chapter 4? I really want to go to Psalm 95. And what about Hebrews 13? And the answer I kept coming back to was yes, yes, yes, and yes. And listen, I want you to know that it's never my desire to hop around scripture to find verses to support only what I want to say.5:56But as I was considering worship, I was led to so many texts throughout the word. And I believe that God has us sitting in these few texts this morning. So we're going to sit in each of them for just a few minutes and we're going to see what the Bible says about worship. And we're going to look at two aspects of worship that I believe are vital to our Christian lives.6:22And then together, we're going to come up with a definition of worship that aligns with scripture. And the timer is going, so we got to go. So the first aspect of worship that we want to talk about this morning, the first aspect of worship that we see is inner worship or an inner essence of worship. Because what we said just a few seconds ago, that worship is a matter of the heart.6:51It is more, but it is never less. So to talk about the heart, let's go to Matthew chapter 15. Specifically, verses 1. And I really want to get to verses 8 and 9, but here's the thing. When you're reading your Bible and you go to a certain chapter and you want to read verses 8 and 9, it's probably, no, it's definitely good to read verses 1 through 7 first.7:16So let's read them together. Matthew chapter 15, starting in verse 1. It says, Then Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem who asked, Well, why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat. And he answered them, Well, why do you break God's commandment because of your tradition? For God said,7:47Honor your father and your mother, and whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death. But you say, Whoever tells his father or mother, Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple. Well, he does not have to honor his father. In this way, you have nullified the word of God because of your tradition. Oh, you hypocrites. Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.8:15They worship me in vain, teaching us doctrines, human commands. Okay, so what's going on here? We have a group of Pharisees and scribes that have come up from Jerusalem, and their goal was to find out what Jesus was teaching so that they could stop it. So you see in verse 2, they challenge Jesus. Now, this tradition of the elders, it goes back to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.8:43And part of this tradition dealt with washing your hands a certain way before a meal. Now, just to be clear, the Pharisees were not concerned with hygiene. This was a tradition. This was a ceremony. This tradition was made up by men. It was not mandated by Scripture.9:11But the Pharisees are asking Jesus, Hey, are you guys doing this? And then Jesus responds in verse 3 as if to say, You're the one to talk. Jesus illustrates this point in verses 4 through 6, and he uses this example of God's command to honor your father and your mother. Now, this was a command that the Pharisees had found a way around. They had come up with new traditions in which children did not have to obey their parents.9:40And it's like Jesus is saying, You know, man, this is what Isaiah was talking about. When he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine human's command. Listen, honoring God with our worship is not a ritual. It is not a ceremony.10:09It is not just a Sunday morning service, but it is a heart issue. Jesus says here, They worship me in vain. Vain here is translated zero, none. That they worship me in vain, there is zero heart dimension to their worship. And he says here in verse 9 that they're teaching human commands as doctrine and truth.10:34They're taking their own words, they're taking their own wisdom, and they're writing it down as truth. And it's like God is saying, They don't even know me. Church, would this not be said of us? Would we not get so caught up in our traditions that any of us would stand before God one day and God say, Do we know each other?11:03I mean, I know you went to church a few times, you sang some songs, you even read from the Bible, but Do you know me? Do I know you? Do I know you? God cares about how he is worshipped. And it's a matter of the heart. And it's something that we simply cannot afford to get wrong. So continuing with this aspect of worship, this inner essence of worship, let's turn to John chapter 4.11:27Now as we mentioned earlier, worship is a rhythm of revelation and response. God is revealing to us what he has done for us through his son, Jesus Christ, and we are called to respond through a life of faith and worship. And we'll see in John chapter 4, that God is desiring, God is desiring that we become worshippers in spirit driven by truth.11:54We worship in spirit, but we are driven by truth. And as we read this story in John chapter 4, I do believe that it's a story that a lot of us are familiar with. That Jesus is returning from Jerusalem. He's making his way to Galilee, and he travels through Samaria.12:21And he comes to a well in which a Samaritan woman is drawing water. And Jesus is thirsty, he's tired, so he asks for some water. Now to be honest, this is a passage that we could spend multiple Sundays in. We could get multiple sermons from, but today we're talking about worship, and Jesus talks about worship at the end. But we see this woman, in verse 9, she asks the question, she says,12:48Why would you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water? You see, this was not supposed to be happening. And I hope that we see that there are no coincidences in the kingdom of God. That this encounter was no accident. Jesus knew where he was going. He knew who he was talking to. And he wasn't after water.13:18He was after her heart. Now this is a different sermon for a different time, but it's a great truth. But Jesus goes on to tell her things about herself and her life that he surely could not have known. That he's pointing out her deepest, darkest secrets. He's telling her that she had an affair and that she had multiple husbands. So she believes that he must be a prophet. It is the only thing that makes sense. So then she goes on to ask a question about worship.13:48And this is what she says in verse 19. Sir, the woman replied, I see that you are, you must be a prophet. And our ancestors worshipped on this mountain. But you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem. And Jesus told her, believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know.14:17We worship what we do not know. Salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming and is now here when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit. And those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman is coming. I know that the Messiah is coming. And when he comes, he's going to explain everything to us. And Jesus says, that's me. So I want to note here that it was this woman that asked the question about worship.14:47She initiated the conversation. She initiated the question. She was curious. And it's almost like Jesus delighted with the thought, I was hoping you would ask. Because now, with Jesus on the scene, the world has changed. Oh, and by the way, it's never gone back to the way it was. And it never will, because Jesus changes everything.15:16Jesus tells her that the hour is here, in which people no longer have to travel to a physical temple in one city. But now, they are able to worship God in every place. Because through Jesus, the Holy Spirit will dwell in them. And therefore now, God's people everywhere, every day, will become the temple in which God dwells.15:39This is really, really, really good news this morning. But going back to what Jesus says in verse 23, he says, true worshipers now, with Jesus on the scene, they worship in two ways. What are they? They're spirit and truth. And he says, this is how God wants his people to worship him. So, I think it's really wise that we pay attention. So, to talk about these two aspects of worship.16:08Number one, we must worship in truth. Now, if you remember, if you'll go back with me, a few weeks back, we talked about dealing with suffering right out of James chapter 5. And we made the point that in our times of suffering, these are times in which our theology matters most. Okay, now, what is theology? Theology is what you believe about God. And what you believe about God is the most important thing about you.16:39I'd like to continue that thought here. And I would suggest that in our times of worship, these are also times that our theology matters most. Listen, it is no mystery that our theology, what we believe true about God, it affects every aspect of our lives. There is no day in which you can leave your theology out.17:05And this is what I'm getting at, that Jesus says to worship in spirit and truth. Okay, we're talking about truth. So, pleasing worship to God depends on a right mental grasp of who God is. And this is why it is vital that our worship must be driven by one thing and one thing only, and that is the word of God.17:34That our worship must be formed by the word of God in our songs and in our preaching. Because the Bible, what does it do? It informs us of who God is and what he has done for us through Jesus Christ. And when we are informed by the Bible, we can be transformed by the gospel.17:59And I am convinced that there is a longing in the church for theological worshipers. There is a need in the church for theological worshipers who are being transformed by Jesus Christ. When you come to worship, yes, bring your heart. And we're going to talk about that in just a second.18:28But don't leave your mind behind. God has given us mind and knowledge for a reason. And that is to know him and to know his word. Because when our minds know him, our heart then truly treasure him. Number one, we worship in truth. Number two, we must worship in spirit. Jesus says here that we worship in spirit. We respond to the truth of God's word through spiritual worship.18:56There's not only a right mental grasp of who God is. But there is also a response of heart. So we saw number one, pleasing worship depends on a right mental grasp on who God is. And now number two, pleasing worship depends on a heart grasp on God's supreme value. And when we come to know God truly, we see that he has infinite value.19:24So if we could pause and just put a small definition on worship. And it could be defined in so many ways. We would just say, worship is treasuring God above all things. Worship is treasuring God above all things. There is nothing I want more than to know God and to give glory above anything and everything else this world has to offer.19:49And I believe that Psalm 95 gives us a great picture of how we respond to God when our hearts truly know and treasure him. So if you turn to Psalm chapter 95 with me, starting in verse 1, and we'll have it on the screens as well. Well, this Psalm, it begins with a summons to come.20:15Starting in verse 1, come, let us shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation. Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout triumphantly to him in Psalm. However, this Psalm doesn't only tell us to come in worship. It gives us reasons why we come in worship. So, verses 3-5, for the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.20:40The depths of the earth are in his hands, and the mountain peaks are his. The sea is his who made it. His hands formed the dry land. The Psalm here is giving us reasons to worship God. Because the reality is that our worship is grounded in God's inherent worthiness to be worshipped. We worship God because he is great.21:11He is exalted. He is the King above all other so-called gods. He alone is the sovereign King over all of the earth, and he has no rival in heaven. And by the way, we just sang this, no rival on earth, and he should have no rival in our hearts. And this is where we have to be really, really careful, right? Because a right mental grasp on God's word shows us who God really is, how big God really is, and how great he is.21:37And here's the thing, without this view of God, we start to believe that we are of worth to him. Without this view of God, we start to think that we're next to him in comparison. And this is a really dangerous place to be because the reality is that two people don't stand on top of Mount Everest, and it's about who's taller.22:03Like, it just doesn't happen. But what we just read shows us who God is, who we are not, and why he is worthy to be worshipped. In church, we fall on our knees for him. Verse 4 and 5, going back to that, it says, The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his, the sea is his, he made it, his hands formed the dry land. And these verses give us more proof of God's greatness, that God aided the world, therefore he owns the world.22:32The highest mountain peaks are his, and the deepest reaches of the sea are his. He created, and he upholds the earth, and we worship our creator in awestruck ways. Verse 6, come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. We have another command to simply come and worship, and I love these commands. I never get tired of them.23:01I like that there's so many, because it gives us more reasons to not skip church. And if you ever wake up and want to skip church, just read the psalm, and you will come running. Because we are commanded to come to worship. And then, I'd like to focus on here for just a minute. The psalm then takes us on a personal level. It gives us personal reasons to worship God. It says, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care.23:28Let this sink in this morning. That he is our God. He is your God. He is my God. He has bound himself to us to do good for us. He has made you and me his own people, and he is our shepherd.23:51These same hands that hold granite peaks also hold us. And they care for us. They provide for us. And they gently lead us in the way that we should go. And this is the good news of the gospel. That this majestic, exalted ruler that is seated high above the heavens has stooped down low,24:14and he has come to us through Jesus Christ. Church, it doesn't get much better than that. And when this truth is revealed to us through the word of God, how can we do anything but respond in a life of worship and praise? So to sum up the last few minutes, we talk about an inner essence of worship, worshiping in spirit and truth,24:39that with our hearts, we respond to the knowledge of our minds. So with our minds, we understand God, and with our hearts, we rightly value God. We need the heart, and we need the mind. This is revelation and response. And lastly today, and quickly, I'd like to look at one more passage.25:06Hebrews chapter 13. I'll make a few observations. Starting in verse 15 of Hebrews chapter 13, It says, Therefore, through him, let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise. That is the fruit of lips that confess his name. Don't neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.25:33So all morning, we've been talking about this inner essence of worship, and now I believe we have to talk about that there is an outward aspect of worship as well, and I believe it plays out in a few ways. This outward act of worship. Number one, worship corporate. As we praise God through the fruit of our lips. All throughout the Psalms, in the New Testament, Psalm 122, Psalm 133, just to name a couple,26:01We do see commands to come and to gather and to worship. Now, two weeks ago, we talked about this word, sanctification. Okay, now what is sanctification? It's the process for a believer of being transformed into the image of God. And we believe that here at Bethel, corporate worship plays a vital role in our sanctification.26:27Because when we hold God together, we grow together. Number one, worship is corporate. Number two, worship is missional. Because when we rightly value God, we rightly value others. And when we value others, we rightly sacrifice for the good of others.26:52You see, worship flows from our heart into outward sacrificial acts of worship. That worship is not only to take place in this building, but our lives are a constant rhythm of revelation and response. And part of that response includes loving and serving our neighbors. You see, true worship does not compel us to stay in one place, but it propels us to go with the gospel to all nations for the sake of the gospel and for those who have never heard it.27:22Oh, and by the way, when we go, we're going to be singing the whole way. I don't know about you, but I want to go. I want to sing. I want to tell because we're singing about truths that people across the world never heard about. People in our community have never heard about. And if we have a truth that's worth singing about, it's a truth worth telling about.27:49And by the way, I think flights are really, really cheap right now. So let's go. Number one, worship is corporate. Number two, worship is missional. And number three, Jesus makes it possible. Jesus is our access. Let's look back at the beginning of verse 15. It says, through him, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.28:17Through him means through Jesus. And Hebrews chapter three begs us to consider Jesus. It calls him our great high priest. And then in chapter four, verse 16, it says, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. Listen, listen, listen, we can't miss this morning. That for years and years throughout the Old Testament, God is saying, don't come close unless.28:47Don't come close unless you do this, you do this, you do this. And now through Jesus and because of Jesus, God is saying, come. God is saying, come, don't only come, but come in close and draw near to the throne of grace. Because we have access through the blood of Jesus.29:15And this is where in worship we can draw near. Because this great God that holds mountains in his hands has come to us as a good father. And I'll never forget this story. I was told that there was a man. He had a wife and he had a son. And his wife went on to pass away, his son's mom.29:42And the night that she died, he went to tuck his son in. And his son said, dad, I'm feeling really anxious tonight. Would you stay close and would you hold me until I fall asleep? So he did. And then his dad leaves. And he goes down the hall and he looks out the window and he says, God, I'm feeling really anxious.30:10Would you stay close and would you hold me until I fall asleep?30:23Church, we can't be afraid to ask God to come close. Because he already has. Through his son, Jesus, and his death on a cross. For my sins and for your sins. If we repent of our sins. If we put our faith in Jesus. God comes really, really close. And I think that there's a few types of the room today and maybe you're there. That we've all been in this season of social distancing, right?30:52Where we're told stay six feet apart. So in our minds, we have to draw this six foot circle around us. It's gotten so bad that I was even at the beach earlier this summer and people would throw their umbrellas down and they would draw a six foot line of sand. Now, if you're an introvert, maybe you like this rule. You've been waiting on this rule. If you're an extrovert like me, you don't really like this rule, even though it is necessary.31:20But maybe for some of us today, for a really long time, we've had a spiritual circle drawn around us. And in our hearts, we're saying, God, don't come close. Don't come close. You don't want to see me up close. I've done too much. I've met too much. I don't deserve your closeness.31:50And if that is you, I beg you, like Hebrews begs us, consider Jesus who died in your place. And because of Jesus, listen, because of Jesus, it's not about what you've done, but it's about what he has done for you. And he's given you access. And guess what? God is saying, come. God is saying, come close. And if you're in the band, you guys can go ahead and come on back up.32:18And maybe you're here today, and you've seen God at a distance for a really long time, and maybe you've never seen him at all. And today, you need to ask God to come close for the very first time in your life. And you can simply do that by putting your faith in his son, Jesus. That God loved you so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die for you. That if you are, God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you are a great Savior.32:48So today, I repent of my sin, and I turn to you, and I put my faith in you. If you would just pray that prayer, God is ready to come really, really close. So we're just going to sing together for a few minutes. And Pastor Josh is going to come on down here. And if you want to come, if you want to come down and pray, I won't have my mask on, but he will. Pray with you as well. If you want to just talk, if you want to be prayed for, we'll both be down here, and we are ready to pray with you.33:17But if you've been in this season for a long time where you've had this spiritual circle drawn around yourself, today is the day to wipe that away and let Jesus give you access to God and trust in him as your Savior. So would you stand with us? We're going to sing. Let me pray for us.← Previous in FactsSharing Hope in the Midst of UpheavalNext in Facts →The Facts of Faith
