Title: Worship that pleases God / 2004. 11. 28.
Worship that rejoices
John 4:23-24, Psalm 51:10-19
The center of the Christian life is worship. You cannot see the faith itself, but you can see the faith of a person by looking at whether he worships or not. Greetings are also very important in human relationships. There are surprisingly many people who do not greet well, and people who do not know how to say hello. If greetings are not exchanged properly, the next relationship will not be smooth. A relationship of trust and love cannot lead. Because the beginning didn't go well
--Let's greet each other. You are very welcome to worship. You look great today.--
Human greeting and worship cannot be equated. But that's what I'm talking about because you're the most important fundamental, the foundation of a relationship. Even if he observes all the rules of the church and participates in the service diligently, it is difficult to say that the person is a true Christian if the attitude of worship is not proper. Even if he has an impeccable character, if he is not a worshiper, he may be a moral person, but he is not a Christian. This is because worship alone is an act of acknowledging God, serving God, and clearly confessing God's grace.
The purpose of worship is to glorify God. Worship is not a time to receive, but a time to give yourself completely to God. True faith requires the experience of giving oneself completely to God. Aren't all of the world's lives running like that for myself? 24 hours a day 168 hours a week Isn't everyone so busy with my work? However, the time to come to church and worship is a time to cut off the time of this world and give ourselves to God. Worship is the time to give your heart with all your heart, mind, and strength.
'Lord! give me Lord! It's not enough, but I'll give you my faith. Lord! I pray for grace. Lord! Please accept my worship.'
In hymns, in prayer, in the Word, in offerings, and even in fellowship with the saints, we must come to worship with such earnestness, longing, and faith in giving.
The hour is coming, and now is the time, when those who worship the Father will worship in spirit and truth.
The Father is looking for those who worship him like this. John 4:23
How can we make the worship so pleasing?
1. Believe in God's presence and receive joy in worship.
Worship comes at the place of God's invitation. Therefore, worship is not a place for people or a gathering for people. It is a place where the Holy Spirit is present and a meeting to God. Worship is not a time to listen to a sermon. We tend to equate worship with sermons. In any other order, if you listen carefully to the sermon, it is considered that you have attended the worship service. Even if you come to the service a little late, if you come before the sermon time, it is still considered to have been worshiped. But preaching is not worship. There is no doubt that sermons are an important time to listen to God's Word, but sermons are not worship services. You shouldn't come to church to hear a sermon. You must come to worship. Worship is a time to kneel before the Lord. It is a time to look at God with the eyes of the soul. Therefore, we give praise and glory to the Lord.
If you do not believe in the presence of God, praise is nothing more than boasting about singing, prayer is for psychological comfort, and sermons become speeches. Because we believe in the presence of God, that is, the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can give glory to God, praise God, and give thanks to God.
Through faith in God's presence, the Holy Spirit focuses the worshiper's heart on worship and fills them with grace at every moment. When worshiping God who is present in awe of faith, the Holy Spirit removes the worries of the world, fear of life, anger, and frustration from the heart of the worshiper, and fills the heart with a desire to know God and receive His grace fill you up And He cuts off all satanic attacks that interfere with worship--worrying thoughts, physical pain, wandering around, and chattering. When singing a hymn, He makes all the words of the song become prayers and confessions of faith that come from the heart, and answers the prayers of those who pray with 'Amen'. And when we listen to the Word, He gives us understanding and a heart that is completely dependent on us.
2. He is pleased with the worship service that contains repentance and confession.
We all live in a busy world. Eventually, we find ourselves resembling the world, thinking like people of the world, living after the people of the world, and imitating the people of the world.
But now, at the time of worship, please throw away the dregs of your greedy and ferocious life. And I hope you experience a new birth. That is the place of worship. Worship is the time to recover the identity of me that I forgot because I was busy living in the world.
I am a people of God, a noble child of God purchased with the blood of the Lord, and I am a saved people of heaven. This is the time to humbly kneel while repenting of the times I have lived like a worldly person, looking only at the world and struggling for a single penny-- That is the time of worship. A time to dye the world, wash and polish the wounded souls in people, and restore a clear mind again--that is worship. Worship is to be moved by the great love that sometimes kneels in front of the cross, beats the heart in front of him, and caresses the soul in grace.
We all live with bluffs and commit sins, but where can we wash them, where can we see ourselves and lay our burdens down, where can we weep to wash our hearts? That's what the church should do. That should be the case in worship. Are you in a position to be highly respected and respected by people? If that is the case, I hope you will have more faith to kneel before God in worship. If not, where can you lay down such heavy burdens and have time to give your heart to yourself with earnestness?
At any other time, no matter what you do, I hope you have a good worship service. I hope you will loosen that hardened heart in worship. Please shed tears of repentance in worship. I hope that you will be healed, reborn, blessed, and refreshed in the worship service for your broken and discouraged hearts, as well as your defiled and broken hearts. That is why we must worship well. That is why there is repentance and confession in worship.
So the old poet sang:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew in me an upright spirit.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:10,17
3. He is pleased with the worship of listening to the Word with the faith of obedience
True worship must be the event of an encounter with Christ. How can an encounter with Christ happen? That is how it is with the word proclaimed.
Meetings are not simple. Encounter is a very philosophical word. It is not just that today's alumni sat down in one place and then met. Just because you passed by on the street, greeted and exchanged money with a local, does not mean you met him. A meeting is said to have occurred when there is personal exchange and emotion. Some people live together for the rest of their lives, and some people never see each other. Some people have never met even between their parents and children. It's not that I can't see your face. It's not that I don't know his character. Because there is no personal interaction and emotion.
Conversely, you can meet people you've never seen before. You can also meet people with long distances in history. That's what happens with books. They also meet in the middle of the story. Because meeting takes place through personal exchange
An encounter with Jesus is such an encounter. We have never seen the face of Jesus. But we are moved by hearing the story of Jesus. They risk their lives on the words of Jesus. Why? This is because Jesus and my person meet, and there is an emotion in that meeting. Because that meeting is also the meeting of life.
Worship is such a meeting place. In the Word, we meet that very Jesus. If you can't meet the Lord in worship, where will you meet? If we do not meet in the Word, where will we meet Jesus?
In this way, if the Word is to become an event of meeting with the Lord, an active attitude is required. Please participate actively in worship rather than passively. Pay attention to the preacher and respond sensitively. You must respond with Amen to the words that are being proclaimed, and approach it with an open mind to be moved. The word of God is not heard with the ears, but with the soul. Listen in response to Amen. Open your ears to the voice of the Lord speaking to me today, not to the words of that time. Please drink the water of the fountain of life with faith.
4. He is pleased with the worship offered with the determination of devotion.
True worship is the work of the Holy Spirit. Through worship, the Holy Spirit transforms and regenerates our lives. The Holy Spirit sows the seeds of resolution in the heart of true worship and makes it bear fruit through devotion.
When the Holy Spirit moves your heart, even do it. Even when we practice the Holy Spirit, the fruits of true determination and devotion will be borne. The right worship will regenerate the saints, and the regenerated heart will bring change in life and life.
Therefore, brethren, I beseech you in all the mercy of God.
Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to you
This is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1
There are a few things to prepare for this proper worship.
Please prepare your body. Sunday worship service begins on Saturday evening. You should go to bed early. The freedom of resting tomorrow becomes exhausting after midnight and interferes with the living worship. Worshipers should not forget that Saturday is a preparation day. If you are sleepy despite getting enough rest, it is a spiritual problem and you should pray. And if possible, you should make it a habit to come to church early in new clothes and clean clothes.
You must prepare your heart. Please come to the worship service with an anticipation. How will you care for my weary and weary soul? We hope that you will come with a spirit of anticipation and longing for grace. That will be the channel of grace.
You must prepare a gift. Worship is essentially a ceremony of offering sacrifices. Worship without offerings is not worship. Therefore, the gift must be prepared carefully in advance. This is because an unprepared offering cannot be a gift that is pleasing to God.
Dear members of the worship service today, what kind of worship are you having? Are you doing spiritual worship while feeling the presence of God receiving your worship? Are you really glorifying God? Do you feel the pain of repenting for living a vain and false life in the past? Are the tired and wounded souls being comforted and healed by praise and prayer? Are you gaining new strength and power through the word of God, the bread of life? And, even if it's small, does every single thing make up your life's resolution?
Today, I pray in the name of the Lord that your worship will rise in glory before God who is looking for worshipers.
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