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Authentic Worship: may
seem a redundant phrase but as we learned last week there are
definitions of the word Worship that don’t meet the criteria of
Worship in spirit and truth that Jesus talks about in John 4.
Worship in spirit and truth: is my spirit
responding to God in a loving willful surrender of obedience to
His will and His word!
Authentic Worship is a Lifestyle!
(Phil. 1:21)
"To live is Christ and to die is gain"
The Definition of lifestyle is a way of
living that reflects the values and beliefs of an individual or
people group! Which means: YOUR WORSHIP IS THE MIRROR IMAGE OF
THE CONDITION OF YOUR HEART!
Authentic Worship makes God smile! :)
Ephesians 1:5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own
family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is
what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
The Qualities of an Authentic
Worshiper:
Hosea
6:6 I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.
Noah’s
story reflects a life of Authentic Worship
(Genesis 6:5-9)
Genesis 6:5The
Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he
saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and
totally evil.
6So
the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the
earth.
It broke his heart.
7And
the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from
the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living
thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that
scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry
I ever made them.”
8But
Noah found favor with the Lord.
9This
is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on
earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
1. An Authentic Worshiper walks
daily with God! (vs.9)
God smiles when we love him above all else! (Rick Warren says
“it’s the most astounding truth in the universe – That our creator
wants fellowship with us. God made you to love you, and he
longs for you to love him back.)
Noah loved God and walked with Him when no one else did! (vs. 9)
Authentic worship is an ongoing relationship!
Noah didn’t just walk with God for a few hours on Sunday morning.
He was righteous and blameless! Authentic Worship is all day
every day! Learning
to Love God and to be loved by God is the greatest objective of
your life.
Loving
God is the first and greatest commandment and is our primary act
of worship!
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' Mark
12:30
An Authentic
Worshiper Loves God supremely! When we walk with God it pleases
Him
Gen. 6:8 Noah found favor with the Lord!
2. An
Authentic Worshiper walks by faith not by sight!
Hebrews 11:6And
it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to
come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those
who sincerely seek him. 7It
was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from
the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had
never happened before.
Authentic
Worship obeys even when it doesn’t make sense!
Noah obeyed God even when it didn’t make sense!
Think
about this story for a moment:
Noah lived miles from
the nearest ocean and had never before in his life seen rain.
That was the thing that had never happened before! God
irrigated the ground from springs underground before this and so
Noah had to believe by faith in Gods plan even though it didn't
make sense! He wasn't a zookeeper so I'm sure he didn't know
how to get all the animals in there, and it took 120 years to
complete it all. That is faith!
Faith and Trust in God is an act of worship! And it pleases GOD!
Psalm 147:11The LORD is pleased only with those who worship
him and trust his love.
An
Authentic Worshiper trusts GOD Supremely!
Remember that
by definition worship is surrender and to bow yourself down and
surrender to anyone is either defeat or absolute trust.
3. An
Authentic Worshiper obeys completely and without delay!
GE
6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
“The
first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but it’s
Master”. Peter T. Forsythe.
Noah
knew who his master was, he loved Him, and trusted Him and he
obeyed Him!
God
gave very detailed instructions and Noah obeyed completely because
Noah realized God knew best! (There's that faith again, and
it shows itself in obedience)
God Sees More:
"One night an Admiral on a US Navy Battleship ordered a certain
course. The navigation officer, seeing a light in the distance,
reported that the battleship now seemed to be on a collision
course with another ship. So the Admiral ordered his radio
officer to send a message to the on- coming ship that it should
change its course 10 degrees to the south. The reply came
simply, 'No. You change YOUR course 10 degrees to the south.'
After two more unsuccessful exchanges, the Admiral, now quite
furious, came thundering into the radio control room, grabbed
the microphone, and bellowed into it, 'Do you know that you are
talking to an ADMIRAL in the UNITED STATES NAVY!' After a brief
moment of silence, the even tempered reply came back, 'Sir, do
you know that YOU are talking to the lighthouse?'" So when
God's Word asks you to change, and you wonder why? Remember Who
you are talking to! God knows best!
But Noah didn’t say “I’ll pray about it” He obeyed immediately!
“Instant obedience
is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is
disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience,
withdraws from Grace.” - Thomas a Kempis
Rick Warren –
Understanding can wait, but obedience can’t! Instant obedience
to God will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible
lessons. In fact you will never understand some commands
until you obey them first!
Don’t offer partial obedience to God! Be like Noah follow
obediently in faith and love!
We
can’t pick and choose what commands to obey!
I once did a survey of
some teens just on the spur of the moment. It wasn't
really fair but it spoke a great deal. I began asking
questions about the ten commandments like this. I said
"raise your hand if you believe it is sinful to murder" of
course everyone raised their hands. Then I said "raise
your hands if you believe lying is a sin" again, everyone.
I continued with several, including honouring your mother and
father which got some hesitation, yet everyone raised their
hands. But something interesting happened when I got to my
target question. I said "how many of you believe its
sinful to not take a day of rest each week" only a few people
raised their hands and a discussion began. I don't want to
get off on the issue of Sabbath observance here but my point is
this: We can't pick and choose the commandments of God to obey
and which not to obey. As soon as we start doing that we
have changed from worshipers to mediocre followers.
Psalm 100:2 Obey the
Lord with gladness (Living Bible)
Prompt and complete
obedience pleases God because is shows your love for Him! JOHN
14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
Authentic Worshipers Obey God Supremely!
He is their master, they love and trust him!
4. An
Authentic Worshiper lives a life of praise and thanksgiving!
Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he
sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been
approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the
aroma of the sacrifice
Noah’s first act following the flood was to offer praise and
thanksgiving to God.
Now
thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice we offer a sacrifice of praise!
Hebrews 13:15a let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice
of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
That sacrifice is a life to God’s glory!
Romans
12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to
offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
We are living sacrifices to God! But don’t forget that
Authentic Worship is worship by choice and "the problem is a
living sacrifice can crawl off of the altar!" - Rick Warren We
must choose to worship every day! (you may have to choose to
worship God 100 times in a day)
Authentic
Praise pleases God!
David knew our praise and thanksgiving would please God!
PS 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music
to him with tambourine and harp. 4 For the LORD takes delight in
his people
Authentic Worship gives thanks in all circumstances!
(His Grace is enough!) 1TH 5:16 Be joyful always; [17] pray
continually; [18] give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
God has done enough for your praise and thanksgiving!
Praise and thanksgiving are an attitude of love for what God
has done, not what He does or will do! When you realize
that, you can give thanks in all circumstances!
LIFE APPLICATION:
Authentic Worship is LIFE!
Authentic Worship is life dedicated to God! God is pleased with
life, we were made in His image! You are not only pleasing God
when you do “spiritual things”
Rick Warren – Every human activity, except sin, can be done for
God’s pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise. There are
no unspiritual abilities, just misused ones. Start using
yours for God’s pleasure!
God is like a proud parent watching you live your life and he
enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities he has give you
to His glory!
God
is looking for people like Noah! People dedicated to God!
1.
who walk close with God
(relationship)
2.
who walk by faith not sight!
(trust)
3.
who are quick to obey!
4.
who live a life of praise and
thanksgiving! |
