St Albans Presbyterian church. Teachings: 40days of purpose: Week 2

40 Days of Purpose Week 2: LIFE'S MAIN PURPOSE

Adapted from Rick Warren’s material by Steve Jourdain

I want to play the word association game with you. What do you think of when I say “salt”, “Adam”, “Tiger Woods”, “Iraq”, “September 11th”…

What comes to mind first when I say “worship”?

For most Christians, “worship” means a church service or a bracket of songs of worship. Or maybe you thought of Muslims bowing down on their prayer mats.

In our secular society the word “worship” is not used very much, except in terms of “hero worship” relating to some people’s devotion to a movie, music or sports stars. The popular TV series called “American/Australian/NZ Idol” is another expression of this. We also call the mayor of a city “Your Worship”.

Another phrase has been part of our language in the past, “He worships the ground she walks on!” meaning that this guy is overwhelmed by love for this woman.

1. Worship is about giving honour (respect) where it is due.

The simplest and best definition of worship is 'worthship': about recognizing or acknowledging someone's or something’s worth.

Christians want to distinguish between the praise, honour and respect that is due to human beings because of their achievements, & the worship due to God as the creator of the universe.

For example, we can rightly praise the awesome ability of a musician like Mozart or Scribe, a painter like Picasso or a movie producer like Peter Jackson.

However, Christians (and Jews and Muslims) would say that God alone is the one deserving of the highest honour and respect and praise. We worship God, for two reasons.

Firstly for what God has done. God deserves our worship, because he is the creator of the universe and the one who brought us into existence becos he wanted something more to love; this same awesome Creator became a vulnerable human baby to rescue us from eternal hell and show us for real what God is like; this same Jesus died a brutal death nailed to an ugly cross to forgives us our wrongs and to heal our broken lives; this same Jesus was raised to life, offers us his presence to help us and guide us through the tough road of life, and promises that we will live forever with God beyond this life. And its all free, gratis, a gift! Isn’t that a God you could worship?

The Book of Revelation describes the worship of the heavenly creatures who proclaim, 'You are our Lord and God, you are worthy of glory and honour and power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists.' (Rev 4v 11, JB)

Or think of another song from the Revelation that we sing:

Salvation belongs to our God, who sits upon the throne; and unto the Lamb; praise and glory, wisdom and thanks, honour and power and strength, be to our God forever.” (Rev 5v 12, 13)

But God deserves our worship not only because of what he has done, but also because of who God is, becos of God’s own nature and character. Think of another song we sing, from the Old Testament,

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love…” (Psalm 103). The NT tells us that God is love, not just that God is loving but that love is the essence of who God is.

Or “Great is thy faithfulness, O God, your mercies are new every morning…”

One of the best known aspects of Presbyterian and Reformed church heritage is the famous opening question and answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, developed in the 1640s as a summary of Christian belief. The first question is, 'What is the chief end of man?' We’d prefer to ask today, ‘What is the highest purpose of humanity?’ But the answer given in the 1640s is still a great definition of worship, 'Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever.'

The supreme purpose of human life is to glorify God. ‘To glorify’ is another phrase for worship, praise, exalt, adore. God alone deserves our whole-hearted worship for who God is and what God has done, for humanity and for us personally in our lives. We worship God because God is the greatest in every way!

If that is all true, then who is worship about? When we come together to worship, who is meant to benefit? So does it ever make any sense to say, ‘I never got anything out of worship today’? Or ‘I didn’t enjoy worship today’?

Worship is not for our benefit. Instead of saying, ‘I didn’t get much out of worship today’, maybe we should be saying, ‘I didn’t put much into worship today!’

2. Worship is about more than what happens in church.

It’s about more than music and singing, than praying and preaching, more than ceremonies and communion, more than sensing the anointing and tingling of the spine. Worship includes all these things but it is far more than these things.

Many people think that worship is a kind of optional activity, like a hobby, a pastime, or a recreation. It's something that religious people do, but not something for everyone. But it’s not just for church services.

Worship is a lifestyle, a whole-of-life activity and attitude.

The psalm writers, OT poets make this clear.

“Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

Be glad that we belong to him. Let all that worship him rejoice…and worship God continually.” (Psalm 105v2-4)

“I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise him.” (Psalm 34v1)

Do you think that meant walking around with hands raised, eyes closed and singing songs of praise all day?

Throughout the Bible, we read of people worshipping God at home and work, in battle and in jail, and even in bed, as well as in church! Every activity can be transformed into an expression of worship when we do it for the benefit and purposes of God, when we see ourselves as doing it to please God.

The Apostle Paul, writing in the NT, has two comments that explain this idea of worship as a lifestyle.

When discussing whether the Corinthian Christians should eat food offered in worship of pagan idols, Paul says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1st Cor 10v31)

Then Paul writes to the Colossian Christians, when discussing the relationships between slaves and their masters, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.” (Col 3v23)

Now this verse has been very significant to me throughout my life. I first remember thinking about it when I was doing a holiday job in Farmers Trading Store as a high schooler. The boss’ office was up in the ceiling and a long straight stairway came down into the shop, so we could see from anywhere in the shop when the boss was coming. The staff would slack around when the boss was in his office but then would clean the shelves frantically when they saw him coming down the stairs! But one day it struck me, as a follower of Jesus, I’m not actually working for that boss but for the boss of all bosses who always sees what I do.

Then as a student, my studies were not being done simply to pass exams and get a good job, but in my actual studying I was meant to be conscious that it was the Lord I was serving.

And when I was a high school teacher and on playground duty, asking kids to do what they hated, picking up rubbish, I thought, “Why shouldn’t I pick up rubbish too, after all, I’m working for the Lord and keeping his world clean.”

And what about your employment or parenting or playing sport or dating or driving the car - are we conscious trying to bring glory and honour to God in what we are doing, or would we be embarrassed if Jesus actually showed up? Do people think well of the God we serve as they observe us, or do they think, “their God can’t mean much to them; look how lazy, dishonest, irresponsible, incompetent, arrogant, dictatorial they are”?

The key to a lifestyle of worship, a life that honours God, is that you do everything in life as though you were doing it for Jesus, and that you carry on a continual conversation with Jesus as though he is working alongside you, which of course he is.

Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 12 verse 1, is a key verse: “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.” Wow! This is the true worship you should offer! Did it say to offer your bodies…when you are in a church service?

The Message translates this verse, “Take your everyday life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering.” See that word ‘offering’ - isn’t that what happened in the Jewish Temple, lots of offerings of sacrifices - incense, pigeons, sheep, goats, bulls, blood, olive oil - dead sacrifices of course. Offering things to God, including songs and music. The essence of worship is offering things that please your God.

What does the Creator God want from us? Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. Why does God want our bodies? Because that’s how we get around in life; that’s where everything we’ve got is contained: our mind, personality, abilities, experiences, spiritual gifts, passion and strength. It’s all in our bodies and God wants it all - everything we’ve got, offered to him and his service.

Worship is a whole of life thing, 24-7-365! God wants all we’ve got, all of the time, for always! That’s why God made us.

3. Worship is our wholehearted response to God

It acknowledges who God is and what God has done. Just before that verse where Paul urges his readers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, he explains why they should do so: “So then my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us, I appeal to you…” Our worship is a response to God’s great mercy.

'We love God’, says John in his NT letter, ‘because he first loved us.'

(1 John 4: 19, AV). Worship is our response to God's love. God wants us to grow to know him and learn to love him back.

And the way we are to respond to God’s love is clearly set out in the greatest commandment: '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 NIV). Notice the repetition of the word “all”. God wants us to love him with all that we are and have.

First, God wants each of us to love him passionately, 'with all my heart and soul. ' We accept that people can become wildly ecstatic cheering for thirty players chasing an oval leather ball around a muddy field in cold wet weather.

Yet we think it is not cool to engage in enthusiastic worship of the maker of this majestic blue-green ball, which supports the only known life in the universe! We need to get real! God desires our heartfelt, passionate, enthusiastic worship, not a heartless, meaningless repetition of the correct words, going through the motions.

Second, God also wants each of us to love him intelligently, thoughtfully, 'with all my mind.' In another translation of our main verse today, the old KJV says, 'I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your reasonable act of worship.’

Worship is also the most reasonable activity we can ever be involved in. God is the Supreme Being and Creator of all that exists. It makes sense to worship him. To worship is to pursue the very reason for our existence, to find the path to eternal joy and purpose. Worship makes sense: it is rational and sensible to honour God as the most important object in your life. We are to worship, said Jesus, “in spirit and in truth”. Our worship must be grounded in the truth about God as it is revealed in the Bible, not according to our own image of God, not in how we like to think of God.

If worship is mindless it is meaningless. We must engage our minds in our whole of life worship and honour God with our minds. After all God gave us our minds and gave humanity a mandate to govern and steward the earth, to develop its resources responsibly and to address its problems creatively. This is our reasonable worship.

Thirdly, God wants us to love him energetically & practically, 'with all my strength.' Worship is using all our abilities and energies for God. As we have already heard the Apostle Paul say, 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.' (Col 3v23, TEV) Living a life of worship takes effort and energy; it will not always be comfortable and convenient. Being a living sacrifice will take all our strength.

But do you know the most amazing thing about worship?

4. Worship brings pleasure to God and fulfilment to us.

Ps 147v11 says, “The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love.”

Ps 37v23 says’ “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.” God delights in our 24/7/365 wholehearted lives of worship. Every human activity, except sinful ones, can be done for God’s pleasure if we do them as an act of worship with God in mind. You can wash dishes, repair a machine, sell a product, write some software, raise a family and grow a crop for the glory of God.

And like any proud parent, God especially enjoys watching you use the gifts and abilities he has given you. Like all parents, God doesn’t require us to be perfect, or even mature, to enjoy us. We can bring God pleasure at every stage of spiritual development. In the movie ‘Chariots of Fire’, Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell says, “I believe God made my for a purpose but he also made me fast; and when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”

Speaking of the tension between living for God on earth or with God in heaven, Paul writes to the Corinthians, “More than anything else however, we want to please God, whether in our home here or there.” (2 Cor 5v9, TEV)

I want to finish with two questions:

What daily tasks could I start doing as if I were doing them directly for Jesus?

Which is more pleasing to God right now - my Sunday worship or my Monday to Saturday worship? What will I do about it?

15.5.05