“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”
– Robert Jastrow, former director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and author (online at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,946241-3,00.html#ixzz0dHgn9VuS)
What do we call that which is the greatest? Modernity has tried by science for centuries to discover the meaning of life and the recent trend of post-modernity is truly just a bankrupt modern mind. Modernity went bankrupt when we realized science can’t answer the deep questions that we really want to know the answers to, like: “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?”
God gives us his name and he wants us to use it.
- At the beginning of the commandments we see that God gives the people his name! (Exodus 20:2)
- Psalm 50:15, we have God’s personal invitation to call on him in our times of trouble and he will hear us! God wants us to use his name!
We must use God’s name with God’s power!
- Originally as I worked on this messaged I thought, “God wants us to use his name, ‘Properly.’” But, I realized that’s not enough – it might not even be right. He wants us to use his name with power, that’s the only proper way to use it.
- Look at Luke 9:49-50. Here Jesus knows that this exorcist is using his name in power, the way which it was intended to be used by his people!
- Consider the ways people have used the name of God:
- Abram called on it (Gen 13:4)
- The Levites ministered in it (Dt 18:5)
- Prophets spoke truth with it (Dt 18:22)
- David slew Goliath with it (1 Sam 17:45)
- Solomon built a house for it (1 Kings 8:20)
- It’s fame drew the queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1)
- It gave pride to the Psalmist (Ps 20:7)
- It brings fear to the nations (Ps 102:15)
- It is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are saved (Pr 18:10)
- It doesn’t stop in the Old Testament, consider the ways the apostles used the name of Jesus:
- The disciples baptized and proclaimed salvation in it: Acts 2:38
- The lame were healed in it: Acts 3:6
- The disciples were persecuted because of it: Acts 4:18
- The Sanhedrin was afraid of it: Acts 5:40
- Demons fled before it: Acts 16:18
- Every knee will bow and tongue confess that he is Lord: Philippians 2:10
- God’s name is full of power and every time we use it flippantly it offends and shows our ignorance. It’s like running around with a loaded gun!
- People condemn things, damn things to hell, all the time in the name of God. God’s name does that, but not the trash can you stub your toe on.
- God’s name is greater in power than our mundane anger and when we use it – or variations of it – lightly then it simply display our foolishness.
God’s name can only transform – not conform.
- God says, “Use my name all the time!” Take my name into the ordinary moments and make them extraordinary. Take my name into the secular and make it sacred. Take my name into your moments of weakness and see them transformed into power.
- I’ve brought the name of Jesus into a hospital room where there was no hope and by speaking the name of Jesus you see people strengthen. It brings strength to the weak, hope to the hopeless, power to the powerless, it makes the ordinary – extraordinary. In the book of John, Jesus comes to the wedding and turns the water to wine – ordinary to the extraordinary.
- He says, “Take my name and use it in power – not convenience.” Take my name and transform the everyday – don’ turn my name into the mundane. Don’t turn it into a swear word or something you yell when you hit your finger with a hammer.
- We must guard God’s name and keep it holy that it will bring holiness. Proverbs 10:19, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking.”
- Notice that there are those who use God’s name but know nothing personally of its power. These people are revealed in Matthew 7:15-23. Here they used Jesus’ name for their gain, when it was convenient, popular and dramatic, but they didn’t live by it. They didn’t claim it when it was inconvenient.
- The best way to use God’s name right with power is to allow it to transform us first.
Why should we make no idols? God is guarding us from terrible distortions that our images of god cause. (Click here for the Atlantic Monthly article I referenced about Christianity causing the financial crisis.) Think of some listed by a professor at Princeton Seminary, Daniel Migliore:
Belief in “God” has destroyed human freedom, even in our own American history we can look back at ways the church justified slavery as a God given institution.
Belief in “God” has sanctioned the exploitation of the weak. Look at the Crusades and the way that Christians exploited those who were not like them.
Belief in “God” has been used to justify spousal abuse, child abuse, and have kept women in subservient roles throughout history.
This God that has justified these things is not the God of the Bible – or should not be portrayed as the God of the Bible. This God that has justified these things is a God created in our own image and one that was constructed by man. And the problem is that…
Our images of God look too much like us! (Exodus 20:4)
- Pat Robertson’s god, as seen this week (click here for news story/video), looks too much like Pat Robertson who is concerned with revenge and punitive measures. Maybe your god looks more like you, maybe it’s even more pleasant, the predominant idol of god in America is quite benign at least on the surface and is worshipped by the health, wealth and prosperity gospel preachers.
- We are exporting this prosperity gospel all over the world. Even in the poorest reaches of Africa people are teaching that if they give to the their church then they’ll have buckets of money. We have exported a god of consumerism that looks so much like us here in America. (Click here for Christianity Today’s coverage of the exportation of prosperity gospel.)
Our idols make terrible masters. (Exodus 20:5)
- The problem with making false gods or god in our image is that we end up serving that god instead of the true god.
- Definition of idolatry by Augustine: Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that is meant to be worshiped. I think that we can saw we are in danger of worshipping the gifts over the giver.
- Today in many faith healing and prosperity gospel churches they worship their own faith. What a terrible idol to worship! The idol that invites you to give and to give and to pray and to pray. If anything goes wrong it’s your fault because you didn’t have enough faith! The god of your own faith wasn’t strong enough.
- The idol of that god is my faith – because my faith can do anything! The idol for some of you is your righteousness – my works can do anything! The problem is that our faith and works can’t do anything! That’s why we need God – not just more effort.
Our attempts to control God fail, because he blesses and curses. (Exodus 20:5-6)
- This command does not forbid religious art but creating an idol that would control god. In other words you can not control God by making his picture and using it. You can not control god through excess faith. God is moved by our faith – he is not bound to it!
- John 4 illustrates how religion gets in the way of worship. The Samaritans thought that God was on their side because they worshipped on this mountain, the Jewish people thought that God was on their side because they worshipped on that mountain.
- I know in some of our darker moments we want to control God, we want to bargain with God, but God doesn’t bargain. You can’t trade your life for your spouse, you can’t do enough good works to save your children. You can’t.
- God is trying to save us from the heartache that comes by false hope of false gods. Whether it be graven image, or a midnight bargain, or our faith as our god.
We must keep worship simple – we must come to God on his terms.
- John 4 illustrates how religion gets in the way of worship. This woman wanted to talk about mountains and man made rituals – Jesus wanted to talk about life and faith. He says that we are set free when we worship in…
- Spirit
- Worshipping God happens in the Spirit and is not confined to a place or time, neither this mountain nor Jerusalem.
- Worship is laying down everything before God and in return God lifts us up to his vantage point and shows us things from his perspective.
- When we worship in Spirit we see a connection and clarity. Acts 13:2
- Truth
- Romans 1:20-25 makes it clear that we can inappropriately give our worship to something else.
- What makes true worship is a true object of worship.
- We must be clear that we worship God, why we worship him. We must consecrate ourselves for this task and focus on his worth.
- When we come to God with our agenda, when we come to God with our terms, we find a God who looks a lot like us! When we come to God and say reveal yourself to me, we find God as he is.
- Sometimes the God that we are angry with is not the God that is, rather we are angry at the god we have. We must discard the idols, gods, in our lives and take up the true God as he is, not as we would have him.
Back in 2007 the NFL started to threaten churches with legal action over Super Bowl parties (click here to read one pastors’ story) this continued through 2008 until finally congress and US citizens everywhere protested. This year the NFL has officially blessed churches showing the “big game” on any size screen. This means that Christian men will finally be able to return to their places of worship for this most holy of days. They will be able to celebrate with gluttony and revelry in the church (much like a potluck). They will gather together singing praise (led by Hank Williams Jr.). They will passionately pray condemnation on the officials and opposing team (much like a sermon I heard once). Finally, when the decision time comes they will respond with lifted hands or repent with bowed heads (most church services don’t close with that much emotion). So, with every head up and every eye open let the services begin!
In all seriousness, this is fantastic. One U.S. senator made a great observation saying, “In a time when our country is divided by war and anxious about a fluctuating economy, these types of events give people a reason to come together in the spirit of camaraderie (See Christian Post article here).” Amen! I just wish we had that kind of spirit every Sunday.
Today we start fully exploring our new mission, prior to this we’ve been laying the foundation. Our mission starts in God’s personal nature and is realized when we connect with him in a saving relationship.
Our mission fully realized is: We exist to love God through worship, love the church through fellowship, love the world through evangelism and love the broken through compassion.
1. Meaning of Worship
- Hebrew for worship literally: fall down (prostrate), be weighted down.
- It seems to me that we have misunderstood God and worship. Many people seem to come to church on Sunday go through spiritual withdrawal throughout the week and pop in a worship track to get them through.
- We’ve come to God like a giant teddy bear, cuddling up for some spiritual warmth. But the truth is that when God is revealed to his people, particularly in the Old Testament they were afraid.
- Being weighted down is the natural response in God’s presence, becoming weak in the knees. This is clearly seen in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 which shows that the Israelites were totally incapacitated by God’s presence and were unable to do anything but worship.
- Worship continues with much of the same idea into the New Testament although there is less fear and more emotion with the Greek understanding.
- Greek predominantly meant: meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand, also to bow, literally to kiss towards.
- Look at the beautiful picture and literal portrayal of worship in Luke 7:36-50.
- Here in this passage we see the culmination of this truth, this woman comes to Jesus, is weighted down with his glory and begins to weep at his feet, kissing them. Worship at its best.
- In both of these definitions worship is sacrifice.
- Both of these definitions require sacrifice – deep personal sacrifice. The woman’s hair represents a total humiliation before people, completely undignified.
- What is our worship today? What is our sacrifice? It is an hour on Sunday – given to praise. It is a commitment to honesty even at the cost of business dealings. It is a check given to the church. It is an hour in the nursery so others can worship.
2. Mode of Worship
- How is it that we offer this worship? In the Old Testament the mode of worship was so complicated that an army of full-time employees called priests were utilized to ensure the proper mode of worship.
- In John 4:1-42 Jesus cuts through all of this and reveals the that the mode of worship is to be both in…
- Spirit
- Worshipping God happens in the Spirit and is not confined to a place or time, neither this mountain nor Jerusalem.
- Worship is laying down everything before God and in return God lifts us up to his vantage point and shows us things from his perspective.
- When we worship in Spirit we see a connection and clarity. (Acts 13:2)
- Truth
- Romans 1:20-25 makes it clear that we can inappropriately give our worship to something else. False worship lays out the ugliness of our life and turns our life toward the debase.
- What makes true worship is a true object of worship. We must be clear that we worship God, why we worship him. We must consecrate ourselves for this task and focus on his worth.
3. Model of Worship
- Romans 12:1-8 makes it clear that worship is any sacrifice dedicated to God alone. Worship is the engine that drives all other relationships and is found in all other relationships.
- We need both a lifestyle of worship and pure worship to keep our lives strong. Like in a marriage Jenny and I go out 75% of the time with our kids, but we need that 25% of our time alone to strengthen that bond.
- We’re married the entire time – but sometimes you need some special quiet time together. So it is with God, we must have acts of devotion for him and him alone to guard and keep our relationship.
- We honor Romans 12 when we bow in prayer, when we have hearts bowed to God, when our bowed hearts lead to other activities in Jesus’ name then we extend our worship into those activities. But not before that.
- Sunday morning should inspire us to meet God daily. Meeting God daily should lead us to serving God daily. Sunday guides our daily meetings and our daily meetings guide our daily lives.
- How do we get to this point? We need time of pure worship, pure undistracted unadulterated worship with God to give us perspective.
- A story that illustrates this is in Matthew 25:1-13. Ten bridesmaids are found, only five kept their lamps lit and were accepted. Worship is the filling of our lamp.
- Worship keeps our hearts lit with the light of Christ so that we can see what God’s will is. Worship is where we surrender everything to God and focus solely on him and it’s here that God lifts us up out of the everyday, giving us eternal perspective.
