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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (23-2-1992 Cleland Baptist Church)
Paul started this chapter with the subject of rejoicing
in the Lord. Now he goes on to speak of worshipping by the Spirit of God. The
people who worship by the Spirit of God are those who glory in Christ Jesus, and
put no confidence in the flesh, i.e. self.
We are just going to take that first phrase, worship by the spirit of God, and look at what worship really means. We read it in the Bible, we sing about it, we have songs of worship, services of worship, etc. We will consider who the God is that we worship, the way we worship and its place in the service, and the means by which we worship.
Definition of worship – bowing down before God in
adoration, contemplation, service, honour, reverence, submission and praise.
Setting forth God’s worth. The Hebrew word means to bow down, prostrate
one’s self, submit and adore.
The Bible repeatedly shows us
the people of God worshipping the Lord. It tells us of individuals worshipping
Him, great Old Testament festivals of worship, psalms, and worship in the
tabernacle and in the Temple. In the New Testament we see the Wise Men, and many
individuals, worshipping, and Jesus teaches us how to worship. Paul worships the
God of his fathers, and one of the marks of the early Christian church was their
worshipping by the spirit of God. The last book of the Bible is full of the
worship in heaven, by the angels and the redeemed. Then
I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the
sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and
to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
(Revelation 5:13).
Here is the reason why God made
us, then redeemed us. We were saved to worship Him. This is the ultimate aim of
Christian living, and the chief occupation in heaven. Our present worship is
preparing us for life hereafter.
So what happens when we worship?
We begin with God – His greatness, glory, majesty, power, holiness and grace.
He is the Creator, the Everlasting One, the Lord of Lords, and God of the
nations. He is one God revealed in three persons, the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit.
“God in three persons, blessed Trinity”
This wonderful God whom we come before revealed Himself
first to the men of the Old Testament, and later revealed Himself in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He stooped to raise us from sin, death and hell. At His second
coming He will wind up affairs of worship, and create a new heaven and new
earth.
The God we worship, through His
Holy Spirit, is at work in our lives, quickening us, sanctifying us, witnessing
with our spirit, and leading us on to final perfection. When this God enters the
centre of our lives, thinking and services, what else can we do but fall down in
adoration, reverence and godly fear? He does not need us or depend on us. So in
deep humility, awe and reverence, we submit to Him. We can only plead the merit
of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only grounds on which this holy God should
accept, forgive and bless us.
There is an enormous gulf
separating the holy God from us sinful creatures. We need to consider our own
smallness and meanness - even the nations are a drop in the bucket to Him, and
as individuals we are the tiniest particles of the nations. We need to consider
our sinfulness and depravity in contrast to His utter holiness. Yet this
glorious and mighty God is our Saviour. The Lord is the great God, the great
King above all Gods. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker; for He is our God (Psalm
95:3-7). Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together (Psalm
34:3). We owe worship to God alone, above all else. It is His due. We give love
to fellow men, obedience to our parents, but worship is given to God. Failure to
worship Him is to rob Him of what is His due. It is not enough to obey, pray to
and serve Him – we must worship.
What do we know about worship? It is purely and simply bowing down before the Lord in silent awe and adoration. This should be our highest joy and give us the greatest satisfaction, being occupied with and taken up with God. This will empty us of pride and self-importance, and show us up in weakness and vileness. Abraham described himself as “dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27); Isaiah as “a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5); Peter as “a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). Worship is a glorious and thrilling experience, but also a very humbling one.
Worship is for every area of life. It has its place in our private devotions,
and we express it in our lives and service. I have seen a sign above someone’s
kitchen sink – “Divine worship here three times daily”!
Worship is also our principle
concern when we assemble together on a Sunday as a church. Why do we assemble?
Out of habit? To escape life’s problems? To meet friends? Because we like to
sing? Because a certain person is preaching – or not preaching? For
entertainment and selfish reasons? At the end of each worship service, our
thoughts should not be “What did I get out of it?” but “What did God get
out of it?” Did He truly receive the worship of His people?
We are assembled above all to
worship God, not to pray for our needs, or even to give thanks for blessings.
The basic aim is His glory, not our blessing. The opening hymn and prayer ought
to set this theme of God’s greatness and glory. Praying for others has a part,
but should come later, and even then our prayer for others is that the blessing
they receive will glorify Him.
Our offerings are part of our
worship. And as the Word of God is read and preached, God speaks and shows His
glory and His will, His Son and His goodness. The preacher, as a forgiven
sinner, aims to magnify God and get the same response from the congregation. All
true preaching is to exalt the Saviour and humble the sinner. We respond in
worship when we put our trust in God, and obey and love Him. As we grow through
the Word, and experience more of God’s grace, so the more we praise Him and
glorify Him.
The Ordinances are linked to the
worship of God. The Communion service brings us to the death of Christ, the
amazing grace of God, the means whereby we show we have laid hold of Redemption.
Preaching is the audible word; the ordinances are the visible word.
We should be challenged to make
sure that nothing in our worship services is there for entertainment, centring
on man, giving an opportunity to show off gifts and personality, stunts and
gimmicks. True worship is God-centred, causing men to say Come,
let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker
(Psalm 95:6).
Three practical
considerations: firstly we should all prepare ourselves for the worship service.
We should never enter His presence without realizing whom we are approaching,
and ensuring we have no unconfessed sins in our hearts. There should be nothing
between others and ourselves, otherwise we cannot worship with clear minds and
heads.
Secondly, our worship needs to be from our hearts. The Old Testament
prophets denounced the people of God for empty ritual and worship while their
hearts were full of evil and sin. These people honour me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me (Mark 7:6; Isaiah 29:13). The right words and
acts are a meaningless sham and an abomination unless our hearts are right. If
I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened (Psalm
66:18).
Finally, true worship is costly. The Old Testament worshipper had to
bring an animal or basket of fruit (Deuteronomy 26:10), which was sometimes a
great strain on limited resources. David said, I insist on paying you for it.
I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing
(2 Samuel 24:24). For us today, the cost may be in time, money, inconvenience,
and self-denial. If we are easily put off by the distance, cost of petrol, hour
of the service, friends who have dropped in, the rain, this says something about
how unclear we are about God and ourselves. Our salvation cost our Saviour His
position in heaven, glory and riches; He was rejected and despised; it cost Him
the agony of Gethsemane and Golgotha; it cost Him His life. Worship what costs
us nothing is worth precisely that – nothing!
Worship by the Spirit of God.
Apart from the Holy Spirit, we could not begin to worship, because we would
be spiritually blind to God’s truth and deaf to God’s voice. The Holy Spirit
stirs our dead souls as He gives us new life. He uses the instrument of the
Scriptures, which He inspired.
All our worship is to be in
accordance with the teaching of Scripture. (This is the great test for the hymns
we sing – not whether they have nice poetry or stirring tunes, but whether
they conform to and set our Bible truth.) True praise in hymn singing comes
under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers and petitions are to be true
to God’s Word. Also our preaching must be able to stand the test of Bible
teaching. The Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures must be central in all that we do,
symbolized by a central pulpit, the throne of the Word of God. C.f. old
Presbyterian tradition of the clerk carrying the Bible into the pulpit before
the minister, indicating that the Bible is what governs proceedings.
The Scriptures are the Holy
Spirit’s gift to us and the instrument by which He controls and blesses. Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). The Holy Spirit warms our
hearts, kindles a love for God, widens our sympathies and prayers, applies the
truth of God to our minds, consciences and wills, and He moves us to repent,
trust, worship and action. The truth of God grips us and move us. It binds us in
unity and harmony with our fellow believers, and helps us encourage one another.
When the Holy Spirit is present
in a service, the fellowship takes part with heart and spirit. It is not a duty,
but a desire to worship. It is not a chore, but it rises spontaneously. We are
not forcing ourselves to worship, but we are moved and led to worship. We are
inwardly gripped and led and held by the Holy Spirit. Warm, loving and free
worship because of the love of God, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. There is no cold formality about it.
One of the indicators of
spiritual decline in the church is the modern stress on forms and dignity and
outward pomp. Sadly in some circles there is a tendency to look down on our
forefathers, with their greater liberty and free praise, which lacked solemnity
and dignity. Not that we are advocating bawling and shouting, crudity and
ignorance, but when the Holy Spirit is at work, there is less concern with forms
and ceremonies, written prayers and liturgies. Rather, there is prayer from the
heart, and true liberty and freedom. The Holy Spirit brings the presence of God
to us. God is at our side. We can say, “Abba Father”, with reverence and
godly fear. Thus we worship in spirit and in truth, aware of His holiness and
our unworthiness.
Never rush into His presence. Do not become so over-familiar with Him that we lose an awareness of whom it is we worship. But at the same time, let there be such warmth for the Father in heaven, who sent His Son to die for us and save us.
Do we truly worship? Is it our concern that when we assemble together, there is true worship from beginning to end? Let us not slip into empty words and forms. Know what it is to prepare your hearts. Worship with your heart as well as your lips. Live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, and worship in the Spirit. Acknowledge your utter inability to worship aright, without the teaching, controlling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Whether in private devotion or public church service, look to the Holy Spirit to teach you to worship.
