Worshiping God

Introduction

Like to say good morning to everyone. So good to see everyone here on this morning. Like to thank the gentleman who read our scriptural text, which came from Genesis chapter 35, verses 9 through 15. But if you have your personal copy of God’s word, I want us to take a look at a few more scriptures to add for the sake of emphasis. Genesis chapter 28, verse 19. Genesis chapter 28, and the verse is 19.

There you will find these words. He called the name of that place, of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Laz at the first. Keep that in mind as we go to Genesis chapter 32, verse 30.

Genesis chapter 32, verse 30. There you will find these words. So Jacob called the name of the place Penil, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. Now let us go to Genesis chapter 33, and the verse is 20.

Genesis chapter 33, verse 20. The Bible reads.

And finally, let us take a look at Genesis chapter 35. And the verses are 6 and 7. Genesis 35. And the verses are 6 and 7. There the Bible reads, and Jacob came to Lud, that is Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And there he built an altar and called the place El Bethel. It is from these passages of Scripture that I would like to draw upon the black boys of your minds and speak on the subject, worshiping God. Over the past two days, we talked about how in the life of Jacob he showed responsibility. There were moments in which he showed irresponsibility, but we’re to learn from the things that he did that were responsible.

And we’re to avoid the things that he did in which he displayed irresponsibility. On yesterday, we talked with the young people about leaving home. Jacob left home. What were the things that he had, the things he had to know that led to him being prosperous, how his life was different from the one who we read about in Luke 15 called the prodigal son. We went from there and talked about finding a mate, getting married. Jacob got married. Many of our young people will get married one day. We talked about starting a family and how Jacob was able to start a family. Ended up having 13 children. And he raised them all, and there were moments in which he did some things that were right, and there were some things that he did that was wrong, yet we’re to learn from his example as to what to do that is consistent with God’s word, will and way, and to avoid the things that were inconsistent with God’s word, will and way.

But this is one thing that Jacob got right the worship of God. In all of these verses, we see that Jacob made the worship of God his priority. But my question on this morning is this. Why worship? And why worship God? There’s a reason why each and every one of us got up to be here at 9 a.m. this morning to worship God. Again, the question is asked, why? It is because God is the object of our worship. When we read John chapter 4, verse 24, the Bible reads, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The word worship is found in the English Standard Version of the Bible 104 times. And when we look at that word worship, worship means to greatly love.

It means to greatly admire. It means to greatly respect God and show this love, admiration, and respect by engaging in certain things. We pray to God. This is how we worship God. As Christians, we sing songs of praises to God. This is how we worship God. As children of the Most High, we give to God. This is how we show our appreciation to God. We also commune with our Lord. This is how we worship our God. But also we come together to hear the preach word of God, to allow God to talk to us through his holy and divine word. This is also a way by which we worship God. Worship is the way we show our devotion to God and celebrate Him for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He will do in the lives of the faithful.

It is through worship we recognize many things about our God. We recognize Him as King. Through worship, we recognize God as our Lord and our Master. Through worship, we recognize God as the one who calls us to do such things in His presence. It is through worship we recognize God as the Almighty creator of all things worthy of our praise. And by worshiping God, we are serving Him. And we must serve Him the right way with the right attitude.

1. Is God Served by Our Lack of Worship?

This is what we do. We have been saved to serve. We serve the world through evangelism. We serve one another with our fellowship with one another. We serve ourselves by the study of God’s word. And we serve God through worship. So I want to answer four questions on this morning, and then the lesson will be yours. Number one, we need to take a look at John chapter 12, verse 32. John chapter 12, verse 32. John to chapters 12 and the verses 32. Jesus is recorded as saying, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. In this text, Jesus is talking about his crucifixion, and he’s talking about the fact that I have to be hung up. I have to be nailed to a cross.

We have to understand that Jesus was hung up for our hang ups, that we one day might receive the hookup. Now the young people know what I’m talking about. Jesus had to be hung on a cross because of the things that we have done that have been against his word, will and way. And there are going to be some benefits for us because of what Jesus has done for us. We have to accept him. We have to recognize him for who he is. We have to submit ourselves to his word, his will and his way.

Worshiping God, serving God. Well, yes, this scripture is literally talking about with the, is literally talking about Jesus Christ being lifted up. But if we were to talk about Jesus being lifted up figuratively, what that means is that we make him the priority. We hold up his hands, we lift him up so that the world can see him, so that all men can come to him and come underneath him and surrender all to him. But in order for Jesus to be lifted up so that men can see him, Christians have to be the one to honor him, to make him the priority in our lives. Is God being served by our lack of worship and or our inconsistency to it? That’s a question we have to ask ourselves.

It is embarrassing for us to say that we are Christians while we’re talking to somebody on the 14th hole on a Sunday morning. It’s embarrassing to say that we serve God, but we only serve him when it’s convenient for us. When things are going well in our life, we worship. When things are going bad in our lives, we do everything but worship. So my question is, are we serving God by our lack of worship? Are we serving him with our inconsistency to it? Listen to your Bible. Colossians chapter 3 and the verses are 23 and 24. Colossians chapter 3 and the verses are 23 through 24. Listen to what the book says. The Bible says, whatever you do, work heartily. As for the Lord and not for men.

Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Look at Jacob’s life for a moment. Jacob was kicked out of his house, running from his brother, yet he found time to worship God. He got married, had a large family. But yet, we read a scripture in which he and everybody in his household all found time to come erect an altar and worship God. We see where Jacob went through some horrible things in his life. He had to endure the death of his father and his mother. He had to endure the death of his wives. He had to even endure the death, his alleged death of his son Joseph. Yet he still found time to worship God.

When he had the opportunity to meet his brother Esau, and he had no idea whether Esau had forgiven him, whether Esau had that rather time has healed all wounds. He had no idea. But even in the midst of his distress, he still found time to worship God. As he is running from his uncle Laban, he still found time to worship God.

And he didn’t just come to show up to worship and then just say, Hey, I fulfilled a duty. I fulfilled an obligation. When we worship God, we’re to do it with our whole heart, with all of our mind, and with all of our soul. We’re supposed to be passionate about the God that we serve because we woke up this morning, but there are some people that didn’t. You know, I tell people all the time, they say, Why are you always happy? Why are you always energetic? Because I woke up this morning and there was no chalk outline around my body, so I knew today was going to be a good day. We must have this attitude. We must be always optimistic and never pessimistic. It is a choice.

We must choose to be happy. You know, it reminds me of a story about twin boys. One was always optimistic about life, the other one was always pessimistic about life. And the mother loved her children, and she didn’t want to show any favoritism. So what she would do is that she will buy these children identical gifts so that they will love the gift and enjoy the gift, and one couldn’t say, Well, you did this gift for this child, but you didn’t do it for me. You love him more than you love me. So she will buy them the identical gift, but the boys will always respond the same way. The pessimistic child would look at the gift, and he’ll always fold his arms and he will be angry.

And she’ll say, What’s wrong with you? He says, I don’t like the gift. It’s too big, it’s too small, wrong color. I don’t like it. So then she’ll go to the room of the optimistic child, and he’ll say, Mom, you’re the best mother in the entire world. This is by far the greatest gift anybody could get for their son. So the mother was concerned, so she just set up an appointment for the boys to go see a psychiatrist. So she took them to the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist talked to the boys, and then afterwards he went and talked to the mother. She said, Is there anything that can be done? She said the doctor said, sure, absolutely. For the pessimistic child, this is what you must do.

Take him to the store one day, let him pick out the gift that he wants. And then what you do is that you wrap that gift up that he chose, and then you put him in a room by himself, apart and separate from the optimistic child, and he will open the gift, and he will love the gift, and he will appreciate you, and then you will take the pessimism out of this child. She said, Well, then what do I do for the optimistic child? Doctor said, Oh, that’s easy. Just buy him a five-pound bag of horse manure. So she did exactly as the doctor ordered. So as she walked into the pessimistic child’s room, she saw that the gift was half open. The gift was in one corner, he was in the other corner, lips poked out, eyes closed, just angry.

She said, Boy, what’s wrong with you? He said, I don’t like it. She said, Well, I took you to the store. You picked it out. It is the same gift that you chose. He said, I still don’t like it. It’s too big. Wrong color. It looks better in the store than it does in here. Take it back. So the mother, hearing this, decided to sprint out of this child’s room to go into the optimistic child’s room before he opens up this bag of horse manure. But as she is approaching the room, she hears laughter and playing. And she opened up the door, and the optimistic child had opened up the horse manure, and he was rolling around in it and rubbing it all over his body and throwing it up in the air with much joy.

And he realized that his mother was looking at him and he looked at his mother. She said, Mom, you can’t fool me. With this much horse manure, there has to be a pony around here somewhere. He made a choice. We have to make a choice as to whether we’re going to be optimistic or pessimistic. We have to make a choice as to whether we’re going to serve God or whether we’re not going to serve God. We have to serve him when the sun is shining. We have to serve him when the rain is coming down. We have to serve God because God is still good to us, whether we think so or not. We come here to worship, not because God gives us everything that we deserve.

2. How Is Praying Serving God?

We worship him because he gives us so much that we don’t deserve. For this reason, we honor him. Let me ask this question. Is John chapter 12, verse 32 being fulfilled through our absenteeism? That’s a question that we have to ask ourselves. The question also is: will individuals be drawn to Christ by us sacrificing a day for God, or by us sacrificing God for a day? Which one do you think honors him? Let’s move on to the second question. The second question is found in Genesis 32, verses 9 through 12. Genesis 32, verses 9 through 12. There you will find these words. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac. O Lord, who said to me, return to your country and to your kindred that I may do you good.

I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant. For with only my staff I cross this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, I will surely do you good and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. In this text, we see that Jacob is praying to God. The question is, how is praying serving God? Well, through prayer we acknowledge that there is a God. If we acknowledge his existence, then others by our example are encouraged to do the same.

Through prayer we acknowledge our sins. And if we acknowledge sin exists, then others will know that there is a right way and that there is a wrong way. Thus being encouraged to repent of their sins and embrace the way of the Lord. Through prayer, we acknowledge what he has done and is doing. And if we express our gratitude to God, then others will inquire about this God who is so good to us. Through prayer, we acknowledge our need for help. And if we acknowledge our weaknesses and recognize God being the only one who can help us, then others will know we did not make it this far on our own, but we had some help from on high. Therefore, some may be encouraged to stop trying to make a life independent of God.

3. How Is Giving Serving God?

This is why we pray. And this is how prayer serves God. But I want us to look at the third question on this morning. The third question is found in Genesis chapter 28, verses 20 through 22. Genesis 28, verse 20 through 22. The Bible reads, then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me, I will give a full tenth to you.

And if you fulfill all of these promises for me, because I know that you are a promise keeper, not a promise breaker. Let me tell you the commitment that I’m going to make. I’m going to honor you by giving back some of the substance that you have given to me, by giving back some of the resources that you have given to me. He said, I’m going to give you a full tenth. In other words, Jacob says, I’m going to honor God by giving to him. So the question is, how is giving serving God? Well, I want to talk about financial giving for a moment. Through giving financially, we express to a lost and dying world our belief in a work that is worthwhile. We believe worshiping God in this way is important.

So we give.

So we give. We believe evangelizing the lost is important. So we give. We believe benevolence to destitute and needy saints is important. So we give. Giving is a part of our worship to God. Our question is, is it taken as seriously as our singing? Is it taken as seriously as our praying? Is it taken as seriously as our communion? Is it taken as seriously as the hearing of God’s word? If we are dissatisfied in our worship to God, or have feelings of not being spiritually fed, then could it be due to our lack of giving? You know, oftentimes members become discouraged and then they miss two or three Sundays, and then you go visit them and you say, Is there anything we can do to help you?

Why is it that you have been forsaken the assembling of ourselves together? And they say, you know, Brother Holloway, I just, you know, every time I come there, I just don’t feel like I’m being spiritually fed. I just don’t feel like I’m getting anything out of worship. And I listen to them attentively, and then my next question to them is, what have you put into worship? See, it’s insane to think that you can get something out of something that you have not put into it. The brink, the bank manager at your bank would think that your driveway doesn’t go all the way to the street, or that your elevator has skipped the floor, if you have not deposited anything in your checking account, and then you go to the ATM and the ATM doesn’t talk to you if you don’t have more than $20 in it.

And then you run into the bank and you say, Listen, I’m trying to withdraw some money out of my account, but it’s not giving me anything. I think I’m going to change banks. Well, the reason you’re not getting anything out of your checking account is because you have not put anything into your checking account. What do you think you’re going to get out of worship if you don’t put anything into worship? Understand that if we are dissatisfied, could it be to our lack of giving? Could it be due to our lack of input? Could it be due to our lack of honoring God and worshiping God this way? If our evangelism is not as effective as it could be, then could it be due to our giving not weekly, W E E K L Y, but rather W E A K L Y.

Think about that for a moment. You know, you get what you pay for. Everybody has to understand that. You get what you pay for. Well, we need to outreach more. If we had a third preacher, look at the things that we can accomplish. In order for you to get a third preacher, you gotta support that man. You know, maybe if we had a television program that could be running every day of the week at prime time, then maybe we could do some more. The elders need to do something about this. No, the elders can’t do anything about it until the members do something about it first by giving a little bit more. If we had more parking spaces, then maybe more people will show up. We need to make a decision to get that done.

4. How Is Hearing God’s Word Serving God?

We’re gonna leave the church. We’re going to boycott worship until this takes place. Well, wait a minute. It takes resources to get those things done. And God has called upon us to make sure these things happen. God is being served by our giving, brothers and sisters. Because we express to him our belief in his plan being perfect. And we will forever do our part to keep it going. I want to conclude this morning by looking at our fourth and final question. That question is found in Genesis 35, verses 1 through 4. Genesis 35, verses 1 through 4. Listen to what the book says. The book says, God said to Jacob, arise, go to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terabenth tree that was near Sheshem. What do we see here? We see Jacob pausing and listening to the words of God. But he was not only a hearer of God’s word, we see that he was also a doer of God’s word.

He heard God’s word, he did it, and he instructed his family to do the same. So my question is how is hearing God’s word serving God? Through the hearing of God’s word, faith is being produced, and faith is being strengthened. Romans 10, 17. We’re familiar with that passage of scripture where the Bible reads, so then faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Notice the verb. The verb says hearing. Faith comes by hearing. Faith does not come by having heard. We have to understand that. It comes by hearing, constantly hearing God’s word. We shouldn’t have the mentality, oh, I heard him at 9 o’clock, so I’m going to leave before the 11 o’clock. I’ve already heard that. No, faith doesn’t come by having heard.

Faith comes by hearing. This is how we produce faith. This is how our faith is strengthened. God is being served because without faith, the Bible teaches us in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6, that it is impossible to please God. Through the hearing of God’s word, doctrine is being shared. Evidence is being presented. Error is being removed, and instructions on doing the right thing, the right ways for the right reasons are being given. This is why we have the word of God. According to 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. God’s word prepares us for a life free of sin so that we are meet for the master’s use. We read about that in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 21. Therefore, God’s word is something we must have hidden in our hearts.

Conclusion

For what purpose? That we may not sin against God. Psalms 119, verse 11. We serve God by becoming better Christians as a result of hearing his word. Don’t you know that it is through worship, my brothers and sisters, that we learn the way of the righteous, and we are advised and commanded to avoid the ways of the wicked. As we leave this place on this morning, let us be resolved to live our lives as if Christ died yesterday, rose today, and is coming back on tomorrow. I thank you so much for your time and attention. God loves you. I do too. Let us have a great remainder of the day in the Lord.