Opening: A.W. Tozer said, “Worship is
the missing jewel of the church.” Someone once said, “We have become a generation
of people who worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship.”
Certainly the worship of the Almighty God of the universe is worthy of more of
an effort than that. Worship is not something that is optional for God’s
people. Rather it is something that is specifically requested of them – even
required of them. This summons is significant because it shows that we are not
to worship God on our own terms, but on his terms. He does not come to us, but
we are to come to him.
ILL: Two
young boys were walking down the street in downtown Minneapolis when out from
an alley ran a Rottweiler and attacked one of the boys. The other boy grabbed a
2x4 lying near the alley and beat the dog to death and saved his friend’s life.
A reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune got wind of the story and
requested an interview from the first boy. He ran the story on the front page
and the headline read: “Vikings Fan Bravely Saves Friend’s Life from a Rabid
Rottweiler.” The boy called the reporter and said, “I’m not a Vikings fan.” The
reporter said, “Well, I just thought that since you are from Minneapolis that
you would be a Vikings fan. I’ll correct the mistake in tomorrow’s paper.” The
next day the front page read: “Timberwolves Fan Bravely Saves Friend’s Life from
Rabid Rottweiler.” The boy again called the reporter and said, “I’m not a
Timberwolves fan either!” The reporter asked, “Are you a fan of sports at all?”
The boy said, “Yes. In fact, I am a die-hard Green Bay Packer’s fan.” The
reporter agreed to note the change in the next day’s newspaper. The next day
the front page read: “Redneck Idiot Kills Faithful Family Pet!” That was the
reporter’s viewpoint and of course it was a rather biased viewpoint all though
in this part of the country there just might be few people who would be
sympathetic to it.
Well, just like that everyone’s take or viewpoint on
worship is different. Ask a Pentecostal;
an Anglican; an Episcopalian; a Catholic; a Nazarene; a Methodist; ask younger
person; or an older person and you will probably come away with as many
different views as the number of people you asked. However, the point I want to
make this morning is that your take on worship is relatively irrelevant. For it
is only God’s viewpoint on worship that really matters. Today I felt the need
to share with us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s ideal. To come before the Almighty Creator God of
the Universe – the all “Good” – all “Pure” – “Holy God” – we must deal with the
sing within us. One year ago I was on Sabbatical and a team of faithful pastors
in our church preached a series on the Songs of Ascension as the pilgrims of
God made their way to Jerusalem each year. I wanted to draw some truths for us
today from a passage from these Ascension Psalms:
Psalm
130
A song
for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
1
Lord, I cry out to you because I’m suffering so deeply.
2
Lord, listen to me. Pay attention to my cry for your mercy.
3
Lord, suppose you kept a close watch on sins.
Lord, who then wouldn’t be found guilty?
4 But
you forgive. So we can serve you with respect.
5 With
all my heart I wait for the Lord to help me. I put my hope in his word.
6 I
wait for the Lord to help me. I want his
help more than night watchmen want the morning to come. I’ll say it again.
I want his help more than night watchmen
want the morning to come.
7 Israel,
put your hope in the Lord, because the Lord’s love never fails.
He sets his people completely free.
8 He himself will set Israel free from
all their sins.
The
Deepest Place of Worship
Ø OUR NEED FOR MERCY
1
Lord, I cry out to you because I’m suffering so deeply.
I cry out = a desperate call to God. A better translation of “because I’m suffering so
deeply” is "I am in a deep place". This deep place is like a hole in
the ground. The *psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) could not get out
of the hole. The hole was not really a hole but it was the trouble all round
him. Our *sins mean great trouble for us. We should tell God that we are sorry.
And we should ask him to help us.
2
Lord, listen to me. Pay attention to my cry for your mercy.
A cry for mercy. (Help we do not deserve). Realizing that no one pushed me into the hole
in the ground – I am responsible - I don not shift the blame – I take full
responsibility. Authentic confession: I
am the reason I am here and I recognize I cannot get out on my own – I am
powerless….
3
Lord, suppose you kept a close watch on sins.
Lord, who then wouldn’t be found guilty?
God – this is a common situation that we all find ourselves
in. Who can stand – face to face – eye
to eye with God?
Everyone
is under the power of sin. It is written, “No one is right
with God, no one at all. Romans
3: 9b-10
Notice how we avoid admitting we have done anything
wrong? We MUST admit that we need
mercy. Our need for mercy….
Ø ASSURANCE OF MERCY
4
But you forgive. So we can serve you with respect.
When we admit our sin – failure – need for mercy – we
receive with assurance the forgiveness of God.
7
Israel, put your hope in the Lord, because the Lord’s love never fails. He sets his people completely free. 8 He
himself will set Israel free from all their sins.
(ALL their sins)
Cheer up – You are worse than you think!
We are powerless – God is powerful – mighty – strong enough to live His
Holiness in and through us!
David’s hope is in GOD alone. In HIM there is assurance
that we are forgiven, lifted out of our own pit. To the sinner who
acknowledges, owns, and confesses; GOD transforms that person to love others,
empowering the person with HIS Holiness to live the teachings of Jesus
Christ.
Ø TRANSFORMING MERCY
God sets us free – not to sin – but to love – to reflect
the Holiness of God.
5
With all my heart I wait for the Lord to help me.
I put my hope in his word.
6
I wait for the Lord to help me. I want
his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come. I’ll
say it again. I want his help more than
night watchmen want the morning to come.
I wait for the LORD to help me. We all need the Lord. At the Cross is where we acknowledge our need
is deep and our only hope is in Jesus. I read in my devotions this week:
“Follow the spiritual bread crumbs back to your despair and you will see what
you functionally placed your hope in.”
At
just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had
no power of our own. It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe
someone would be willing to die for a good person. But here is how God has
shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
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