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The Presence of Worship

Sunday, October 14th, 2007

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This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series The Heart of Worship

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INTRODUCTION

Looking in Webster’s dictionary you’ll find this first definition for worship, “reverence, homage or honor paid to God” Then it goes on to say that the word is also used to refer to a place where this reverence, homage, etc. paid to God is given.

If you were to ask people what the word worship meant you would probably get a large variety of responses. Some might agree with Webster, some might say it is when you sing songs to God, some might say it is going to church, some might say it is when you place money in the offering plate. The reason why you would get such a large number of different answers is because the word “worship” is used in so many different contexts. While preparing this message I tried to think of all the ways in which I’ve used worship. I’ve said, “Let’s worship God together now” (in reference to singing praises); “Let’s worship God with our tithes and offerings”; “I worship you Lord”; “Why don’t you come and worship God with us” (while inviting someone to our church).

While looking closely at the contexts in which the word worship is often used I found that it often refers to an action we do – whether it is singing a chorus, going to church, placing money in an offering plate, raising our hands – etc. When I undertook to study this concept – this word, “worship” – I discovered that worship is much more than this. I’ve come to discover that you can be doing all these things and still not be entering into the place of worshipping God.

I like what Robert Webber wrote about worship,

We need to let go of our intellectual idea of worship and realize there is more to worship than a sermon; we have to let go of our evangelistic notion of worship and reckon with the fact that worship is not primarily directed toward the sinners who need to be converted; we must let go of our entertainment expectations and remind ourselves that we are not in church to watch a Christian variety show. We have gathered together in worship to be met by God the Almighty. God, the Creator of the universe, the One who sustains our lives, our Redeemer and King, is present through proclamation and remembrance. He wants to communicate to us, to penetrate our inner self, to take up residence within us. And, as we go through the experience of meeting with him in this mystical moment of public worship, we are to respond. But response is not just singing a hymn, not just saying a creed, not just saying a prayer. Response, from the very beginning of worship to the end, must be a powerful inner experience of actually being in the presence of God. When we sing a hymn or say a confession or prayer, we are not singing or saying words, but expressing a feeling, bringing our souls, truly responding and communicating to the living and active presence of a loving and merciful God. (Worship is a Verb, by Robert Webber, pg.114)

You see, I believe worship at its essence is the response of a heart that is earnestly, striving, and crying out after the heart of God! Worship flows out of the deep, wrenching, hunger and thirst desire to know God and not only to know Him but to dwell in Him – to dwell in His presence!

For the next few weeks, starting today, I’m going to be delivering a series of messages based on the Heart of Worship – the essence of worship. It is my hope that the words spoken will be more than inspiring, and more than challenging – I hope and pray that these words on worship will be life-changing, will be life-giving, and will instill in you a deep, ravenous hunger for the presence of God. I believe God is waiting, and anticipating the few who want His presence and will press on to dwell in Him! What we have seen, what we have experienced is but the crumbs of God’s glory. The three messages dealing the Heart of Worship are, The Presence of Worship, The Price of Worship, and The Prize of Worship.

Today we are going to uncover the Presence of Worship.

The story that was read as this morning’s scripture tells of a wonderful display of worship by a woman towards Jesus. (Retell the story if it seems appropriate). This morning I will be referring to this worshipful experience so I invite you to keep Luke 7:36-50 open or book marked in your Bibles. However, the text for this morning is taken from John 4:23-24. I would like to read for you starting at verse 1-26 to help give us the context of this particular passage.

1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
John 4:1-26 (NIV)

(the mount that the Samaritan woman is referring to is Mount Ebal, Joshua 8:30-35)

There are many lessons that have been given and can be taken from this particular experience Jesus had with the Samaritan woman. But this morning I would like to focus on the particular words that Jesus spoke in reply to her statement in verse 19. You see the woman said something that is very revealing not only of the understanding of worship in her time but also in some ways is echoed by many people in our day -the understanding that worship is confined to a place and particular actions. You see the Samaritans and the Jews disputed about where the worship of God was supposed to take place. Not only that – but they often disputed the way in which this worship was to take place. Now, I don’t think we have any of those problems today do we? There isn’t any conflict among Christian churches about the best place to worship God and the best ways to worship God is there?

Jesus addressed this perception of worship and declared that the Father’s ideal of worship is a lot different than hers. Indeed I believe his ideal of worship is a lot different than many Christians in our churches today.

Jesus said, “…a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” I’m sure some of you have probably heard this particular passage before but do you really grasp the meaning of it – do you really understand what Jesus is saying?

Jesus is saying that Worship is not determined by place or posture BUT by the attitude of your heart and the longing of your spirit.

This was nothing new – David wrote in Psalm 51:16-17,

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalms 51:16-17 (NIV)

God responds to worshippers who worship him with hearts that are truthful and spirits that are broken and longing for His presence! This determines worship! The act of worship will flow naturally out of the heartfelt, spiritual desire to KNOW GOD and dwell in his presence. When people determine worship by place and posture you get what God describes to Isaiah:

13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)

How much of our worship is made up of “rules taught by men”? That is, we follow what others do, we subscribe to traditions and the accepted and proper ways of worship, we order our services to perfection so as to make sure we’re “pleasing God”?

Don’t get me wrong, the place of worship and acts of worship are very important BUT more important to God, in fact what He responds to – what He delights in – is the heart and spirit behind our worship!

Now let’s return to the worship experience in Luke 7:36-50 and look at it through the window of Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman in John 4.

WORSHIP IS DETERMINED BY THE ATTITUDE OF OUR HEARTS

attitude of reverence for who God is (vs38,44-46)

First, we need to observe that this woman washed Jesus feet.

Simon had invited Jesus to his house and yet by his actions made it very clear his attitude towards Jesus. In the time period of this story,

… open sandals were the most common footwear, and it was customary for guests to leave their sandals at the door when they entered a house. Since most travelers in Israel shared the main roads with camels, horses, and donkeys, it was impossible to completely avoid the droppings of these animals all day long. Sandals provided some protection to travelers, and it was unthinkable to wear them into a person’s house. Nevertheless, it was certain that the residue of the day’s journey (including the odor of the animal droppings) was still deposited on a guest’s unprotected feet. For this reason, the dirty job of washing the animal droppings off of everyone’s feet was reserved for the most insignificant servant of the household…
…If you really wanted to dishonor and humiliate a person who entered your home, all you had to do was make sure that your servants didn’t bother to wash his feet. This was especially true in a Pharisee’s house where outward cleanliness meant everything. Jesus clearly says that when He entered Simon’s house, no one washed His feet (Luke 7:44). It is almost like Simon wanted Jesus there, but he didn’t want to honor Him. (The God Chasers, by Tommy Tenney, p. 130)

I believe that the woman recognized the measure of disrespect that had been shown to Jesus and sought to honor him by washing his feet. Her worship was characterized by reverence for who Jesus is.

It is important that we have the attitude of reverence for God in our hearts when we worship Him! Are you seeking to honor God in your worship? Or are you striving to bring honor to men, to yourself, or to another, or to the service itself? We often come to church asking God to be “present” in our services – but it is important to give Him the place of honor in our services. Do give Him room to “interrupt” the service as He sees fit. When you come to church is it more important to you for you to say “Oh, that was good. I enjoyed that” or for God to say, “Oh that was good. I enjoyed that?”

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
Hebrews 12:28 (NIV)

We’ll be touching on this attitude of worship more next week when I talk about the price of worship.

attitude of humility and repentance (vs. 37-38)

Not only did the woman display an attitude of reverence in her worship but she also displayed humility and repentance. We need to understand the significance of her washing Jesus’ feet with her hair. The Bible says that a woman’s hair is her glory.

but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
1 Corinthians 11:15 (NIV)

Middle Eastern women in Jesus’ day generally wore their hair “up,” and it was often wrapped in a turban or veil when they left their homes for public places. So the woman probably had to unwrap her hair to wipe the Lord’s feet. Tommy Tenney in his book, “The God Chasers” called this “dismantling her glory”. In essence when this woman wiped the feet of Jesus’ she was not only humbling herself because this was a job generally reserved for the most lowly of servants but also because she was removing every evidence of Jesus’ public rejection with her beautiful hair and taking it as her own.

This woman had come to Simon’s house because she knew Jesus’ was there – with tears of repentance (she acknowledged her sinfulness) she humbly bowed before Him in worship. If you want to see the face of God you’ve got to start at his feet.

Does pride govern your worship? Or does humility? You know that the attitude of pride is determining your worship when you are more concerned with what men are thinking than on what God is receiving! Again Simon wanted Jesus in his house but his attitude drew a rebuke from Jesus because he was more concerned about pleasing man then pleasing God.

Another aspect of this woman’s worship is she didn’t try to hide who she was or what she had done from Jesus. She didn’t wait until Jesus came to her and confronted her with her sin. No, not only did she go to Jesus – but she went to Jesus in the presence of the Pharisee who knew about her sinfulness! True worship is characterized by the attitude of repentance – that is not trying to hide what we’ve done or who we are (the fact of the matter is God already knows) but worshipping in truth!

attitude of love (v40-47)

Lastly, but perhaps more obviously, is the love that this woman displayed toward Jesus by her act of worship. Remember, I said earlier that with true worship the act or form of worship flows naturally out of the substance of worship in your heart & your spirit! What greater thing for this woman to do in love than to bow in tenderness at Jesus feet and with her own tears wash away the scum and animal dung and then to finish the job with her own hair. And yet, she wasn’t done yet. She poured almost a year’s salary worth of expensive perfume onto his feet and gently rubbed it in.

The love that this woman had for Jesus was birthed out of a genuine deep gratitude for the hope and promise Jesus presented for the forgiveness of sins.

Here, on the other side of the cross – we as Christians have seen the ultimate evidence of God’s love for us in the death and resurrection of his only son. He has forgiven much! But the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was intended for more than the mere forgiveness of our sins! God’s hope – his aim was to restore an intimate relationship with mankind. He longs to share his love for you and for you to share your love for him. True worship is born out of a deep abiding love in the heart for God, for Jesus, for the Holy Spirit.

WORSHIP IS DETERMINED BY THE LONGING OF OUR SPIRIT

Trued worshippers long for God – it is an intense, hunger and thirsting to be in the presence of God. Why? Without taking the time to explain this in detail (it would require another message) I want to recall to those of you who are Christians the moment you first became a Christian…The time you first realized what Jesus Christ had done for you and made him Lord and Saviour of your life. Do you remember the joy of that moment – do you remember the love you felt from God – do your remember the clarity with which you started to witness your life around you and how everything seemed a little different? At that moment, God had brought life to your spirit and your spirit began to thrive on the presence of God. Our spirit’s long after God because He is our life-giver!

Do you remember the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman? Jesus talked about a living water, a spring that he will give, that will satisfy the thirst of those who drink it, that will well up into eternal life. Notice the response of the woman – She longed after that water, she wanted it – in Jesus she recognized the source of this life-giving water. Are your spirits thirsty? Do you long for the presence of Christ? This longing determines our worship!

You know your spirit is longing for God when…

you’re seeking the giver not merely the gifts! (v. 37)

A man told a story about the time his son’s sixth birthday was approaching. He had mentioned he wouldn’t mind a party, and as his son usually was very specific about the kind of presents he liked the dad asked him what he could get him. Bill expected a well-planned reply, such as “I’d like a baseball glove; you can find it at Toys ‘R ‘Us, aisle 6, below the batting helmets, or a video game; the games are in alphabetical order in electronics.” But his son’s request was a bit different. He said, “Dad, I’d like a ball to play with for my birthday.” Bill said “Great, what kind of ball?” “Oh, I want don’t know, either a football or a soccer ball.” “Well, which would you want more?” He said, “Well,” and thought about it. Then he said. “If you have some time to play ball with me this year, I’d really like a football so we could throw it back and forth in the back yard. But if you’re gonna be real busy this year, maybe you just better get me a soccer ball, because I can play soccer with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood.” The dad thought about this and said, “Let me surprise you. How does that sound?” And the little boy smiled and said, “Oh that would be great Dad. I really love you.” Then Bill went in and shared this little encounter with his wife and together they agreed, their son was not so much interested in the gift. He was interested in the giver. (Autoillustrator.com, “WORSHIP”)

When the woman heard that Jesus was in town she went to him, despite the fact that he was at a “holy man’s” house and she probably wasn’t worthy to be there. She didn’t go to receive Jesus’ blessing, she didn’t go to make a claim, she didn’t go to get something from him! How do I know? She didn’t say a word. This woman simply went to be in the presence of Jesus. She just wanted to be with Him.

King David was a true worshipper, listen to his words…

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Psalms 27:4 (NIV)

1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Psalms 63:1-2 (NIV)

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young– a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah
Psalms 84:1-4 (NIV)

Do you hear the words of David? David wasn’t satisfied with the gifts and blessings that God had to offer, he sought after God himself. He desired to know God, not just about Him.

Now I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me – the gifts of God are important, there is a necessary purpose and plan for God’s blessings – after all Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:1 that would should eagerly desire the spiritual gifts of God,

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (NIV)

However, I am a firm believer that the spiritual gifts flow out of our worship of the giver of the gifts. True worship flows out of a hunger and thirst for God – not just his handouts.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Acts 17:24-28 (NIV)

When you come to church are your looking for the giver or the gifts?

I seek the giver not the gifts,
My heart’s desire, is to lift you up,
High above all earthly kings,
To bring you pleasure Lord.
(“I Bow My Knee Before your Throne”, Deuschle ©1990, Integrity’s Hosanna! Music)

You know your spirit is longing for God when…

You’re concerned more with ministry to God rather than ministry from God.

“We used to think that the chief end of man was to glorify God. Now we’re tempted to say the chief end of God is to gratify man” Oswald Sanders

The last time I read it, David wrote in Psalm 103:1, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name” NOT “Bless my soul, O my Lord, and all that is within me receives the blessings of your Holy name”! Yet isn’t that the way we tend to approach worship? I’ve been guilty of this, I know there are times I’ve even prayed, “Bless us Lord”. Yes we want to receive the blessings of the Lord but what about blessing Him? Worship, is not about receiving God’s blessing but giving our blessings, our praises, our attention, our lives to Him!

The danger is that when you are concerned with ministry from God more than ministry to God, your worship becomes displaced:

Many years ago, Thomas K. Beecher once substituted for his famous brother, Henry Ward Beecher, at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. Many curiosity seekers had come to hear the renowned Henry Beecher speak. Therefore, when Thomas Beecher appeared in the pulpit instead, some people got up and started for the doors. Sensing that they were disappointed because he was substituting for his brother, Thomas raised his hand for silence and announced, “All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may withdraw from the church; all who came to worship God may remain.” The example of godly leaders is helpful, but only the Savior is worthy of our worship and devotion.

Back to the woman at Simon’s house. When she went to Jesus everything she did was a blessing to him. She didn’t do those things to receive his blessing (even though she did receive His blessing – and I’ll talk more on this in the message, the prize of worship) she did those things to bless Him! I am reminded of the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42. Martha was busy making supper and doing things for the Lord and was frustrated because Mary was merely sitting at his feet and listening to Him. In response to Martha’s frustration Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” The question is, how do we bless God? How about by bringing to Him His desire? You!

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalms 51:16-17 (NIV)

God wants your love more than anything else, He wants your worship – in spirit and in truth.
{show SermonSpice.com Video “The Gift of Worship“}

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TNT Living

Sunday, October 7th, 2007

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INTRODUCTION

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:15-17 (NIV)

One of the traditions we have had in my family on Thanksgiving – is that before we eat the meal we go around the table and share one thing we are thankful for. And then we ask God’s blessing on the food. There were times growing up where I would roll my eyes and think to myself, “Here we go again – come on lets just get to the food already!” It usually is a time where my mother gets weepy and thanks God for her children and her family. I thank God for this tradition that my parents established because it taught me that there are many things we can be thankful to God for! Some of you may have a similar or different tradition you celebrate on thanksgiving. I believe the real point of this holiday has been to create a time in people’s lives for them to be thankful for what they have!

I read about an elder lady who knows the attitude of gratitude!

It was Thanksgiving season in the nursing home. The small resident population were gathered about their humble Thanksgiving table and the Director asked each in turn to express one thing for which they were thankful. Thanks were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, etc. One little old lady in her turn said: “I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw that match so that I can chew my food.” (Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

This attitude of gratitude however is more and more being relegated to the convenient times rather than being an integral part of our lives. In fact, in today’s world some people are even forgetting the “thank” in fulness and replacing it with “take”. Instead of being thankful (which is being filled with gratitude for what one has), our world seems more concerned with being “takeful”(always wanting more and forgetting what one already has).

In the scripture that was read earlier this morning we heard about the miraculous healing of ten men with leprosy at the hand of Jesus and then we learn of the sad observation that only one of them returned to Jesus to thank him. In fact the man who returned to Jesus was a Samaritan, a foreigner (funny how Samaritans otherwise known as “the despised ones” keep turning up next to Jesus).

Jesus’ words to the leper who returned to him give us some insight into the importance of being thankful. He indicated that gratitude is an expression of praise and an indicator of faith. When you thank God you are praising Him and declaring your faith in Him!

In my study on this attitude I found that there is much importance placed on giving God thanks throughout scripture. Beginning way back with the regulations that God gave Moses concerning offerings in the tabernacle – there were instructions given for a “thank offering” (Leviticus 7:11-15; 22:29-30).

When King David made preparations to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem his preparations included appointing some Levites to give thanks to the Lord (1 Chronicles 6:4). In fact during that same occasion David sung a Psalm that He wrote that at it’s foundation was a Psalm of thanksgiving to God! (1 Chronicles 16:36).

Later on in this same book we find listed among the duties of the Levites, “They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening” (1 Chron. 23:30). The importance for thankfulness to God is emphasized time and time again through the Old Testament – in the Psalms alone there are 33 times where reference is made to giving thanks to God.

In the New Testament there is also given examples for the importance of grateful living. Jesus set the example when he gave thanks for the bread and fish before feeding the 5000 people and again when he gave thanks before breaking the bread and drinking the cup at the Last Supper. Jesus also prayed a prayer of thanks to the Father before the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41-44). Later on, in the history of the Church, in the book of Acts, we find Paul giving thanks to God on a ship in the midst of a vicious storm (Acts 27:35). All through the scriptures – thankfulness is emphasized as being an important part of a Godly life.

Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road. (John Henry Jowett)

Today I’d like to talk about TNT Living – that is a life that is has the same explosive power as dynamite – full of joy, happiness, and contentment. TNT – thankful not takeful. A life that I believe God wishes for everyone of us to lead. A life that I believe many of us want but few of us have. It is a life that begins with being able to say thanks. I’d like to share with you three observations about TNT – Thankfulness not Takefulness – that I’ve made while studying gratitude as found in the scriptures:

PRAY

thankfulness ushers in the presence of God, takefulness repels God’s glory

13 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
2 Chronicles 5:13-14 (NIV)

King Solomon had completed the constructing the temple of God and now the Ark of the Covenant was being brought in. Solomon had fulfilled what God had told him to do and as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the temple we hear the priests and musicians singing praise to God and THANKING Him for this wonderful honor of building a “house” for His presence on earth. The Bible records that in the midst of this multitude of praise and thanks that the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God so powerfully that the priests were unable to continue their service!

Contrast this with later on in Solomon’s life. Solomon was richly blessed by God with wisdom and wealth and for a time it looked as though Solomon would follow in his father’s footsteps and be a man after God. But then Solomon became infected with a takeful attitude and got his eyes of what he already had been blessed with. The Bible records that in his latter years Solomon began amassing wives and wealth and sadly even a multitude of different religions. Solomon it seems had stopped begin thankful to God and then he is told near the end of his reign that his kingdom will be torn away from him.

The thing about gratitude is that it comes from a Christ-like nature. Takefulness on the other hand smells of the sinful nature.

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Romans 1:18-23 (NIV)

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
Ephesians 5:3-7 (NIV)

A good marker of someone who is close to God versus someone who is far from God is the attitude of gratitude. When we learn to be thankful for the things God has done for us and continually praise Him for His love then we are ushered into the blessing of his presence.

I like what a man by the name of Phil Dunagan had to say:

The Holy Spirit is often compared to a flame or a fire. Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God. The Greek word for “stir up” means to “rekindle” Now that requires some personal effort. One of the surest ways to rekindle the Spirit is to take the “poker” of your memory and stir up some past occurrences in your life. Recall the times that God has intervened in your life and answered your prayers. Meditate upon your blessings. Throw the “logs” of praise, thankfulness and gratitude on the fire of God and just see if the flame of the Holy Spirit does not burn more brightly than ever before in your life! (Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

thankfulness flows out of generosity, takefulness is the hallmark of selfishness

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NIV)

Not only does an attitude of gratitude lead to generosity but being generous, the Bible promises, will lead to reason for you to give thanks! On the other hand takefulness is only concerned with self-preservation and self satisfaction not knowing that making that a focus causes one to miss out on the generosity of God and the satisfaction of passing that generosity on! Show me a man who is generous and I’ll show you a man who is grateful and contented – show me a man who stingy and I’ll show you a man who is takeful and uneasy.

A farmer was entertaining one of his sophisticated relatives from the city. Before the meal the farmer gave thanks for the food. When he finished the visitor jeered: “This is old-fashioned; nobody with an education prays at the table anymore.” The farmer admitted that the practice was old and even allowed that there were some on his farm who did not pray before their meals. Justified, the relative remarked: “So enlightenment is finally reaching the farm. Who are these wise ones?” The Farmer replied: “My pigs” (Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

thankfulness destroys problems – takefulness creates problems!

Snoopy is getting dog food for his Thanksgiving Day dinner and he is aware that everyone else in the family is inside having turkey. He meditates and talks to himself. “How about that? Everyone is eating turkey today, but just because I’m a dog I get dog food.” He trots away and positions himself on top of his doghouse and concludes: “Of course, it could have been worse, I could have been born a turkey.” (Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

This is probably one of the most obvious benefits of having an attitude of gratitude. Not only do you find the problems you face in life a little bit less threatening but you also discover that you are way more satisfied with what you have rather than uneasy about what you don’t have.

Thankfulness releases the peace of God into our lives. His peace rules your heart when your heart is filled with gratitude. Takefulness adds to the chaos of life because it makes you think of all the things you don’t have – it amplifies the difficulties of your life and leads you to complain and grumble and eventually even get depressed.

If you haven’t all the things you want, be grateful for all you don’t have that you don’t want! (Marty Radcliff, Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

Another twist on this observation is that when you are a thankful person you are able to see the blessings of God being released in your life whereas takefullness actually hampers God’s blessings for your life. Look at the story of Joseph (relate how Joseph was able to give God thanks in the midst of every situation and hence experienced God’s blessings). Joseph very easily could have complained about his situation and his place and that could have led to his missing out on the blessings of God.

Look at what happened with the Israelites when they came to the promised land and sent in their spies. All through their wanderings they had found this and that to complain about and now here on the verge of entering the promised land they discovered something else to complain about! There were giants there! “There’s no way we can conquer this land – has God brought us here to die?” Takefulness creates problems – they forgot all the miraculous signs that God had performed to get them there – why? Because they didn’t have an attitude of gratitude – and because of this they missed out on entering the promised land. God referred to their conduct as “contempt” to Him. If the Israelites had lived lives of thankfulness they wouldn’t have seen that they were grasshoppers in the giants eyes but that the giants were grasshoppers in God’s eyes. Are there some giants in your life today that exist because of your ungratefulness?

Eight year old Frank had looked forward for weeks to this particular Saturday because his father had promised to take him fishing if the weather was suitable. There hadn’t been any rain for weeks and as Saturday approached, Frank was confident of the fishing trip. But wouldn’t you know it, when Saturday morning dawned, it was raining heavily and it appeared that it would continue all day. Frank wandered around the house, peering out the windows and grumbling more than a little. “Seems like the Lord would know that it would have been better to have the rain yesterday than today, ” he complained to his father who was sitting by the fireplace, enjoying a good book. His father tried to explain to Frank how badly the rain was needed, how it would make the flowers grow and bring much needed moisture to the farmer’s crops. But Frank was adamant. “It just isn’t right,” he said over and over. Then, about three o’clock, the rain stopped. Still time for some fishing, and quickly the gear was loaded and they were off to the lake. Whether it was the rain or some other reason, the fish were biting hungrily and father and son returned with a full string of fine, big fish. At supper, when some of the fish were ready, Frank’s mom asked him to say grace. Frank did – and concluded his prayer by saying, “And, Lord, if I sounded grumpy earlier today it was because I couldn’t see far enough ahead.” No doubt much of our complaining is because we “can’t see far enough ahead.” (Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

A grateful man is encouraged by what He sees God blessing in his life, a takeful man is discouraged by what he doesn’t see in his life.

There is a legend of a man who found the barn where Satan kept his seeds ready to be sown in the human heart, and on finding the seeds of discouragement more numerous than others, he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. When Satan was questioned, he reluctantly admitted that there was one place in which he could never get them to thrive. “And where is that?” asked the man. Satan replied sadly, “In the heart of a grateful man.” (Autoillustrator.com, GRATITUDE)

CONCLUSION

The road to TNT living begins with being thankful to God for the gift of salvation that was obtained for us by such an awesome price with the death of God’s only son on a cross. TNT living begins with accepting that gift from God and thanking Him for it. You see, when you thank God you are acknowledging that His gift is real, it is awesome, and it is necessary! If you want to experience TNT living it starts with this first step.

TNT living continues as we live with an attitude of gratitude in our lives – thanking God for everything and praising Him in the midst of everything (good or bad!). There may be some of you today who recognize the infection of takefulness in your life. You recognize that you have begun taking the things of God for granted – taking his blessings for granted – forgetting what He has done in your life. Today I want to give you the opportunity to let God cure your infection. It begins with your willingness to make an offering of thanks.

Thanksgiving has been set a side as a day of thanks for things in our lives but our thankfulness should be expressed everyday of the year as we enter into the concept of thanksliving!

In the word s of Paul to the Thessalonians,

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

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Are You Withering?

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007

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INTRODUCTION

Read John 15:1-7

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
John 15:1-7 (NIV)

{SHOW withered plant}

How many of you have ever felt like this plant? You notice that it appears to still be alive but there are some branches that have no leaves. If there was a word that could describe the state of this plant I would say that it is withering. I know I would definitely not say that this is a thriving plant!!

It probably would be something that I would want to hide – I don’t think I’d want it to be in the center of my kitchen table. No I think I would place this plant in my basement or in my garage. I might place it where it could get some light and give it some water in the hopes that it might revive and start growing well again but if it doesn’t well I’ll probably toss it. What do you do with your withering plants?

I’d like to make a statement this morning – “IF YOU ARE WITHERING – LOOK OUT! BECAUSE YOU’RE PROBABLY BEGINNING TO DIE! BUT THERE’S HOPE!!” (have them repeat)

What are some of the symptoms of a person who is withering? Anxiety, self-absorption, shame, apathy, toxic anger, chronic fatigue, lack of confidence, isolation, sin looks more appealing, no compassion, self-oriented, loss of vision, and no desire for God. In fact, probably the major cause of withering in people’s lives today is because they are out of touch with the source of life which is God Himself in Jesus Christ. There are many people today that are withering because of this.

But what about Christians? Shouldn’t we be vibrant and full of life and growth? Yet, even among those who claim to be followers of Christ there appear the symptoms of withering. It’s sad, but true, that for many Christians, our relationship with Jesus grows old. There are so many people who come to altar calls, pray to give their lives to Jesus, they get excited for a week or two and then everything gets old. Oh but with some people it takes longer maybe a couple of months, maybe a year, two years or maybe even five years. What do I mean it gets old? I mean that it withers – the relationship with Christ that was once so vibrant and fresh and exciting becomes slow, stale and boring. The sad thing is that sometimes its hard to see this happening because these people still come to church, they still “do ministry”, they still say all the right words, they still sing choruses.

Why does this happen? How can this relationship with Jesus Christ who is really the Lord of the universe, the Son of the living God, the Resurrected Saviour, the Bread of Life get old? The answer, friends, lies in with us and the corruption sin has wrought in our lives. It’s not God’s fault: it’s our fault. As sin-corrupted human beings, it’s easy for anything to get old to us! That’s why the advertising industry always has to come out with new ads and new products, because we don’t like seeing the same thing again and again. We’re not machines. We’re living creatures with active minds who want to be entertained, mesmerized and tantalized.

This is why Jesus says in John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” If your relationship with Christ is to be fresh, vibrant and exciting you need to remain in him. Otherwise as He says in verse 6, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” Jesus understood our human nature – he knew that we get bored easily – he also knew that when we’re bored we don’t do anything!! In this passage that refers to producing fruit in our lives Jesus is really getting to the heart of what prevents us from producing fruit as Christians.

How many of you like me are procrastinators? If there was a procrastination club it would never meet because the meeting would always be rescheduled!! Have you ever noticed what things in your life get “rescheduled”? If you look really, really carefully I’ll bet it’s the things that you don’t really want to do! Or maybe it’s because there’s something else more important at that moment. On the other hand, have you ever noticed what things you tackle with relish and intensity as soon as you can? I think this is a terrific bit of wisdom – it’s usually the things that you like to do!!

Jesus understood that if we didn’t remain in him there would be no fruit produced in our lives – why? Because we’re not in him! How come we’re not in him? Because our relationship with Him has grown old! And you know your relationship with Christ has grown old when you’re withering. And you know you’re withering when you go to church because you have to rather than because you want to – when you read your Bible like it is a textbook rather than a love letter – when your praying (when you pray!) becomes rote and habit rather than communication with God – and when your worship and praise is reduced to simply mouthing words found on the screen and on paper rather than sung from the heart and lived.

ARE YOU WITHERING? “IF YOU ARE WITHERING – LOOK OUT! BECAUSE YOU’RE PROBABLY BEGINNING TO DIE! BUT THERE’S HOPE!!”

There are many things that can cause us to wither…

It may be you’re withering because you’re too comfortable and your comfort makes you forgetful!

11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14 (NIV)

God loves to bless his people and a lot of us like to receive his blessing. But sometimes we forget the blessings God has bestowed upon us. There are a lot of people in our world today who are withering spiritually because they have too much comfort – they’ve been blessed with everything they need and more. “Why do I need God?” I’ve got everything I need! Why do I need God? I’ve got food when I need it – I’ve got a place to live, a car to drive, a family to love and someone who loves me.
That’s what happened to the Israelites. Through Hosea God said, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.” (13:6)

If you look at the history of Israel in the Old Testament you find that many times it was when the nation was prosperous that they started withering and eventually fell away from God.

How do you know when you are too comfortable? It’s very simple really, – when you can’t find anything to thank God for! I want to tell you something – there is always something to thank God for – always, whether its the air you breathe or the clothes you wear – you could be the poorest of the poor and still be too comfortable if you can’t thank God for anything. And the gratitude has to go further than your mouth – and even further than your checkbook – it has to come from your heart and be in your life. It’s nice when you give financially to the church and it’s important to God but do you give of yourself too?

Another area in which we get to comfortable is in the area of sin. Far too many of us are getting tolerant of sin in our lives and because of that we’re withering spiritually. We tolerate certain filthy programs on T.V., we tolerate certain movies, we tolerate certain books we read, or we tolerate sinful things happening in our communities. When we become comfortable with sin then we do sin. And this will cause us to wither.

–>If you’re too comfortable than you need some discomfort in your life to help you recall God’s blessings.

The truth of the matter is that it takes a little discomfort or pain to break people free from being too comfortable. Have you ever noticed that more people turn to God when there is tragedy than when everything is going well? Why is that? It is because when you’re uncomfortable then it increases the potential of you realizing how much you need God!

Maybe, just maybe that’s why Jesus said in Mathew 5:3-4, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

It may be you’re withering because you’re too habitual! You need to have some change.

It’s true that some habits are good, but its equally true that some habits are bad.

“Habits are first cobwebs, then cables”
“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” Samuel Johnson

For example it is a good habit when you have a regular devotional time with God every day. It is a bad habit when that’s the only reason why you have a regular devotional time with God. Do you meet with God out of habit or out of love?

Sometimes our prayer life reflects this. How many of you have a grace that you pray before every meal? When you say it do you say it out of habit or do you really mean it each and every time you say grace? There’s another kind of habit that I call the “I do what you do” habit. That is, do you find your hand slipping up during praise and worship times when other people’s hands are going up? Or do you always do the actions to certain songs? Do you do this out of habit or is it done in true adoration and praise for God?

Do you come to church out of habit? Do you say Praise the Lord! out of habit? Do you say Amen out of habit? Do you say “I’ll pray for you!” out of habit? Do you say, “Lord forgive me” out of habit? Do you say, “I love you Jesus,” out of habit? OR DO YOU REALLY MEAN IT?

If any of these fit you then you’re withering because you’re to habitual! You need to break some habits and the only way you’re going to break them is if you’re aware of them. Before each and every meal – vary your grace a bit – say it from the heart! Watch what you’re doing and ask yourself why you’re doing it. When we start to do things out of habit then we start to grow distant from God.

It may be you are withering because you are judgmental when you need to be forgiving.

Some of you may have heard this familiar passage,

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5 (NIV)

It’s very often true that the faults we constantly see in the lives of others are the very faults that we have ourselves. Do you find yourself doing that?

Those who are too judgmental really find it hard to forgive people. Those who find it hard to forgive people will become bitter people and bitter people wither spiritually.

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Ephesians 4:30-31 (NIV)

We’re fooling ourselves if we think we can abide in Christ with bitterness in our spirit! Do you want vitality in your life with Christ? Then make sure you have a heart that is able to forgive!

It may be that you are withering because you are too lazy. You need to be available and diligent.

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

Here’s another way of understanding laziness,

Let’s play ‘Let’s Pretend’. Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets established. I make all the arrangements to take my family and move to Europe for six to eight months. And I leave you in charge of the busy organization here. I tell you that I will write you regularly and give you directions and instructions. I leave and you stay.

Months pass. A flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the national headquarters. I spell out all my expectations.

Finally, I return. Soon after my arrival, I drive down to the office and I am stunned. Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are broken. I walk into the Receptionist’s room. She is doing her nails, chewing gum and listening to her favorite radio station. I look around and notice the wastebaskets are overflowing. The carpet hasn’t been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has returned. I asked about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge area points down the hall and yells, “I think he’s down there.” Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are finishing a chess game with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my office, which has been temporarily turned into a television room for watching afternoon soap operas.

“What in the world is going on, man?”

“What do you mean, Darren?”

“Well, look at this place! Didn’t you get any of my letters?”

“Letters? Oh yes! Sure! I got every one of them. As a matter of fact, Darren, we have had a letter study every Friday since you left. We have even divided the personnel into small groups to discuss many of the things you wrote. Some of the things were really interesting. You will be pleased to know that a few of us have actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs. One or two memorized an entire letter or two – Great stuff in those letters.”

“OK. You got my letters. You studied them and meditated on them; discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?”

“Do? We didn’t do anything about them.”

What kind of relationship exists between us now? Some of us get too lazy to really do anything for God. If we really want to have an exciting relationship with Christ then we need to be available for what he wants us to do and diligent in doing it.

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
Proverbs 13:4 (NIV)

On the other hand,

It may be that you are withering because you are “too busy”.

Waiting to be interviewed for a job as a wireless operator, a group of applicants paid little attention to the sound of the dots and dashes which began coming over a loudspeaker. Suddenly one of them rushed into the employer’s office. Soon he returned smiling. “I got it!” he exclaimed.

“How did you get ahead of us?” they asked.

“You might have been considered if you hadn’t been so busy talking that you didn’t hear the manager’s coded message,” he replied. “It said, ‘The man I need must always be on the alert. The first one who interprets this and comes directly into my private office will be hired.’” (Illustration from sermons.org, Pastor L.E. Brown)

Some of us get so busy that we miss out on the things God is saying to us. When our “business” interferes with our relationship with God then that relationship will wither. If you always have excuses for not spending time in prayer, or spending time reading the Bible, or going to church then you are too busy.

CONCLUSION

To conclude I would like to repeat a couple of verses that were read this morning.

7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Hebrews 6:7-8 (NIV)

Are you drinking in the rain that God is showering upon you and enjoying the blessings of God and a meaningful and exciting relationship with Christ? Or like this plant are you withering because…

You’re too comfortable and have forgotten who’s providing the rain,
You’re too comfortable with sin and allow weeds choke off all that is good.
You’re too habitual and there is no substance in your soil for anything to grow.
You’re too judgemental and the rain bounces off your hard clay surface.
You’re too lazy and the rain simply drains away.
You’re too busy to allow the rain to even reach the surface.

Maybe you need some,

discomfort to remind you of our God who has blessed us
discomfort to get you to tear out the weeds.
Change to add substance and meaning to what you do
forgiveness to soften your hearts
diligence in doing what God wants you to do and…
availability to receive what God has for you.

Let us pray.

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