God-Centered Worship

Introduction

I’d invite you, if you would, be turning your Bibles this evening to Revelation chapter 4. Just read a brief verse from there in just a few moments. Revelation chapter 4. Last time I spoke a couple weeks ago, I spoke on the topic of Christ-centered worship and how Jesus should be at the very center of our lives and of our worship in every aspect of our worship. And this lesson is an extension of that. Maybe even a diversion of that. As any preacher will attest, there are often times when you’re developing a lesson, and your mind or your thoughts will maybe go on in divergent directions. And so that’s what happened when I was writing this, and I basically had two different directions I could have gone.

And you can do one of two things. You can either decide which one is better and do that one, or you can just do both. And I end up writing both. So came out of the other end with two lessons. So this is part number two of that of those thoughts. And hopefully, this second part will be of some benefit to you as well. While the worship should certainly be Christ or Jesus centered, on a much broader scale, it should also be God-centered. Because it is Jehovah God who is at also the center of everything. Jesus is part of that Godhead. And so I want to focus on some more general aspects of that this evening, of how our worship should be God-centered. Again, we begin with a very basic definition of worship.

It can be defined, I want to repeat this, as the feeling of expression of reverence and adoration for a deity, the human response, the perceived presence of the divine. In other words, I know that God exists. I know that He is real, that Jehovah, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are God. That He is the creator of the universe. That He is here.

And the song that we sang a moment ago said, wherever that man can be, thou God art present there. That He’s plainly seen in the universe, that we can look around and see that God is the Creator. There’s no doubt about that. Paul tells us in Romans that His evidence, the evidence for His being is all around us. And that He because of that He deserves my absolute, unashamed, and unfettered praise. We sang this morning, number 179, here I am to worship. I wanted to take note of that as well.

It puts across this very sentiment that should be in our hearts when we come together. It says, Light of the world, you step down into darkness. Open my eyes, let me see. Beauty that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you, King of all days, also highly exalted, glorious in heaven above. Humbly you came to the earth, you created, all for our sake became poor. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you are my God. You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. And I’ll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross. Again, I believe that many people feel that worship is not fulfilling, that they stop going to worship services, or they seek some sort of unauthorized form of worship because they come to worship and they feel that it’s empty, that they’re not getting anything out of it.

And I think that people feel that way because they don’t understand what worship is really all about. And that is to give the creator and redeemer the praise that he is due. They don’t come with the right frame of mind or with the right attitude. And therefore they do not come prepared to properly worship. If we understand what worship is really all about, then we’ll be able to effectively worship and experience worship as God intended. In John’s revelation, while Jesus is at the center of the worship on the great throne scene in chapter 5 and verse 12 that we noted last week. In chapter 4, verses 8 through 11, it is the Godhead as a whole who receives the praise from the living creatures and the elders.

And I want you to read there with me in chapter 4 and verses 8 through 11. It says the four living creatures, each of them with six wings and full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. There’s that merism, Tony, that we noted this morning. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne. Again, we see that we get these images from that song we sang also holy.

1. Worship Is About Him, Not Me

They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. And so we’re reminded, just like in our last lesson, that worship is about Jehovah God. It is not about me. And as we read a passage like this, we see what is going on in the throne room of heaven. And I think that we should try and do our best to replicate that here. By understanding and replicating that worship starts and ends with God. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you’re my God. That’s why we come together. Because it’s about Him.

Again, in the Old Testament, the word to worship means to bow down, to prostrate, to humble oneself, to put one in that position. And in the New Testament, the predominant word, which is used 59 times, means to kiss toward. Another frequently used word means to venerate, to adore, to honor, and to revere God. I think all too often we forget about the fact that we have to praise him. We need to praise him. He deserves our praise. And ultimately, we get to where we, you know, we thank God a lot, and that’s good. We ought to thank God a lot because he has done a lot for us. But I think sometimes we forget how much he deserves our praise, our adoration, our words of wonder and awe for what he has done, for his power, his omniscience.

Too many times we forget why we’re here. We are not here because it’s tradition, because it’s something that you know, that’s just that’s just what we do. It’s what we’ve always done. We’re here because that’s what the scripture tells us we ought to do. We’re not here out of a sense of tradition. And one of the funny things that I learned while we were in Europe is that Europeans think that going to church is an American thing. They say, oh, well, we don’t need to go. That’s an American thing. No. It’s not just an American thing. It’s a Bible thing. We’re here because God expects, demands, and deserves our reverence and worship. We’re not here just to come and listen to some good music. We’re not here just because, man, four-part harmony is just really cool.

And that, you know, that’s the reason I’m here. I like singing in four part harmony, and that’s just really cool. So that’s why I’m here.

I think it’s cool, but very few other people probably think it’s as cool as I do. That’s that’s not why we come here to sing in four-part harmony. We’re not, it’s not about that. We’re here to worship God. Worship is not about us, it is about God. And the praises that we bring to him. We come to express our joy for what he has done for us and for who he is. And we don’t come here to be entertained. Who is, I want to ask this question, and I think it’s an important question, and that it is who is the audience to our worship.

It’s not us. The audience is God. He is the one that we should be concerned about that is listening. Do not forget that. The audience to our worship is God. We are bringing something and laying it down before him as an offering. And when we understand that we come to worship God, it should help us understand that we are called to bring something to him. To show him that we hold him in reverence and respect, that we adore him, that we honor him. And yes, it’s true that we get something out of worship. If we are worshiping as we truly should, we will get something out of it. If we come to worship just to receive something, it is likely that we will leave empty. If we bring our sacrifice of praise, we will leave satisfied.

I want to tell you something else. God centered worship. The reason it’s about him is because it connects me, a sinful man with a holy God. A God who demands reverence and to be treated as holy. And I’m reminded of, as we were studying this morning in Bible class, about Uzzah and how he was struck down because he failed to treat God as holy. He was a sinful man. And he decided his way was better. And he lost his life because of it. True worship requires a connection. That’s the point, right? We’re trying to get closer to God. When we serve our communion, for example, we hope that people are not just taking off a little bodycracker and drinking some juice. That’s not going to do us a whole lot of good.

We are supposed to be preparing ourselves to be one with God, to commune with him, to examine ourselves. And again, going back to the example of singing and music is a tool, yes. It’s a wonderful tool, something we’ve been commanded to do. That can be used to help people connect with God. When song services are planned, as they usually are very well here. And as Daniel did a great job of knowing what I was going to talk about and selecting songs about that helps coordinate our thoughts. And helps us properly worship.

That must go into that. And planning, thought, prayer. It goes into that preparation. Our songs need to hit us. They need to draw out in us emotions that words alone cannot do. And I think that’s the reason in God’s wisdom that he has us sing. Is because when we put those words to music, it brings out something that otherwise is much more difficult to bring out. So music was a tool to connect sinful man with holy God. We need music that we can relate to, that we can sing with conviction, that can bring forth the emotions that we have toward God. And when I’m trying, when I’m preaching, I’m trying to connect you with God through his word. And for those sermons to connect, I have to put forethought into it.

I have to put lots of prayer and time and effort. You need to understand what I’m saying. What I’m trying to say, and what I may know, and what I’m trying to relate doesn’t mean much if you don’t understand what I’m saying. I’m trying to help you to better know God’s mind. And the fact of the matter is that we are all failing and weak. There is a disconnect between us and God because of our sinfulness. We are inadequate. We cannot live up to his standards. But when we come to worship, we are trying to tell him that we are trying. That we want to be better. That he is awesome for what he has done for us. We’re trying to connect someone who is miserable, poor and blind and naked with the one who is perfect and all-powerful and forgiving.

2. God-Centered Worship Flows from the Heart

Worship is about Him, not me. And secondly, God-centered worship flows from the heart. Worship happens when the worshiper has given themselves over to God. In other words, it’s not about me anymore. I’ve moved on from that. So now what do I do? I have to have a worship that flows from the heart. Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. So therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. If we are going to worship properly, it must flow from the heart of the worshiper to God.

Romans 12 tells us that if we are going to give ourselves totally over to God, then and only then can our worship be acceptable. Our lives are to be a reflection of the God that we serve. And so really the question here is where is your heart in relation to him? When you come together, when we come before him, where is your heart in relation to him? And that’s going to be reflected in a number of ways in our attentiveness and our concentration in our giving. But most importantly, it’s going to be reflected in our day-to-day lives.

If our worship is a Sunday only thing. We cannot live a willfully disobedient life Monday through Saturday and come to church and experience a God-centered worship. And I’m not saying that we can’t have struggles. We all have struggles, but what I am saying is that we cannot be willfully disobedient and walk in here and think that all of a sudden walking through the doors puts me in some different category, some different frame of mind. What I do outside this building is going to spill over inside this building. A habitual, willful disobedience, even just an ambivalence towards serving God outside this building will keep us from being able to effectively worship God inside this building. Part of our worship is the life that we live. Is God important enough to us that we’ll try our best to live for Him each and every day, not just on Sunday.

Tony Evans writes if you limit worship to where you are, the minute you leave that place of worship, you will leave your attitude of worship behind like a crumpled-up church bulletin. So to walk out here and say, okay, well, I’m done with that for the week. Equals a wrong heart. Many people leave worship empty because they have brought nothing to it. And many people find worship to be boring because God is not the real center of their life. They have no interests in it. At least not really. There’s no devotion, no love for it. And I think a good example of that is someone who loves a particular sport. They get really into that. And they can sit there and watch it. I love baseball. And I love golf.

Now, a lot of people, I can sit there and like Tony, I can sit there and I can watch it on TV for hours and not get bored. Most of people, if they try and watch golf, they’re out in five minutes. They’re done.

They can’t handle it. It’s too boring. I love golf. I can sit there and watch somebody play golf for hours. Because I’m interested in it. I find it fun. I understand how difficult it is. I see awesome shots. I’m like, wow! How did he do that? It’s not boring to me. It’s exciting. Because I’m interested in it. For a person who does not love God, worship will be boring. For a person who loves God, worship will be interesting. But if they don’t love God, there’s not much that we can do to make it interesting. And I think the point that I’m trying to get across here is that too many times we go out in search of I say we very generally we can see examples of it in many different places, but of religious people always searching for the next new thing to try and get people excited and get people involved.

And what we need to be changing is not our style of worship. What we need to be changing is people’s hearts. If we change people’s hearts, then they’re gonna want to be here. They’re gonna be involved. They’re gonna be excited. They’re going to have a worship that flows from the heart.

For a person that’s not making an effort to live for Jesus, not much about worship will interest them. But for the person that wants to be one with God. We can preach a message that changes hearts. Then we’ll have a worship that is effective. Worship that is real and true and deep. And not a worship that is just a show. Because putting on a show is not acceptable to God. We know that’s made very clear in numerous places, but specifically I want to look at Amos chapter 5, verses 21 through 24, if you would. Amos chapter 5, verse 21 through 24. God says, there I hate.

Take away from me the noise of your songs, the melody of your hearts. I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. God wants our hearts, not just our actions. God knows if we’re putting on a show or if we’re really committed to Him. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they made that very clear. But that’s that was the most important thing to them. Was those outward things? But Jesus told them that the religion was worthless. That it meant nothing because they were like whitewashed tombs. Clean on the outside, but filthy on the inside. Now again, a person who is struggling is not a hypocrite, but a person who is willfully disobedient to God and gives no mind to God during the week will find worship empty. They may come here and look like they’re worshiping, but if we are not trying to serve God daily and coming here and putting on a show, what we’re doing is not acceptable to him.

3. Three Signs of a God-Centered Worship

God-centered worship flows from the heart. And so what are some signs that our worship is true, that it’s real? I want to suggest three quick signs this evening of a God-centered worship. Number one, does our worship honor God? Is what we are doing honoring him? Are we showing God honor with our songs, with our prayers, with our teaching, with our preaching? Is he the purpose for all that we do? Scott also led this morning a passion for my God. And what that song tries to get across is that God is first in my heart. He is first in my life, he’s first in all I do. I put him first. He’s my everything. He’s my alpha to omega. And everything in between.

If it’s good, it’s good. Is our worship about God or is it about me? Or the song is a reflection of God, his will, and his teaching. Is the preaching biblical? Is it is what we do in line with God’s will? Are we winning people over to Jesus or just adding members to a congregation? If that’s not what we’re doing, then we don’t honor Him. Are our lives on a day-to-day basis a testimony that brings honor to God, a living sacrifice, something that people can look at us in the world and know that we are a Christian. Or is it just a show and they would have no idea? Number two, does our worship inspire, uplift, and transform lives? I think our worship here does. It does that.

It inspires people. It inspires me. It upslifts me. It encourages me. It edifies me. It makes me want to be a better Christian. It makes me feel that my heart is being poured out to God. Worship is not a time to beat people up. Time to convict. Yes. But not to beat people up. It’s time to edify. Or we should come away uplifted, knowing that we serve the Creator of heaven and earth, the creator who loves us and cares for us. Our overall total service should be uplifting and encouraging. We should leave a changed person. We should feel challenged to live for Jesus. We should be a different person every time we encounter each other and God in worship. Too often we walk away the same way we walked in.

Unchanged. And number three, is our worship powerful enough to draw visitors closer to a relationship with God? That doesn’t mean they’re going to walk down the aisle the first time they come in and want to be baptized. Not necessarily. But does it make them want to know, want to know more? Does it make them can they tell that God is in this place? That this place is doing things that God approves of, that God wants, that we are pouring our own hearts to him, that this is true worship? Does it encourage and uplift him? Does it make them want to know more? Does it make them want to have a relationship with Jesus? Do we preach the truth? Does the worship flow from the heart? My hope, my thought is that if a person comes into this building who’s never been here before, and they come maybe empty-handed.

4. A Sense of Awe

They haven’t come prepared to worship. That they will leave wanting to bring something with them next time. And I know that if our worship can put people in a position to have an encounter and to desire a relationship with God, that they will not be the same. And so I want to conclude this evening with two ingredients present in a God-centered worship. And number one is a sense of awe.

First one is in Psalm chapter 8. Both these verses are in the Psalms. Psalm chapter 8, verses 3 through 9. When I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him? And the Son of Man that you care for him. Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet. All sheep and oxen and the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

When we come before God and worship, we should have a sense of all.

And looked at it and wonder how it is, why it is that God put us over all of that. That he trusted us with that. Have you looked up at the stars and tried to comprehend the vastness of the universe and the greatness of the God that is over it. When we experience God-centered worship, we should feel a sense of awe. And we sing a song entitled, I Stand in Awe. And when we sing that, I wonder if we are really understanding what we’re saying when we sing it. And the reason I wonder that is because every time we sing that song, somebody inevitably says, Now would you please stand while we sing this song.

5. A Sense of Joy

It’s talking about my position. It’s talking about my frame of mind. It’s talking about my position before God. How many of us, if we were faced with the presence of God, would stand up. We fall to our knees. And when it I just can’t do it. When it gets to that part, and I stand, I stand in awe with you. And everybody stands up. I just can’t do it. It’s contrary to the very thought of being in awe of God. We must realize who it is that we’re worshiping. We must understand the creator of heaven and earth. That he loves us, that he cares for us, and that he knows us. And we must also have a sense of joy. In Psalm 100.

It is he who made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. For the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever in his faithfulness to all generations. It’s one of my favorite songs. One of my favorite verses. Because it really just encompasses everything about who God is and who we are before him.

We should have a sense of joy. I mean, and that sense of joy just exudes from this psalm. There are exclamation marks all over it. Friend, there should be exclamation marks in our worship. In our singing, and our praise and our prayers. Does it give you a sense of joy to know who it is that you’re serving? When I’m focused on God, nothing can take my joy. And we sing songs to that effect as well. The little kids in VBS, they sing, I’ve got the joy down in my heart. You can’t not smile when you sing that song. We sing the song Sing and Be Happy.

When your cares and Burgness seem great all the whole day through, there’s a silver lining that shines in the heavenly land. We hope and trust him each day. Do you see what God is doing in this church? It brings me joy to see God working here, to see us growing, to see us. Not just growing because people are moving here, but because we’re teaching the lost week. We’re baptizing people. And not, and yeah, the people that are moving here, they’ve got a lot of choices, too. We need to realize that. When people move here, they’re coming here because they see the truth being taught. They come here because they see a worship that is flowing from the heart. If you’re here this night and you didn’t want to be here, think about why that is.

Conclusion

We dread coming to church, or if we come to church and we just feel empty. We need to look at ourselves long and hard in the mirror. Because worshiping God should bring us a sense of joy. I know that if God is for me, then who can be against me? So if you’re, as you live your life this week, make sure that you’re doing your best. To live a daily worship. To live a life that is a wonderful gift to the Lord. That is something that you can bring with you to worship. Let’s not focus on ourselves, let’s focus on God and what He has done for us. What are you bringing with you? Where is your heart? Who do you love? Today, don’t lose focus of the center of your worship.

That is Almighty. Jehovah, God. He needs to be at the center of it all. My life, my heart, and mind worship. Why don’t you make him yours today? If you need to respond to the gospel call, why don’t you come now while we stand and sing.