¤ ¤
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Hello friends. Welcome to
another Wednesday Night Live
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here in Thompsonville, Illinois
at the 3ABN Worship Center
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where it seems like it's summer.
Aren't we glad for the warm
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weather, amen anyone. And
tonight we're also thankful that
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the Spirit of God is going to
be here. You know sometimes you
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realize that everything about
the word of God sometimes is
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encased on the battlefield and
we've been going through a lot
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of issues here today that,
praise God, haven't stopped us
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from saying hello to you
wherever you're tuning in from
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around the world. And so
the Lord always wins. It makes a
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live program fun when everybody
is scurrying around. I don't
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think everybody would agree
with me on that, but we're here
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tonight. Can we all say amen
to that? Tonight we'd like to
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encourage you to get your Bibles
invite your friends, maybe your
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family members. We're going to
study tonight A Servant's Life.
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And if you'd like a copy of
the lesson go to the website
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ASF.3ABN.ORG. Just to let
you know, download lesson number
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16. Now after the lesson is over
tonight you'll be able to go
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ahead and go back to that
website, hopefully tomorrow, and
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download the complete lesson
of number 16 because chances are
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you'll only get number 1-9. We
actually have 17 questions. But
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the good thing about watching
the program is you will see
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those questions on the
television and because you have
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your Bible, you'll also be able
to look up the texts and you'll
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also see the answers to the
scriptures that will appear on
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the screen. But before we have
our song for tonight which we
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enjoy singing, let's invite
the Lord to be here. Let's pray
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together. Heavenly Father we
thank you that in the midst of
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the battle of doing your will
that you are on the battlefield
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with us. You're fighting the
battle for your honor and for
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your glory. And you said that
when we cast out your word, your
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word will never return void. So
we pray that even now, Father,
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you'll speak to the hearts
of those who are listening and
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watching this program. You'll
bring them into your presence.
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and truly this will not be just
the conveyance of information
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but the reminder of how
beautiful it is to worship an
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eternal and a wonderful Lord.
This we pray in Jesus' name amen
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Well we always like to sing
our song and our theme song is
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Victory in Jesus. Oh I tell
you we had a wonderful victory
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in Jesus to get all the
cameras working and make all the
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connections. I mean, I even
forgot my thumb drive at home
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my i-pad. The devil was
working hard today. But we
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had victory in Jesus. So let's
sing this song tonight in honor
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of the victory we
find in Christ ¤ ¤
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¤I heard an old, old story
how the Savior came from glory¤
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¤How he gave his life on Calvary
to save a wretch like me. ¤
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¤I heard about his groaning
Of his precious blood atoning¤
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¤Then I repented of my
sin and won the victory¤
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¤Oh victory in
Jesus My Savior forever¤
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¤He sought and bought
me in His redeeming love¤
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¤He loved me e'er I knew
Him and all my love is due Him¤
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¤He plunged me to victory
Beneath the cleansing flood¤
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¤I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory¤
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¤And I heard about
the streets of gold¤
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¤Beyond the crystal sea¤
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¤About the angels singing
and the old redemption story¤
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¤And some sweet day I'll sing
up there the song of victory¤
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Key change.
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¤Oh victory in
Jesus My Savior forever¤
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¤He sought me and bought
me with His redeeming love¤
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¤He loved me e'er I knew
Him and all my love is due Him¤
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¤He plunged me to victory
Beneath the cleansing flood¤
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Amen for that. Tonight we're
going to be talking about The
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The Servant's
Worship. What is the title? Say
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that with me together. The
Servant's Worship. Now if you
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are a servant of the Lord, the
highest honor that you can give
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to Him is to worship Him. Now
not to sing songs to Him or to
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preach sermons for Him, but to
worship Him. When you read the
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story of Revelation you find in
Revelation 4 and 5 that 24 hours
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a day, seven days a week, I
would say 365 days a year, but
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there is no limitation of time
in heaven, that the angels in
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glory, that the 24 elders, the
four beasts there in Revelation
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are bowing down and worshipping
the Lord, the One who reigns
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forever and ever and ever and
ever. And if there's something
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that we do every day and we're
going to do that when we get to
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glory, we're going to worship
God eternally and when you think
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of the word eternally, how long
is eternally? Somebody tell me.
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Eternally is eternally. I
mean that's a long time. So if
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there's something that we're
going to be doing eternally we
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ought to know about. We ought
not wait till we get there to
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God, well how do we worship you?
What do you require of us as it
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pertains to worship? And so
tonight's topic we're going to
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covering a number of issues
and also the pitfalls of not
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worshipping the Lord, the beauty
of worshipping the Lord and a
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number of things are going
to be covered. So tonight as we
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prepare for our topic, I'd
like to have you go with me to
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question number 1, question
number 1. Now some of you have
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been diligent and have gone
ahead and have filled out some
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of the answers of questions
number 1 tonight. We're going
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to try our best to get through
this entire lesson. Question
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number 1: What is the only
way that God can be worshipped?
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The only way that God can be
worshipped. The Bible makes it
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very clear. Let's go to John
chapter 4 verse 23 and verse 24.
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I like to hear the pages turning
even those of who are here they
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know the answer is going to
be here on the screen but I can
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still hear the pages turning.
John chapter 4 verse 23 and
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verse 24. Okay, let's look
at that together. Here I am. Now
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John chapter 4, here I am. Okay
I have it on the screen but I
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want to look at the text
in particular. This particular
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story comes together and the
Lord is talking to a woman at
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the well. Now let me ask you
a question. What do you get when
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you go to a well, or what are
you looking for? Okay, you're
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not looking for dirt, you're
not looking for sand, you're not
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looking for rocks. You're
lowering your water pot and you
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hoping to get water. What that
says to me, and I'm using the
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story in exploded manner,
thinking about the church,
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thinking about what we receive
from Christ. You know day by day
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it is our privilege... in this
story, the woman went to that
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well day by day by day by
day and she understood the
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importance of drinking water.
Well when our days begin we
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ought to understand the
importance of spiritual water.
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Jesus is the water of life. He
made that very clear. So day by
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day she went to the well seeking
water but on this day she was
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about to be introduced to
the Living Water. And this is a
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conversation... and when the
Lord gets down to verse 23 He
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had to battle through a whole
lot of issues about worship. So
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what I want to do before we
get to verse 23 is I want to
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introduce you to some of those
issues of worship. One of the
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issues of worship that the Lord
dealt with her pretty quickly
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here was go call your husband.
Now I want to deal with this
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very carefully here because the
Bible speaks of two husbands.
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How many husbands? Say it with
some umph. How many? Two. The
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Bible speaks of two husbands.
In the book of Romans chapter 7,
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you don't have to go there,
I'm just going to talk about it.
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Romans chapter 7, the Bible says
a woman is bound by the law to
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her husband as long as he lives
but if he dies she is free to
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marry another man. But if
she marries another man while he
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liveth, she is an adulteress.
And then he uses the context.
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He is speaking to the church. So
the church has a husband. This
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woman had five husbands. She
was with the sixth husband when
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Jesus met her and Jesus became
the seventh man in her life.
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Amen? So he was last and he was
the only perfect man in her life
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He became the seventh man she'd
met. And there were changes
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after she met Jesus. So the
first imagery we find here is
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the woman has a husband. The
church is the bride and Christ
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is the husband. But the second
thing is she was stumbling over
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the issue of worshipping
and that's the reason why we're
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going to be leading out with
this particular text. Because
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when Jesus talked to her about
her husbands she flipped the
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topic altogether. She went from
her husband. Notice what she
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went to. You're in John chapter
4, right? Look at verse 18. I
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want you to see how she flipped
the script on Jesus. Well verse
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17 has got to be the
context because verse 18 is the
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continuance of verse 17. The
woman answered and said, I have
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no husband. Jesus said to her
you have well said. I have no
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husband, for you
have had how many? Five
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husbands and the one whom you
now have is not your husband.
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In that you spoke truly. The
Lord in essence is saying to her
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You've been with so many men you
don't really have one. So one of
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the things we have to decide
when it comes to worship we have
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to decide who is going to be our
husband man. You can't be going
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from church to church to church
to church to church to church.
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And when you find the right
church, you won't be going back
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to where you were before. That's
the lesson in this particular
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story. She didn't go back to any
of those five husbands, any of
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those six husbands after she
met Jesus. Do you get that? And
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Divinity must have given that
to me because I've never said
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that before. My wife knows.
She's heard me preach this
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sermon for many, many years. She
never went back to any of those
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men after she met Jesus. When
you find the truth, you never go
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back to examine the journey you
took on the way to Christ. You
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never go back and say well I
wonder if I found the right man?
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She made so many changes she
even left her water pot because
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she found the right water,
the living water. But here's
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something else. She changed the
topic altogether. Look at verse
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The woman said to Him,
Sir I perceive that you are a
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prophet. Is that an
understatement. I perceive that
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you understand prophecy,
you seem to know a whole lot, in
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other words. And then she goes
our fathers worshipped on this
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mountain and you Jews say that
in Jerusalem is the place where
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you ought to worship. Notice how
she flips the topic to worship.
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Now what's amazing, it seems as
though she switched the topic to
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worship but you know what...
Let me get back to the marriage
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counseling side. Who you're
married to determines whether or
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not you can worship the Lord the
way he wants to be worshipped.
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Sometimes that's a barrier and
she realized, wait a minute, the
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Lord is getting to the root of
the issue here and the root of
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the issue as she perceived the
root of the issue was worship.
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So now look at verse 21 and
we're going to get down to the
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answer. Jesus said to her, woman
believe me... Can you hear Jesus
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saying that, woman believe me.
The hour is coming when you will
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neither on this mountain nor
in Jerusalem worship the Father.
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He's saying to her location
is what you're focusing on, I'm
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focusing on how. Look at verse
22. You worship what you do not
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know. We know what we worship
for salvation is of the Jews.
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The Lord gave that message
to them to communicate to the
00:14:05.67\00:14:09.61
world. And here's the answer to
number 1. Let's read it together
00:14:09.64\00:14:13.52
and it's going to be on the
screen. Are you ready. Let's
00:14:13.55\00:14:15.92
read this together with some
strength. But the hour is coming
00:14:15.98\00:14:19.69
and now is when the true
worshippers will worship the
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Father in spirit and in truth
for the Father is seeking such
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to worship Him. God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him must
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worship in Spirit and truth.
So what is the only way that God
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can be worshipped? In Spirit and
truth. Write that down if you
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haven't already done so. Some of
you have done so. God wants to
00:14:46.45\00:14:51.45
be worshipped in Spirit and in
truth Sometimes location becomes
00:14:51.49\00:14:55.39
the issue so people jump around
from one place to the other to
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the other to the other. The
Bible makes it very clear and
00:14:59.36\00:15:02.63
Paul talks about... Matter of
fact, go with me to the book of
00:15:02.66\00:15:04.80
Ephesians. Go to Ephesians. You
see one of the reasons why the
00:15:04.83\00:15:06.94
woman jumped around and
I'm using the woman now in a
00:15:10.01\00:15:14.01
metaphorical way to represent
the church, one of the reasons
00:15:14.08\00:15:16.85
why the woman kept going from
husband to husband to husband
00:15:16.88\00:15:20.22
to husband was because she had
no anchor in any one of them.
00:15:20.25\00:15:23.25
And when one came along she
went with that one. Another came
00:15:23.28\00:15:27.39
along, she went with that one.
She was like a person tossed
00:15:27.42\00:15:32.09
back and forth with any wind
of doctrine. You see the context
00:15:32.13\00:15:35.93
there. That's what happens when
you have no anchor and we're
00:15:35.96\00:15:39.70
going to talk about what
the anchor is. One of the most
00:15:39.73\00:15:41.54
important anchors that you can
have in worship is worship God
00:15:41.57\00:15:45.54
in spirit through the leading
of His Holy Spirit and in truth.
00:15:45.57\00:15:49.51
Now let me tell you this.
The Holy Spirit will never lead
00:15:49.54\00:15:53.45
anyone to reject the truth
of God's word. Never. If you say
00:15:53.52\00:15:57.42
the truth doesn't matter, then
worshipping the true God really
00:15:57.45\00:16:01.32
is not what you're doing.
Because God says must. Look at
00:16:01.36\00:16:05.33
that word. And those who worship
Him, what's the next word? Must
00:16:05.36\00:16:10.30
worship in spirit and truth. And
the Holy Spirit never says this
00:16:10.33\00:16:15.20
can be ignored, that can
be ignored and God will still
00:16:15.24\00:16:18.21
accept your worship. He has
established the parameters. But
00:16:18.24\00:16:21.61
look at one of the reasons why.
Ephesians chapter 4, okay notice
00:16:21.64\00:16:26.21
this. And let's begin with verse
13. I'll just go ahead and use
00:16:26.25\00:16:31.69
verse 13 because verses 13 and
14 and 15 are going to really
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pull out what I'm trying to
bring out tonight. He says, till
00:16:36.36\00:16:41.96
we all come to the what? Unity
of the faith and the knowledge
00:16:42.00\00:16:46.74
of the Son of God to a what kind
of man? Perfect man. The word
00:16:46.77\00:16:51.47
there perfect means mature,
to the measure of the stature of
00:16:51.51\00:16:55.81
the fullness of Christ that
we should no longer be what?
00:16:55.84\00:17:00.12
Children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind
00:17:00.15\00:17:07.66
of doctrine. By the trickery
of men in the cunning craftiness
00:17:07.72\00:17:13.53
by which they lie in wait to
do what? To deceive. But what
00:17:13.56\00:17:19.33
they're not doing is telling you
the truth and they're not being
00:17:19.37\00:17:23.04
led by the Spirit. The very next
verse is so vitally important.
00:17:23.07\00:17:28.58
Verse 15. But speaking the truth
in love they grow up in all
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things into Him who is the
Head, Christ. And what I want
00:17:33.75\00:17:37.05
to get here, lot of people...
This is something that's very
00:17:37.09\00:17:40.46
important, and I want you to
focus on the words grow up. Say
00:17:40.49\00:17:44.73
that together with me. Grow up.
Now here's the point. Jesus said
00:17:44.76\00:17:48.63
spirit and He said truth. There
are those who claim to be in the
00:17:48.66\00:17:52.53
spirit and all they do is jump
up and blow up and there are
00:17:52.57\00:17:56.60
those who claim to be in the
truth but they have no spirit
00:17:56.64\00:18:01.24
They're like the hills of
Gilboa They dry up. But when you
00:18:01.28\00:18:05.51
worship God in spirit and in
truth you don't just blow up and
00:18:05.55\00:18:09.42
jump up and dry up. When you
worship in spirit and in truth,
00:18:09.45\00:18:13.32
text made it very clear,
you grow up. Notice the phrase
00:18:13.36\00:18:18.23
there. Circle that in your Bible
Just so you can remember that.
00:18:18.26\00:18:21.10
You grow up. You can choose to
do that or not. But if you want
00:18:21.13\00:18:24.30
to do that write it down on your
paper. Write Ephesians chapter
00:18:24.33\00:18:28.04
4 and the importance of truth
in verse 15, Ephesians 4 verse
00:18:28.07\00:18:31.64
15 is that we may grow up. You
know if you become a Christian
00:18:31.67\00:18:35.61
and you never grow, the evidence
is that you're not studying the
00:18:35.64\00:18:39.55
Bible. If you're studying the
Bible, you will be exposed to
00:18:39.58\00:18:42.78
the truth of God and then you
cannot be exposed to the truth
00:18:42.82\00:18:46.09
of God if the Spirit of God
is not leading you. Because John
00:18:46.15\00:18:49.36
16 verse 13, write that down, go
to that again very quickly, John
00:18:49.39\00:18:53.96
16:13 to show you how the Spirit
and the truth work together.
00:18:54.00\00:18:59.20
John 16:13. I tell people when
I talk to people about the truth
00:18:59.23\00:19:03.67
in God's word and they'll say
well I'll wait till God reveals
00:19:03.71\00:19:08.28
it to me. I'll wait till God
impresses me. And I'm thinking
00:19:08.34\00:19:12.68
impress. I'd like them to have
the same attitude if I give them
00:19:12.71\00:19:17.29
a check for $100,000. Now I
don't believe what it says. I'll
00:19:17.32\00:19:21.59
wait till I feel impressed.
They'll be impressed instantly.
00:19:21.62\00:19:25.03
And they'll be so impressed
they'll find their way to the
00:19:25.06\00:19:28.53
nearest bank at least to theirs.
But notice what the Bible says
00:19:28.56\00:19:31.40
about the Spirit of God.
And once again I reiterate, you
00:19:31.43\00:19:34.20
never are under the leading of
the Spirit to reject the truth
00:19:34.24\00:19:37.91
of God's word. It may make you
uncomfortable but it says that
00:19:37.94\00:19:41.74
you need to be adjusting, not
the word of God. Okay, look at
00:19:41.78\00:19:45.61
this. However, or howbeit,
as the King James Version says,
00:19:45.65\00:19:50.02
when He the Spirit of truth has
come or is come He will guide
00:19:50.09\00:19:54.82
you into all truth for He will
not speak on his own authority,
00:19:54.86\00:19:59.56
for whatever he hears he
will speak and he will tell you
00:19:59.59\00:20:02.66
things to come. That's what the
Spirit does. When the Lord was
00:20:02.70\00:20:06.84
told by the woman that she
perceived he's a prophet. Yes a
00:20:06.87\00:20:10.31
prophet tells you things to
come. The Lord saw her past, her
00:20:10.34\00:20:13.91
present, and her future and
he saw the need of the truth of
00:20:13.94\00:20:17.48
God's word. He came to show her
that this is the time to change
00:20:17.51\00:20:21.05
your life. Get rid of all
those other husbands and pick a
00:20:21.08\00:20:24.75
husband that will give you
the true interpretation of the
00:20:24.79\00:20:28.36
Spirit and the power and the
importance of the truth. There
00:20:28.39\00:20:32.29
are a lot of movements, there
are a lot of churches. The earth
00:20:32.33\00:20:36.36
is filled with them, but I can't
say that they all are being
00:20:36.40\00:20:40.27
under the direction of the Holy
Spirit. There may be a spirit
00:20:40.30\00:20:44.41
there because you cannot go into
a church where the truth is not
00:20:44.44\00:20:48.51
important and they say that
God's spirit is leading here.
00:20:48.54\00:20:51.81
Right? Let's go to the next
question, question number 2.
00:20:51.85\00:20:55.05
Question number 2, here it is.
All right. How are we instructed
00:20:55.08\00:21:01.66
to worship the Lord? All right.
Okay. How are we instructed to
00:21:01.69\00:21:08.23
worship the Lord? Psalms
29, okay. Even I'm turning in my
00:21:08.26\00:21:16.40
Bible. I just don't want you
guys to turn there by yourself
00:21:16.44\00:21:24.51
I don't want you to feel alone.
We're doing this in unity. Okay?
00:21:24.55\00:21:29.65
Psalms 29 verse 2 is the answer.
And we'll read this together. It
00:21:29.68\00:21:34.79
says, Give unto the Lord the
glory due His name. Sounds like
00:21:34.82\00:21:40.03
a message of Revelation. It says
also, Worship the Lord in the
00:21:40.06\00:21:45.27
beauty of holiness. How are we
instructed to worship the Lord?
00:21:45.30\00:21:49.34
In the what? Beauty of Holiness.
You know, Ellen White talks
00:21:49.40\00:21:54.88
about bringing loveliness into
our Christian experience. You
00:21:54.91\00:21:58.65
know, it's important for people
that say they are filled with
00:21:58.68\00:22:03.62
God's Spirit because the Spirit
brings fruits and what are the
00:22:03.65\00:22:09.02
the fruit of the Spirit? Love,
joy, peace, long-suffering,
00:22:09.06\00:22:14.76
gentleness, meekness, patience,
kindness. All those important
00:22:14.80\00:22:19.30
factors. And, by the way, the
fruit, so when you bite that one
00:22:19.33\00:22:23.07
fruit these are the vitamins
you get: Love, joy, peace, long
00:22:23.10\00:22:26.98
suffering, gentleness, meekness,
patience. You don't have to
00:22:27.01\00:22:31.38
choose a loving fruit, or a
gentle fruit, or a patient fruit
00:22:31.41\00:22:35.42
it's all in one. It only took
one fruit to plunge us into sin
00:22:35.45\00:22:39.19
it takes one fruit to be led
back into a relationship with
00:22:39.22\00:22:43.39
Christ and when the Spirit
of God is involved in your walk,
00:22:43.43\00:22:46.63
there's going to be something
else. Not only the truth, the
00:22:46.66\00:22:50.10
intellectual aspect of it, but
there's going to be a beauty to
00:22:50.13\00:22:53.54
your worship. People that
are under the Spirit's leading
00:22:53.57\00:22:56.27
should present the truth in a
holy way but also in a beautiful
00:22:56.30\00:23:00.81
way. Right? Now let me just make
clear what I'm talking about
00:23:00.84\00:23:04.91
here. If you hammer the truth
away and you preach the truth
00:23:04.95\00:23:08.82
with an ugly face and an
attitude, people say wow has the
00:23:08.88\00:23:12.65
truth transformed him. It's the
attractiveness of the truth that
00:23:12.72\00:23:16.69
makes the difference. It is
the goodness of God that leads
00:23:16.73\00:23:20.73
people to repentance, not the
anger of God, not the wrath of
00:23:20.76\00:23:25.53
God but the goodness of God,
Paul says, that leads men to
00:23:25.57\00:23:29.47
repentance. Obviously the love
of God is a drawing factor but
00:23:29.50\00:23:33.04
it's the goodness of God that
leads us to repentance. So how
00:23:33.07\00:23:36.54
are we instructed to worship God
or the Lord, in the what? Beauty
00:23:36.58\00:23:40.85
of holiness. Holiness ought
to be beautiful. When you meet
00:23:40.88\00:23:43.85
Christians you ought to be
impressed; wow what a nice,
00:23:43.89\00:23:46.79
patient, kind person. And even
when we get into a controversy
00:23:46.86\00:23:50.49
with someone... I remember a
number of years ago when I was
00:23:50.53\00:23:54.06
involved in a television program
won't mention what the network
00:23:54.10\00:23:57.63
was, but more than what I
said was how I responded to the
00:23:57.67\00:24:01.67
issues of controversy. I
was in a studio. It was not an
00:24:01.70\00:24:04.77
Adventist television program.
I was invited by another
00:24:04.84\00:24:07.84
denomination to represent a
particular topic that we had in
00:24:07.91\00:24:11.91
common and I was being hammered
by a pastor that was there and I
00:24:11.98\00:24:14.95
was told afterwards, the host of
the program said, he said one of
00:24:14.98\00:24:17.92
of the camera crew came me
and said what impressed them the
00:24:17.95\00:24:21.46
most was the attitude that
I maintained while I was being
00:24:21.49\00:24:24.73
hammered, particularly by a
pastor. We were sitting at a
00:24:24.76\00:24:27.90
table. There was the moderator
in the center and I was on one
00:24:27.96\00:24:31.20
side and the pastor was on the
other. He was of a denomination
00:24:31.23\00:24:34.44
and I won't mention the
denomination. I don't want
00:24:34.47\00:24:36.60
people to feel that I'm labeling
any particular person. I believe
00:24:36.67\00:24:39.61
this personal pastor, this
individual pastor, had a real
00:24:39.64\00:24:43.38
problem with attitude. And
I said to him, we were talking
00:24:43.45\00:24:46.28
about the law of God. And I
said, you know, the commandments
00:24:46.31\00:24:49.62
are important because God wrote
them with his own finger on
00:24:49.65\00:24:52.59
tables of stone. And he said
which finger did He use, His
00:24:52.65\00:24:55.06
index which one did he use,
which one was it, was it His
00:24:55.09\00:24:58.33
thumb, which one did He use?
And that was so sacrilegious.
00:24:58.39\00:25:02.76
I could have said to him, you
are a sacrilegious hypocrite,
00:25:02.80\00:25:07.17
but I let him expose his own
character. So when we share the
00:25:07.20\00:25:11.77
truth, even if we're backed into
a corner, my brother, my sister,
00:25:11.81\00:25:16.11
it's not my truth, it's God's
truth. If you love Him, you'll
00:25:16.14\00:25:19.48
keep his commandments. That's
all He's asking. That where the
00:25:19.51\00:25:22.68
beauty comes in. Let's go to
the next one, question number 3.
00:25:22.72\00:25:25.85
Question number 3: What
attitude will the servant have
00:25:25.89\00:25:31.43
toward worshipping God? What
attitude will the servant have
00:25:31.49\00:25:36.40
towards worshipping God? A
servant. When you are a servant
00:25:36.46\00:25:41.37
there's not only a manuscript
for the truth of God's word but
00:25:41.40\00:25:45.24
there's an attitude that should
come with that. All right. Let's
00:25:45.27\00:25:53.58
look at this. Psalm 100 verse
2. Okay. I went ahead of myself
00:25:53.62\00:26:02.42
here. Let me go back a slide.
Okay, here it is. Okay. Okay
00:26:02.46\00:26:09.10
Psalm 100 verse 2, here it is.
Let's read it together. Let me
00:26:09.13\00:26:15.17
just look at my site here
very quickly. I'm correct right?
00:26:15.20\00:26:20.44
Okay, let's read the answer
together because I have it out
00:26:20.48\00:26:23.98
of context here. So let's read
it together. What's the answer
00:26:24.01\00:26:29.82
you got? Okay. Serve the Lord
with what? Gladness. Come before
00:26:29.88\00:26:36.12
his presence with what? Singing
and that's it. So what attitude
00:26:36.19\00:26:41.43
will the servant have toward
God? Serve the Lord with what?
00:26:41.46\00:26:47.30
Gladness. Serve the Lord with
gladness. So I had here in my
00:26:47.34\00:26:52.81
own particular one I had Psalm
95 and verse 6, okay, which I
00:26:52.84\00:26:56.85
enjoy that. It says, Oh come,
let us worship and bow down;
00:26:56.88\00:27:02.08
let us kneel before the Lord
our God our Maker. So one of the
00:27:02.12\00:27:06.82
other attitudes we have is
we do what when we come into the
00:27:06.86\00:27:11.33
presence of God? We worship and
we do what else? We bow down.
00:27:11.36\00:27:16.13
You know the attitude of bowing
down before the Lord... Matter
00:27:16.16\00:27:21.70
of fact, even more recently I
talked about this with my wife.
00:27:21.74\00:27:26.74
I said whenever it is possible
we should kneel before the Lord
00:27:26.78\00:27:31.35
when we pray, because if you
think about the awesome majesty
00:27:31.38\00:27:35.85
of God, if you think about who
He is, you know, you wouldn't
00:27:35.88\00:27:41.12
come to God and say, Okay God
let's pray. You kneel before the
00:27:41.16\00:27:45.26
presence of God. What impressed
me so much when we were in India
00:27:45.29\00:27:51.33
was we went to church on Sabbath
and there were people from the
00:27:51.37\00:27:57.37
community, Hindus in the
community and after Sabbath
00:27:57.41\00:28:00.91
School was done they came to the
church service and I can tell
00:28:00.98\00:28:04.05
when they were coming in
because you heard all the jewels
00:28:04.08\00:28:08.38
jangling. You could hear them
coming in because they really
00:28:08.42\00:28:13.05
believe in adorning themselves.
But as soon as they walked in,
00:28:13.09\00:28:17.69
they prostrated themselves knees
bent, face down on the ground
00:28:17.73\00:28:21.70
and you hearing them praying
as soon as they walked into the
00:28:21.73\00:28:25.27
house of God. And I thought
that's so impressive, that's so
00:28:25.30\00:28:28.24
wonderful, that's so beautiful.
Now I'm not saying that
00:28:28.27\00:28:30.91
Christians ought to do
that in their worship services,
00:28:30.94\00:28:33.54
prostrate themselves, but if you
look at the Bible and you look
00:28:33.58\00:28:37.65
at the examples that are put
forth there, on many occasions
00:28:37.68\00:28:41.75
when the person who came before
God and prayed, he bowed his
00:28:41.78\00:28:45.25
knees. Sometimes he bowed his
head. There were sometimes the
00:28:45.29\00:28:48.36
Bible said he lifted up his
eyes towards heaven. There were
00:28:48.39\00:28:51.16
other times he lifted his hands
and he lifted his eyes towards
00:28:51.19\00:28:54.26
heaven, various ways. But one of
the humbling ways that you find
00:28:54.30\00:28:57.33
in the Bible, they came and
they bowed before the Lord, they
00:28:57.37\00:29:02.37
knelt before the Lord. Amen?
Let's go to number 4, number
00:29:02.40\00:29:07.98
4. Okay. When we come into
the presence of God what are we
00:29:08.01\00:29:12.38
to do? When we come into the
presence of God what are we to
00:29:12.41\00:29:18.35
do? All right. What are we to
do? That's going to be in Psalm
00:29:18.39\00:29:25.33
100 and verse 4, Psalm 100 and
verse 4. Okay, here we are and
00:29:25.36\00:29:30.83
it's on the screen. You all have
it? Let's read this one together
00:29:30.87\00:29:36.30
Let's look at the screen.
Here it is. Enter his gate with
00:29:36.34\00:29:41.28
thanksgiving, and into His
courts with what? Praise. Be
00:29:41.31\00:29:46.18
thankful to Him, and bless His
name. I learned something else.
00:29:46.21\00:29:51.15
And you know while there are...
I believe my personal conviction
00:29:51.19\00:29:55.52
is God has given us one of the
greatest understandings of the
00:29:55.56\00:30:00.23
truth of His word, but I noticed
practices as I grew up. Now let
00:30:00.26\00:30:05.53
me give you an example. My mom,
the lady who raised me, some
00:30:05.57\00:30:09.47
people get confused when they
hear my life story, the lady who
00:30:09.50\00:30:13.88
raised me, her mother was
Catholic. And whenever Christmas
00:30:13.91\00:30:18.98
came we had a Catholic church
right across the street from our
00:30:19.01\00:30:23.12
house so it was traditional
for her mother, who was in some
00:30:23.15\00:30:28.06
sense my grandmother and her
name was Nina. Nina was such a
00:30:28.09\00:30:32.29
grandmother. I mean, a strong
loving lady. This particular
00:30:32.33\00:30:36.20
incident I'm talking about it
was a cold winter and she had a
00:30:36.23\00:30:40.40
thick, thick, thick coat and she
wanted to go across the street
00:30:40.44\00:30:44.11
to the Catholic church. And when
we got there and she walked in
00:30:44.14\00:30:47.84
we noticed that she had her coat
on and she had the hanger on too
00:30:47.88\00:30:51.71
I saw the top of the hanger out
of the top. She put on the coat
00:30:51.78\00:30:56.92
and the hanger. And I said Nina
you have on the hanger. I was a
00:30:56.95\00:31:01.32
little boy at the time. I mean,
all of six, seven years old. But
00:31:01.36\00:31:05.66
I never forgot that hanger
sticking out the top of her
00:31:05.69\00:31:08.10
thick, thick coat. But I noticed
when she walked in, when she sat
00:31:08.13\00:31:13.23
down she immediately bowed her
head and she prayed. She entered
00:31:13.27\00:31:18.81
into God's presence with prayer
and I'm sure that whatever was
00:31:18.84\00:31:24.35
there I'm sure there was
thanksgiving and there was
00:31:24.38\00:31:27.32
praise and, you know, we could
learn something from various
00:31:27.35\00:31:30.72
Christians. We won't say that
everything that they believe is
00:31:30.75\00:31:34.09
what we ought to adopt,
but I would say wouldn't it be
00:31:34.12\00:31:36.89
wonderful when you come into
the house of God that you pause,
00:31:36.93\00:31:39.93
that you bow your head, you
realize you're in the presence
00:31:39.96\00:31:43.26
of God. Even more recently
as a pastor I've been ending our
00:31:43.30\00:31:46.50
church services, instead of just
breaking off into conversation,
00:31:46.53\00:31:50.57
I guys let's pause. Just give 30
seconds, whatever time you need
00:31:50.61\00:31:54.61
let's just allow the message to
marinate. Let's not rush out of
00:31:54.64\00:31:59.05
the presence of God. Because
I tell you what, if the Lord was
00:31:59.08\00:32:03.49
there, there'd be a different
attitude at the end of the
00:32:03.52\00:32:05.39
sermon, wouldn't there be? We
would not say okay God I got to
00:32:05.42\00:32:09.82
go, got to go. I've got to
go to the Garden of the Gods.
00:32:09.86\00:32:12.79
That's a place down here in
Southern Illinois. I got to rush
00:32:12.83\00:32:16.90
home. We would actually hesitate
to leave the presence of God as
00:32:16.93\00:32:20.17
a corporate body of worshipers.
So I said to myself, that's a
00:32:20.20\00:32:23.44
wonderful thing. So when we come
into the house of God at least
00:32:23.47\00:32:26.84
we should come not with a long
face, not with how long am I
00:32:26.88\00:32:30.11
going to be here but come with
thanksgiving and what else in
00:32:30.15\00:32:33.75
our heart? Praise. Sing praises
to God. Sometimes when a hymn
00:32:33.78\00:32:37.65
is played, sometimes when the
praise songs are played, people
00:32:37.69\00:32:42.52
sing what a friend we have in
Jesus. Like would you sing that
00:32:42.56\00:32:46.66
way if Jesus was standing in
front of you? You would give it
00:32:46.70\00:32:50.93
all your heart. You would pour
forth your soul to the Lord.
00:32:50.97\00:32:54.54
Let's come into His presence
with thanksgiving and always
00:32:54.57\00:32:58.47
give Him what's due His name,
praise. All right. So you put
00:32:58.51\00:33:03.24
down thanksgiving and what else?
Praise. Be thankful to Him and
00:33:03.28\00:33:07.82
bless his name. The Bible says
His name is worthy to be praised
00:33:07.85\00:33:12.45
What a name. You know when my
name is mentioned, somebody know
00:33:12.49\00:33:16.73
it, they don't know it. Demons
don't tremble when they say John
00:33:16.76\00:33:21.83
But at the name of Jesus what
happens? Demons tremble. There's
00:33:21.86\00:33:26.74
no other name whereby we can be
saved but the name of Jesus. So
00:33:26.80\00:33:31.17
there's a beautiful reason why
we should bless His name. Number
00:33:31.21\00:33:35.58
5, number 5. Here it is.
What are we to expect when we
00:33:35.61\00:33:40.65
worship in God's presence?
What are we to expect? You know
00:33:40.68\00:33:45.65
sometimes we come to church and
you know the only expectation we
00:33:45.72\00:33:50.13
get, and I'm talking about the
late comers. Some people come
00:33:50.16\00:33:53.80
and you know some people battle
through various things but I
00:33:53.83\00:33:58.30
remember growing up in New York
City. The ushers, well I can't
00:33:58.33\00:34:01.90
use the ushers as an example
here, but in our church whenever
00:34:01.94\00:34:05.54
people enter, it was traditional
they always entered through the
00:34:05.57\00:34:08.94
back door and you always tell
who the late comers were because
00:34:08.98\00:34:12.45
is our church the ushers ushered
people to their seats. They
00:34:12.48\00:34:16.28
didn't just say go find a seat.
You remember that, they ushered
00:34:16.32\00:34:20.09
them to their seats. And
so what happened if there was
00:34:20.12\00:34:25.83
prayer being done nobody's going
in. If there was a song being
00:34:25.89\00:34:29.93
sung wait till the song is done.
If the preacher's preaching or
00:34:29.96\00:34:33.97
if something is happening up
front, wait till that song is
00:34:34.00\00:34:36.81
done, wait till the prayer
is over. They don't have people
00:34:36.84\00:34:39.94
walking in. They come into
the house of God with solemnity,
00:34:39.97\00:34:43.85
with order, recognizing... Can
you imaging if the president is
00:34:43.88\00:34:47.72
preaching, speaking, or a
dignitary is speaking, you just
00:34:47.75\00:34:51.92
walk down to the front, just
walk right in front of him. If
00:34:51.95\00:34:56.62
you want to be yanked by
the secret service and asked to
00:34:56.66\00:35:01.23
leave. Honestly, really. There's
a decorum when you come into
00:35:01.26\00:35:03.16
the presence of dignitaries and
presidents and people of high
00:35:03.20\00:35:05.60
office. We should exercise
the very same thing when we come
00:35:05.63\00:35:08.00
into the presence of God. Amen?
But sometimes we just don't know
00:35:08.04\00:35:11.54
that. We don't come into his
presence as He is God. Tradition
00:35:11.57\00:35:15.44
and not recognizing that by
faith He's really there. And we
00:35:15.48\00:35:19.45
just come any old how. Talking.
Talk about what happened last
00:35:19.48\00:35:23.25
week and all our stuff we have
just gotten. Let's honor the
00:35:23.28\00:35:27.02
Lord. That's why when you come
here's what you should expect.
00:35:27.06\00:35:30.93
The Lord says in Psalm 16:11:
You will show me the path of
00:35:30.96\00:35:37.03
what? Life. In Your presence is
fullness of joy, at Your right
00:35:37.07\00:35:43.00
hand are what? Pleasures ever
more, forever more, at the right
00:35:43.04\00:35:47.94
hand of God. That's what's there
pleasures forever more. That's
00:35:47.98\00:35:53.82
what we find when we come into
the presence of God. Joy and
00:35:53.85\00:35:58.72
pleasure. Fullness of joy. I
know we've been joyful but can
00:35:58.75\00:36:03.22
you imagine fullness of joy.
In the presence of God there's a
00:36:03.29\00:36:08.16
fullness of joy. In other words
He is the source of joy. That's
00:36:08.20\00:36:12.27
how the Spirit can give to us
the fruit of the Spirit which is
00:36:12.30\00:36:15.90
love, joy. The fruit of the
Spirit doesn't manufacture that
00:36:15.94\00:36:20.91
because he said in John 16:13
whatever I hear I'll speak and I
00:36:20.94\00:36:25.88
will not speak on my own
authority. He's the conveyor
00:36:25.91\00:36:28.45
of what God gives to Him. All
right, so put there fullness of
00:36:28.48\00:36:34.09
joy and pleasures forever more
for number 5. Now let's go to
00:36:34.12\00:36:39.66
number 6, number 6. When
we worship God what are we
00:36:39.89\00:36:44.83
encouraged to do? When
we worship God what are we
00:36:44.87\00:36:49.74
encouraged to do. And Psalm 52:9
You notice how we've been in
00:36:49.77\00:36:55.64
Psalms for 2, 3, 4,
5, and now number 6? And
00:36:55.68\00:37:01.92
we're going to go to Isaiah
in just a moment here. When we
00:37:01.95\00:37:05.49
worship God what are we
encouraged to do? Okay, here it
00:37:05.52\00:37:08.99
is. I will praise you for how
long? Forever. Because You have
00:37:09.02\00:37:15.13
done it; And in the presence of
Your saints I will wait on Your
00:37:15.16\00:37:20.80
name for what? For it is good.
Now I want to just revisit this.
00:37:20.84\00:37:25.04
When we worship God what are
we encouraged to do? What do you
00:37:25.07\00:37:28.41
think the answer is in this
verse? What am I looking for?
00:37:28.44\00:37:35.12
Say it again. Wait, wait. You
know the promise has been given
00:37:35.15\00:37:41.29
to those who don't hurry, to
those who don't rush. When you
00:37:41.32\00:37:45.73
go to somebody's house and
they're cooking a good dinner,
00:37:45.76\00:37:50.27
like Sister Zita here is a
great cook, wonderful cook. When
00:37:50.30\00:37:53.84
I go over and I smell the food
in the kitchen, I'm thinking oh
00:37:53.90\00:37:58.67
this is good, this is worth the,
worth the wait. When you go to
00:37:58.71\00:38:02.54
somebody's house and you walk
in, maybe it's Thanksgiving or
00:38:02.58\00:38:06.31
a special occasion, or just
somebody who invites you that
00:38:06.35\00:38:09.98
cooks really well and you take
a friend with you that had never
00:38:10.02\00:38:15.16
been there before, you say to
them, just wait, you just wait.
00:38:15.22\00:38:19.36
You're not going to believe how
good this is. We wait. We wait
00:38:19.39\00:38:23.00
for good meals, and then other
times we're sitting at home and
00:38:23.06\00:38:26.67
we're saying, I can't wait for
my show to come on. What do we
00:38:26.74\00:38:31.24
do? We what? We wait. And I must
use this example because I've
00:38:31.27\00:38:36.21
always said this growing up. A
dog lives a life of waiting. He
00:38:36.24\00:38:40.08
waits to go out, waits for his
owner to pet him, waits for his
00:38:40.12\00:38:43.92
owner to give him a walk, waits
for his owner to give him water.
00:38:43.95\00:38:48.79
He waits. Animals wait on us.
But sometimes we don't wait on
00:38:48.82\00:38:53.53
God. So what I want you to put
there is wait. When we worship
00:38:53.56\00:38:58.80
God what are we encouraged
to do? Wait. Sometimes even when
00:38:58.83\00:39:04.17
we pray sometimes we rush
through our prayers. Heavenly
00:39:04.21\00:39:09.44
Father, thank you for... Pachew.
And he says wait a minute, I
00:39:09.48\00:39:13.25
have something to say. But we're
gone. But you'll notice if you
00:39:13.28\00:39:16.99
linger in the presence of
God and you know we have those
00:39:17.02\00:39:19.29
phrases. What does it mean to
linger in the presence of God?
00:39:19.32\00:39:22.29
When you read the word of
God sometimes you sit down and
00:39:22.32\00:39:25.49
meditate on the word of God.
David said he meditated on the
00:39:25.53\00:39:28.83
law of God day and night. And
you find the word meditate. I'm
00:39:28.86\00:39:32.17
not talking about ummmm. That's
not what we're talking about.
00:39:32.20\00:39:36.27
We're saying Lord I know You are
real. I know You exist. Lord I'm
00:39:36.30\00:39:40.31
going to wait. And sometimes
we have answers that don't come
00:39:40.34\00:39:44.01
right away and we pray Father
today at 2 o'clock I've got an
00:39:44.05\00:39:47.68
interview. I need an
answer. And he says to us as his
00:39:47.72\00:39:53.46
children, okay, wait, I'll
be there. You got to wait on the
00:39:53.52\00:39:56.36
Lord. Right? Let's go to
the next one. You'll see how
00:39:56.39\00:39:58.66
beautiful this is. You see how
wonderful and the blessing that
00:39:58.69\00:40:02.56
comes when you wait on the
Lord. Here it is, number 7. What
00:40:02.63\00:40:07.30
is the blessing promised to
those that are not in a hurry?
00:40:07.34\00:40:12.14
That are not in a hurry. Okay.
Those that are not in a hurry.
00:40:12.17\00:40:18.75
And Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 40:31.
What is the blessing promised to
00:40:18.81\00:40:25.35
those that are not in a hurry?
In this world, I tell you,
00:40:25.39\00:40:29.02
everything is rough. Microwaves.
There were the days when people
00:40:29.06\00:40:33.46
used to write things down. I
remember when I bought my first
00:40:33.50\00:40:37.90
typewriter to do my sermon.
Typewriters? Does anybody have
00:40:37.93\00:40:41.90
typewriters anymore? Do you know
they still sell typewriters?
00:40:41.97\00:40:47.08
Typewriters are still sold. With
all this magnificent computer
00:40:47.11\00:40:52.21
stuff, typewriters are still
sold. Some people still use
00:40:52.25\00:40:55.55
typewriters. I found one of
my typewriters the other day, in
00:40:55.58\00:40:58.49
excellent condition, the
first and only typewriter I ever
00:40:58.55\00:41:01.42
bought. That's what I used
to use to do my sermons. And my
00:41:01.46\00:41:05.59
typewriter was high tech. You
see my typewriter had a screen
00:41:05.63\00:41:10.03
A thin, single-line screen
and when I typed the characters
00:41:10.07\00:41:14.40
showed up. If I agreed with what
I wrote, then I hit enter and it
00:41:14.44\00:41:17.87
typed it out. It actually was
a computer in the making. If I
00:41:17.91\00:41:21.68
didn't agree, I could backspace
and fix it and then hit enter
00:41:21.71\00:41:24.78
then print it out, then type
it out rather than have to spend
00:41:24.81\00:41:27.85
all that time, whiteout
and tearing out and crumple.
00:41:27.88\00:41:33.66
Remember those days. Boy I tell
you white out's probably going
00:41:33.69\00:41:36.79
out of business with all this
new electronics. But let's look
00:41:36.83\00:41:39.86
at the blessing that God
promises to those that wait on
00:41:39.89\00:41:43.23
Him. Isaiah 40:31: But those
who wait on the Lord shall what?
00:41:43.26\00:41:48.94
Renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings like eagles,
00:41:49.00\00:41:54.98
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
00:41:55.01\00:41:59.81
I tell you, how many of us need
our strength to be renewed? Come
00:41:59.85\00:42:04.65
on give me a hand. Come on,
everybody put a hand up. Now
00:42:04.69\00:42:07.22
let's just use this as an
example; when you go to a gas
00:42:07.26\00:42:09.72
station and you're car's tank is
almost empty do you fill it up
00:42:09.76\00:42:13.63
in a minute? What do you do
when you get to the gas station?
00:42:13.66\00:42:19.40
Now if it only has two pumps and
there are a lot people what do?
00:42:19.43\00:42:24.17
You wait to get to the pump and
when you get to the pump what
00:42:24.21\00:42:29.51
do you do. You see you put the
nozzle in and you're waiting to
00:42:29.54\00:42:34.82
fill it up right? And when
you're done you kind of leave.
00:42:34.85\00:42:38.35
Now I don't know, just examine
this action, you kind of leave
00:42:38.42\00:42:42.52
feeling a lot better than you
did when you got there. You get
00:42:42.56\00:42:45.09
in your car and you don't drive
gingerly. You kind of feel like,
00:42:45.13\00:42:47.66
got a full tank now I can really
drive with purpose. But you
00:42:48.50\00:42:52.70
drive differently when your car
is filled. How do you feel when
00:42:52.73\00:42:59.17
your gut is filled? Aw, that
was a good meal. You see we feel
00:42:59.21\00:43:04.25
good when we receive something
and in all those cases there's a
00:43:04.28\00:43:08.78
strength that comes. I speak
first for the inanimate object.
00:43:08.82\00:43:12.92
The car can run better on fuel.
I remember when I was in New
00:43:12.95\00:43:17.03
York City there was a
highway patrolman, actually in
00:43:17.06\00:43:20.73
California, his name was Gary
Cooper, remember that name, not
00:43:20.76\00:43:25.30
an actor, but that is an actor's
name. This highway patrolman
00:43:25.33\00:43:29.20
his name was Gary Cooper and I
remember, who told me about it?
00:43:29.24\00:43:32.44
Somebody had gone to a class and
they said that they met this guy
00:43:32.47\00:43:35.64
named Gary Cooper, patrolman
names Gary Cooper. They told me
00:43:35.68\00:43:38.65
the story. And I want to tell
you, it was not my story. Just
00:43:38.68\00:43:42.75
trying to be very honest. But
he said some of you guys don't
00:43:42.78\00:43:47.09
remember that a car needs fuel
to run and some of you run it
00:43:47.12\00:43:50.99
all the way down, you see the
light is on, you see it on E and
00:43:51.06\00:43:54.50
you keep on driving until you
can't go any farther. Some of
00:43:54.53\00:43:57.93
you I've pulled over on
the highway to stop behind you
00:43:57.97\00:44:01.70
because you've run out of fuel.
You know, and the very same way
00:44:01.77\00:44:04.27
unless we are having our
strength renewed we can't run on
00:44:04.31\00:44:08.14
empty and expect to serve God
if our spiritual life is empty.
00:44:08.18\00:44:12.71
Now what's the best way to fill
up your spiritual life? Study
00:44:12.75\00:44:16.45
and prayer. Everything else
is going to find a place in your
00:44:16.48\00:44:19.59
life but if you're not studying
God's word, if you're not
00:44:19.62\00:44:23.56
praying, you'd try to go on
empty and it's hard. I remember
00:44:23.59\00:44:27.76
there's a song I sang you know
it's hard to serve the Lord when
00:44:27.80\00:44:32.27
your spirit is empty. There's a
longing in my heart and there's
00:44:32.33\00:44:37.17
a song I sang called I Miss
My Time With You. So we have to
00:44:37.21\00:44:41.54
find that joy and that longing
in the presence of God and there
00:44:41.58\00:44:45.91
we will find our fill. And
then also our strength will be
00:44:45.95\00:44:49.18
renewed. So you want to put
the answer down. What is the
00:44:49.22\00:44:52.79
blessing promised to those
that are not in a hurry? Their
00:44:52.82\00:44:57.03
strength will be renewed and
they will not be weary and will
00:44:57.06\00:45:01.26
not faint. You can put that
whole thing: Your strength will
00:45:01.30\00:45:06.40
be renewed. Now let's transition
into some of the hindrances.
00:45:06.43\00:45:11.47
Number 8, number 8. What
does the Bible reveal as a
00:45:11.51\00:45:19.98
hindrance to worship? What's
a hindrance to worship? Matthew
00:45:20.02\00:45:28.56
15:8-9. I know this is kind of
like a parent to a child context
00:45:28.62\00:45:34.76
here because sometimes parents
would ask a child when they've
00:45:34.83\00:45:40.24
done something wrong, now what
do you say? What do you say?
00:45:40.27\00:45:45.64
And they say I'm sorry.
Now right now they honor their
00:45:45.67\00:45:50.78
parents with their lips but what
do you think of their heart?
00:45:50.85\00:45:54.02
They're heart is far from that
place for sorry. Now they know
00:45:54.05\00:45:56.92
if they don't say sorry there's
something else in mind for them.
00:45:56.95\00:45:59.82
So sorry; I'm sorry. Do you
think they mean it. And I've
00:45:59.85\00:46:04.59
learned, I didn't learn this
because I had children but I was
00:46:04.63\00:46:09.83
listening to a, I was listening
to a psychologist one day. Take
00:46:09.86\00:46:14.47
a breath and the psychologist
said one of the things that we
00:46:14.50\00:46:18.61
should tell a child to do rather
than say I'm sorry is say I
00:46:18.64\00:46:23.04
apologize. Because sorrow
is something that comes out of
00:46:23.08\00:46:27.42
conviction. You know, sorrow,
when they feel the sorrow. It's
00:46:27.48\00:46:30.85
almost natural. If a person
never feels sorrow they never
00:46:30.89\00:46:34.22
return to say, you know, I was
thinking about what I did. I am
00:46:35.29\00:46:37.73
so sorry. You can tell an
apology is sincere. And so in
00:46:37.76\00:46:44.87
the very same way this text
talks about we can come into the
00:46:44.90\00:46:47.60
presence of God and when we
do we have to make sure that we
00:46:47.64\00:46:50.87
come into God's presence with
a sincerity, not just with lip
00:46:50.91\00:46:55.11
service. Here it is, Matthew 15:
8-9. These people draw near to
00:46:55.14\00:47:00.22
Me with their mouth and honor Me
with their lips, but their heart
00:47:00.25\00:47:05.25
is what? Far from Me, and in
vain they worship Me, teaching
00:47:05.29\00:47:12.49
as doctrines the what?
The commandments of men.
00:47:12.53\00:47:15.73
So what does the Bible reveal
as a hindrance to worship? Lip
00:47:15.76\00:47:22.77
service, lip service, lip
service. That's the answer.
00:47:22.80\00:47:28.18
Say anything. You know, you can
say anything you want in church
00:47:28.21\00:47:32.71
you could sing anything you want
that is in the sense of Yeah I
00:47:32.78\00:47:36.52
love you Lord, and then you go
outside of the church. One young
00:47:36.55\00:47:40.06
man told me about an experience
he had. He went to a church that
00:47:40.12\00:47:43.63
claimed to be Holy Ghost filled.
And right after that he saw some
00:47:43.66\00:47:47.20
people that were in the Spirit,
so to speak, smoking outside the
00:47:47.26\00:47:50.77
church, another guy was hitting
on a woman, another guy was
00:47:50.80\00:47:53.20
cursing on his phone to somebody
who got him angry. He thought
00:47:53.23\00:47:55.57
to himself, wait a minute,
aren't those some of the three
00:47:55.60\00:47:57.34
people that I just saw in that
church that claimed to be in the
00:47:57.57\00:48:01.74
Spirit. Slain in the Spirit.
And they came outside and it was
00:48:01.78\00:48:05.31
just lip service. Because what
was coming out of their mouths
00:48:05.35\00:48:09.42
and the actions that followed
"being" in the Spirit were quite
00:48:09.45\00:48:13.52
opposite. What they saw was
not connected to the God they
00:48:13.56\00:48:19.46
claimed to be filled by. So it's
important that when we worship
00:48:19.49\00:48:22.86
God we don't come to God with
just lip service. He doesn't
00:48:22.90\00:48:26.13
want us to just say these
things We must come out of the
00:48:26.17\00:48:29.37
abundance of our heart. If we're
worshipping God with our whole
00:48:29.40\00:48:32.51
heart then those things that
would come forth... Go with me
00:48:32.54\00:48:38.81
to Psalm 1, Psalm 1. Okay.
Show you the resume of a true
00:48:38.85\00:48:44.85
worshiper, the resume of a
person that is connected to God.
00:48:44.89\00:48:53.06
All right. Psalm 1, the resume.
And this talks about the whole
00:48:53.09\00:48:59.30
life and I want you to get the
picture of it. Psalm 1 Everybody
00:48:59.33\00:49:04.41
find Psalm 1. Here it is. Here's
what the Bible says. Blessed
00:49:04.44\00:49:09.68
is the man who walketh not in
the counsel of the ungodly nor
00:49:09.71\00:49:14.62
stands in the way or path
of what? Sinners nor sit in the
00:49:14.68\00:49:19.65
seat of the scornful, but
his delight is in the law of the
00:49:19.69\00:49:24.86
Lord, and in his law he does
what? Meditate day and night.
00:49:24.89\00:49:29.96
I made that reference a moment
ago. Now notice what the benefit
00:49:30.00\00:49:32.93
is going to be. If this is how
he's living his life look at the
00:49:32.97\00:49:37.64
benefits, starting with verse 3.
He shall be like a tree planted
00:49:37.67\00:49:42.34
by the rivers of waters that
brings forth its fruit in its
00:49:42.38\00:49:45.91
season. That's what I'm talking
about. When you're planted by
00:49:45.95\00:49:50.65
the living water you have to
bring forth and the fruits that
00:49:50.69\00:49:56.19
come forth from the water of
life are the fruits of life. It
00:49:56.22\00:50:01.96
says whose leaf also shall
not wither and whatever he does
00:50:02.00\00:50:06.30
shall what? Shall prosper. But
look at the comparison. Look at
00:50:06.33\00:50:10.57
the comparison to those who just
give lip service and their heart
00:50:10.61\00:50:14.84
is not in it. He says the
ungodly are not so but like the
00:50:14.88\00:50:20.78
chaff which the wind drives away
Therefore the ungodly shall not
00:50:20.82\00:50:25.62
stand in the judgment nor
sinners in the congregation of
00:50:25.65\00:50:29.02
the righteous. For the Lord
knows the way of the righteous
00:50:29.09\00:50:32.83
but the way of the ungodly shall
what? Shall perish. So it is
00:50:32.86\00:50:36.20
important, here's the counsel
it's important not just to say
00:50:36.26\00:50:39.53
things that are worship
00:50:39.60\00:50:40.94
sayings. Because you know we've
got all these clichés: yeah I'm
00:50:40.97\00:50:45.34
filled, I want to be kind here
and not just go down the line
00:50:45.37\00:50:49.04
and mention something that may
be a part of somebody's worship.
00:50:49.11\00:50:52.71
But make sure that whatever you
say is not lip service, but it's
00:50:52.75\00:50:56.28
coming from the heart in which
Christ is really dwelling and
00:50:56.32\00:50:59.92
transforming you. Let it
not just be good sayings. A song
00:50:59.95\00:51:03.99
years ago sung by the group
Harvest Celebration, the words
00:51:04.03\00:51:08.86
impressed me so much. It says
lofty words, biased repetition,
00:51:08.90\00:51:14.00
praises great and grand but not
what He demands. See you could
00:51:14.04\00:51:19.74
make it sound so holy. But if
it's not coming from the heart
00:51:19.77\00:51:24.25
the Lord will say yeah I hear
what you're saying but his heart
00:51:24.31\00:51:28.78
is somewhere outside, not
in here. Look at number 9,
00:51:28.82\00:51:32.69
number 9. Okay. What caution
does the Bible give concerning
00:51:32.72\00:51:38.46
the heart and worship? The heart
and worship. Okay. What caution
00:51:38.49\00:51:50.27
does the Bible give? Deuteronomy
11:16. God gives counsel. The
00:51:50.31\00:52:00.95
heart and worship. Okay. Here
we are. And it begins with two
00:52:00.98\00:52:09.36
words. What are those two words?
Take heed to whom? Yourselves,
00:52:09.39\00:52:17.77
lest your heart be what?
Deceived, and you turn aside and
00:52:17.80\00:52:23.77
serve other gods and what else
and worship them Worship is very
00:52:23.81\00:52:30.15
much about God. I mean, worship
is about God. Somebody once said
00:52:30.21\00:52:36.52
everybody worships something,
everybody has a god in his or
00:52:36.55\00:52:39.82
her life. Sometimes all you
have to do is see how they spend
00:52:39.85\00:52:42.92
their money to decide what god
it is. Or the things that they
00:52:42.96\00:52:46.26
spend most of their time
with. Because somebody's on that
00:52:46.29\00:52:49.56
throne. Somebody's worshipping
something. Let me say it this
00:52:49.63\00:52:53.84
way; everybody is worshipping
something. But here the Lord
00:52:53.90\00:52:57.81
says be careful, don't let your
heart be deceived because what
00:52:57.84\00:53:02.21
happens when deception comes in
then we turn aside from serving
00:53:02.24\00:53:06.41
the true God and we serve other
gods and then we end up doing
00:53:06.45\00:53:10.19
what? Worshipping them. Anything
you serve you're going to end up
00:53:10.22\00:53:14.22
worshipping. It starts out with
just a casual connection but as
00:53:14.26\00:53:17.86
you know if you do anything
repetitiously over and over and
00:53:17.89\00:53:21.80
over and over again it becomes
an action that turns into a
00:53:21.86\00:53:25.67
habit, well an action that turns
into a habit. See, a thought, an
00:53:25.73\00:53:31.64
action, a habit. Anytime we are
involved in worship that is not
00:53:31.67\00:53:36.64
true, it turns our hearts away
from the God of true worship
00:53:36.68\00:53:41.02
and then we end up serving other
gods and worshipping them. In
00:53:41.05\00:53:44.89
your time you should read
the context because this is very
00:53:44.92\00:53:48.22
important. The Lord was trying
to lead His people to keep His
00:53:48.29\00:53:51.83
commandments, but they found
themselves at the feet of other
00:53:51.86\00:53:55.63
gods worshipping false gods.
Thus we transition into some
00:53:55.66\00:53:59.40
very heavy texts as we go forth
in our study tonight. All right.
00:53:59.43\00:54:04.81
Let's go to question number 10.
What is the end result of not
00:54:04.84\00:54:09.34
worshipping the Lord in truth?
What is the end result of not
00:54:09.38\00:54:13.31
worshipping the Lord in truth?
Let's go to a book that's really
00:54:13.38\00:54:17.29
hard to find, Revelation.
Revelation chapter 13 and we're
00:54:17.32\00:54:23.86
going to look together at
verse 12. Revelation, as my good
00:54:23.89\00:54:28.80
friend John Malkovich in
Australia would say "thirdeen. "
00:54:28.83\00:54:33.67
Revelation 13:12. Okay, here's
the answer. And it says: And he
00:54:33.70\00:54:42.84
exercises all the authority of
the first beast in his presence,
00:54:42.88\00:54:51.95
and causes the earth and those
who dwell in it to do what?
00:54:51.99\00:54:57.93
Worship the first beast, whose
deadly wound was healed. Now
00:54:57.96\00:55:03.87
the end result of not
worshipping the Lord is this.
00:55:03.90\00:55:07.60
Another power is going to direct
your worship and that worship is
00:55:07.64\00:55:11.27
going to be turned away from God
and where is the worship going
00:55:11.34\00:55:14.94
to be focused? On the beast.
Now this is really a powerful
00:55:14.98\00:55:19.81
context, a powerful topic. What
I'm not going to do right now is
00:55:19.85\00:55:23.72
define who the beast is. But the
point of the text is this, the
00:55:23.75\00:55:28.26
end result of not worshipping
the Lord. You cannot be deceived
00:55:28.29\00:55:31.29
if you're worshipping God, you
won't be deceived. Because the
00:55:31.33\00:55:34.90
text pointed out that the
foundation of this entire result
00:55:34.93\00:55:39.53
that ended up leading people to
worship the first beast, there
00:55:39.60\00:55:43.34
was deception that existed there
There was deception, the whole
00:55:43.37\00:55:49.11
world was deceived and only
those who are deceived are those
00:55:49.14\00:55:53.48
who will end up worshipping
the beast. What is the truth
00:55:53.52\00:55:56.18
intended to do? The truth is
intended to keep up from being
00:55:56.22\00:55:58.85
deceived. Can you say amen to
that? Because the truth of God
00:56:00.46\00:56:04.19
makes your mind clear. So now
let me just go ahead and try an
00:56:04.23\00:56:09.96
experiment. What's two and two?
What's four minus two? Isn't
00:56:10.00\00:56:16.00
two plus two five? I mean just
because you were told it's four
00:56:16.04\00:56:22.04
but the real answer is five
isn't it? Really, I mean, don't
00:56:22.08\00:56:27.95
I look honest? Isn't two and two
five? What am I trying to do.
00:56:27.98\00:56:32.99
I'm trying to deceive you, right
But how do you know that two and
00:56:33.02\00:56:40.66
two is four. Because you know
how to count. One two, two plus
00:56:40.70\00:56:45.87
one, two, three, four. You just
got to add it up. See here's my
00:56:45.90\00:56:50.77
point, if it doesn't add up,
it's not the truth. God's word
00:56:50.81\00:56:54.88
will never allow it not to
add up. I'm going to get to this
00:56:54.91\00:56:59.71
last text. I may or may not get
to it very quickly but let me
00:56:59.78\00:57:03.89
try. I'll at least go ahead. So
the answer is, what is the end
00:57:03.92\00:57:07.09
result of not worshipping
the Lord in truth? You'll end up
00:57:07.12\00:57:09.26
worshipping the beast. You'll
end up worshipping the beast.
00:57:09.29\00:57:15.06
Or you can put down false
worship. You can never lose your
00:57:15.10\00:57:20.84
way or end up on the wrong path
if you worship God in spirit and
00:57:20.87\00:57:27.18
in truth. He is the compass.
He is the GPS, God's Programming
00:57:27.24\00:57:32.28
System. He'll guide you to where
you must be. He'll never allow
00:57:32.31\00:57:37.35
you to be in a position of
deception. So it's not just
00:57:37.39\00:57:40.22
about worship. Because a lot of
people say I'm worshipping this
00:57:40.26\00:57:43.32
weekend, come worship with me.
And that word today, you know,
00:57:43.36\00:57:46.96
worship services, worship music,
worship songs, worship style,
00:57:47.00\00:57:50.77
worship experience. God is in
essence saying, in all of that
00:57:50.80\00:57:54.44
please don't forget to worship
me in spirit and in truth and if
00:57:54.47\00:57:58.24
you do that, whatever doesn't
make sense one day will become
00:57:58.27\00:58:02.04
A Sharper Focus. God bless you.
00:58:02.08\00:58:05.21