Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190035A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello, welcome and happy Sabbath. 01:11 And welcome to Family Worship. 01:13 Right, Honey? 01:14 Yeah, we're excited that you've joined us tonight. 01:16 And we're gonna have a great Family Worship, 01:19 aren't we? 01:20 That's right because the topic is about Worship. 01:23 We have family worships, 01:24 but what is worship? 01:27 And we have a wonderful family with us today, I will say... 01:30 Sometimes you say panel but... No, it's not panel. 01:32 They don't look like panel anyway. 01:34 They look like family. 01:35 We all belong to the same church. 01:37 That's right. 01:38 We work together, everything. That's right. 01:39 We have a wonderful family with us today. 01:42 I choose not to call them panelists 01:44 because they're not competing for anything. 01:46 We're all here to share... 'Cause we like each other. 01:48 We like each other. That's right. 01:49 And quickly, Honey, 01:51 why don't you introduce the ladies? 01:52 It looks like it just happened that way tonight 01:54 that the ladies want most tonight. 01:55 Yeah. Dee Hilderbrand. 01:56 Hi. 01:58 Dee, what do you do here at 3ABN? 01:59 I just do scheduling 02:00 and that's why we're seated this way 02:02 because I'm the one that said, 02:03 "Oh, well, you know, where's Angie sitting?" 02:05 Yeah, this was not happenstance... 02:07 That's true. You just planned it. 02:09 I planned it before you got here. 02:11 And then next to Dee, we have Janelle Owen. 02:14 Happy to have you here, Janelle. 02:15 Thank you for having me. 02:17 I'm in... You work in...? 02:18 I'm in the publishing department. 02:19 Publishing? 02:21 That means if a person gets a 3ABN World Magazine, 02:22 you had a lot to do with it. 02:23 Yes. 02:25 And Bobby Davis, and Adam Dean, and Svetlana. 02:27 Okay, wonderful, wonderful team. 02:29 Yeah. 02:30 And you are my right hand 02:32 when it comes to graphic design and stuff for the church. 02:34 I appreciate that. Oh, praise the Lord. 02:36 And personal ministries also for our church. 02:38 Owen Donald. That's right. 02:40 It's a privilege. Yes. 02:41 And to my left immediately is CFO, 02:45 tell us what that means? 02:47 Chief Financial Officer. 02:48 And your name? 02:49 Jason Bergmann. 02:51 That's right. 02:52 He's the one that took Brian Hamilton's place. 02:55 We don't really replace people, but he's now come in, 02:57 they're trying to get younger people here 02:59 so that all those who want to retire can do so. 03:03 And, but the ministry is in good hands 03:04 because Jason Bergmann 03:06 and his wife Francine are wonderful couple. 03:08 And she's in charge of... 03:09 Yes. Yes. Kids' Network. 03:11 That's right. Kids' Network. Yep. 03:13 And we have a gentleman 03:14 at the far right there, Eric Durant. 03:16 Good to see you, Eric. 03:18 Happy to be here. And you are? 03:19 A broadcast engineer, 03:21 software engineer and repair man. 03:23 That's right, and you were in the military at one time? 03:25 I was in the military. He's got one. 03:27 He's one of those guys that read that language, 03:28 that computer language that's still Greek to me. 03:32 And he's from New York. 03:33 Well, God is good. 03:35 He's given me the gift of tongues 03:37 when it comes to software. 03:39 So we get it done. 03:40 That's right. That's a good one. 03:42 He has the gift of tongues 03:44 because he does a lot of the programming 03:45 for the mobile, I mean, the IPTV box. 03:49 That's been a tremendous blessing. 03:51 As I looked at one day, and I stopped at the office 03:52 and I said, "What on earth is that?" 03:54 My state TV and work the automation software 03:57 and master control, and quite a few things. 04:00 We're glad to have you here. Happy to be here. 04:01 So you can see we have 04:03 a very diverse group of people here 04:06 that are going to really chime in 04:08 on not only their experience of worship, 04:10 but what does the Bible say about worship 04:11 and how can we help you 04:14 when it comes to strengthening your worship? 04:16 Before we go any further, 04:17 Honey, would you have pray for us? 04:18 Yes, let's bow our heads. 04:20 Our kind, Heavenly Father, 04:21 we are so thankful to be here this blessed Sabbath evening. 04:25 Thank You, Lord, that we can talk about worship. 04:28 It's a privilege and honor 04:30 to worship such a wonderful, kind, and loving Lord. 04:34 We ask that You send Your Holy Spirit here tonight 04:36 and bless us as we talk about worship. 04:40 And thank You for being in our presence. 04:43 In Jesus' name, amen. 04:44 Amen. 04:46 You know what, 04:47 what kind of sparked the idea about worship was, 04:51 I was looking up at articles. 04:53 I talked about it last week. 04:56 I was looking up at articles about worship, 04:58 and then I came across this article, 05:00 it was actually from billygraham.org. 05:03 And the title was "Is Your Worship Worthship?" 05:07 And a very interesting article 05:08 and I pulled a couple of excerpts out of it. 05:10 One of which the saying that I had is, he says, 05:14 "This world worships continually 05:17 because we are created to do so. 05:19 We worship what we believe to be worth it, 05:22 sports, prestige, power, 05:24 material possessions, relationships, vices, 05:27 recreation, the list is endless. 05:29 And of all these things, 05:31 and all of these things get our passion, 05:34 our relevant love in our life." 05:37 He says, "But because we are created to worship, 05:40 we will worship whatever is at the forefront of our lives. 05:43 We see this drive to worship displayed in many ways. 05:47 Like the guy who paints his face 05:49 the color of his favorite team 05:50 and then proceeds 05:52 in a passionate display of adoration 05:54 to cheer on his team to victory. 05:57 He wouldn't miss a single game. 05:58 He doesn't care that you or I may think he's nuts. 06:02 And you see that stadiums are packed. 06:04 And what amazes me, 06:06 have you ever seen a stadium during the football season 06:08 when it's snowing and people are there? 06:10 That's right. 06:11 Snow on their head. 06:12 Right. Yeah. 06:14 Because they are not just fans. 06:15 They are what? 06:16 They're worshipers. 06:18 They're worshipers. That's right. 06:20 A couple of other examples. 06:21 As you were reading some of that, 06:23 I was thinking about people 06:24 that are not maybe just rock stars 06:27 or anybody that's in the limelight 06:28 like in Hollywood, 06:30 and how a lot of them turn to drugs 06:31 and alcohol and different things. 06:34 I believe a lot of that comes from 06:36 because we weren't made to be worshiped. 06:38 And maybe they can't handle all of the attention 06:42 and the pressure and all of that 06:44 because we weren't made to be worshiped. 06:46 And I just think of that, you know, 06:47 when you hear stories about people 06:49 that get involved and, you know, all the heavy drugs 06:52 and all the different things that they do, you know, 06:55 there has to be a lot of pressure in those circles. 06:58 You make a good point 06:59 because there's a singer that actually, 07:01 I think she committed suicide, Amy Winehouse. 07:04 I saw a documentary and she said, 07:06 "All I want is just to be able to walk down the street 07:09 and be at peace." 07:10 But her fans are worshipers. 07:13 They just wouldn't give her the freedom to do that. 07:15 So we have to be really careful what we worship. 07:18 And because we know that 07:19 there's only one person really worthy of worship. 07:22 And we're gonna talk about that this evening. 07:24 So get your Bibles, we have an outline, 07:26 but we have our own scriptures and our own input. 07:29 And I wanna kind of go to that. 07:32 A couple of things I had here 07:33 that I wanted my sweetheart to share 07:35 with our viewing audience. 07:37 I launch the topics, 07:38 I came up with these things that... 07:40 Did you came up with this one? 07:41 I came up with those things. 07:43 Oh, okay. All right. 07:44 First one is. 07:46 It says, "Worship that does not cost us anything 07:49 will benefit us nothing. 07:52 Worship without investment will be without interest." 07:56 How do you think, 07:57 what do you think of that, Jason? 07:59 Oh, that just rings in my heart. 08:00 You know, as the guy 08:02 that likes investing and managing money, 08:04 it's really important that you put the time 08:07 into investing something and you get a return. 08:10 And what I look at when we give worship to God, 08:15 our investment is in heaven, 08:18 to be a part of His kingdom, 08:19 but to praise Him for who He is. 08:23 I also see when, you know, 08:24 when we go to church, 08:26 we're there to give the praise instead of get the praise 08:31 because of what God has done for us. 08:33 And so it's amazing that, you know, 08:37 the Lord allows us to be a part of His investment, 08:42 being good stewards, 08:43 in sharing the good news to those around us, 08:47 that others may be a part of that investment 08:49 in that return. 08:51 That's right. Which is amazing. 08:52 And, you know, on that line of investment, 08:55 what's the principle of investment in return? 08:59 The more you invest... 09:01 The more you're able to acquire. 09:03 That's right. 09:04 So yeah, I mean, I look at that as something 09:09 that when you invest in something 09:11 you appreciate more and more. 09:13 And what I've seen the more we give to the Lord, 09:17 whether it be our time or money, 09:19 the Lord has a way of increasing it 09:21 because He's looking for investors. 09:26 And He want to return on His money. 09:27 This is what we call investment. 09:28 That's right. 09:30 I love that. 09:31 That's very good. Eric? 09:33 Well, I always found it interesting. 09:36 When I talk to a lot of Christians, 09:39 they come out of church and they say, 09:41 "Well, I didn't get anything out of church. 09:44 I didn't get anything out of what the pastor said." 09:47 And immediately in my mind, I always think, 09:49 "Well, what did you give?" 09:52 For me, when I first became a Christian, it was interesting 09:54 because I kind of think analytically 09:57 about a lot of things 09:58 and analytically if you want to get you go consume, 10:04 and you consume and consume, and that's how you build, 10:07 giving to get makes mathematical... 10:12 It's a mathematical conundrum. 10:16 So for me learning to give was difficult in the beginning, 10:22 but I started to learn that as a Christian, 10:26 when I give, I get in my heart 10:30 and I get blessings as a result. 10:33 I noticed that when Christ came here, 10:35 there's nowhere in the Bible where it says, "He took." 10:41 He came and by example, He gave. 10:44 All of His miracles He was giving. 10:47 He's my example. 10:49 And if I wanna follow Him, 10:52 that's one of the first things I need to pay attention to 10:56 is my giving, my generosity... 11:00 What do you get out of it when he talks about giving? 11:02 I'm listening to him 11:04 there's a scripture keep pop into my mind. 11:05 I don't want to say 11:06 but what do you keep hearing him 11:08 say, giving, giving. 11:09 What are you giving? Giving you shall receive. 11:11 More blessed to give... Okay, say it. 11:12 "It is more blessed to give than to receive." 11:14 Right. 11:15 It's like, I don't know how to explain it 11:18 but when you start experiencing that, 11:20 just the more you give of love. 11:24 The more you give so many things in this life, 11:27 the more you grow, the fuller you are. 11:33 Love expands. 11:35 It's a counter addiction of everything of the earth. 11:40 You spend your gold is gone. 11:44 You drive your car and it's just gone. 11:48 But the more you give of love, the more you give of yourself, 11:52 the more you give of your time is like it grows and expands. 11:57 You know what I look at that is... 11:59 It's a spiritual thing. 12:00 That's right. Exactly. 12:02 But it also tributes to compounding 12:04 and investment is good. 12:06 But like a retirement plan, 12:08 you see the benefits of retirement 12:10 in the last five years 12:12 after you invested for 30 years or 35 years, 12:16 it just compounds 12:17 and it doubles and triples to the point where, 12:21 that's what I think we're gonna see in heaven 12:23 is all the compounding that we're doing 12:26 while we're growing and giving. 12:29 We're gonna see that compounding 12:31 that the Lord is gonna share with us 12:32 that He allowed us to be a part of His investment 12:37 and being good stewards. 12:39 Bergmann, I want you to do a sermon 12:41 at our church about investing. 12:42 Exactly. 12:44 'Cause you know the term compounding, 12:45 I love that. I love that. 12:46 Do you notice when you first start putting 12:48 an investment plan, 12:49 you got me on the trajectory now. 12:51 You don't see any interest right away. 12:52 You don't put like the first two months and say, 12:55 "Oh, I'm ready to retire." 12:56 That's right. 12:57 You know, even if you try to withdraw 12:59 the people gonna say, 13:00 "You just start putting money 13:01 and why you wanna take anything out." 13:03 And we are counseled against... 13:04 That's right. 13:06 Taking it out, even when things go bad. 13:07 Wow! 13:08 I tell you, Jason, 13:10 this has so many points about of it. 13:11 Even when the market is starting to nosedive, 13:14 let's compare it. 13:15 Even when life is going down, 13:17 don't stop giving God what He's worthy of. 13:19 That's right. 13:20 Because you gonna see in the long run 13:22 when it upswing. 13:23 That's right. 13:24 You gonna say, "I'm so glad I didn't stop investing 13:26 during difficult times." 13:28 I'm working on the sermon here. 13:30 When we invest in the Lord, 13:31 when we're going through the hard times. 13:34 When He brings, 13:35 we're so much stronger and we're growing so much, 13:38 He compounded that experience and brought us out fuller. 13:41 And I was gonna add to that 13:43 we don't worship God because we feel like it 13:46 because sometimes we don't feel like it is 13:47 because of who He is. 13:49 What He's done for us. 13:50 And, you know, 13:52 when those hard times do come, we worship Him 13:54 because we know His character and He doesn't change. 13:57 I had that sentence when I read that sentence 14:00 worship that does not cost us anything 14:02 will benefit us nothing. 14:04 There was a brand new thought to me. 14:06 I just was like, "What does that mean?" 14:09 But the more we talk about it, and the more I realized, 14:14 and I don't know 14:15 if I'm the only one that saw that, 14:17 I think a lot about how much Jesus paid, 14:19 the price He paid. 14:20 Amen. That's right. 14:22 But all of a sudden the thought popped into my head, 14:25 the price God paid. 14:27 That's right. To give us His Son. 14:29 It was amazing. 14:31 Yeah. 14:32 And the Holy Spirit, they all paid a price 14:34 that was beyond our comprehension. 14:38 So that's where He is worthy of our praise, 14:44 just for who He is. 14:45 And what's amazing is when He did, when He did, 14:47 He didn't come and say what's in it for me? 14:49 No. 14:51 You know, He didn't say, I'm gonna give so I can get. 14:53 He gave simply because He loved us. 14:55 And I think that's a very, very important thing 14:58 to keep in mind. 14:59 Sometimes you say, 15:00 "Well, what am I getting out of this?" 15:02 That's not the goal. 15:03 The goal is to learn to love your neighbor. 15:05 And the blessings come as a result. 15:07 Amen. It's true. 15:08 The price He paid, 15:10 He knew that He was not gonna get a full return. 15:13 Wow! 15:14 There was going to be people who choose to say no. 15:18 So He knew... 15:21 You guys are so on target right now. 15:23 I just, I could, I know the Spirit of God 15:25 is leading in our hearts right now. 15:26 I wanna jump way ahead and go to 1 Chronicles. 15:29 It's under section four. 15:31 Section four. 15:35 Not there. 15:36 Section there. Yeah. 15:37 And I wanna have somebody read that. 15:39 Actually, the scripture is, 1 Chronicle, 15:42 I'll start with my sweetheart right next 15:43 because we've been talking 15:45 about giving, giving, giving, giving. 15:46 And the question is what spirit 15:48 should we possess when we worship? 15:51 "Give to the Lord." 15:52 1 Chronicles 16:29. 15:54 Yes. 15:56 "Give to the Lord the glory due His name, 15:58 bring an offering, and come before Him. 16:02 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!" 16:06 Is that not an investment scripture? 16:08 Yes. 16:09 "Give to the Lord the glory" what's the next word? 16:11 Due! 16:13 He said, Your bill is due. 16:17 If there's a bill that's due. 16:19 And what is that bill? Glory. 16:21 Fear God and give glory to Him, worship Him. 16:26 Notice, how that all comes right back down 16:28 to three angels' messages, the very first one, 16:30 "Fear God and give glory to Him. 16:32 Worship Him who made heaven and the earth, 16:33 and the sea and the springs of water." 16:35 When you think about what do you give to somebody 16:37 that has everything? 16:39 Nothing. 16:40 Oh, wait, wait, you missed it. 16:42 What do you give to somebody that owns everything? 16:45 Time. 16:46 Okay. Worship. 16:47 Say it again. Worship. 16:49 Worship. 16:50 He said, I own everything. 16:51 I don't need your money. I don't need your... 16:53 I just, all I want is to be worshiped, 16:57 and not out of aggrandizement, but because He's worthy of it. 17:00 Because he could do all of His own work Himself. 17:03 That's true. 17:04 And what's great about God that I see is 17:08 He wants that worship, 17:10 but He also wants 17:11 that relationship with each other. 17:12 That's right. 17:14 And part of that worship is getting to know Him 17:16 and praising Him and thanking Him 17:18 for all the things that He's done for us 17:20 and will do for us. 17:22 Amen. 17:23 And I just see that an awesome opportunity 17:25 that He has given us to share that good news 17:27 to those around us. 17:29 I have to share a scripture 17:30 that goes along with your question, 17:32 what spirit shall we possess when we worship? 17:34 The thing that kept coming to my mind 17:36 as I'm reading through this study 17:38 and preparing was Psalm 51:17. 17:42 It says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, 17:47 a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." 17:51 And that really explains what He, 17:55 the spirit that God wants 17:58 is having a broken and contrite heart. 18:02 And I heard someone on an interview recently 18:04 talking about that word contrite. 18:06 How it means dust, like particles, 18:10 and then they compare to how God used us 18:12 to make us dust of the earth. 18:14 And they said that, you know, 18:16 that God can make something out of dust 18:18 He can make, He can rebuild. 18:20 And so if our heart is in pieces 18:22 and in pieces of dust, 18:25 He's gonna make something new out of it. 18:28 So to me, that's the spirit that we should possess, 18:31 you know, giving Him our heart 18:33 and that He can really make a new heart in us. 18:37 You know, I find that amazing when you think about it. 18:41 One of the things I have in my office, 18:43 it's a plaque that says 18:44 obedience is the highest form of worship. 18:47 And when I hear, when I read the Bible, 18:50 and it says, worship Me, some people say, 18:53 "Well, God wants attention." 18:55 Why does God want all of us to worship Him? 18:57 And what I found out is that, 19:01 if obedience is the highest form of worship, 19:04 God wants our obedience not because He's selfish 19:07 it's because our obedience protects us. 19:12 He's out to protect us from ourselves. 19:14 He's out to protect us from the world. 19:16 And through our obedience, 19:18 through our worship we gave Him permission 19:21 to protect us. 19:22 And so I always keep that in mind 19:24 that I think the Bible says, Scripture says, 19:27 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 19:30 He does says He loves Me 19:31 and does not keep My commandments is a liar 19:33 and the truth is not in Him. 19:35 That's a protection right there. 19:36 He saying, "Keep My commandments 19:38 to protect yourself." 19:40 It's not a selfish thing where God just wants attention 19:42 from all of His children. 19:44 He wants to protect us. 19:45 When we worship Him 19:47 that increases the relationship. 19:49 That's right. Yeah. 19:51 God's only desire is that relationship 19:53 that He wants with us. 19:55 And when we worship Him that grows that relationship 19:59 which grows us in His image 20:02 because sin came in and ruined everything. 20:06 So He's trying to repair us back to, 20:10 of what He created us to be. 20:13 That's right. 20:14 And while He's doing that, 20:15 He wants to protect us in the process. 20:17 I like what you said about that 20:19 because truly, when people think, 20:20 "Well, God, you know, 20:22 He's just trying to stop me from doing things." 20:23 What we don't understand is when we live in a sinful realm, 20:26 He's not gonna protect sin. 20:28 There are two umbrellas and somebody once said, 20:30 if you step out from under an umbrella 20:32 on a rainy day, what's gonna happen? 20:33 You'll get wet. You'll get wet. 20:35 That's not because you are tall, or short, 20:36 or rich, or not famous, that's just raining. 20:40 And when it rains, you're gonna get wet. 20:41 The Lord puts a protection over us 20:43 and that protection is there because we are obedient. 20:46 He loves us but He says, 20:47 "Stay within the realm 20:49 of what I've established to protect you." 20:50 And when we stay there, then that obedience... 20:54 He starts saying okay... 20:55 But it's also our freedom. 20:56 Oh, of course. 20:58 They gives us complete freedom. 20:59 It keeps us... Say, it gives us... 21:01 You're right. It gives us security, safety. 21:03 He protects us and gives us complete freedom. 21:06 I worship the wrong thing when I was a teenager. 21:09 And you knew who I worship 21:10 'cause you could walk in my room 21:11 and you saw the posters on the wall. 21:13 Oh, yeah, me too. 21:14 That's who I worship. 21:15 And I emulated them. 21:17 And my behavior was self-destructive. 21:20 Everything that was bad 21:21 that was going on in the morning, 21:22 why is this bad thing going on? 21:24 And why is this bad thing going on? 21:25 God doesn't love me. God hates me. 21:27 Meanwhile, I'm not worshiping God. 21:28 I'm worshiping these characters on the wall. 21:30 And wondering why things are going bad. 21:32 And wondering why things are going bad. 21:33 No protection. No protection. 21:34 That's a good analogy. 21:36 I wanna walk through 21:37 a couple of things in the Bible. 21:39 We have some questions here. 21:40 And I wanna kind of walk through some of the... 21:42 One of the first examples 21:43 I found in the Bible about worship is in Genesis. 21:46 And I'm gonna leave with the question 21:47 and anybody can jump in. 21:49 Genesis 24:48 21:50 if you have your Bible with you. 21:53 I should say, what was the first thing, 21:54 one of the first things the Bible says about worship. 21:57 And this is interesting 21:59 because sometimes we come to church and, 22:03 or even whether it's in your own home 22:05 or whether it's in... 22:07 Didn't have to always be in church. 22:09 But if you gather together to worship 22:10 or sometimes in your own home, 22:13 sometimes it's the attitude 22:15 that precedes what comes after that. 22:19 Genesis 24:48, who'd like to read that? 22:23 Read. Oh, okay. 22:25 "And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, 22:28 and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, 22:31 who had led me in the way of truth 22:34 to take the daughters 22:36 of my master's brother for his son." 22:37 Okay. 22:39 I think I read more than you need. 22:40 No, that's good. 22:41 So one of the first acts of worship 22:43 the Bible talks about? 22:45 How did it happen? 22:46 What did He do? 22:48 He bowed his head and blessed the Lord. 22:52 Right. 22:53 He bowed his head 22:55 and then he also blessed the Lord. 22:56 How do you bless the Lord? 22:57 Wow! It's a humbled. 22:59 Yeah. 23:00 But how do you bless the God. 23:02 By giving of yourself, of commitment and submission... 23:04 Yes, yes. 23:06 Of yourself. 23:07 Yeah, to giving it all to God. 23:09 Yeah. 23:10 And that's amazing. Yeah. 23:12 And the bowing of the head was an act of relinquishing 23:15 any claim of your own it's was like. 23:16 Reverence. Humility. 23:17 Humility. 23:19 Humility. Yeah. 23:21 It could it also been in a warm atmosphere. 23:25 We have fun. 23:27 So the same thing is reiterated in Exodus 4:31. 23:30 Who'd like to read that one? 23:33 "So the people believed, and when they heard 23:35 that the Lord had visited the children of Israel 23:38 and then He had looked on their affliction, 23:43 then they bowed their heads and worshiped." 23:45 Yes, why bow your head? 23:48 That's a... Reverence. 23:49 Okay, say it again. 23:50 Reverence. Yes. 23:52 Yeah. 23:53 We have two little puppies. 23:55 And one of the things that I noticed 23:56 is that when they approach us, 24:00 sometimes they approach with their head down. 24:03 You know, they recognize that we're the master. 24:06 And that's almost a natural instinct. 24:08 When you approach someone that's superior 24:10 you bow your head. 24:11 I know a lot of cultures, Asian cultures, 24:13 first thing they do is they bow their heads. 24:16 It's just a natural instinct. 24:18 And it's acknowledgement. 24:19 Yeah, in countries that have like kings and queens. 24:21 You bow. 24:22 Oh, yeah. 24:24 Reverence. 24:25 But we're acknowledging 24:27 that you know who you're approaching. 24:28 That's right. 24:29 And it's like, like you said, an act of humility. 24:31 It is. 24:32 Anybody wanna build on that before we go to James 24:34 'cause James actually expands on this. 24:37 Okay. 24:38 Does the devil want worship too? 24:41 Woo! 24:42 Because in Matthew Chapter 4... 24:45 That's right. 24:48 Verse, what 9? Yeah. 24:52 Matthew 4:9 when Satan tempted Jesus. 24:57 And he says, "What I want you to do is 24:59 I'll give you everything 25:01 if you bow down and worship me." 25:03 Oh, look at that again. 25:04 I'm glad I haven't thought about that. 25:06 If you do what? 25:08 Bow down. Bow down. 25:09 All these things, verse 9, 25:11 and he that "Satan said to Him, Jesus, 25:14 'All these things I will give You 25:16 if You Jesus will fall down and worship me.'" 25:20 Wow! 25:22 So he recognize as an angel... 25:23 Fall down and worship me. 25:25 That's right. 25:26 But Satan exalted himself. 25:28 That's right. Exactly. 25:29 If anything she's bringing out is the same thing 25:31 that the people did to worship God 25:33 was the same thing he was asking Jesus 25:35 to do to worship him. 25:36 That's right. 25:37 You need to fall down and worship me. 25:39 Because people used to prostrate themselves. 25:41 That's right. 25:43 Worship. If we don't do that today. 25:44 The kings demanded it. 25:46 Yeah. Yeah. 25:49 But you notice, and it's an act of something. 25:51 It's not just an act of worship, 25:52 but it's an act of something else. 25:54 Look at the second point, James 4:6, 25:57 maybe someone can read that one. 26:00 "But He gives more grace. 26:02 Therefore He says, 'God resists the proud, 26:05 but gives grace to the humble.'" 26:08 And read the next one because this all fit perfectly. 26:10 Yeah, in 1 Peter 5:6, it says, 26:12 "Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, 26:17 that He may exalt you in due time." 26:20 Yes. That's right. 26:21 He is writing now from experience. 26:23 Oh. Yes. 26:24 Absolutely, it's so true. 26:26 I was thinking too like when Jason read James 4:6 26:30 that verse right after that is really good too 26:33 because how do we resist the devil? 26:35 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. 26:37 And then resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 26:40 That's verse 7. 26:41 And that's how we resist the devil is 26:45 by submitting ourselves into God. 26:47 And calling Him... 26:48 And verse 8 says, 26:50 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." 26:53 So it's an act, resist him, and he will flee, 26:58 and you draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 27:02 If you notice that wow, 27:03 there's a pattern 6, 7, and 8 27:05 have patterns of what we need to do 27:07 to be able to find our glory and our actually protection 27:10 if you use that phrase, but that word. 27:14 But we end up with joy and peace 27:18 and our rewards are multitude of the giving, 27:24 the more we give, 27:25 and the more we worship with humility, 27:31 and the more we humble ourselves 27:33 and the more we submit to God, 27:35 the more we become like Him and He fills us with Him. 27:39 So we grow and our joy and peace 27:43 is so much deeper. 27:45 I mean, we are returned far more than what we give. 27:48 That's right. 27:50 So we see right now, bowing before the Lord, 27:53 worshiping Him as we read earlier 27:57 and the beauty of holiness. 27:58 There's a beauty to holiness that we don't often get when... 28:01 You won't get that beauty 28:02 if you come in the presence of God with pride. 28:05 What does He do? 28:07 If you come to God with pride, what does He do? 28:09 He resists you. 28:11 I don't wanna hear anything you have to say, 28:13 "I got something to say to you." 28:15 I don't wanna hear it. He resists the proud. 28:18 So when we come, I remember I had a dream. 28:20 I talked about this to Angie, I had a dream. 28:23 Actually, it was a vision while I was on the plane. 28:26 Remember, I was telling you when I came to Miami. 28:28 I was sitting on the plane, and I had a dream that I mean, 28:32 I'm sitting in the seat, and I'm just, 28:35 I can only use the word vision. 28:37 I was invited into an azure blue room. 28:41 Blue is kind of purplish blue, 28:43 and the door was just barely opened. 28:46 Opened enough for light outside to just bring 28:48 a little white light on the inside. 28:50 But as I walked in, 28:52 I saw this throne high lifted up 28:54 it was not ostentatious. 28:57 It was not gold and crusted with diamond. 28:59 It was just look like was tall marble, 29:01 but the marble color of the throne 29:03 blended in to his robe 29:05 that just hung from the throne. 29:08 And He leaned forward and He said, 29:11 "Come talk to me." 29:13 Amazing. 29:15 And it was so overwhelming. 29:16 I was in tears on the plane. 29:18 I was sitting thankfully, 29:20 I was sitting at the window looking out. 29:21 There was a... 29:22 I remember there was this is Chinese girl 29:24 was talking to me earlier when I was thinking, 29:25 I don't want to turn around right now. 29:27 I'm looking at in the... 29:28 Broke my, what brought me back is 29:30 the flight attendant says the word, 29:32 you know, announcement. 29:34 We're preparing for descent, please put your... 29:36 It just kind of locked me back in. 29:38 And I was telling this to my wife 29:40 and her brother and her sister. 29:42 And they said, "What was it like?" 29:43 I said, "I just didn't wanna leave." 29:45 I just didn't wanna leave. 29:47 I can't even tell you what it was like. 29:49 It was so overwhelming. I just could not stop. 29:51 And I wasn't crying out of sadness. 29:53 I just had never had that overwhelming 29:55 sense of being in His presence before. 29:57 And I thought, "Wow, if I just got that 29:59 these little small moments." 30:00 I don't even know how long it was. 30:02 What would it be like to stand in His glorious presence? 30:05 'Cause He leaned forward to me and He said, "Talk to me." 30:08 And He just sat there with His hand, 30:10 one hand like this, 30:12 and the other one on the throne arm 30:13 and just was listening to me. 30:15 And it was just nothing but just Him and me. 30:17 And I said, "Wow." 30:19 So when I read, you know, 30:21 humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, 30:25 not just under the hand of God, 30:27 but the mighty hand of God 30:29 and He'll exalt you in due time. 30:32 And if the dream never ended with me 30:33 walking out of the room, 30:35 and just the abruptness of the announcement. 30:37 And I was like, "Not yet. 30:40 I want to go back." 30:41 But I just wiped my face like this turned away. 30:44 Try to not make it look like I was crying 30:46 and I just got ready to land 30:48 and I couldn't wait to tell somebody. 30:50 But it's beautiful 30:52 when we think about how God calls us. 30:53 There's something else though 30:55 and I wanna bring some of these things out. 30:57 We go to point number three. 30:58 There's something else the Bible talks 31:00 about prerequisites to worship. 31:02 This is huge. 31:03 And as a matter of fact, 31:05 I want to make it clear my wife suggested the topic. 31:08 She suggested the topic. 31:09 She said, "Let's talk about worship." 31:10 And I thought, you know what, 31:12 we're talking about family worship, 31:13 what better topic than worship. 31:15 That's right. 31:16 Because you'll get over so many different things. 31:18 But the question was, 31:20 how does the Bible describe the prerequisite to worship? 31:25 And who I'd like to read that for us, 31:27 Exodus 7:16. 31:30 "And you shall say to him, 31:32 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, 31:36 saying, 'Let My people go, 31:38 that they may serve Me in the wilderness,' 31:40 but indeed, until now you would not hear!" 31:44 So that's Moses speaking to Pharaoh. 31:48 What prerequisite do you find in here to worship? 31:53 I see that you have to be willing to listen. 31:55 Yeah. 31:56 He said, "You would not hear." 31:58 That's almost, that's a frightening statement. 32:00 Okay, Pharaoh wouldn't hear, but what prerequisite do we... 32:03 Let My people go. Say it again. 32:05 "Let My people go, that they may serve Me." 32:08 Okay, that's huge. 32:09 Let them go. Serve me in the wilderness. 32:11 Okay, so now let's go ahead and make this clear. 32:14 Why do you think 32:15 the devil doesn't wanna let us go? 32:18 Because it will result in what? 32:20 Serving the Lord. 32:21 If He lets us go, it will end up... 32:23 Say it again. Serving the Lord. 32:24 He loses our service. 32:26 It will result in service of the Lord. 32:28 Yeah. It's a bad... 32:29 Have you ever had that challenge? 32:30 Well, I think anything that the Lord puts in place 32:32 the devil wants the counterfeit. 32:34 And he wants the service, he wants to be served. 32:37 So, you know, it seems understandable 32:41 that he doesn't want us to serve Jesus 32:45 because he wants to be served. 32:47 He has the eye syndrome. 32:49 I mean, it appears 32:50 especially right here in Exodus and... 32:53 So God is talking to His people too 32:55 and saying you have to let go of all this other stuff. 33:00 Let go. 33:02 It's hard to surrender sometimes. 33:04 Yeah. I mean life. 33:05 I mean, I'm an old military guy, 33:07 and the first thing they teach you 33:08 is never surrender, never give up. 33:11 But later on in my experience, 33:13 I said, "Well, that's they're referring to the enemy." 33:15 Right. 33:16 They're referring to someone that you can't trust. 33:18 Yeah. 33:20 And we know we can trust the Lord 33:21 because He gave everything for us. 33:22 Right. 33:24 So I should be willing to surrender. 33:25 What's the best thing a leader can be in the military, 33:29 you have to have... 33:31 You want to lead your men in such a way 33:33 that they will gladly follow you 33:35 and lay down their life. 33:37 It's funny that you said that 33:38 because some of the greatest generals 33:40 were on the battlefield with their soldiers. 33:43 They'd ride the white horse and they'd be right up front. 33:45 Today, the generals are miles hundreds of miles away, 33:49 moving pieces around the table. 33:51 The greatest generals in history, 33:52 they were up there with their troops 33:54 fighting the same battle. 33:56 And so when Jesus came down to earth, 33:58 He's fighting the battle with us. 34:00 That's right. Servant leader. 34:01 And He's wearing the scars to prove it. 34:02 Amen. Yeah. 34:04 That's right. Yeah. 34:05 So yeah, sometimes people say, "Well, I don't wanna surrender. 34:07 I don't wanna give up." 34:08 And yet if you're following the right leader, 34:11 you always want to surrender and follow their orders 34:15 because you trust and believe in where they're leading you. 34:18 That's right. 34:19 And the only person that we really can trust 34:21 and believe and follow is Jesus as a God. 34:24 There is nobody else really knows about the path. 34:29 Yes, no, you have a song that's called 34:31 "I'll Worship only at the Feet of Jesus." 34:34 'Cause there are people that worship what? 34:36 Idols. 34:37 We were in Myanmar. 34:39 Oh, wow. 34:40 And we saw them worshiping these huge idols, 34:43 they were bowing and going like this 34:46 in front of the idols, 34:48 prostrate some of them, and I thought, "Wow." 34:51 Thirty-three thousand. 34:52 It was amazing. 34:54 It's here in the United States. 34:56 We think we don't worship "idols." 34:58 Well, we do somebody... 35:00 Because they're not something that somebody made. 35:03 We don't understand that we're worshiping the idol 35:06 of video games or movies or money. 35:12 Yeah. 35:13 So the key... Unfortunately self. 35:14 And unfortunately, 35:16 so the thing I want to emphasize 35:17 in putting this together was, 35:19 that's why the devil creates things 35:20 that refuse to let us go. 35:22 That's right. 35:23 Because if the thing 35:24 that is holding us refuse to let us go, 35:26 we can't worship Him. 35:28 So some people come to church on Sabbath 35:29 having been in the grips 35:31 of their electronic devices all week long, 35:34 having been in the grips of their pleasure, 35:36 their movies, their video games, 35:37 their internet browsing, 35:39 they've been in the grips of everything but worship. 35:41 And they come to church on Sabbath, 35:43 they look like automatons. 35:44 They look so lifeless, listless, they come like, 35:47 is the pastor gonna preach a good sermon today, 35:49 they come to get something 35:50 when in fact they don't realize 35:51 that if you free all week, 35:54 you will come to church on Sabbath morning 35:55 because you have been in worship all week long. 35:58 You've been serving the Lord all week long. 36:00 And I've seen as a pastor. 36:02 And you want to worship. 36:03 And I've heard people say, 36:04 "The pastor didn't really have anything today." 36:06 Well, like you said, when you go to the... 36:08 Do you say that to the general? 36:09 No, wait a minute. 36:11 Did you go through basic training 36:12 like everybody else? 36:13 You have skills and abilities, use those. 36:15 I don't put you on the battlefield 36:16 for you to call me to fight your enemy. 36:17 No. 36:19 You have to make decisions as to where you wanna stand. 36:21 So here's the point. 36:22 That's why the breakdown is necessary. 36:24 So sometimes God has to put us in that place 36:26 where He breaks us down. 36:28 So we could finally let go 36:31 as basic training of our opinions, 36:33 of our ideas of how it should be done 36:35 and the Lord retrains us in the furnace of affliction. 36:38 And now he says, 36:39 "Okay, now you don't have to worry 36:41 about all that other stuff that I burned away. 36:42 It's just you and me." 36:44 And that's why that song, 36:45 "I'll Worship only at the Feet of Jesus." 36:46 So this text to me, was saying, 36:49 people that are not able to worship 36:51 is because they have not been let go. 36:54 All week long something held them into bondage. 36:57 And they think that just by showing up 36:59 on Sabbath morning that's gonna let him go. 37:01 No, you can't watch junk all week long 37:03 and bring worship to Christ on Sabbath. 37:06 You can't listen to junk per hour, 37:08 spend your time in glass instrument 37:10 just texting your brains out until you fall asleep 37:12 and come to church and Sabbath saying, 37:13 Him bringing the highest praise. 37:17 To who? 37:18 It's like eating junk. 37:20 It's almost like what you're saying 37:22 is that people are hyper-stimulated? 37:24 Well, I think this kind of goes along 37:27 with what you're talking about is, 37:28 you know, this part of the verse 37:30 that we just read in Exodus 7:16, 37:32 "Serve me in the wilderness." 37:33 Sometimes we have to have that fast and that separation, 37:38 and then go back to because, you know, 37:40 I know someone is going through some things 37:42 that nothing is interesting to them. 37:45 Nothing is interesting about God. 37:47 And so sometimes I think He does send us 37:49 into the wilderness to get away and to fast from those things. 37:54 And then He will be interesting 37:56 once we get all the other voices 37:57 and distractions away from us. 37:59 Detoxing. 38:00 Yeah, detoxing. 38:02 That's right. That's right. 38:03 I recently said, you remember me saying this. 38:05 The church is a detox center. 38:09 It's often when we try to bring our addictions with us 38:13 that we never get detox. 38:14 That's why in our church we have in the bulletin, 38:16 "Please turn your cell phones off." 38:19 I think we might as well not have put it in there 38:21 because some people... 38:22 An alcoholic will find ways of sipping his alcohol 38:25 even if it's in the sermon. 38:27 You know, like they say, "An alcoholic is always, 38:29 you go to an alcoholic's house, he hides in, 38:31 I got to go to use the restroom." 38:32 He's got a bottle under the sinker, 38:34 in the garage, or someplace. 38:36 So the whole point I'm trying to make here, and I think, 38:38 Lord, and very insightful point 38:40 because I was focusing, just let my people go, 38:42 but I like what you brought out, Janelle, 38:44 that's why the Lord took the children of Israel 38:46 to the wilderness to detach them 38:50 from the addictions of Egypt. 38:52 Yes. 38:53 So we can get them ready for the worship of Canaan. 38:55 Exactly. Wow. Powerful. 38:57 It's possible for us 38:58 to take ourselves into the wilderness 39:00 even surrounded by all the stuff 39:04 from the decisions that we make. 39:06 That's right. 39:07 So we can take that quiet time. 39:12 And I don't quite often in church in many places 39:18 I can really get to the music of worship 39:21 even though I don't sing very well. 39:24 And if you focused on worshiping Him, 39:29 and you're really bringing 39:31 what the song is saying out into your mind 39:34 and letting it flow through you. 39:37 I'm not big on emotion, but it fills you. 39:41 Not necessarily it can be tears, 39:43 it can be a lot of things, but it fills me with His love. 39:48 Yeah, yeah. 39:49 It protects me, 39:50 makes me feel special and loved. 39:53 And you're right, Pastor, 39:54 I haven't experienced what you have, 39:56 but I want to stay in that presence. 40:03 It just protects you. 40:05 And you don't wanna leave it for anything. 40:07 One of the difficult things for Marilyn and I 40:10 when we moved out here was the quietness. 40:14 Everywhere we lived it was always the city, 40:17 you know, there's always noise. 40:18 Even at night you hear the ambulances 40:21 and things like that the refrigerator, 40:22 a lot of noise, 40:24 and suddenly we came somewhere quiet. 40:25 And we're like, 40:27 "This is kind of driving us nuts." 40:29 You know, but after a while, 40:31 we realize that this quiet is a blessing 40:34 because now we can absorb the things 40:36 that God is sending our way 40:38 'cause He's sending us, 40:40 you know, different things, different messages, 40:42 and before they were drowned out 40:43 by the noise by the distractions. 40:46 And now because of the place where we're living, 40:49 there's a quietness that allows us 40:51 to grow spiritually. 40:52 And that's been a tremendous blessing. 40:54 'Cause you learned in the city, you learn to block out that, 40:57 but you don't really, 40:59 you cannot step out your door like you can now. 41:02 I can step out and look at the sky 41:04 and the quiet of God's creation can really speak to you. 41:10 Now what about worship? 41:11 You two are treasures. 41:13 Okay, in some sense. 41:15 And is there such thing as worship and give in? 41:20 Oh, absolutely. 41:21 Yeah. 41:23 I could not even imagine. 41:25 Yeah, you're the church treasurer. 41:27 Yeah. So you see. 41:28 I just, I hear... 41:29 Oh, I can afford the tithe that I'm thinking. 41:32 I can afford not to tithe. Not to tithe. 41:34 I just, my husband, 41:36 one of the things that my husband taught me, 41:38 he says, "It doesn't make any sense," 41:42 90% of your money 41:44 will go farther than 100% when you give. 41:47 And through our lives at different times, 41:50 we've tested that. 41:52 You hear stories all the time with people. 41:55 You know, if you give you're gonna go hungry 41:57 or not pay this bill or pay that bill 41:59 and you give anyway. 42:00 And God miraculously takes care of it. 42:03 He has miraculously taken care of things to me financially. 42:06 But you can't just say, 42:08 "I'm only going to give financially. 42:10 I'm gonna hold everything else back." 42:13 Giving financially is part of the whole. 42:18 God is who I follow. 42:19 God is part of the worship, 42:21 part of the submission, part of everything. 42:26 And we go through hard times, 42:27 you know, when you were trying to sell your house and things. 42:30 We go through financial stresses, 42:33 but God in the end, blesses tenfold. 42:38 So there is worship and give in, isn't it? 42:39 Oh, I would say, it's amazing when we worship in part, 42:45 through our giving, 42:47 the Lord has an awesome opportunity 42:49 to give us the blessing as well, 42:53 that we're giving up something 42:56 that is very powerful in our world. 42:59 You know, many times, like you said, is, 43:02 you know, people think they can't afford to give, 43:04 because they have all these other focuses that 43:07 that they have in the world. 43:10 But when you look at what Jesus has given to us, 43:12 He has given us 90% that we can keep and utilize. 43:17 But I think, you know, 43:19 what we need to really realize as stewards 43:23 is that the Lord didn't give us the money for us. 43:27 He gave us the money to help others, 43:29 to be a blessing to others. 43:32 And so praising God, 43:34 through our stewardship, our money, 43:37 which is one part of praising God, 43:39 is a very powerful commitment that we're giving, 43:44 you know, sometimes it's easy to say things. 43:47 You know, it's easy to say, "Oh, I praise the Lord." 43:49 But when you have to give up... 43:52 Right. 43:53 That's when it really, you know, 43:55 the rubber meets the road and you have to realize. 43:58 "Well, I'm giving up something that I want, 44:01 but I know what's better. 44:02 And my investment is not on this earth, 44:05 but in heaven." 44:06 By the way, let me add to that. 44:08 That's why you find in the Bible, 44:09 this continual picture being drawn, 44:11 and they worship the Lord, 44:13 and they brought 400 bullocks and 300 lambs and 200 oxen, 44:16 and they sacrifice before the Lord 44:18 because he says, "Worship," here it is, again, 44:21 "Worship that does not cost us anything 44:23 will benefit us nothing." 44:27 So this, there's a song years ago. 44:29 A lofty words, bias, repetition, 44:32 praises great and grand but not what He demands. 44:36 I never forgot that song. 44:37 And we live in that kind of generation 44:39 where people could worship the Lord in voice, 44:41 but not in life. 44:43 And so not everything that has breath 44:44 is praising the Lord. 44:46 But Psalm 150:6 says, 44:47 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." 44:50 But I also want to go to something that's imperative 44:52 when it comes to praising God. 44:54 Let's go to John 4:23-24. 44:57 Because the question is, 44:58 how does the Bible outline the imperatives of worship? 45:03 And it's been a while since you read, Honey, 45:05 why don't you read that for us, 45:06 John 4:23-24, imperatives of worship. 45:09 "But the hour is coming, and now is, 45:12 when the true worshipers will worship the Father 45:16 in spirit and truth, 45:18 for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 45:21 God is Spirit, 45:23 and those who worship Him 45:24 must worship Him in spirit and truth." 45:28 Notice the words that are there to look what He's looking for. 45:30 He's looking for those who wanna worship Him 45:32 in spirit and in truth. 45:33 He's not just said those who wanna worship Him 45:35 because we often outline what we think worship is. 45:38 He says, "If you want to worship Me, 45:40 I'm looking for two things, spirit and truth." 45:42 Not spirit without truth, 45:44 not truth without spirit 45:45 because there's some people that say, "I'm in the spirit. 45:47 Well, does that include truth?" 45:49 I was talking to a lady just recently 45:51 who said the morning, 45:52 she had such a beautiful accent from South Carolina. 45:54 She said, 45:56 "Pastor, the more I listen to you 45:57 and more God be blessed me. 45:59 She'd tell me, but you telling me, 46:00 I got to come out of where I am." 46:02 Because I'm learning stuff on 3ABN 46:04 that I'm accountable for. 46:06 And praise God that this ministry 46:08 is not only impacting lives where people are saying, 46:10 "I already worship God, but He just revealed to me 46:13 that there's something missing, the truth." 46:16 And so, notice the words here I wanna get must worship, 46:20 not should worship, 46:21 the father is seeking such to worship Him. 46:24 So in a world where worship, music, worship and praise, 46:28 worship centers, worship hour, worship team, worship band, 46:34 in an age where all these things 46:35 are title worship, he says, 46:37 "Excuse me, is it spirit and truth included in that?" 46:42 Okay, that's what I'm looking for. 46:43 Amen. 46:44 So this is an imperative. 46:46 It's not just something we want, 46:47 but it is an imperative. 46:48 I find it interesting that they use the term sell-out. 46:52 You know, they say, 46:54 "You've sold out, or what have you sold? 46:57 Have you sold yourself?" 46:59 That's what selling out is as selling yourself, 47:01 that's the first sacrifice 47:02 you're selling yourself to the Lord, 47:05 you know, in obedience. 47:06 Yeah. Amen. 47:08 But in giving He is not... 47:11 Sometimes it's not just money but it's time but He still... 47:16 I've been volunteering a little bit lately 47:18 and I've got a... 47:19 He always sends me somebody 47:21 that needs a little help of my time and stuff. 47:23 And yet, Dee always has this long list of to do. 47:27 So sometimes I'll look at my list and I met, 47:31 this person needs out or this and I'm like, 47:33 "I can't make this work." 47:34 But I have found up every single time 47:38 that I'll let go of my list 47:41 and just do His calling to me. 47:45 He makes it all work out somehow some 47:48 and I don't even understand it. 47:49 That's what I like about you, Dee, you're selfless. 47:51 You're selfless... 47:53 Oh, no, no, no, I'm very selfish. 47:54 I know, I know buying all of our stuff. 47:55 Only in the speed sense. 47:58 I am selfish but when God calls me 48:01 and asked me to give up self, 48:03 if I will submit to that, and I normally do. 48:08 And what really irritates me is 48:09 sometimes I submit reluctantly 48:11 and I'm like, stop that. 48:14 But when you submit with joy and change that spirit and say, 48:20 "Yes, I am gonna go do this because it needs to be done." 48:22 And then God takes care 48:24 of everything else in amazing ways 48:25 with your time and your effort and energy and... 48:29 Always helping others and I admire that. 48:31 I like that because behind the scene, 48:33 I always hear that about you. 48:35 One of my gifts is helping, 48:37 He doesn't let me sing 48:38 and He doesn't let me preach it. 48:39 Just let me do all this wondering gifts. 48:41 Do you like to preach? 48:42 No, I have one sermon and I gave it already. 48:44 She would do good. I have to say... 48:46 But He call me for helps. 48:48 I just have to say like, you know, 48:50 as we're talking about worship and sacrifice, 48:52 and giving and things I sees like, 48:54 you know, it's kind of like the result of 48:57 and I'm thinking of like faith and works. 49:00 Works is result of your faith, 49:01 and your sacrifice and your giving 49:03 is a result of your worship. 49:05 And it's kind of like, you know, 49:07 if one is in the right place, 49:09 and the other will fall after, it'll happen naturally. 49:12 Now I wanna throw up, 49:14 I wanna throw a little hook in here, 49:15 now I've been throwing hooks in here already. 49:16 But I want you to grab this, Janelle. 49:18 I want you to read point eight 49:19 and I'm gonna leave with the question. 49:21 What... 49:22 There's a question that's so imperative. 49:23 Now we talked about first of all, 49:25 you need spirit and truth to worship, 49:26 give the Lord the glory due His name. 49:28 That's something that we don't have the right 49:29 to hold on to because it's due to Him. 49:32 But now what should we do in preparation for worship? 49:35 Matthew 5:23-24. 49:38 Janelle, read that for us. 49:40 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, 49:42 and there remember that your brother 49:44 has something against you, 49:46 leave your gift there before the altar, 49:48 and go your way. 49:49 First be reconciled to your brother, 49:51 and then come and offer your gift." 49:53 Now the reason why this is included 49:56 is because gifts are included in worship. 49:58 That's right. 50:00 And we'll see that as we go further. 50:02 But the Lord is saying, okay, okay, 50:04 you're bringing your gift to worship me. 50:06 He says, leave it here and go fix it 50:09 and then come back. 50:11 And when you fix what's broken back there, 50:13 then what's not broken here is okay. 50:16 So He's in essence, 50:18 He's putting an obligation on us. 50:19 Because there's one thing 50:21 that needs to be included in worshipers, 50:24 should we be in unity? 50:26 Absolutely. 50:27 Okay. And they're watching. 50:29 So watch this. I don't like Jason. 50:30 But I'm gonna go to church today 50:32 and I'm gonna worship the Lord. 50:33 As long as he doesn't say anything to me 50:35 I'm just fine. 50:36 You. 50:37 How can you worship the Lord when you have barriers? 50:40 Is that called the hypocrite? 50:41 Yeah. 50:43 How can you even worship when you have this in your, 50:47 this emotion in your heart 50:49 of resentment or upset or anger, 50:51 any little thing? 50:53 It doesn't leave room for complete worship. 50:56 God can't fill you with His love 50:58 if you've got your anger stored in there somewhere. 51:01 That's why number five... 51:03 Go, Jason, you wanna say something? 51:04 Yeah, I was gonna say something about, 51:05 you know, the gift, part of the gift 51:07 is you need to give that with humbleness. 51:12 It's an action, but also with humility, 51:15 knowing that everything came from the Lord. 51:17 But the one thing that I've realized 51:19 in my personal life is 51:22 when I give to the Lord, He is the greatest investor. 51:26 He's the smartest investor, 51:29 but what He does is He's looking for investors, 51:32 He's looking for people who are willing to give it all. 51:36 And then He compounds that with more 51:39 because He knows 51:41 that He has a good steward to give more to. 51:44 So the more you give, the more you get. 51:46 And that's not just with money, 51:48 but it's with time as you were saying. 51:50 It's with the truth when we share the truth. 51:53 It's amazing when people get it, 51:55 their eyelids go up and they're like, 51:57 "Wow, I got that." 51:59 It's amazing. 52:01 But you can't give these gifts 52:03 until your heart is in the right place 52:06 because if I say I wanna give this gift 52:08 because I'm gonna get something. 52:10 Well, that's just not gonna go as far as you would like 52:14 because the Lord's saying, your heart isn't right. 52:16 You need to get back, start over, try it again. 52:20 Our spirit. 52:21 Seeing that I don't look at it that the Lord gave me 90%. 52:26 I look at the Lord gave me everything. 52:29 None of this is mine. 52:31 None of it, my time, my life, my very breath is His, 52:36 this gift that He gave me. 52:38 So then when you, then I need to be a steward 52:41 of everything He gave me. 52:44 And then it works out perfect. 52:46 That's right. That spirit. 52:47 Now in the time we have remaining 52:48 I wanna add a couple of more things here. 52:50 Let's go to point 11. 52:51 And the question is what are some of the reasons 52:53 that God is worthy of worship? 52:56 Psalm 138. 52:57 If you have it right there, Honey, you just. 52:58 Psalm 138:2. 53:00 What are some of the reasons that God is worthy of worship? 53:03 "I will worship toward Your holy temple, 53:07 and praise Your name 53:09 for Your lovingkindness and Your truth, 53:13 for You have magnified Your word 53:15 above all Your name." 53:17 In other words, so because of His lovingkindness 53:19 and His truth, 53:21 and that's just His tender mercies, 53:22 His compassion that doesn't fail. 53:24 His mercies are new every morning. 53:26 I mean, what else can we add to that? 53:30 What else can we add to that, Eric? 53:32 Well, I'll tell you, 53:34 when I look at what the Lord's done for me, 53:36 from where He's brought me. 53:40 I can't help but love Him. 53:42 Amen. Right. 53:43 And when you love someone, 53:45 the first thing that comes along in your heart 53:47 is you wanna serve them. 53:48 I remember my mother was sick. 53:50 She had cancer, 53:51 and she'd always apologize to me. 53:53 "Oh, Eric, I'm sorry. 53:54 I know you had to take time out of work. 53:56 I know you're getting trouble, 53:57 in trouble with the boss over this. 53:58 I know you had to drive all the way down the Richmond 54:00 two and a half hours." 54:01 She would always apologize. 54:03 And I say, "No, Mom." 54:04 This is an act of love 54:06 because I'm your son and I love you. 54:08 This is easy for me. 54:09 Amen. Amen. 54:10 You know, so when you love someone 54:12 you're willing to give. 54:13 So when you love Jesus, the giving comes easy. 54:16 When you love each other, the giving comes easy. 54:18 That's right. Yeah. 54:19 And one more thing I wanna add. 54:23 And then I wanna give you guys a chance to comment 54:25 in our closing minutes. 54:26 There's a warning to worship. 54:28 Go to Daniel 3:18, our last one. 54:30 There's a warning 54:32 that the Bible gives against worship. 54:33 Dee, would you cread that for us? 54:35 Daniel 3:18. 54:39 "But if not," oh... 54:40 By the way, this is Hebrews being told, 54:43 if they don't worship, 54:44 they're gonna be thrown in the furnace 54:46 and look at the response. 54:48 "But if not," they had already said no. 54:50 He said in other words, our God could deliver us but... 54:54 "But if not, let it be known to you, 54:57 O king, that we do not serve your gods, 55:01 nor will we worship the gold image 55:03 which you have set up." 55:04 Wow. Now this is powerful. 55:07 The image, what was the color of the image? 55:09 Gold. What was the material? 55:10 Gold. 55:12 It's the most valuable material. 55:14 The devil wants to put in your life 55:16 those things that have perceived value 55:18 because if you see the gold and look at the gold, 55:22 you forget the true value, the eternal God. 55:26 So we are gonna be confronted with the things. 55:29 So I'm gonna ask you the question on our hour. 55:32 Is this something in your life 55:33 that's gold that you bow down to? 55:36 Is your time gold? 55:38 Is your money, your gold? 55:40 Is your Sabbath, is the Sabbath your gold day 55:44 to stay home and sleep? 55:46 Why don't you sleep on Monday? 55:48 Tell the boss on Monday. 55:50 I can't show up. 55:51 I'm gonna be on my hobbyhorse here on 7:30. 55:54 What time are we work on Monday? 55:55 Come up, what time? 7:30 at work. 55:57 Isn't it amazing that 7:30. 56:00 It's 7:30 is late. 56:02 7:31 is late on Monday morning. 56:04 But 9 o'clock on Sabbath is too early. 56:08 There's a gold and God in your life somewhere. 56:11 When your time becomes your gold, 56:13 you can't give up your gold to worship God. 56:17 Well, I kind of look at this too 56:18 is we can look at it 56:20 from a short term perspective on this earth 56:23 or we can look at as a long term perspective. 56:26 And like an investment, if you look at the long term, 56:30 the reward is usually beneficial. 56:33 But if you look at the short term, 56:34 yeah, you may get a simple joy or fit quick joy. 56:38 And that's what the devil is really good at. 56:40 But if you want the long term investment, 56:43 which yields a whole lot more interest, 56:46 go for the long term and follow Jesus. 56:47 That's right. 56:49 So let's all end on this one, Revelation 14:7, here it is. 56:53 And it says, 56:55 "Saying with a loud voice together, 56:57 'Fear God and give glory to Him, 57:00 for the hour of His judgment has come, 57:03 and worship Him who made heaven and earth, 57:06 the sea and springs of water." 57:08 Amen. 57:10 Wow, this program has been too short. 57:11 Can you all say amen to that? Amen. 57:13 What a topic about worship. 57:14 We wanna encourage you to increase your worship 57:16 and decrease what you're worshiping. 57:18 Increase your worship with the true God 57:20 and don't let the golden gods of this life 57:22 force you to bow down 57:24 because that'll be temporary when God wants your worship 57:27 to produce eternal life. 57:28 God bless you until we see you again. 57:31 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath. |
Revised 2019-11-21