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What I Know About Worship – Part 2
Psalms 135 (5-21)
August 7, 2022

Last Sunday night we began our study of this great Psalm.
And the issue of course is that of praise to God.

I would remind you again that this Psalm is often referred to as a mosaic.
• It is a conglomeration of other passages of Scripture.

I called this Psalm “What I Know About Worship”
Based largely off of verse 5 where the Psalmist says,
“For I know that the LORD is great and that our LORD is above all gods.”

But as I thought about it more this week,
Perhaps I should have entitled this Psalm
“What the Bible Says About Worship” for that is really what the Psalm is.

The Psalmist has merely compiled a group of texts
Which illustrate why our God must be praised.

We looked at the first point last week.
#1 GOD EXPECTS IT
Psalms 135:1-4

Drawing from both Psalms 113 and Psalms 119
The Psalmist reminds the congregation that
We have a great duty to fulfill and it is the duty of praise.

“Praise the LORD!”

We get specific by praising “the name of the LORD” which is a reference to His nature.

Certainly it is required of the “servants of the LORD…who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God!”

Surely those who attend worship must understand that praise is required.
Why else have we come?

And we even remember the manner in which God is to be worshiped.
“Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely”

OUR GOD EXPECTS SINGING.
Our God expects us to ponder the majesty of who He is
And boast in Him accordingly.

• Everyone likes to bragged on when they do well.
• And most of the time we aren’t deserving of the amount of praise that may get heaped upon us.

But God is worthy and He expects us to sing His praise.

Which was the Psalmist’s point in verse 4
“For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

• God chose Jacob who did not deserve it.
• God chose Israel who was totally unworthy.

Just as God chose us before the foundation of the world
When we had done nothing to deserve it.

And just as God maintained that choice even after we have lived
And proven ourselves unworthy of salvation.

YET GOD STILL CHOSE US.
GOD STILL REDEEMED US.

AND WE ASK WHY?
• “for Himself”
• “for His own possession”

WE WERE SAVED FOR GOD.

And I’ll read it again for Peter made it clear.
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

• We were chosen by God that we might praise God.
• We were chosen by God that we might boast in God.

We didn’t read it last week, but consider this passage
That links sovereign election with the expectation of praise.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

You were saved according to the sovereign prerogative of God
And you were saved that you might boast in Him.

GOD EXPECTS WORSHIP.

Well, that is where we ended last week.
Tonight let’s move forward.

Here is what the Psalmist knows about worship:
God expects it
#2 GOD DESERVES IT
Psalms 135:5-14

Right off the bat the Psalmists hits us with TWO overpowering reasons
As to why God deserves worship.

(5) “For I know that the LORD is great And that our LORD is above all gods.”

That speaks of HIS PREEMINENT RANK
• He is the highest.
• He is the biggest.
• He is the best.
• He is the greatest.

If you follow sports at all you know that a popular word to throw out these days regarding an athlete is “G.O.A.T.” (greatest of all time)

But none is even in the same category as God.
He is above them all.
He outranks them all.

Names like Allah and Buddha don’t even belong in the same sentence.
Yahweh alone is great.
AND HE IS ABOVE THEM ALL.

As the highest ranking and most supreme certainly He deserves worship.
• Does such a great King not deserve more than a broken lamb or a half-hearted song?
• Does such a great King not deserve more than a disgruntled man who begrudgingly enters a service and sighs when called upon to sing?
• Does such a great King not deserve something more than a sermon thrown together at the last minute?

God deserves great worship!
• Worship for Abraham was to give his only son!
• David refused to give God that which cost him nothing.
• The sinful woman wet Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

Would we really come and make a mockery of worship
By sighing and refusing to participate?

A great God deserves worship, and He is a great God!

We see something else about Him.
(6) “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps.”

This speaks of His OMNIPOTENT POWER

There are many things that you or I might do if we could.
There are indeed many things Satan would do if he could.
And yet we are restrained from all that we wish.

BUT NOT GOD.
“Whatever the LORD pleases, He does”

No one and nothing can tell Him “No”
No obstacle can keep Him from His plans.
• He never lacks for funding…
• He never lacks for permission…
• He never lacks for resources…
• He never lacks for ability…
• He never lacks for knowledge…
• He never lacks for location…

He has total power over every circumstance.

And unlike the false gods of the world, HE IS NOT REGIONAL.
“He does, In heaven and in earth, in the sea and in all the deeps.”

He is the supreme God of all the universe.
Certainly He deserves worship.

And then the Psalmist begins to ponder the work of God.

FIRST IS HIS CURRENT WORK (providence)
(7) “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.”

The Psalmist speaks of EVAPORATION which is a great work of God.
“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth”

• God takes the water on earth,
• Removes the salt,
• Changes it’s form so that it will rise into the clouds,
• Condensate,
• And then fall back upon the earth again.

Man might be able to explain what is happening, but no man can do it.
You might stick water in a bucket and wait for it to evaporate,
But you can’t cause it to evaporate.

God does that. It is one of His providential laws.
He makes the lightning…
He commands the wind…

You can GOOGLE LIGHTNING and you can GOOGLE WIND
And science can tell you what it is.

Science can tell you that lightning is the result of positive and negative charges in the cloud which eventually overpower the insulator of the air and discharge an electrical current to the ground.
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/#:~:text=In%20the%20early%20stages%20of,that%20we%20know%20as%20lightning.

Science can tell you that wind is the result of dropping air pressure and air molecules on the move from higher pressure locations to lower pressure locations.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=what+causes+wind&view=detail&mid=D38CE6D747AA3CBB10C1D38CE6D747AA3CBB10C1&FORM=VIRE

But that is just explaining how it works.

Where does it come from?
Who made those electrical charges?
Who created the molecules in the air?
Who made the shift in pressure?

God did all of that.
All weather and thus providence is in His hands.
It is His continual and current work on a daily basis.

• It is He who sends rain on the just and the unjust.
• It is He who causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good.
• It is He who gives the horse his strength.
• It is He who cares for the mountain goats.
• It is He who waters the plants of the forest.

It all comes from Him and He deserves worship for this work.

SECOND IS HIS PAST WORK (redemption)

Certainly God still redeems today, but the Psalmist speaks specifically of ISRAEL’S REDEMPTION FROM EGYPT.

Do you remember what He did?
(8-9) “He smote the firstborn of Egypt, Both of man and beast. He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.”

Do you remember all the plagues?
Do you remember that each of those plagues was meant to humiliate the false Egyptian gods?

• Egypt had Hapi or Apis who was the god of the Nile – God turned it to blood.
• Egypt had Heqet who was goddess of birth and had a frogs head – God sent a plague of frogs throughout Egypt.
• Egypt had Set, the god of the desert – God sent gnats up from the desert.
• Egypt had Uatchit who was represented by the fly – God sent a plague of flies.
• Egypt had Hathor, a goddess with a cow’s head – God killed their livestock.
• Egypt had Sekhmet, goddess with power over disease and Isis the goddess of healing – God sent boils.
• Egypt had Nut the sky goddess and Set the god of storms – God sent hail.
• Egypt had Osiris the god of crops – God sent locusts
• Egypt had Re the sun god – God sent darkness
• Egypt had Min the god of reproduction and Isis the goddess who protected children, even Pharaoh’s son who was supposedly a god – God killed the firstborn of Egypt.
(Walvoord, John F.; Zuck, Roy B. [The Bible Knowledge Commentary; Old Testament; Chariot Victor Publishing; Colorado Springs, CO; 1998] pg. 120)

Those plagues obliterated every so-called god of Egypt.

“He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.”

• God delivered Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
• He totally annihilated their false gods.
• He drowned Pharaoh and his army in the sea.

The Psalmist asked should God be worshiped for such a deliverance?
Of course He should.

We enjoy the benefit of the cross
• Where God delivered His people from their sin.
• He crushed sin and obliterated death.
• He set us free from our sin, from the Law, and from condemnation.

Should we not worship Him for this?

Isaac Watts said, “Were all the realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

And that is not all of God’s deliverance

(10-12) “He smote many nations And slew mighty kings, Sihon, king of the Amorites, And Og, king of Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan; And He gave their land as a heritage, A heritage to Israel His people.”

Remember Numbers 21 and how these pagan kings refused to allow God’s people to pass through their land.
• So God destroyed them.
• God also destroyed the Canaanites living in Canaan.
• And God gave all their land to Israel.

It was a future they could not have hoped for.
It was an inheritance they could not have earned.
It was all given to them by the God who delivered them from Egypt.

Should they not worship Him for such care?

And you,
• Who provides you with every good thing to enjoy?
• Who has given you a future and a hope?
• Who intercedes on your behalf?
• Who rescues you from the temptations of the enemy?

Should we not worship Him for such redemption?

And then Psalmist references HIS FUTURE WORK (judgment)

(13-14) “Your name, O LORD, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations. For the LORD will judge His people And will have compassion on His servants.”

The Psalmist knows that God will always be.
• His name “is everlasting”
• He will always be known and remembered.

No one will ever be able to eradicate or remove our great God.
He has always been and He always will be.

I read you many of those Egyptian gods a moment ago
And most of them you’ve likely never heard of.
THEIR TIME IS OVER.

But our God stands forever and throughout all eternity.

And here the Psalmist remembers that “the LORD will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants”

“Judge” there speaks more of vindication than it does punishment.

• We have a God who will one day cause our enemies to bow at our feet.
• We have a God who has said we will reign upon the earth.
• We have a God who will reward every trial and compensate every loss.
• We have a God who has promised that when Christ appears we will appear with Him.

Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

God will reveal us to the world.

Should He not be worshiped for such as this?

And when you consider all of this together a remarkable reality emerges.
WE HAVE HERE A GOD WHO DOES WHATEVER HE PLEASES.

He can do whatever He wants and yet it is apparent
That what He wants to do is save His people.

This is the very epitome of the love of God.
• No one coerced Him.
• No one forced Him.

• He loved because it pleased Him to love.
• He saved because it pleased Him to save.
He cares for us because it pleases Him to care for us.

And perhaps that reinforces for you
What the Psalmist taught us at the very beginning of this Psalm;
Namely that “the LORD is good”.

If He were not good we would be in very great danger for He can do whatever He pleases.
• If He were a tyrant we would only suffer.
• If He were lazy we would be on our own.
• If He were indifferent we would be sunk.

BUT HE IS GOOD.
And goodness mixed with sovereign authority
Is a beautiful combination for us.

And thus we understand again why we are called to worship.

God can do whatever He wants and He chose to save.
In a sense we do what we want, may we choose to worship.

What manner of cold-hearted or spiritually dead individual
Can contemplate the providence of God
Or the redemption of God or the judgment of God
And feel no need to respond to God in worship?

What man can ponder God’s greatness and still be too proud to sing?
What man can consider God’s power and have the audacity to not give Him what He expects or what He deserves?

Worship is not optional.
Singing is not optional.
God expects it and God deserves it.

There’s a third thing the Psalmist knows about worship.
#3 IT IS A PRIVILEGE
Psalms 135:15-18

Here we get a contrast.
God is contrasted from the pathetic and useless false gods of the nations.

We have a good God, they do not.
We have a powerful God, they do not.

BUT ALSO:
WE HAVE A LIVING GOD, THEY DO NOT.
(15-17) “The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.”

FIRST
I would have you contemplate
• What it would be like to pray to a god who cannot hear you.
• What it would be like to suffer when your god can’t see it.
• What it would be like to try and get counsel from a god who cannot speak.
• What it would be like to hope for life from a god who doesn’t even breathe.

How futile to be as the prophets of Baal who leap upon the altar
And cut themselves and cry out over and over “O Baal answer us!”

• What a sad scene to watch millions of Muslims bow daily to a god who doesn’t even see their faithfulness.

• What a broken picture to watch a Hindu woman cram rice into the mouth of some Hindu statue who can’t even taste it or eat it or benefit from it.

• What a horrible moment to see a parent cry out to a god who cannot hear that their child might be delivered.

These are people who day after day worship gods who do not deserve it.
• They worship gods who are not powerful.
• They worship gods who are not good.
• They worship gods who cannot help.

Isaiah gave a very fitting description of such a worship.
Isaiah 46:5-7 “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? “Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it. “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him from his distress.

The key idea there is that of burden.
False gods are nothing but a burden to their worshipers.

It is the worshiper who must do all the heavy lifting.
They must “lift it upon the shoulder and carry it”

It is their god who needs them not the other way around.

We however are called to worship a good and powerful God.
One who has chosen to demonstrate His goodness by saving us.
And our God is NOT a burden.

In fact Jesus said:
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Our God doesn’t cast His burden on us, we cast ours on Him.
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Peter actually told us to cast our cares on Him.

Worship of Him is not a burden, it is a privilege.

Before you see worship of God as a burden
You need to take inventory of people all over this world
Who don’t have the privilege of worshiping the true and living God.

And aside from the immediate heartache of receiving absolutely no help,
There is a GREATER CURSE for those who worship these false gods.

(18) “Those who make them will be like them, Yes, everyone who trusts in them.”

What does he mean?
• Well they can’t speak…
• They can’t see…
• They can’t hear…
• They can’t breathe…

And God will make their worshipers like them.

Isaiah 44 speaks of a man who chops down a tree.
Isaiah 44:16-20 “Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Did you catch how God made them like their false god?
• “He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend…”
• God made fools of them.
• He made them where they couldn’t even see the insanity of their worship…
• “Professing to be wise they became fools”, Paul said.

It is no privilege to worship Allah
It is no privilege to worship Buddha
It is no privilege to worship one of the thousands of Hindu gods
THEY CAUSE YOU TO END UP DECEIVED AND LOST

But we are called to worship the God who hears.
• How many times have the Psalmists cried out “Hear my prayer!”

We are called to worship the God who sees.
• When God spared Hagar and her son Ishmael she called Him the “God who sees” for He saw her affliction.

We are called to worship the God who speaks.
• The God who gave the Law and the prophets and the incarnate word of Jesus Christ. (Psalms 19)

We are called to worship the God who gives life.
• Over and over Jesus promised life to those who believe.

We worship a living, seeing, hearing, speaking God.
And that is a privilege!
FOR HE GIVES LIFE TO THOSE WHO SEEK HIM

How could it be that God’s people would fail to worship Him?
• He hears when you sing and when you don’t.
• He sees when you worship and when you don’t.
• He knows when you honor Him and when you don’t.

And He rewards His faithful.
We have the tremendous privilege of worship.

One more thing the Psalmist knows about worship.
#4 THE PURPOSE IS TO PLEASE GOD
Psalms 135:19-21

See the phrase that is applied over and over to every group and every man?

“bless the LORD”

“bless” means “to make happy”

Are you Israel?
Are you Aaron?
Are you a Levite?
Do you fear God?
Then “bless the LORD”

And bless Him from this place.
“Blessed the LORD from Zion, whoever dwells in Jerusalem, Praise the LORD!”

• Let God look down upon Spur because He hears a holy roar coming from His people!
• Let God look down upon this church because He sees a people who have gathered to worship!

And the whole objective is to make Him happy!
We have discussed it so many times, but human nature will require us to discuss it forever.

We don’t enter this place to be entertained or even for our enjoyment (though we do enjoy the worship of God)
• The songs we sing…
• The instruments we use…
• The sermons we preach…
• The times of prayer…

Everything we do is that God might be pleased.

As the Psalmist said:
Psalms 115:1 “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.”

May God be pleased!

• He alone redeems…
• He alone provides…
• He alone rewards…
• He alone delivers…
• He alone hears…
• He alone sees…
• He alone speaks…
• He alone gives life…
• He alone is good…

And He expects and deserves worship.
It is our privilege and joy to give it to Him!

IT IS A SINFUL MAN
• Who attends a worship service and expects to be praised.
• Who attends a worship service and finds God unworthy of it.
• Who attends a worship service with the intent that he should be made happy.
• Who attends a worship service and thinks it is too tiresome.

I don’t know all there is to know about worship, but I do know that.
We were redeemed that we might praise the LORD.
God certainly expects it and He certainly deserves it.

When you enter this place with the redeemed;
Enter with a focus on worshiping God with all your heart.

And may God be blessed with what ascends from this place.

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Follow Me
2022 Back To School Commissioning Service
Matthew 16:24-27
August 14, 2022

This morning we come to our annual school commissioning service.

I find it very important each year to take this opportunity TO PRAY for our students and teachers as they go to school
And TO REMIND each of us that whether in school or work we are called to serve the kingdom of Christ.

This year I want to piggy back off of a truth that our kids
Received at Camp REGEN and carry it on to you this morning.

The kids studied Mark’s version of this text,
But we’re looking to Matthew’s recording of it, and then I want to expand it bigger.

The passage you are likely familiar with (Matthew 16:24-27).

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

It is the simple call of Jesus.
“follow Me”

And of course we see the reality of following.
• Namely that it will require that you deny yourself
• It will require you to take up your cross
• It will require you to follow Him

As the youth learned at REGEN
This isn’t symbolic of just facing hardship in life.

It is NOT like when you have an illness or a setback and you say, “Well it’s just the cross I have to bear.”

No, the cross Jesus spoke of here was literal.
The disciples had seen them lining the roads.
The cross was the Roman form of execution.

When Jesus told them to take up their cross they knew what He meant.
You see a man walking by with a cross on his shoulder to go and be crucified, then you pick one up and join the line.

IT WAS A CALL TO DEATH.
Make no mistake about it.
Jesus called men to die.

Much is said today about
• Living your best life or abundant life
• Or being blessed
• And many other things such as that.

People have sought to turn the promises of Christ
Into some sort of comfort here on earth.

Many have actually distorted the words of Christ
To make it seem as though He is offering
The very thing He commanded you to lose.

JESUS CALLED MEN TO DEATH.

That becomes even more clear by what He said next.
(25) “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Jesus was very clear there.
It’s this life or the next.

As a kid we used to say, “Finders keepers losers weepers”
Jesus said, “Losers finders keepers weepers”

You must lose this life.
And if you do, you’ll gain eternal life.

There was always a trade off.
He called you to follow Him and die as a result
But promised that if you did you’d gain eternal life.

And He knows this is a DIFFICULT PROPOSITION so He introduced some LOGIC into the equation saying:
(26) “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

That is logic and it comes in the form of 2 questions.

The first is easy to answer:
“How much would you take to go to hell?” (and of course you deny all offers)

The second question is the difficult one:
“How much would you give to stay out of hell?”

THE REAL QUESTION IS: “Would you give this life to gain the next?”
See the calling is to die.

Would you die if you gained eternal life?
Or would you choose to live now and die for eternity?

And I realize that this is a tough proposition,
But SIN has caused this tough proposition.
• Because we sinned and offended God
• The only way to redemption is to follow Jesus.
• And if you follow Jesus this world which still loves sin will hate you
• And treat you like it treated Jesus.

So, follow Jesus, be killed in the world, but gain eternal life.
Or, reject Jesus, be loved in the world, but go to hell when you die.

This is precisely the reality.
(27) “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Judgment is real.
It will happen.

Now that’s a real QUICK EXPLANATION of that verse.
That is what the youth learned at REGEN

THIS MORNING I want to build on that
And sort of give you an exploded view of this idea.

• I want to talk to you about being a follower of Jesus.
• I want you to ponder what it means to follow Jesus.
• I want you to ponder what it means to follow Jesus at school this year.
• I want you to ponder what it means to follow Jesus at work.

And by the end of this we’re all going to ask ourselves
Whether or not we are following Jesus.

That is a fair question for the church to ask.
That is a fair question for those who claim to be followers of Christ.

This is a bit of a topical approach this morning,
• But I want you to limber up your fingers
• I want us to walk through several passages of Scripture
• And see if we can’t get a comprehensive look at what it means to follow Jesus.

#1 THE CALL TO FOLLOW

LET’S START THERE.

I would simply say to you at the outset that
You will be hard pressed to find in Scripture where
Jesus ever asked men to go to heaven or even to go to church.

The call of Jesus was simple: FOLLOW ME

And in case that is too cryptic,
IT SIMPLY MEANT, leave what you are doing and come with Me.

It was a recruitment.
It was an enlistment.
I’m going to that city over there and I want you to come with Me.

There was NO misconception that
• Following Jesus meant staying where you are.
• Following Jesus meant a life that was virtually unchanged.

You don’t stay where you are if you are following.

John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”

SO FIRST
• Let’s clear our minds of this sort of metaphorical understanding of following.
• Let’s clear our minds of this symbolic following.

What Jesus asked for when He was on earth was a literal following.
You get up and come with me.

I want you to grasp that.
I want you to think about the ramifications of that.

• What did that mean for your current occupation? (well you left it)
• What did that mean for your relationships? (well you left them)
• What did that mean for your projects? (well you stopped them)
• What did that mean for your plans? (well you scrapped them)

Do you understand that?
When Jesus came by and said, “Follow Me”
It meant “leave your old life behind and come do what I’m doing.”

I hope that makes sense.
And this was the call.

And though He quite often used the words “follow Me”
There were other invitations that meant the same thing.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

That is the same thing.
• If you take Jesus’ yoke on your neck believe me you’re going where He goes.
• You’re going to do what He does.

THIS IS THE CALL.
It was never for you to stay in your old manner of life….NEVER

Now, what we see in Scripture is that
THE INITIAL CALL TO FOLLOW JESUS WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
Jesus said to follow Him and people pretty much did it.

MOST INITIALLY FOLLOWED OUT OF CURIOSITY

What do I mean?

TURN TO: JOHN 1:35-42

• There you have men who were learning from John the Baptist
• When Jesus walks by John says “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
• And John and Andrew immediately begin to follow Jesus.
• They didn’t really even know what they were looking for, though it is obvious they thought Him to be the Messiah.

Jesus gives them the response, “Come, and you will see.”

So it’s really a curiosity driven following.
Come take a taste.
Come see what I’m about.
Come hang out with Me and see who I am.

And that will hold true for Philip and Nathanael as well:
TURN TO: JOHN 1:43-51

• You see it again.
• Jesus told Philip “Follow Me”
• Philip found Nathanael and old him to follow too.
• Nathanael was skeptical to which Philip said, “Come and see”

It’s just that curious type of following
Where we are trying to find out who this guy is.

And in Scripture we see that most people who followed Jesus
Never moved past this step.

For there were always crowds of curious followers.

Matthew 9:27 “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Matthew 12:15 “But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,”

Matthew 14:13 “Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.”

Matthew 19:2 “and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.”

Matthew 20:29 “As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.”

Matthew 20:34 “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

Matthew 21:9 “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”

THESE WEREN’T SAVED PEOPLE.
The last reference is even to the triumphal entry
That crowd would yell “Crucify!” in just a few days.

These were just people who had a novel curiosity in Jesus.
• He could work miracles…
• He could feed the hungry…
• He could heal diseases…
• He spoke with authority…

They followed Him because they were curious about Him
And because they hoped to gain some temporal benefit from Him.

John 6:26 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

And I hate to tell you but what was true then remains true even today
And that is that most men are only interested in Jesus
For the temporal benefit they can gain from Him.

Most men never follow more than the crowds followed in Jesus’ day.

It is just this superficial following out of nothing more than curiosity
And the hope of some temporal benefit.

But that is where the call to follow STARTED.
It is likely that this is where it started with you just as this is where it started with the disciples.

But the calling of Jesus to follow was never just about
Being healed or gaining some temporal benefit.

When Jesus called men to follow
The intention was ALWAYS OCCUPATIONAL.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 4:18-22

Now there you already begin to see some of the cost involved.
• Peter and Andrew are going to have to leave their nets.
• James and John are going to have to leave their father.

You can’t move on to a new job if you never leave the old one.

And what was this new occupation?
“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

There is kingdom work there.
Do you see that?

Following Jesus meant: YOU COME DO WHAT I DO.
He wasn’t just walking around for their entertainment.
They were being recruited to join Him in His task.

Following wasn’t symbolic it was real, it was occupational.
There was labor involved.

We’ll talk more about this guy in a second, but:
Luke 9:60 “But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

That was following.
• In that case it wasn’t come do what I do, it was GO DO what I do.
• But you see still that following was all about the occupational work of the
kingdom.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 9:9

There it is again.
• Matthew is leaving one job to start a new one.

Do you see that?

The call to follow Jesus was not symbolic
And it wasn’t to be a mere spectator.
Jesus called men to leave their life and come join Him in His mission.

HE WAS RECRUITING LABORERS.
HE WAS RECRUITING HELPERS.

Now, I want you to stop and ponder this for a moment
As you prepare to go to school.

If Jesus were to physically attend your school Wednesday morning, what sort of things might He be doing there?

And, if He called you to follow Him down the hall, what sort of things do you think you might be asked to do?

DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?

This reality was very convicting to me as we sat in that service at REGEN.

Can you imagine what it must have been like following Jesus through Judea and Galilee?

EXHAUSTING!
The guy was a machine.
• He never got off task
• He was tireless
• Moved with compassion
• He never sent them away
• He always had somewhere else to go

He was on mission and if you followed Him you were on mission.
I just want you to think about what it meant to follow Him.

Did He go somewhere dangerous?
Did He cut through Samaria?
Did He offend the Pharisees?
Was He scrutinized?

Your life was linked to His and if you were following Him
You were a sharer in His fate.

Don’t allegorize what it means to follow.
The call was to LITERALLY follow Him.

That is the call to follow.
#2 THE COST TO FOLLOW

Now, you already saw that some felt some of that cost pretty early on.
• We see Matthew leave that tax booth.
• We see Peter and Andrew leave their nets.
• We see James and John leave their father.

The cost of following was seen pretty quickly.
But even that was only a partial cost.

That was just a COST OF CONVENIENCE.

But even so, that cost alone weeded out plenty.

TURN TO: LUKE 9:57-62

The first guy wants to follow because he thinks following Jesus is the path to riches and fame.
• Jesus sets him straight. “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
• If you follow Me you will be homeless.
• Get all those notions of riches out of your head.
• The implication is that this man decided not to follow.

So Jesus looked at the next guy and said, “What about you?”
“And He said to another, “Follow Me.”
• But that guy was already crunching the numbers.
• If Jesus had no riches for His followers then the wise move would be
• To wait until you are financially secure before you start to follow.
• So this guy wanted to wait for his dad to die first so he could collect his inheritance.
• Jesus told him to leave it. “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

And then there was a 3rd guy
• Who saw the first two decline for love of money.
• He was willing to leave his wealth behind, but he had a different hang-up.
• He was worried about what people at home would think if he left everything.
• He wanted to go see what his family thought about it.
• Jesus told him that being worried about his reputation would make him unfit for this occupation.

You can’t do kingdom work
If you’re only concerned about what people think.

I think pretty much every one of us at camp this year sat in that small group circle and lamented this reality.
We could all see where fear of what people think had hindered our gospel service in one way or another.

YOU CAN’T FOLLOW JESUS IF YOU LOVE THIS WORLD.
These men chose to keep their life and let Jesus go His own way.

MANY MEN DO THIS TODAY.
• They are certainly enamored with Jesus.
• They certainly know who He is.
• The problem is that they are unwilling to let Jesus put their life in jeopardy.

Matthew 19:21-22 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”

There are many who balk at even that initial cost of following Jesus.
They want Jesus but they want all that the world has to offer too
And for that reason they never follow.

BUT THAT IS JUST THE INITIAL COST.

The cost of following Jesus would be even greater
Than simply leaving your job or you inheritance behind.

As I said:
Jesus called men to follow Him to death.

Certainly following Jesus would require the loss of your idols,
But it would also require the loss of your life.

Now, EVEN THE DISCIPLES were NOT QUITE READY for this.

Oh, Jesus alluded to it from time to time.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 10

• This is of course when Jesus first sent them out in twos to go and preach the kingdom.
• Now, He told them pretty quickly that it would NOT be all sunshine and roses.
• He told them that there would be some who would NOT LIKE what they were preaching.

(READ 14-15) – some won’t accept you.

(READ 16-25) – there is going to be some scorn and hatred involved if you go out doing My work in the world.

And Jesus BEGAN TO REVEAL to the disciples that the cost involved in following Him might be more than even they had anticipated.

READ MATTHEW 10:34-39

So you see again the call to follow
But also that the call is a call to death.

“I am asking you to do what I do in the world
And for this the world will hate you
And will do to you what they will do to Me.”

Now, it is also clear that the disciples didn’t really grasp this.
It is clear that this reality sort of slipped right over their heads.

For later Jesus would announce again what was coming
And the disciples balked at it.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 16:21-23

Jesus announced that He was going to Jerusalem to die
AND THIS UNNERVED THE DISCIPLES.

If the guy you are following is headed to death
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU?
You see why Peter was frustrated.

And to that Jesus gave the truth that we looked at to open the sermon.
READ MATTHEW 16:24-27

This is a call to follow Jesus to death.
• This is not a symbolic cross this is a literal one.
• This is not a symbolic journey this is a real one.

I fear that the modern day church has lost sight of this.

That somehow we have grown to think that following Jesus
Simply means to go to church periodically.

I’m afraid that we have begun to overlook the simple calling of Jesus.
HE HAS CALLED US TO DEATH.
HE HAS CALLED US TO GIVE UP OUR LIFE.

And you say, “WHY WOULD I DO THAT?”
And the answer is because Jesus will give you eternal life.

It is very much a proposition
To lose this life so that you might be saved for all eternity.

It is NOT that Jesus wishes to kill you in one place or the other.
It is NOT that Jesus wants to make sure you die somewhere.

No, Jesus simply wants you to follow Him
And if you do, He’ll give you eternal life.

THE PROBLEM IS that if you follow Jesus, this world will kill you.

And so the choice must be made.
• This life or the next one?
• Your reputation or your soul?
• Your comfort or forgiveness?

THERE IS A REAL COST TO FOLLOWING.

And the disciples BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND that.

Remember when Jesus wanted to go back to Judea because Lazarus was dead?
John 11:16 “Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

Perhaps that is the verse I should have put on the T-shirts for this morning.

Thomas knew what it meant if he followed Jesus back to Judea.
(Now, mercifully Jesus did not allow that to happen during that trip,
But Thomas was well-aware that it sure could have)

But you see, those men knew the cost.

In the upper room what did Peter say that He was prepared to do with the Lord?
“I will die with You”

They knew what was at stake.

I don’t know if the modern day American church realizes that anymore.

Sometimes I think we are only following Jesus to still waters
And green pastures and healing and prosperity and blessing.
And have forgotten about the valley of the shadow of death.

The call was to follow Him and to be about His business
Which would most certainly result in death.

Even look at the end of John’s gospel.
TURN TO: JOHN 21:18-22

• Even after the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• Even after Jesus reinstated Peter.
• What did He ask Peter to do?

“Follow Me” (even to death)

Do you understand that?

And this is our mandate in the world.
We are called to follow Jesus into this world
And be about His business knowing what the world will think of it.

• When you go into that school…
• When you go into your workplace…
• When you talk to that stranger…

Jesus is well-aware that you might be hated for it.
Jesus is well-aware that you might be killed for it.
BUT STILL HE ASKS US TO GO.

You say, “THAT’S A HIGH COST!”
Yes it is.

But let me remind you of one more thing.
#3 THE COMPENSATION TO FOLLOWING

One verse here.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 19:27-30

This was when the Rich Young Ruler departed and the disciples did some real soul-searching.

The question is quite possibly the one you are considering:
IS IT WORTH IT?

And Jesus was totally honest that it is more than worth it!

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Jesus promised life!

It was this life and glory that gave Him motivation to go forward:
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus thought the scorn of the cross
Was of little comparison to the glory that awaited.

Do you remember what Paul said?
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Now hopefully at this point you are getting it.

LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT PREACHER.
• You’re asking me to go into that school or that workplace and preach the kingdom of heaven
• Knowing full well that it might get me killed,
• But you’re promising me that if I do it will be worth it.

IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE ASKING?
NO – THAT’S WHAT JESUS IS ASKING.

That is what it means to follow Him.
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Luke recorded it a bit differently.
Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

• Luke included the word “daily” there which rings volumes to us.
• It is not a one time request.
• We are called to daily go and follow Jesus through this life.

So then, we all get to ask ourselves then a very important question.

AM I FOLLOWING JESUS?
• Am I a curious follower?
• Or am I a committed follower?

• Am I actually leaving anything behind?
• Am I focused at all on His mission and occupation?

• Am I following Jesus?
• And if I am not, am I willing to?

That is the request.
WILL YOU FOLLOW JESUS?

A Bible Study for all women every 1st & 3rd Thursday beginning September 1st! – 7:00pm

OUR STUDY IS:

Every woman will receive the “True Woman 201” workbook and the Bible Study will be led by Carrie Mosley.

We hope you’ll find time to come and study true Biblical Womanhood with us!

For any questions contact Carrie Mosley (806) 777-6697

 

HERE ARE THE VIDEOS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDY:

Week 1 – DISCERNMENT

Week 2 – HONOR

Week 3 – AFFECTION

Week 4 – DISCIPLINE

Week 5 – VIRTUE

Week 6 – RESPONSIBILITY

Week 7 – BENEVOLENCE

Week 8 – DISPOSITION

Week 9 – LEGACY

Week 10 – BEAUTY

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What I Know About Worship
Psalms 135
August 7, 2022

Tonight we study a Psalm that is often referred to as a MOSAIC.

That is because it is either the source of so many other Psalms
Or it is a conglomerate of so many others.

Nearly every verse of this Psalm can be found elsewhere in Scripture.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Verse 1, “Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O servants of the LORD,”

Psalms 113:1 “Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD.”

Verse 2, “You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God!”

Psalms 116:19 “In the courts of the LORD’S house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!”

Verse 5, “For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods.”

Psalms 95:3 “For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods,”

Verse 6, “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.”

Psalms 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

Verse 7, “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.”

Jeremiah 10:13 “When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.”

I think you get the idea.
• Verse 8 is found in Psalms 136:10
• Verses 10-11 are found in Psalms 136:18-22
• Verse 14 is found in Deuteronomy 32:36
• Verses 15-18 are found in Psalms 115:4-8
• Verses 19-21 are found in Psalms 115:9-11

Our Psalmist has broken out into song
And it is a song inspired by his study of Scripture.

As our Psalmist studied the word it is clear that his thoughts
Kept returning to one continual truth: GOD MUST BE PRAISED

I’ve called the study of this Psalm: “What I Know About Worship”

That comes primarily from verse 5
“For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods.”

The Psalmist says, “For I know…”
• This Psalm is his statement of faith.
• This Psalm is his declaration of truth.
• This Psalm is his song of theology.
• This Psalm is his dissertation.
• This Psalm is his thesis.

It is a song of scriptural passages meant to inspire the congregation
To join him in blessing God.

It is a song that calls us to worship and it is not short on reasons.
5 times in the Psalm we are given the reason we should worship God.

You see the word “for” given 5 times and each time it explains why God is worthy.
• (3) “for the LORD is good;”
• (3) “Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely”
• (4) “For the LORD has chosen Jacob…”
• (5) “For I know that the LORD is great…”
• (14) “For the LORD will judge His people…”

It is clearly a Psalm with one driving purpose.
It is to remind Israel that they are a people assembled for worship.

And what an important reminder to each of us.
The church can become easily distracted.
• We get sucked in to business related matters…
• We get preoccupied with ministry…
• We are burdened by logistics and budgets and buildings…
• We think of sermons and lessons and times of teaching…

And certainly all of those things have their place
And hold a certain amount of priority among God’s people.

But we should never forget that when we assemble,
We assemble for the purpose of worship.

John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Never let it stray from your mind that God seeks worshipers.

And this makes sense to us.
• After all we call what we are doing here a “Worship Service”
• This auditorium was built so God’s people would have a place to worship.

It would be a shame if the priority of worship was somehow forgotten.

Well, with a Bible in one hand and a harp in the other,
Our Psalmist is here to remind us again of the importance of worship.

Here we see 4 things I know about worship.
#1 GOD EXPECTS IT
Psalms 135:1-4

The Psalm begins as we said quoting from Psalms 113:1
“Praise the LORD!”

“Praise” is the word HAW-LAL in the Hebrew.
It’s where we get our word “hallelujah”
It can be defined as “praise” even “boast”

Here it is in the imperative.
• It is an adamant command.
• It condemns a stagnant spirit.
• It condemns a silent witness.
• It demands singing.
• It demands proclamation.

It commands God’s people to open their mouth
And boast about the greatness of their God.

And in case God’s people are at a loss as to what they are to boast about,
The Psalmist gets specific.

“Praise the name of the LORD;”

Why His “name”?
Because His “name” is the full aspect of who He is.

The attributes of God are tied up in His name.
To praise His name is to focus on His attributes.

So the Psalmist tells you to boast about God
And when you say, “like what?” He says:

• Well, how about His holiness?
• Or how about His mercy?
• How about His power or His grace or His justice?
• You could boast in His jealousy or His vengeance or His love
• You could boast about His omnipotence or omniscience
• You could boast about His creation or His providence or His faithfulness
• You could boast about His Son or His Spirit or His word or His plan

The point is that God’s people must consider who God is
And then boast about Him.

They must “Praise the name of the LORD”

WHO MUST?
“Praise Him, O servants of the LORD, You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God!”

It is those who have entered His courts.
It is those who have entered these doors.

It is certainly a regrettable thing that so many would skip worship altogether in favor of worldly attractions,

But equally regrettable is people who would enter the courts of the Lord
And then not participate in the praise.

“I’ll go, but I’m not about to boast about God”

This is a worship service and we have come here to worship.
And the Psalmist is RALLYING THE SAINTS to join him.

It’s as if he feels inadequate to worship alone.
• God deserves much more.
• He deserves a powerful choir!
• He deserves a mighty roar!
• If everyone would sing and if everyone would raise their voice and if we all joined together what a song we could raise to God!

What a boast we could proclaim if we all joined together.
AND THIS IS WHAT THE PSALMIST WANTS.

WHY?
(3) “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;”

There’s that simple word again.
• That word that is way overused in our lives.
• It is the word that describes creation before sin entered.
• It is the word that Jesus rebuked the Rich Young Ruler for applying to himself.
• It is a word which Paul said describes no man.

But it describes God to a “T”
He is “good”

He stands out, He stands above, He stands beyond.
THERE IS NONE LIKE HIM.

I watched a short video clip this week of a Paul Washer sermon in which he recounted preaching at a university and an atheist took issue with his assertion of the substitutionary atonement.

The young atheist asked How it is possible for 1 man over a course of a few hours to pay the sin debt of millions?

Washer replied, “I’m glad you asked. You meant it for evil, but God will use it for good. It is because that one Man is worth more than all others put together.”

The glory and perfection and worth of Jesus in the sight of God is so far above that of any other man that to punish Jesus for 3 hours is the equivalent of punishing every sinner who ever existed for all eternity in hell.

There was none good like Him.
There is none good like God.

Praise Him because He is so far superior to us in every way.
Praise Him because He is beyond compare.

HOW SHOULD I PRAISE HIM?
“Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.”

Have you ever wondered why singing is the method we use in the church?
• Why not some other form?
• Why not something that a little less flamboyant?

Oh, I know there are some who sing well and so it’s not a big deal to them,
But for the rest of us it can be a little humiliating to sing out loud.

• Why not just meditate?
• Why not just send grateful thoughts up to God?
• Why not just read the lyrics of the song and ponder them?

Why do we have to sing out our boasts about God?
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD TOLD US TO DO.

• If God had required cartwheels we’d be flipping down the aisle…
• If God had required baked goods we’d have 200 ovens…
• If God had required paintings the whole wall would be a canvas…

But God required singing.
He requires His people to stand and boast in song.
He requires people to sing of His lovely name.

In fact, GOD EXPECTS IT.
(4) “For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

You see there the glories of God’s sovereign and gracious ELECTION.

We are drawn to the message of Paul who reminded us:
Romans 9:10-13 “And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.” Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

• There was nothing in Jacob that warranted his choosing…
• There was no intrinsic worth…
• There was certainly no record of good works…

God, according to His own sovereign prerogative chose Jacob.
Just as God, by His own sovereign prerogative chose you.

The million dollar question that is often asked and rarely considered is this.
WHY DID GOD CHOOSE ME?

And the answer is simple.
“for Himself…for His own possession”

He didn’t choose you for you, He chose you for Him.
And He chose you that you might worship Him for all eternity.

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

You were chosen…
You received mercy…
You became His people…
“so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

It would be a tragic mistake to be one of God’s elect
Who has totally missed the main purpose for your election.

Would you really be the one whom God rescues who refuses to sing?
Would you really be the one whom God chooses who refuses to boast?

You were chosen for this.

Do you remember what Jesus prayed for you the night before He was crucified?
Revelation 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

And when the church is finally with Him and finally sees His glory, do you know what they do?
Revelation 5:8-12 “When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

We are the bride of Christ.
We were chosen by the Father as a gift to the Son.
That He might have an adoring bride for all eternity.

It is the expectation that we will be worshipers.
• God expects that as people of grace…
• As people who were chosen…
• As sinners who were pardoned…

That will gather together and in one accord raise our voices in song
To boast about His goodness.

God expects His people to worship Him.