The temptations that flow from independence and autonomy...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Samuel. Yesterday, we looked on as King David, the man after God’s own heart, the man who was their greatest military leader, instead of doing what he was responsible for doing and was supposed to be doing, which was to lead the Jewish people into military battle, decided to remain in Jerusalem. Instead of going out with the community of men whom he was most accountable to and responsible for, King David decided to isolate himself from those who were in a position to hold him accountable.

King David allowed the mighty men, his closest advisors to go to battle, while he remained behind, which isolated himself from those who both knew him best and who had access to tell him not only what he wanted to hear but what he needed to hear.  However, we can find ourselves doing the exact same thing, as in our culture, and with men especially, there is a tendency to drift toward isolation, independence and autonomy.

We are tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy because our culture values the concepts of independence and autonomy. We often tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy because we may find ourselves in a place where we are angry or discontent with our current circumstances. And we are often tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy and away from genuine and close community because we assume that people want something from us. And because we assume that people will want something from us if we are part of close community, we will not seek out that close community.

And just as it is for us today, King David found himself in a place where he had drifted into isolation and away from community and accountability, so that he could do what he wanted to do instead of what he was supposed to do. Today, we see what King David’s decision to isolate himself led to in 2 Samuel 11:2:

Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

King David, isolated from others and now having the autonomy to do what he wanted to do, decided that what he wanted to do was have a little fun with someone else’s wife, who was doing what King David was supposed to be doing. So, in order to do what he wanted to do, King David sent his messengers to get Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, for a late night rendezvous. 

Now when the messengers question the King about his choice in women, it is important to understand that Uriah the Hittite was one of the mighty men. In other words, Uriah was one of the thirty men that were in King David’s inner circle. These men protected the King without question and had repeatedly demonstrated their devotion and trustworthiness to him.

Uriah was one of the men who truly knew King David and had access to King David. After all, they had been in close community for years as they battled together against the enemies of the Jewish people. In addition, Bathsheba’s father, Eliam, was one of King David’s closest advisors. This was a man who also was close to the King and was in a position to hold the king accountable.

So when the messengers are told to get Bathsheba, they basically said “so you are going to sleep with Uriah’s wife”? But notice that these messengers did not refuse the king. Notice that these messengers did not challenge the king or try to hold the king accountable. After all, King David was the king and they were just the messengers. King David was the one who wrote out their paycheck.

King David had drifted away from the accountability of close community and was now surrounded by yes men who would only tell the king what he wanted to hear, not what he needed to hear. Instead of remaining in close community that provided loving accountability, King David’s independence, isolation and autonomy drove him to commit adultery. And, as we will see, this was not a onetime encounter. Notice what happens next in verse 5:

 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and

 said, "I am pregnant."

Notice that Bathsheba has no doubt who the father of the child is. This was an ongoing affair and this was not a secret affair. I mean, do you think that these messengers would have kept quiet after repeatedly bringing Bathsheba over? But now, with Bathsheba pregnant and with the potential for his adulterous affair to become even more well known, King David had to try to figure out how to get out of this horrible and embarrassing situation. We see King David’s plan, in verse 6:

Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked concerning the welfare of Joab and the people and the state of the war. Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." And Uriah went out of the king's house, and a present from the king was sent out after him.

You see, King David attempted to do what we often try to do when we get into trouble as a result of a poor decision. What King David attempted to do; what we try to do, is to control the outcome. We see how King David’s attempts to control the outcome worked out in verse 9:

But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. Now when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing." Then David said to Uriah, "Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you go." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with his lord's servants, but he did not go down to his house.

Well that did not work out how King David planned it. Uriah was a man that seemed to possess more of a heart for God than King David did at this point. Instead of spending the night with his wife, Uriah spent the night with the people who were responsible for protecting the king. Because, that is what those who are in close community do for one another.

However, King David has isolated himself from that close community and is now trying to fix the mess that he has made as a result of the poor decisions that flowed from being independent and autonomous outside of community. Now, imagine yourself as King David. You grand plan has not worked. How are you going to fix this mess that you have made? We see the king’s final solution recorded for us in verse 14:

Now in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. He had written in the letter, saying, "Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die." So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. The men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David's servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died.

Just when you think that it cannot get any worse, it does just a few verses later in verse 26:

Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. When the time of mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.

You think? And while King David thought his plan to cover up his selfishness and rebellion that led to a murderous affair was a success; while King David thought he was off the hook, the reality was quite different.

Friday, we will see the consequences of King David's isolation...

The temptation towards isolation, independence, and autonomy...

Every week at the church where I serve, we gather together in community so that we can create the space where we can explore faith, grow in our faith, and experience genuine and authentic community. We desire to create environments where you can move on a spiritual journey from the place of being a consumer who is either searching and shopping for answers when it comes to Jesus and the Bible or who view that church as a place that provides spiritual goods and services, to the place where you are an owner who owns and genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and where you can move from the place of being an owner to being an investor who is investing their time, talents and treasure in the kingdom mission that we have been given.

Every week, we express that our goal is that every regular attender here at City Bible Church would be investing their time in a community group, their talents serving God by serving others on a ministry team, and investing their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus through regular and proportional giving. Now a natural question that could arise at this point is "Well Dave, where did you come up with these desires and goals? And why should I embrace these desires and goals? Why should I be a part of a community group? Why should I be a part of a ministry team? Why should I give to the church?"

My answer to those questions would be this: when we read the letters that make up the Bible, we consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ invested their time with other Christians as they gathered corporately for regular weekly worship gatherings and as they scattered to experience community in homes throughout the week.

When we read the letters that make up the Bible, we consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ consistently invested their talents serving God by serving others through the exercise of their spiritual gifts. And when we read the letters that make up the Bible, we consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ consistently invested their treasure to support God’s kingdom mission through regular and proportional giving.

As a church we repeatedly express these desires and these goals not because we want something from you; instead we repeatedly express these desires and goals because we want something for you, which is that you would experience a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus. As a church, we simply want you to experience the relationship with God that you were created for. And part of experiencing the relationship with God that you were created for is to be doing life together in close community with other followers of Jesus.

So this week I would like for us to talk about why it is essential for us as followers of Jesus to be consistently investing our time in a community group. And to do that, I would like for us to look at an event from history that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible. If you grew up in church, or have spent any time in church, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with this event from history. And the reason why you are at least somewhat familiar with this event from history is due to the fact that this event from history is one of the most infamous events from history that is recorded for us in the entire Bible.

The event from history that we are going to look at involves a man named David. In 1008 B.C. King David became king over the Jewish nation when he was thirty years old. King David ruled over the Jewish people for a period of forty years. And during his forty years as king, King David distinguished himself as perhaps the greatest king to ever lead the Jewish people.

It was King David that led the Jewish armies to conquer their hated enemies. It was King David who captured Jerusalem and established it as their capital city. It was King David who established the Jewish nation as a military and political power in the world. And it was King David who was described as being a man after God’s own heart. And as a man after God’s own heart, it was King David who desired, at the apex of his power and prominence, to honor God by building what would later be known as the temple in Jerusalem.

However, the prophet Nathan, who was God’s spokesman, came to King David and explained to David that God did not like his plan. Instead, God had a different plan. Instead of King David building a house for God, God wanted to build a kingdom through King David and his descendants. God promised King David that he would be remembered for all of history not for his building plan, but for fulfilling his responsibility as the representative that God would use to build an eternal kingdom through one of his descendants.

King David responded to God's promise by committing himself to trust in the Lord and fulfill his responsibilities to lead the Jewish people as God's representative. And for years 20 years, King David placed his confident trust in God’s promise and embraced his responsibilities to lead the Jewish people. King David continued to establish the Jewish nation as a military and political power in the world. King David continued to fulfill the responsibilities he was given to represent the Lord as he led the Jewish people. And King David continued to gain influence and expand his impact and reputation as being a man after God’s own heart.

Then, when King David was approximately 50 years old, an event from history occurred that radically changed the trajectory of King David’s life. An event from history that reveals a timeless truth as to why it is so essential for us as followers of Jesus to be consistently investing our time in a community group. So let's look at this event from history together, beginning in 2 Samuel 11:1:

Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

King David, the man after God’s own heart, the man who was their greatest military leader, instead of doing what he was responsible for doing and was supposed to be doing, which was to lead the Jewish people into military battle, decided to remain in Jerusalem. Instead of going out with the community of men whom he was most accountable to and responsible for, King David decided to isolate himself from those who were in a position to hold him accountable.

You see, in King David’s day, just as it is today, there is something that happens when we find ourselves in close community with others. When we are in close community with others, people gain access to us. When we are in close community with others, people get to truly know us as we really are.

And for King David, his mighty men, his closest advisors, were that community. However, King David allowed the mighty men, his closest advisors to go to battle, while he remained behind, which isolated himself from those who both knew him best and who had access to tell him not only what he wanted to hear but what he needed to hear.  

Now here is a question to consider: how often can we find ourselves doing the exact same thing? How often can we find ourselves, especially men, isolating ourselves from the very people that we need in our lives to keep us accountable? You see, our culture, and men especially, have a tendency to drift toward isolation, independence and autonomy. But why is that the case?

First, we are tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy because our culture values the concepts of independence and autonomy. There are many people around us, along with the culture around us, who idolize and embrace independence and autonomy. Second, we are often tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy because we may find ourselves in a place where we are angry or discontent with our current circumstances. And that anger, even a low grade anger that simmers just under the surface, that discontentment will isolate us from others. After all, how many of us want to be around people who are discontent, right?

And third, we are often tempted to drift towards isolation, independence and autonomy and away from genuine and close community because we assume that people want something from us. And because we assume that people will want something from us if we are part of close community, we will not seek out that close community. And just as it is for us today, King David found himself in a place where he had drifted into isolation and away from community and accountability, so that he could do what he wanted to do instead of what he was supposed to do.

Tomorrow, we will see what King David’s decision to isolate himself led him to…

Because we are wired for worship, our response of worship should shape our lives to reveal and reflect Jesus...

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans. We looked on as Apostle Paul pondered what he had just written about the reality that God is sovereign and man is responsible. We looked on as Paul revealed that he had a hard time wrapping his mind around how God could sovereignly be in control of the universe while man was totally responsible for the decisions and desires of their lives.

However, the lack of total clarity and the tension that Paul felt did not lead him to reject God and these two truths. Instead the mystery surrounding these two truths led Paul to respond in worship of God and to embrace the tension that these two truths create. Paul worshipped the Lord because Paul recognized that we are responsible for the choices we make. And Paul worshipped the Lord because Paul recognized that in God’s sovereignty, He does not give everyone what we deserve. Instead, by His gracious choice He rescues some. And it is God’s gracious choice that should humble us and provoke within us a response of worship. Today, we will see Paul unpack what our response of worship should look like in Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Here we see Paul strongly appeal and urge the members of the church at Rome, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to respond to the fact that God is right. In light of the God’s response of rescue from selfishness and sin through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; In light of God’s activity through the history of the Jewish people, God has been revealed Himself to be right. And the fact that God is right should result in a response from His followers.

Paul then revealed exactly how followers of Jesus should respond God’s rightness and response of rescue: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” When Paul uses the phrase “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice”, this phrase, in the language this letter was originally written in, literally means to offer your bodies as a living act of worship.

In addition, when Paul use the phrase “spiritual service of worship” this phrase refers to a carefully thought through act of worship.  Paul here is revealing for us the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we are to respond God’s transformational intervention and activity in our lives through Jesus Christ by living in a way that is worthy of God as an act of worship to God that is pleasing to God.

Paul here is bringing us back to the reality that worship, simply put, is a response. Worship is a life that is lived in response to what we value most. Paul’s point is that our worship should be a response that is focused on who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do by valuing the Lord supremely. Paul here is reinforcing the reality that worship is not simply singing, reading your Bible and prayer, although worship can involve singing, reading your Bible and prayer. Worship is a lifestyle; worship is a life that is lived in a way that is focused on and that responds to God’s character and activity in the world so as to value the Lord supremely.

Paul here is urging the members of the church at Rome, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to respond to who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do by making a life time decision, through prayer, to tell God that all of our life is His. This is a one time commitment to practice a lifestyle that reflects a response of worship that values the Lord supremely and that strives to please the Lord.

Paul then unpacks what such a response of surrender and worship looks like in verse 2. Paul commands followers of Jesus throughout history to do not be conformed to this world. In other words, Paul is saying that, as followers of Jesus, we should not model our lifestyle after the times that we live in. As followers of Jesus we not to embrace and be shaped by what Paul refers to as this world, which refers to the different worldviews that are prevalent in the culture around us. Instead, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Paul’s point here is that our response of surrender to God as an act of worship results in God transforming and changing our way of thinking by the power of the Holy Spirit. And as a result of the Holy Spirit’s transformation of our inward way of thinking, we will be able to “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul here is revealing for us the reality that, our response of surrender to God results in the Holy Spirit’s transforming our inward way of thinking in a way that helps us evaluate and draw a conclusion as to what God’s good standards and desires are for our lives.

Paul’s point here is that when we practice a lifestyle of worship that values the Lord supremely and that is committed to live a life that is surrendered to the Lord, the Holy Spirit transforms our way of thinking and our mindset in a way that results in us being able to recognize and become aligned with the Lord’s desires for our lives. And it is here, in this response of worship by the Apostle Paul, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to the fact that we are wired for worship in that because we are wired for worship, our response of worship should shape our lives to reveal and reflect Jesus. The timeless reality is that because we are wired for worship our response of worship of Jesus should shape how we live our day to day lives as followers of Jesus.

Our response of worship of Jesus should shape our day to day lives in such a way that we living a life that views Jesus as being of supreme value. Our response of worship of Jesus should shape our day to day lives in such a way that we living a life that is not shaped by the worldviews that place themselves in opposition to Jesus that are prevalent in the culture around us. Instead, our response of worship of Jesus should shape our day to day lives in such a way that we living a life that is being transformed by Jesus in such a way that our lives are able to recognize and become aligned with God’s desires for our lives. And as our lives are able to recognize and become aligned with God’s desires for our lives, the result is a life of worship that is being shaped into the image of Jesus and that reveals and reflects Jesus to those around us.

So here is a question to consider: What does what is shaping your life reveal about what you are worshipping? As a follower of Jesus, is there an aspect of your life that is displeasing to God? Could it be that the reason that there are parts of our lives that are displeasing to God is because we have never made the decision to practice a lifestyle of worship that has surrendered all of our life to Jesus in a way that views Jesus as being of supreme value?

Could it be that the reason that there are parts of our lives that are displeasing to God is because we are being shaped by the world instead of being shaped by Jesus? Could it be that the reason that there are parts of our lives that are displeasing to God is because we have never made the decision to practice a lifestyle of worship that is allowing Jesus to shape our lives into His image?

Because, the reality is that, because we are wired for worship, our response of worship should shape our lives to reveal and reflect Jesus...

One man's embrace of the mystery of God in worship...

At the church where I serve, we just concluded a sermon series entitled “Wired for worship”. During this series, we are discovering that all humanity has been wired for worship. And during this series our hope and prayer has been that God would move in our heads, hearts, and hands in a way that results in us understanding and embracing the life of worship that we were created for in a way that results in us worshipping Jesus with our lives.

This week, as we come to the conclusion of this series, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans. In this letter a man named Paul, who was the person that God used to spread the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to people who were not of Jewish heritage, responded to a timeless question that is still asked today, which is “is the God that is portrayed in the Bible right? Is God right?”

Paul responded to this question in the very beginning of this letter by proclaiming that the message of the gospel reveals that reality that God is right. Paul proclaimed that God is right. God always has been right; God always will be right. And the extent that we are right when it comes to our relationship with God is directly related to the extent that our heads, hearts, and hands line up with what God believes is right, because God is right.

After proclaiming his belief that the message of the gospel reveals that reality that God is right, Paul then proceeded to provide the evidence to prove that God is right. In Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20, Paul revealed the reality that the fact that God is right is revealed by humanities problem. Paul provided evidence to prove behind a shadow of a doubt that all of humanity is guilty of having a huge problem with God as a result of selfishness and rebellion. A problem that is universal and insurmountable.

All humanity has a huge problem with God that requires rescue; a rescue that we are unable and unwilling to attempt on our own. Paul then explained that humanities problem is not just humanities problem.  Our problem is God’s problem because our problem it calls into question God’s justice and love. And in Romans 3:21 to Romans 8:39, Paul unpacked the reality that the fact that God is right is revealed by God’s response of rescue to the problem of selfishness and sin.

Paul explained that God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ.  Whether religious or irreligious; regardless of your past; forgiveness and rescue comes not from what you do for God; forgiveness and rescue comes from placing our confident trust in what God has done for you through Jesus life, death, and resurrection. When we respond to what God transformational activity by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we receive forgiveness and rescue and experience the relationship with God that we were created for.

Paul proclaimed that as we grow in our relationship with Christ, our growth should result in a separation from selfishness and sin as we become more like Jesus in character and conduct. And as followers of Jesus, we have a glorious future as a result of our rescue; a future free from sin in the relationship with God that we were created for all eternity in Heaven.

Then, in Romans chapter 9 to Romans chapter 11, Apostle Paul revealed the reality that the fact that God is right is revealed through the history of the Jewish people. Paul explained that the sovereign God is free to choose some and reject others. Paul then proved that God’s sovereign freedom to choose some and reject others is just because mankind is responsible. All of humanity is responsible for their response to the message of the gospel.

Paul then revealed God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility is revealed by God’s promises to the Jewish people. The fact that God is right is revealed by God sovereign plan and dealings with the Jewish people throughout their history.  Paul demonstrated that God is large and in charge and has the freedom to choose some and reject others. And the reason that the sovereign God is free to choose some and reject others is because mankind is responsible. Mankind is responsible because all humanity exercises and embraces the choice to selfishly rebel against God and the truth about God to worship something other than God as God and to do things that hurt God and others, which the Bible calls sin.

And it is in this context, as Paul reflected on all that he had written up to this point in the book of Romans, that we are given a glimpse by Paul into how he processed and responded to what he had just written for God. And it is in this glimpse that Paul gives us into how he was processing and responding to what he had just written that we will discover another timeless truth when it comes to being wired for worship. So let’s look at Paul’s response together, beginning in Romans 11:33:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Now if the Apostle Paul were writing these verses in the language we use in our culture today, these verses probably would have sounded something like this: “Oh how difficult is it to access and wrap our minds around the abundance of God’s wisdom and intellect! God’s decisions and activity in history are unsearchable and incomprehensible. I can totally relate to how the prophet Isaiah and Job felt when they encountered the truth about the nature and character of God. Because everything is from God and everything is through God and everything is for God. Everything. I just need to stop and worship God, because I cannot wrap my mind around all that I have just written”.

You see, as the Apostle Paul pondered what he had just written about the reality that God is sovereign and man is responsible, he had a hard time wrapping his mind around how God could sovereignly be in control of the universe while man was totally responsible for the decisions and desires of their lives. But the lack of total clarity and the tension that Paul felt did not lead him to reject God and these two truths.

Instead the mystery surrounding these two truths led Paul to respond in worship of God and to embrace the tension that these two truths create. The fact that there are mysteries about God and the truth about God that are beyond our abilities to wrap our minds around should result in God’s reputation being enhanced.

You see, Paul worshipped the Lord because Paul recognized that we are responsible for the choices we make that hurt God and others and that separate us from God. And Paul worshipped the Lord because Paul recognized that in God’s sovereignty, He does not give everyone what we deserve. Instead, by His gracious choice He rescues some even though none deserve rescue.

And in the same way, as followers of Jesus, it is God’s gracious choice that should humble us and provoke within us a response of worship. Paul then unpacks what our response of worship should look like in Romans 12:1-2.

Friday, we will examine that response and discover a timeless truth about the reality that all humanity has been wired for worship...

Because we are wired for worship, we become what we worship...

This week, we have been asking and answering the question “What happens when we worship?” by looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Psalms. We looked on as the Psalmist called humanity to value the Lord as being of ultimate value by giving the Lord the honor He deserves.

We looked on as the Psalmist pointed to the reality that the reason why we are to honor the Lord by making much of His name is because of the Lord’s steadfast love and devotion that has been demonstrated by His abundant faithfulness to His people and His promises. The Psalmist pointed us to worship the Lord by giving honor to His name because the Lord is firm in His promises to His people and is steadfastly devoted to His people.

The Psalmist then revealed in an answer to a timeless question that the idols that were the objects of worship by those who worshipped false gods instead of the Lord were creations of the created. Unlike the Lord, who exists outside of creation as the Creator of all that exists, those who worshipped false gods were worshipping images that were created by the One who created everything that exists.

As a result, those who were worshipping idols and images of their false gods were worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. The psalmist then hammered home the point that as products of created beings instead of the Creator, these idols are empty and devoid of power. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to be engaged and were unable to engage. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to speak to those who worship them.

These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable hear prayers or answer prayers. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to intervene in events in history because they were in fixed locations and could not travel anywhere. Unlike the Lord as the One True God, theses idols were devoid of power and were unable to engage and be engaged.

After hammering this point home, the psalmist then makes a statement that is one of the most powerful and profound statements in the entire Bible when it comes to worship.  This statement is so profound that is has the potential to radically change our perspective on worship. And it is in the statement that we see the psalmist profoundly provide a timeless answer to the question “What happens when we worship?” So let’s take a few minutes and look at this statement together in Psalm 115:8:

 Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.

Now just take a minute and let this statement sink in: “Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.” What is so interesting here is that the phrase “Those who make them will become like them” literally reads "those who make them are like them". In other words, everyone who makes something into an idol that they worship as god is just as empty and devoid of power as that idol. Just as something that has been created is empty and powerless before the Creator, those who worship an image, an idol of something that is created, is empty and powerless before the Creator.

The Psalmist’s point here is that everyone who places their confident trust in something other than the Lord as God, becomes like what they have placed their confident trust in before the Lord, which is to be powerless to do anything that results in them experiencing a right relationship with the Lord. And it is here, in this powerful and profound statement, that we discover a timeless and true answer to the question “What happens when we worship?” in that because we are wired for worship we become what we worship.

The timeless reality is that because we are wired for worship we become what we worship. We become what we worship because, as we have talked about throughout this series, worship is a life lived in response to what we value most. And because worship is a life lived in response to what we value most, what we value most in worship is something we will become obsessed with. And inevitably what we value most, what we become obsessed with, we will end up imitating.

And intuitively we know this to be true, don’t we?  That is why young boys will imitate their dads when they see their dads shaving. That is why young girls will imitate their moms when they see their moms putting on makeup. That is why teenagers will spend inordinate amounts of time learning the moves of their favorite athlete or musician. When we become obsessed with something as being great, we begin to imitate what we think is great. Remember the “Be like Mike” commercials from Nike?

And as a result of what we value most, as a result of what we become obsessed with, once you start imitating what you are valuing as of supreme value, you begin to become what you value. If you worship sexual pleasure, you will become obsessed with sex and pleasure to the point that sex will become empty and devoid of meaning, because sex and pleasure are devoid of the power to be of supreme value. I

f you worship money or possessions, you will become greedy because there is never enough money, because money is devoid of the power to be of supreme value. If you worship position and status, you will become obsessed with position and status to the point that there is never enough position and status, because position and status are empty and devoid of the power to be of supreme value.

There is only One Being that has the power to be of supreme value; and that One being is the Lord. Every other object of worship is unable to be engaged and is unable to engage. And every other object of worship besides the Lord is powerless to do anything that results in us experiencing a right relationship with the Lord.

So here is a question to consider: What does what you are becoming reveal about what you are worshipping? What does what you desire to imitate reveal about what you are worshipping? What does what you find yourself obsessed with reveal about what you are worshipping?

Because, worship is a life lived in response to what we value most. And what we value most, we will become obsessed with and leverage our lives towards in a way that results in us becoming like the object that we value most.

Because, as we have discovered, because we are wired for worship, we will become what we worship.

Worship that does not engage and is empty of power...

This week, we are asking and answering the question “What happens when we worship?” by looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms are a collection of prayers and songs that were spoken and sung by the Jewish people that were collected together to form the first playlist of worship for the people of God. This playlist was then preserved and recorded for us in the Bible.

Yesterday, in one of these letters that formed the playlist of worship for the Jewish people, we looked on as the Psalmist here is calling humanity to value the Lord as being of ultimate value by giving the Lord the honor He deserves.

The Psalmist then explained that the reason why we are to honor the Lord by making much of His name is because of the Lord’s steadfast love and devotion that has been demonstrated by His abundant faithfulness to His people and His promises. The Psalmist here is pointing us to worship the Lord by giving honor to His name because the Lord is firm in His promises to His people and is steadfastly devoted to His people.

The Psalmist then addressed a question that has resonated throughout human history, which is “Where now is their God?” This question mocked what the nations that surrounded the Jewish people believed was the absence of the Lord from the Jewish people and conveyed the sense of asking “where is the image of the God that they worship?”

The Psalmist basically answered this sarcastic question by proclaiming, "unlike your false gods who you try to depict with an idol, the Lord is not confined by geographic location. Instead the Lord transcends time and space and is lofty in the Heavenly places. The Lord is beyond a merely human existence that can be depicted in an image, He transcends humanity. And unlike your false gods who you try to depict as an idol, the Lord does whatever He delights and desires to do. The Lord is not dependant on anyone for anything and is not constrained by anyone or anything. The Lord, unlike the idol that you make is ever present and everlasting as the all powerful Creator of the universe".

Today, we will see the Psalmist unpack this reality with what he says beginning in Psalm 115:4:

Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.

Now, to fully understand what the Psalmist is communicating here, we first need to define some words and phrases. When the psalmist uses the phrase “The work of man's hands” this phrase refers to that which was created by what has been created. The psalmist’s point is that the idols that were the objects of worship by those who worshipped false gods instead of the Lord were creations of the created.

Unlike the Lord, who exists outside of creation as the Creator of all that exists, those who worshipped false gods were worshipping images that were created by the One who created everything that exists. As a result, those who were worshipping idols and images of their false gods were worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. The psalmist then strings together a series a phrases to hammer home a powerful point: “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.”

With these phrases, the psalmist is hammering home the point that as products of created beings instead of the Creator, these idols are empty and devoid of power. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to be engaged and were unable to engage. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to speak to those who worship them. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable hear prayers or answer prayers. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to intervene in events in history because they were in fixed locations and could not travel anywhere.

Unlike the Lord as the One True God, theses idols were devoid of power and were unable to engage and be engaged. After hammering this point home, the psalmist then makes a statement that is one of the most powerful and profound statements in the entire Bible when it comes to worship.  This statement is so profound that is has the potential to radically change our perspective on worship. And it is in the statement that we see the psalmist profoundly provide a timeless answer to the question “What happens when we worship?”

Friday we will look at this statement together…

"What happens when we worship?”...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together asking and answering the questions “What is worship? Who actually worships? Does worship really matter? Why are we supposed to worship? What happens when we worship? And how are we supposed to worship?” And during this time, we have been discovering that all humanity has been wired for worship. And during this time, our hope and prayer has been that God would move in our heads, hearts, and hands in a way that results in us understanding and embracing the life of worship that we were created for in a way that results in us worshipping Jesus with our lives.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together asking and answering the question “What happens when we worship?” To answer this question, we are going to look at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Psalms. As we discovered earlier, the book of Psalms are a collection of prayers and songs that were spoken and sung by the Jewish people that were collected together to form the first playlist of worship for the people of God. This playlist was then preserved and recorded for us in the Bible.

And it is in one of these songs that formed the playlist of worship for the Jewish people that we will discover a timeless answer to the question “What happens when we worship?” So let’s discover this answer together, beginning in Psalm 115:1:

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.

The Psalmist begins this song to the Lord with a proclamation of worship to the Lord. When the Psalmist uses the phrase “not to us” this phrase literally means “not on account of us”. In addition, when the psalmist uses the phrase “give glory” this phrase conveys the sense of giving honor to someone or something. So the psalmist is basically proclaiming “Not on account of us should the Lord honor us, but to the Lord and the name of the Lord you are to give honor”.

The Psalmist here is calling humanity to not seek honor from the Lord, but to instead give honor to the Lord. The psalmist here is calling humanity to not seek honor by making much of their name, but to instead seek to honor the Lord by making much of His name. Because, as we discovered last week, to rightly worship requires the right object of worship. And that right object is the Lord. The Lord is the right object of worship because every other object of worship will fall short of satisfying our deepest thirst for worship.

However, se we have also talked about in this series, every day is a battle for our worship. Every day is a battle about what we are going to value most. And in light of that reality, the Psalmist here is calling humanity to value the Lord as being of ultimate value by giving the Lord the honor He deserves.

The Psalmist then explains that the reason why we are to honor the Lord by making much of His name is because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. What is fascinating is that the word for lovingkindness, in the language that this letter was originally written in, has no English equivalent. In other words, no single English word can capture the meaning of what the Psalmist calls lovingkindness.

The closest the English can come to this word is to use the phrase steadfast love and devotion. Similarly, the word truth here, in the language that this letter was originally written in is a word picture of firmness and faithfulness. The Psalmist point here is that the reason why we are to honor the Lord by making much of His name is because of the Lord’s steadfast love and devotion that has been demonstrated by His abundant faithfulness to His people and His promises.

The Psalmist here is pointing us to worship the Lord by giving honor to His name because the Lord is firm in His promises to His people and is steadfastly devoted to His people. After making this proclamation of worship to the Lord, we see the Psalmist ask and answer a timeless question in verse 2-3. Let’s look at that question together:

 Why should the nations say, "Where, now, is their God?" But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.

In verse 2, we see the Psalmist echo a question that has been asked throughout human history: “where now is their God?” I mean this morning, is this not a question that is still asked today? “If there is a God, where is God? Where was God when I needed Him? Where was God when such and such happened?” The Psalmist here addresses a question that has resonated throughout human history.

When the Psalmist refers to the nations here, he is referring to the nations around the Jewish people that worshipped false gods instead of the Lord as the one true God. You see, many of the nations around the Jewish people would ask the question “Where now is their God?” as a taunt to the Jewish people when they suffered misfortune.

So here is a question: Has anything really changed? Is this not the same question that people who are far from God will sarcastically ask followers of God when bad things happen to them? But his morning, this question was not asked simply to taunt followers of the Lord. Another aspect of this question involved how the Jewish people worshipped the Lord.

You see, while the nations around the Jewish people made idols that represented their god and that were used as their object of worship, the Jewish people did not have an image of the Lord. As a matter of fact, the Jewish people were commanded by the Lord to never make an idol or image that represented the Lord. So, in addition to mocking what they believed was the absence of the Lord from the Jewish people, this question also conveyed the sense of asking “where is the image of the God that they worship?”

One of the things that distinguished the Jewish people from the nations around them that had rejected the Lord is that the Jewish people did not worship an image, an idol that depicted the Lord. Instead, as the Psalmist points out in his answer to this question in verse 3, “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

In other words, the Psalmist basically answers this sarcastic question by proclaiming, "unlike your false gods who you try to depict with an idol, the Lord is not confined by geographic location. Instead the Lord transcends time and space and is lofty in the Heavenly places. The Lord is beyond a merely human existence that can be depicted in an image, He transcends humanity. And unlike your false gods who you try to depict as an idol, the Lord does whatever He delights and desires to do. The Lord is not dependant on anyone for anything and is not constrained by anyone or anything. The Lord, unlike the idol that you make is ever present and everlasting as the all powerful Creator of the universe".

Tomorrow, we will see the Psalmist unpack this reality…

We are wired for worship and for us to rightly worship requires the right object of worship...

This week, we are looking at an event from history involving an encounter between a woman who was an outsider who was fare from God and far from others that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John. Instead of responding to the animosity of the Samaritan woman by ignoring her, Jesus chooses to engage her.

We looked on as Jesus offered the Samaritan women water that was living and active and could produce the life that she so desperately needed and was lacking. The Samaritan woman however, was not focused on receiving the water that would produce life. Instead, she was solely focused on meeting her immediate personal needs to maintain life. While Jesus offered water that would remove even the deepest thirst, the Samaritan woman missed the point and was focused on her pressing immediate needs. The Samaritan woman was focused on attempting to satisfy her deepest thirst from the wrong source, from the wrong object.

The Samaritan woman was focused on satisfying her deepest thirst from the well of relationships with a man. The Samaritan woman lived a life that viewed a relationship with a man as being of ultimate value. And as a result, the Samaritan woman lived her life as a response of worship by placing as the object of her worship the man that she was in a relationship with.

However, the men who she was in relationship with always seemed to fall short of being the right object for the worship. So the Samaritan woman went from relationship to relationship, hoping that she would eventually find the right man who would prove to be the right object of worship that would satisfy her deepest thirst.   However, those repeated relationships were empty wells that held no water and could not satisfy that thirst.

And now the Samaritan woman had a story. A story of being a home wrecker; a story of being an adulterer; a story that left her far from God and far from others, ostracized and isolated; a story that you might relate to. The Samaritan woman did not respond to Jesus by being offended and bailing on the conversation. Instead, the Samaritan woman did what we all tend to do when we find ourselves vulnerable after being exposed for who we truly are. The Samaritan woman attempted to change the subject.

Exposed for attempting to satisfy her deepest thirst from the wrong well, exposed for placing as the object of her worship the man that she was in a relationship with, the Samaritan woman attempts to change the subject to a theological debate on worship. However, while the Samaritan woman was attempting to change the subject, she was actually going to the subject that Jesus wanted to deal with in her life. What the Samaritan women kept missing in her conversation with Jesus was the core issue in her life, which was what object she was ultimately going to worship in her life. We see this reality revealed in how Jesus responded to her in John 4:21:

 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "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."

Now Jesus response, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “That is a great question and what I am about to tell you is 100% true and worthy of trust. You see, a time is coming where location will not matter when it comes to worship. The reason that your worship is wrong is because you really do not know the object of your worship. Since you have rejected most of what the Old Testament says about God you really do not know who God is so that you can worship Him. Jewish people, on the other hand, know who the object of their worship is supposed to be, because they have accepted what the Old Testament say about God. And because the Jewish people have accepted all of the Old Testament, they know that God has promised a rescuer, a deliver, a Messiah, who God had promised would bring them back to God. But, here is the thing; the time has come where those who worship God will do so because the Spirit of God has awakened their spirit to the truth of who God is. Those are the worshippers that God truly seeks. God is Spirit; and those who truly worship Him must do so by the power of the Holy Spirit awakening their spirit to the truth of who He is”. John then records for us how the Samaritan woman responded to Jesus answer in verse 25:

 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."

The Samaritan woman basically says to Jesus “Well one thing about theology that I do know is that God promised a rescuer and a deliverer and when He comes, He will be able to proclaim and teach us what the right answers are when it comes to the worship of God.  And when He comes, we will find out whether I am right or you are right”. However, what the Samaritan women was not prepared for, is what happened next, which John records for us in verse 26:

  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

Now can you imagine what must have been running through the mind of the Samaritan woman at this point? Can you imagine the look on her face? After all, she had already acknowledged that there was something different about Jesus. Jesus seemed to know her life story, even though he had just met her. Jesus seemed to be a person that was inspired by God and knew a lot about God. And Jesus engaged her in a way that was so different than what she was used to by religious people, or irreligious people for that matter.

While Jesus called her on her sin, Jesus did not judge her. Instead Jesus seemed to be calling her to something else. What Jesus was calling her to was what the right object of her worship was to be. What Jesus was calling her to do was to place as the object of her worship the right object, which was Jesus.

And it is here, in this event from history, that we see Jesus reveal for us the timeless reality that we are wired for worship and for us to rightly worship requires the right object of worship. You see, the issue is not whether or not you worship. The question is “what is the object of your worship”? The question is “What is the object that you value supremely that drives your choices when it comes to how you live out your day to day life?” 

And every day, the object that we value supremely will drive where we are going to leverage our time, our affection, our energy, and our loyalty. And regardless of what we say, the object of our worship is more about what we do than what we say. Often what we say about what is the object of our worship is betrayed by what we actually worship with our time, talent, and treasure.

So here is a question for us to consider: What is the object of your worship? What do you value supremely in your life? Is that object position, possessions, pleasure, or pride? What does where you spend your time, talents, treasure reveal about what is the object of your worship?

Because, the reality is that we have been wired for worship. However, for us to rightly worship requires the right object of worship. Right worship requires the right object of worship. And that right object is the Lord. The Lord is the right object of worship because every other object of worship will fall short of satisfying our deepest thirst for worship.