11-16-97 ........Do we see God in our Worship?........ Isaiah 6:1-8
By Ron George Jr. ---- Sand Fork Baptist Church.
Why do you come to church? Do we come to church to worship God? Will we begin to worship in sincerity and truth.
After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today--but I wish you had been there!"
Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods like the Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false values--materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self, security, and many others. The second commandment deals with idols. This may be something that most of us can't relate to--unless we include life goals that revolve around something other than God Himself. What is the object of our affections,
our efforts, and our attention? Where does the majority of our time go? On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources?
Scripture Text is Isaiah 6:1-8
Isai 6:1 (KJS) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. {his...: or, the skirts thereof} 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. {one...: Heb. this cried to this} {the whole...: Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth} 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. {door: Heb. thresholds} 5 Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. {undone: Heb. cut off} 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: {having...: Heb. and in his hand a live coal} 7 And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me. {Here...: Heb. behold me}
Key Verse is 5 Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. {undone: Heb. cut off}
What is worship? Giving ourselves to someone or something in adoration and devotion. Someone is worthy of our selves. What we worship is what we think of more than anything else. It is what we want more than anything else.
1. The object of our Worship: ?V. 1-4
Do we see the Lord when we come to Worship? What we may be seeing instead of God in our church.
One of the real problems of our time is the near celebrity status of many preachers. Many men are almost worshipped by their followers. I am reminded of an incident Lyman Beecher Stowe wrote about in his book Saints, Sinners, and Beechers. Stowe told that on one occasion Thomas K. Beecher substituted for his famous brother Henry Ward Beecher at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. Many curiosity seekers had come to hear the renowned Henry Beecher speak. Therefore when Thomas Beecher appeared in the pulpit instead, some of the people got up and started for the doors. Sensing that they were disappointed because he was substituting for his brother, Thomas Beecher raised his hand for silence and announced, "All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may withdraw from the church; all who came to worship God may remain."
How do we see God? Do we see Him as our King? See his holiness and his glory. See His desire to see us in the worship and to have fellowship with us.
Reve 4:10 (KJS) The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. It brings God pleasure when we worship him.
Do we sense the holiness of God? Our need for cleansing of Unholiness. Woe is me for I am Undone. See Him as he is. See his desire to provide all that we need so that we may come and worship him and know Him now and forever.
2. The Who of Worship. V. 5
John 4:23 (KJS) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.
The privatization of religion is going on at several different levels. As we already noted, religious identity is now a matter of individual choice rather than family or community loyalty, but even beyond that, individual, make-your-own religion is one of the choices. A famous example is Sheila, the California nurse interviewed by the authors of Habits of the Heart, who called her personal assortment of beliefs "Sheilaism."
"I believe in God. I'm not a religious fanatic. I can't remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It's Sheilaism, just my own little voice."
Sheila is remarkably typical. Most Americans say that they believe in God, but increasingly they "practice" religion by themselves, on their own. In addition, many of those who do go to church are what William McKinney calls independents, persons who think that the church they attend should not regulate the way they live.
true worshippers The cleansed ones.
1. Those who desire God in their Lives.
2. Those who recognize their sinfulness.
3. Those who recognize their need of forgiveness.
4. Those who seek to put God first in their lives, because this is our spiritual worship.
5. Those who follow the Lord’s will in their lives.
Have we received God’s forgiveness for our sins for the day, week, month, year, and Life?
Exod 34:14 (KJS) For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:
3.The What of Worship.Giving ourselves to God. Taking time for God.
The Result of Worship.. A new man was Isaiah now that he was cleansed.
Do we hear the calling of God? Our desire to go where God wants us to go.
Have we come to the altar of God for our cleansing? Before we can come into his presence fit for service.
1Chr 16:29 (KJS) Give unto the LORD the glory [due] unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.