The Order of Worship

The Book of Matthew chapter 2. and I just figure if Costco can throw out the Christmas gear in September that I can read from the Christmas story on this last Sunday or not the last Sunday but in the middle of September and when they had come into the house they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshiped him and when they had opened up their Treasures they presented gifts to him gold frankincense and myrrh and then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod they departed for their own country another way today for just a little while I want to preach about the order of worship the order of worship God bless you you may be seated it is a beloved psalm Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord All Ye Lands serve the Lord with gladness come before his presence with singing why know ye that the Lord he is God it is he that has made us and not we ourselves we are his people and the Sheep of his pasture enter into his gates with Thanksgiving and into his courts with praise be thankful unto him and bless his name for the Lord is good his Mercy is Everlasting and his truth endures to all generation this paradigmatic Psalm provides us with essential elements for how we must approach God the King of Kings The Sovereign ruler and creator of all that is the one who is perfectly holy we enter into his gates with Thanksgiving you see Thanksgiving our gratitude acknowledges right off the bat that we are dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ the psalmist said it in verse 3 you enter his gates with Thanksgiving because you know that the Lord he is God it is he that has made us and not we ourselves our Thanksgiving acknowledges the foundational truth that everything that we have our very existence is a gift from God Thanksgiving rejects the myth of the American Maverick who needs no one and will submit to no one maybe that's why Paul when he described pagans and those that had rejected God he marked them as not being thankful so no wonder it would be Paul then who would command us as New Testament Christians to be thankful first Thessalonians 5 and 18 Paul said in every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you you don't have to pray about it you don't have to fast about it thank you Jesus you don't have to ask for wise spiritual counsel it is the will of God for you and I to be thankful it is the will of God that we enter into his gates with Thanksgiving whether the sun is shining or the storms are raging we enter with Thanksgiving whether we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death or we are celebrating on a Mountaintop of Victory we enter his gates with Thanksgiving Lord I Thank you for waking me up this morning I thank you Lord for the air that I'm breathing I thank you for your mercy and your grace I thank you that when I was a sinner that you died for me I thank you that you have forgiven me of my sins I thank you that your spirit has filled me and I'm the Temple of the Holy Ghost I thank you that you've healed my body I thank you that you've given me a good mind I thank you Lord that I've never been hungry by without it being by choice I'm thankful Lord God that I have clothes on my back I have shoes to wear I God's been good to me God's been good to me and so the psalmist said with shouting and with gladness and with singing enter into his Gates red Thanksgiving [Applause] oh that's what we've come to do we cannot help but be thankful but that's not the only essential element because we enter his courts with praise it is good right biblical to ponder the grander and the glory of God it is right to meditate upon him and his goodness and search him out in the Scriptures it is good and right but praise is not that praise is more of an action verb than a noun it it must be verbally expressed and it must be physically exhibited praise the Lord praise God in his Sanctuary Praise Him in the mighty permanent of Earth praise him for his mighty acts Praise Him according to his excellent greatness praise him with the sound of the trumpet and praise him with the loot and the Heart praise him with the timbrel and a dance praise him with stringed instruments and flutes praise him with the loud symbols and praise him with the clashing symbols let everything that has breath praise the Lord praise the Lord it is a command it is right that we enter into his course with praise [Applause] we come into His gates with Thanksgiving and we come into His course with praise this is no more vividly demonstrated than in the Tabernacle of David in the Old Testament during the reign of Saul the Ark of the Covenant had been stolen the glory had departed from Israel and it's an awesome story I'd love to explore today but needless to say the Philistines quickly decided to return the ark but it was never returned to the Tabernacle of Moses and one of the first things that David did as king is he he said we're bringing back the ark unfortunately and tragically they ignored the instructions for how you handle the holy presence of God but ultimately David got the proper order right and they brought it to the city of David into a tabernacle that was built just for the yard First Chronicles 15 and 28 describes the scene this way thus all Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn which trumpets and with symbols making music with stringed instruments and harps and it happened as the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the city of David that Michael Saul's daughter looked through a window and what did she see she saw King David whirling and playing music and magnifying and exalting he is God the Tabernacle of David was a sacred place it was not a quiet place it was not a place where we pondered the glory of God it was not a place where we quietly thought about how awesome our magnificent somber scary not unsmiling stiff God and how glorious he might be the Tabernacle of David was a sacred place of singing and music and shouting and dancing there were 24 rotating choirs that never quit singing Around the Clock there were four thousand musicians that served on this worship team but best of all unlike the Tabernacle of Moses there were no restrictions for who could come and worship before the king you could be a gentile you could be lame you could be on in pure it didn't really matter in the Tabernacle of David you could enter into his gates with Thanksgiving and you could enter into his courts with praise and you could glorify your God that's why it's not an accident that Amos prophesied that in the last days that God would raise up the Tabernacle of David it's not an accident that James the Apostle James would declare in Acts 15 that we the New Testament Church are in fact the very fulfillment of the Tabernacle of David so when we sing and when we play instruments and when we shout and when we dance and when we lift our hands and when we clap our hands and when we leap for Joy it is not merely Pentecostal tradition it is not merely emotionalism it is the biblical pattern for how you praise and honor and worship God we enter his gates with Thanksgiving and we enter his course with praise and it's loud and they're singing and there's a band and there's clapping and there's dancing it's called the church it's the Tabernacle of David it's the biblical pattern it's what we're called to do amen so maybe bite your tongue the next time you think it's a little loud or you don't like the instrument being played because you might be upset in heaven [Applause] I'll stop chasing that rabbit entering his Gates and into his courts however it's not the end game the end game is Jesus Christ the end game is the bow before his throne in worship the end game is to offer ourselves a living sacrifice for his glory and purpose and be transformed by him and whereas worship is not independent of Thanksgiving and worship cannot be detached from praise worship takes us further because when you enter those Gates and when you come into His courts the first thing that you come face to face with is an altar and only when you bend your knee in submission to his lordship and obedience to his word and only when you offer yourself Withholding Nothing On The Altar only then can you come face to face with the King and worship him in spirit and in truth there are no shortcuts to the throne Thanksgiving and praise and worship and there is no worship without surrender and without sacrifice it does not exist the order of worship is Thanksgiving and praise and submission and sacrifice that brings us to the throne the Bible is replete with examples of this true worship notice the first mention in the Bible of worship first mentioned it's something we ought to pay attention to when something is first mentioned in the bible we should be careful to note the pattern the principles the truths that are being shared with us the first time we see Worship in the Bible is not on the other side of the Red Sea when they are rejoicing and celebrating that God has brought them out of Egypt the first time that we see worship is not in the Tabernacle of David the dedication of Solomon's Temple or the dedication of the second temple after the turn from Exile the first time that we see worship is in Genesis 22 and the Bible says it came to pass that God tested Abraham and said Abraham he called him by name and Abrams Abraham said hear I am that God said take now your son your only son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Mariah offer him there as a burnt offering the only sacrifice that left nothing nothing was left but the hide and God said you offer him on one of the mountains and I'll tell you there notice the intensity the sobering reality of God's command offer your son on the altar your only son on the altar whom you love dearly what did Abraham do Abraham the Bible says Rose early in the morning saddled those donkeys gathered two of his servants made sure there was some wood got Isaac up out of bed they arose and went to the place God had told him three days and Abraham sees the place and in verse 5 Abraham said to his young men stay here with the donkey the lad and I will go Yonder and worship and we will come back to you Abraham understood that God hated Human Sacrifice but Abraham trusted the character of God and he did not question God but by faith he just obeyed the writer of Hebrews says Abraham concluded that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead and that's figuratively what would happen Abraham took the wood he took the fire he took the knife and he and Isaac Klein Mount Moriah but on the way up Isaac asked a very important question where's the lamb the sacrifice Abraham said my son God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering and the two of them went together and there's power in that prophetic word that Abraham spoke Abraham built the altar as God said he arranged the wood he bound Isaac Isaac laid on the altar it was an altar of submission it was an altar of sacrifice it was the Bible says an altar of worship and as Abraham raised the knife to do the unthinkable the angel of the Lord urgently stopped him the substitute Ram was there caught in a Thicket and there at an altar of worship God for the first time War by himself that he would keep Covenant with Abraham and fulfill his promises and Abraham walked down Mount Moriah a different man a true worshiper that leads us to our text in the New Testament The Christmas Story the first mention of worship in the New Testament is not some festival or Feast of the Jews it's not the day of Pentecost it's not a gathering of the church in the book of Acts or something revealed through the Epistles the first mention of worship in the New Testament are the wise men from the East because when Jesus was born they came to Jerusalem in Matthew 2 and 2 says where they said where is he who has been born King of the Jews we have seen a star in the east and we have come to worship Him they were Guided by a supernatural star the wise men obediently oh God followed that star and they obediently Came To Worship this newborn king you know the story Herod was terrorized frightened secretly meets with them but does reveal that it is in Bethlehem where the king is prophesied to be born and his motives were evil is proven by the later emphaside he ordered but as those wise men walked out of herod's Palace that Supernatural star reappeared to them and the Bible says in verse 10 that when they saw the star they Rejoice with exceeding great joy and entering with Thanksgiving and with a praise in their heart they followed that star to the very house where Jesus was at and verse 11 says when they came in they came in with rejoicing they came in with joy they came in with the praise and when they came in and they saw Jesus they fell down and worshiped him and they presented gifts to him of cold and frankincense and myrrh and then divinely warned of God in the dream they left a different way than they had come they obediently came with Thanksgiving and they came with praise they fell down in surrendered before the king they gave extravagant gifts to the king and they left a different way this is the order of worship we see it again in John chapter 4 when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well brother Calvin Fisher masterfully referenced Jesus meeting her this past Wednesday when he taught on the humanity of Jesus Jesus revealed himself as the I am the Messiah but in doing so Jesus also revealed the universal desire of God to commune with true worshipers and what is and who are true worshipers Jesus said it this way in John 4 and 23 the hour is coming and now he is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth for the father is seeking such to worship him God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit hand truth this is the order of worship spirit and Truth Thanksgiving and praise and sacrifice and submission it is the order of worship and I don't know about you today this morning this afternoon I'm not sure where you're at what your heart desire is today but here is simply how I would say it if God is seeking after true worshipers then I want to be a worshiper he Delights in finding if God is looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth then count me in that number I I want to enter with Thanksgiving and I want to enter his course with praise but I want to Pal my need and altar of surrender and I want to lay myself as a Living Sacrifice and I want to be sure that when Jesus comes looking for true worshipers I want to be a true worshiper I want to be counted in that number I want to be a delight to my Lord and my savior I want to heed the invitation of the rider of Hebrews when he wrote seeing then in Hebrews 4 and 14 that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the son of God let us hold fast our confession let us be obedient to the truth and the teaching and the principles of the Apostles Doctrine is what the writer of Hebrews is saying for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need if God is looking for true worshipers then I want to heed the appeal of the Apostle Paul who said I beseech you therefore Brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God this is the order of worship that we hold fast to our confession and that we offer ourselves as a Living Sacrifice and I don't know about you but I I want to be a true worshiper [Applause] and here's what I know here's what I know about true worship you always leave a different way you'll always leave with a new identity you'll leave you'll leave the throne room complete and made whole in him alone you see when we bow our knee in true worship we leave his presence with a keen sense of purpose belonging meaning and Mission when we bow before him in true worship we are authorized with the power of his name to fulfill our purpose when we bow our knee in worship we are comforted by a peace that passes human understanding when we engage in true worship we leave confident that he will provide all that we will ever need when we leave that place of sacrifice and submission we can know that God will protect us that we are in this instructable until God accomplishes his will and calls us home in between that nothing can stop us hmm and some glad morning every true worshiper will be forever changed from mortality into immortality and we will leave Earth different than we came as the Apostle John would say beloved now are we the children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be but we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him for we shall see him has he I want to be a true worshiper I want to see him face to face but I'm not always followed the order of worship Thanksgiving be thankful check most of the time you have to be a Mindless to be ungrateful to God you have to be a pagan reprobate as Paul would say to not be thankful check when I think of the goodness of God it's not hard to be thankful praise a song of Praise a praise break check I like it it's fun and you know when I think of his goodness and always done for me right it's easy it's right it's proper it's biblical that figuratively sometimes I've done all of that with an unbent knee of stubbornness I've entered his gates with Thanksgiving and I've come into His course with praise but I've been clutching my gifts that belong on the altar and I've walked out of those Gates unchanged leaving the same way I came but that was yesterday and this is a new day and this is the first day of forever and tomorrow's not here yet so today I just want to be a true worshiper today is a day where I may have messed it up in the past I may have come the improper way I may have tried to take shortcuts to the throne room and it never ever worked but the good news is is that today the father is looking for true worshipers today the Father the Savior the long-suffering one the Mighty God in Christ the lord Jesus he is looking for those who will say I can't fix yesterday I'm not in tomorrow yet but this is the day that the Lord has made and this day on this day I want to be a true worshiper listen listen to the final Capstone invitation of the Bible revelation 22 and 17 in the spirit and the bride say come and let him who here say come and let him who thirst come whoever desires let him take of the Water of Life freely my brothers and sisters the Saint John who wrote about Jesus meeting the woman at the well in John 4 he's the one recording this in revelation 22 it's the same order of life that Jesus promised to those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth and so as the psalmist would say in Psalms 95 so I say oh come let us sing to the Lord let us shout joyfully to the rock of our Salvation let us come before his presence with Thanksgiving and let us shout joyfully to him with Psalms for the Lord is a great God and a great king Above All Gods Oh Come verse 6 would say and let us worship and bow down oh come for he is our God and we are the people of his pastor and the Sheep of his hand today if you hear his voice do not Harden your heart just come just as you are just come say you feel ashamed of your sins come on anyway the first step is always repentance at an altar you can surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ you can then take on his name in water baptism and have your sins washed away and as you begin to worship human spirit and in truth he will baptize you with the gift of the Holy Spirit and you'll never have to wonder if it happened because you will speak in a language that you've never learned so it doesn't matter how ugly your past may be it doesn't matter how many times you've walked out with an unbent knee of stubbornness it doesn't matter how often you've snatched yourself on the altar here's the good news the father is seeking true worshipers today it is the day of salvation and so all of scripture says come to the spiritual Maverick afraid to acknowledge you're dependent on God just come today to the one with the unbent knee of rebellion and stiff neckness refusing to submit the Spiritual Authority come to the one clutching gifts that belongs on an altar things God's called you to do and you've taken them back just come just come to the altar Come To Worship follow the order worship if you're able please stand today let it be said about you as it is in heaven so let it be in me Revelation 4 and 10 we see what heaven is like the 24 Elders representing God's people of all time what do they do they fall down before him who sits on the throne and they worship Him who lives forever and ever and they cast their crowns as gifts on the Altar and they say you are worthy O Lord to receive Glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created you're worthy your Worthy today today today the invitation to all of us has come Come Just As You Are that come according to the order of worship come with Thanksgiving come with praise come bend your knee at an altar surrender to his lordship and come offering yourself as a Living Sacrifice to worship Him in spirit and in truth I want to be true worship I want to be in that number who bows my knee and who casts my crown I want to be one who worships him forever in ever saying Worthy worthy you are Lord God the glory and the honor and the power and so on this day I'm inviting you if you would join us we call this the altar it represents our effort to be before it's thrown as you make your way I just invite you to worship Him I invite you to be in your knee and surrender I invite you to offer Gifts of worship I just Echo what the Bible says come I know you're confused but come I know you feel condemned but come I know you're troubled about what God's trying to do in your life but come I know you're wondering why God would ask you to do what he's asking you to do come come to an altar come worship come worship all across this house I wonder if you would lock in for a few moments and worship I wonder if you would join in with a fellow worshiper I wonder if you'd be alert anything possible at the throne room anything is possible miracles happen in the thrall room fear is extinguished at his feet depression is chased away in the throne room sickness is broken disease is eradicated in the throne room in the throne room of worship