The Church: Its Meaning - The Place of the Worship of God, Part 3

It's so good to have you with us today as you look at the Word of God together. You know, we're looking at the church, a study of ecclesiology. What is the church? We're looking at the meaning, mission, and ministry of the church. We told you that the church is the plan of the Son of God. It is the possession of the living God. The church is the pillar of the truth of God. It's the picture of the love of God. It's the product of the grace of God. It's the priority of the people of God, and it's the place of the worship of God.

That's where we're at in our outline. It's the place of the worship of God. That is, the assembly of the redeemed are the only ones who can truly worship the living God. The unbeliever can't and doesn't want to. But the believer, he wants to adore and to worship his God. Have you ever asked yourself where the word worship is first used in Scripture?

I think it's always important to realize that firsts in Scripture speak volumes. It's no coincidence that the very first time the word worship is used in the Bible is the exact place where the very first time the word love is used in the Bible.

That's very important because those who love the Lord worship Him, and those who worship Him don't love anything more than the Lord. And the story in the Old Testament points that out to us. So as the introduction to today, turn back with me, if you would, in your Bible to the book of Genesis, the 22nd chapter. Genesis chapter 22. The Bible says in verse number one, now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, he said, here I am.

He said, take now your son, your only son, whom you love. The first time the word love is used in the Bible deals with Abraham taking his only son, the son of his love.

Now he had two sons. He had Ishmael. He had Isaac. It's not that he didn't love Ishmael, he did. But Isaac was the promised seed, the promised son, the one through which the Messiah would come. Abraham, he was the special son, the son of preeminence, and so this was the son of his love. He said to him these words, go to the land of Moriah. Oh, by the way, that's the first time that word is used in the Bible, which means foreseen.

Very important to the story. He says, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac, his son, and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

Abraham said to this young men, his young men, stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go over there and we will what? Worship and return to you. Isn't it interesting that Abraham didn't debate with God about what God asked him to do? Didn't discuss with God anything. He just promptly and precisely obeyed the command of God. Because that's what true worshipers do. They worship in spirit and in truth. And those who worship God don't debate with God. Those who worship God don't have a round table discussion with God.

Those who worship God simply obey God. Because God told him to take the son of his love, the son that he truly loved, and go and offer him up as a sacrifice and Abraham said, well, wait a minute. This was the promised son. This is the one I waited 25 years for and now you want me to kill him? Offer him up as a sacrifice to you? He never asked that question. He just simply obeyed. This was long before Jesus ever said that he was seeking true worshipers. John chapter 4, we're marked by those who worship in spirit and in truth, authentically and accurately, sincerely and scripturally.

Abraham is the quintessential illustration of a true worshiper. He was willing to sacrifice all of his dreams, all of his hopes, all of his aspirations, everything that he wanted, he was willing to give away because that's what worshipers do. That's why Jesus said, if any man come after me and hate not his father, mother, brother, sister, yea, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. He just can't. Why? Because you can't have something that you adore more than me. You can't have your affection drawn in another direction other than me.

If you're going to worship me, I want 100% of all of you, I want you giving yourself to me without reservation because that's what Christians do. They are enamored by the Christ. They are overwhelmed by the Christ. They realize that they are his possession. They realize that they are a picture of his love. They realize that they are a product of his grace. They realize that they have a priority and that's to worship him. Why? Because they love him so. That was Abraham. So Abraham took his son, took the wood for an offering, laid it on Isaac, his son, he took in his hand the fire and the knife, so the two of them walked on together.

Isaac spoke to Abraham and his father and said, my father. He said, here I am, my son. He said, behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. So the two of them walked together. Then they came to the place of which God had told them and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand, took the knife to slay his son, but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham.

And he said, here I am. He said, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him. For now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. Now, did God not know that Abraham feared God? Oh no, God knew. But God wanted Abraham to know that he would fear God more than anything else. Those who fear God are willing to sacrifice anything for God. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 96 verse number nine, worship the Lord in holy attire, tremble before him all the earth.

For those who worship God in holy attire, which we told you last week were the robes of God, the robes of righteousness, Isaiah 61 verse number 10, the garments of God. Those who worship in holy attire, they tremble before him. They shake in the presence of the living God because they know of his power. They know of his justice, they know of his wrath, they know of his love, his grace, his mercy. They know of everything about God and they tremble before him. So we have asked, the place of worship is the church and we are the church.

Not the building, not the pews. It's the people of God. And so when we gather together to worship God, we told you last time that there's a preparation, a preparation, if you could put that on the screen for me, there you go. Thank you. The preparation of the soul, right? We covered that last week. We're not going to prepare your soul. We can't prepare you on the inside. We can't do that. And nothing we do on the outside is going to prepare you on the inside. All that happens before you ever get here.

So if you're not prepared to worship the Lord before you get here, it's not going to happen while you're here. Why? Because there has to be a certain condition of the soul, the heart of a man. It's got to be clean, contrite. It's got to be connected and focused on one thing and one thing alone. It's got to be compliant. It's got to be the kind of heart that God, God can work in and work through. So that was last week. We gather together to worship. There's the preparation of the soul. Next, there's a proclamation of the scripture.

We gather together to worship God. There has to be a proclamation of the scripture. Not only is our soul prepared, but the word of God is that which is spoken. So important because we worship God in spirit. That's preparation of the soul. Worship God in truth. That's a proclamation of the scripture. We want to be able to proclaim the truth of God's word. Isn't it interesting that in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, when Paul was talking to the Corinthians who loved the glitzy kind of gifts, the miraculous kind of gifts, the showy kind of gifts.

He was trying to emphasize the importance of prophecy, the speaking forth of the word of God and tells them why. He says in verse number 24, if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. What is it that causes people to fall on their face and worship God? Not speaking in tongues, not miraculous gifts.

The proclamation of the truth of the word of God. Why? Because it does a work that nothing else can. It discloses the innermost part of a man. That's why the Lord said in Jeremiah 23, verse number 29, is not my word like a fire. In fact, let me read that to you because it's so important.

In Jeremiah chapter 23, he says this in verse number 25, I have heard that the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in my name, saying I had a dream. I had a dream. I always thought about having a dream. And so how long is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsely, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make my people forget my name by their dreams, which they relate to one another just as their fathers forgotten my name because of Baal. In other words, your prophets prophesy falsely because they say, God spoke to me in a dream.

I had a dream. I want you to know what the dream was. And God says, cut it out. All you do when you do that is cause my people to forget who I am, just like your fathers forgotten me and they worship Baal. So he says, the prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has my word speak my word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain, declares the Lord. Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that shatters the rock. My word's like a hammer. It shatters the rock.

It breaks up the hard heart. Nothing else can do that. Only God's word can do that. It's like a fire. It purifies the soul. It sets the soul ablaze. That's the greatness of the word of God. We have such devalued the truth of God's word, so much so in the church today that we have forgotten the power behind the word of God. It crushes the soul. And that's why when we preach the word of God, there's a great conviction of the truth. No, it is that crushes the soul. It convicts the soul. It converts the soul.

It cleanses the soul. Nothing else can do that. Only God's word can do that. And so you preach the truth. The proclamation of the truth is that which works in the heart and soul of a man. And so we make sure that the word of God is proclaimed, so that people will come to know the true and living God. John W. Stott, in his book, Between Two Worlds, says this about the word of God and worship. He says, Word and worship belong indissolubly together. All worship is an intelligent and loving response to the revelation of God, because it is the adoration of his name.

Therefore, acceptable worship is impossible without preaching. For preaching is making known the name of the Lord, and worship is praising the name of the Lord made known. Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the reading and preaching of the word are actually indispensable to it. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed, it is their unnatural divorce which accounts for the low level of so much contemporary worship. Our worship is poor because the knowledge of God is poor, and our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor.

But when the word of God is expounded in its fullness, and the congregation begin to glimpse the glory of the living God, they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before his throne. It is preaching which accomplishes this. The proclamation of the word of God in the power of the Spirit of God, that is why preaching is unique and irreplaceable. So right. You've heard people all the time say, well, you know, we come because we love the worship, and then there's the preaching. That tells you that people have no idea what worship is.

They have no idea what worship is. They think they do. They think worship is singing. Oh no, it's so much more than that. You can't have worship without preaching, the proclamation of the truth. Disciples are committed to the apostles' teaching, and they proclaim the truth all through the congregation of the assembly, as well as those in Jerusalem, because they want the people to know who the Messiah is. So when you gather together to worship, there must be a preparation of the soul. Why? Because there's going to be a proclamation of the scripture, the soul must be prepared to receive whatever the word of God is going to give.

And number three, with that comes the recognition of the Savior. You can't recognize Him unless you open the word of God and you see Him. Over in John chapter 5, you know this verse well, Christ said, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about Me, and you are unwilling to come to Me that you may have life. He tells the religious establishment that they search the scriptures, but they miss the Messiah. How do you do that? How do you search the scriptures but miss God?

It's because you go to the scripture because you have a problem you want to solve. I got a bad marriage, so I'll read the Bible. My kids are disobedient, so I'll read the Bible. Somehow the Bible will tell me how to discipline my kids, and somehow the Bible will tell me how to love my wife, and somehow the Bible will tell me how to work in the marketplace. You're going to the Bible for the wrong reasons. You go to the Bible to see God, to see the true and living God, to behold the glory of the Lord.

That's why in 2 Corinthians 3.18 it says that you open the living word, the light of the word, and in it you behold the glory of the Lord. And when you behold the glory of the Lord, you're transformed from one level of glory to the next level of glory even as by the Spirit of God because you see God for who He is. You go to the scriptures for the wrong reason, looking for solutions to our problems instead of the opportunity to see God, and when you see God, all your problems pale in comparison. And therefore you understand the God who is doing the things He's doing in your marriage, with your children, in the workplace, in your church, in your own personal life.

Remember Job? I talked about him on Wednesday night. What did he say at the end of the book of Job? I have heard of you with the hearing of my ear, but now I've seen you. Job never saw God with the physical eye. God spoke to him, but he never saw God with the physical eye. How did he see God? He saw Him with the spiritual eye. God spoke. And when God spoke the living word, he sees the living God. So when we read and look at the living word, we see the living God.

You see Him with the spiritual eye. And Job says, I've heard of you, but now I see you. And we come together to see the true living God. So when the Greeks came to Philip and said, sir, we wish to see Jesus. They had the right motive. They wanted to see the real Messiah. And when you come to worship the Lord, you come for one reason, to see the glory of the Lord. You don't come because you've got a problem. You come because you know the God who is greater than all your problems. And you want to worship Him at His feet.

And so the assembly of the redeemed, where the Redeemer rules and reigns, the church of Jesus Christ, those who have been called out gather together. They gather together simply because there's been a preparation of their soul. There's going to be a proclamation of the Scripture. There's going to be a recognition of the Savior. And then thirdly, there's going to be a celebration in psalm.

A celebration in psalm. Psalm 95, such a great psalm. It says, come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms, for the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods and whose hand are the depths of the earth. The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it is He who made it. His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker, for He is our God.

And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. The psalmist says in Psalm 47, verse number 1, clap your hands, all you people. Shout to the Lord with a voice of triumph. Why do we come and there's a celebration in psalm? Simply because, it's not because we sing good. It's not even because we want to sing. It's because we sing of the God who is over all. And we praise His glorious name. Does anybody know where the first song is recorded in Scripture?

Firsts are important. It's not Genesis, although that's the book of beginnings. A lot of firsts are in Genesis. Does anybody know where the first song is recorded in the Bible?

Miriam, Exodus chapter 15. First song. Anybody know where the last song is? The last song in the Bible. Bet you're a guess. Got to be in the book of Revelation. Good guess. Revelation chapter 15. First song, Exodus 15.

Last song, Revelation 15. And what are they singing about? They're singing about the greatness of God. They're singing as a celebratory attitude toward all that God is doing. The first song is on the Red Sea.

The last song is at the Crystal Sea. The first song is called the Song of Moses. The last song is called the Song of the Lamb. By the way, which is the Song of Moses in Revelation 15? Well, how can it be the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb? Simply because they are the song of those who have been redeemed by the Lamb. They've been rescued. They've been revived. They've been taken care of. They've been protected. And they sing in celebration to who God is and what God does. So back in Exodus chapter 15 when that first song was sung and it was written, we have a record of what God did as He exterminated the enemy from them.

He exterminated Pharaoh and his army, the Egyptian army. In Revelation 15, there's the extermination of the Antichrist and his army. And so there's a celebration of how God exterminates His enemies and they celebrate the fact that God is in charge and in control of everything. It's a celebration in song. Why? Because when God reveals Himself, you want to sing. That's why there's a preparation of the soul. That's why there's a proclamation of the Scripture. That's why there's a recognition of the Savior.

It leads you to a celebration in song, praising Him for His grace and His mercy and His love and all that He's done, knowing that He is in charge, knowing that you want to lift His name on high because God inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 22. Next. Those who worship God realize that there's a participation with the saints. A participation with the saints. Worship is not a spectator sport. Worship is an action verb. It involves you. Hebrews 10, 24, and 25, we read it umpteen times throughout our study.

Why? Because as you see the day of the Lord approaching, the day drawing near, you gather together with one another. Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves together as some are in the habit of doing. Don't do that. Instead, gather together. Why? Because you have to admonish one another. You have to stimulate one another. You have to encourage one another. You can't do that if you're apart. You can only do it while you're together. Why? Because worship is an active participation of everybody involved.

We are active when we pray. We get on our knees, we pray together. We're active when we sing. We sing together because God inhabits the praises of His people. We are active together when we give because we're all giving together to the Lord for His glory and for His honor. We are active when we love one another, when we admonish one another, when we serve one another. Paul says in Colossians 3, verse number 15, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Not individually. It's you in the plural. Let the word of Christ dwell in you, plural, richly.

Let it be at home in your hearts. Why? Because then you can admonish one another and teach one another and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another. Why? Because worship is an active verb where we are actively participating one with another. You come and you sit and you don't participate. You don't sing. You don't give. You don't love with others or on others. You come and you don't pray. You don't participate. That's because there's something wrong in your heart. It's not because the atmosphere isn't conducive for that.

It's not because the preacher's bad. It's because your heart's not right. So you go all the way back to the very beginning of preparation of the soul. The preparation of the soul becomes the proclamation of the scripture, which leads to a recognition of the Savior. Which leads to a celebration in song. Which leads to a participation with the saints. And number six, it leads with a resolution to submit. A resolution to submit. In other words, when you hear the Word of the Lord, there is only one thing to do.

And that is to submit to all that He says. Why is it we hear the Word of God and we don't submit? It could be you never knew the Lord to begin with. That very well could be. But it could be just because your heart's not prepared to receive what God has for you. The Bible says in Romans chapter 12, that I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Holy, acceptable unto God, which is your only, only logical reason to worship. That's exactly what it says. The only logical thing to do, having presented your bodies a living sacrifice, is to worship. Which makes us come full circle back to Genesis chapter 22. Because you see Abraham was a living sacrifice. If he would have slayed his son, his son would have been what? A dead sacrifice. But Abraham would have been the living sacrifice. Why? Because he was living to sacrifice everything on the altar for his God.

He was willing to submit to God no matter what He said. And follow through exactly on how He said it. Because there was a resolution in his heart to submit to his God. And to say, yes Lord, whatever you say I will do. Like Isaiah said, here am I Lord, send me. I'll go. I'll do whatever you want me to do. And I may honor you. Whatever God says, you do.

So, when you hear from the Word of God that you should forgive, those who have sinned against you, do you forgive them? Do you do it promptly and precisely as God said? When you hear a sermon on evangelism, do you share your faith? Talk to others about Christ? When you hear a sermon on family, do you go home and recognize the importance of family and involve yourself in doing what God's Word says? When you hear a word preached on giving, do you give? Well, let's say it this way. When you gave this morning, was it a sacrifice for you to give?

Or was it just some 20 spot you threw in the oven basket? Was it really a sacrifice? Because worship costs. It costs big time. Everybody in the Scripture who worshipped God paid a great and incredible price. Why? Because there was nothing on earth that was valuable to them compared to the worship of their God. In fact, listen to what Paul says to those in Corinth. 2 Corinthians 8, he says, Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia, that in great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy, their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints. And this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

The churches of Macedonia begged us amidst all of their poverty, amidst all of their suffering, they begged us that they could give toward the work of the ministry. Why? Because they first gave themselves to the Lord.

You want to know why you don't give sacrificially? Because you haven't first given yourself to the Lord, that's why.

You're holding things back. The churches of Macedonia, man, they gave themselves to the Lord. Lord, we're yours. We have nothing. We are struggling in poverty. We are struggling with affliction. But we want to give. Why? Because people need to hear the gospel. People need to know the truth. And so we're going to give liberally because we love you, Lord. Wow. When you come to worship, what is it you have sacrificed to be here? Some people say, well, it's too far to come. Gas is too expensive. Really?

I drive from Fontana every day. I know how expensive it is. It costs a lot of money. But the important thing is I want to worship with you. I want to be with you. And what is it you sacrificed to get here? Maybe you had to leave your family behind because they wouldn't come with you. So you're willing to sacrifice that relationship because you love the relationship you have with the Lord more than you do with your family. Or do you sacrifice your relationship with the Lord to be with your family?

You see, Abraham wouldn't do that. He would kill his son because God said so. That's how much he loved the Lord. How about you? A resolution to submit. That's how worship culminates. It culminates in a decision that says, Lord, whatever you say I will do. Whatever you want me to do, wherever you want me to go, that's what I'm going to do. Because I am so in love with you that nothing else in this earth matters near as much as you do to me. The church. The church truly is the plan of the Son of God.

It's the possession of the living God, the pillar of the truth of God. It's the picture of the love of God. We are here because the church is a product of the grace of God. We are here simply because church is the priority of the people of God. We are here because the church is the place of the worship of God. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for today and a chance to be together. As sure as it may be, we are grateful for the opportunity to preach your word. Thank you, Lord, for the truth of Abraham. What a great example, what a great model, what a great testimony of what a living sacrifice looks like. Our prayer is that we would be that way and we would seek to honor you above all else. And that we'd be the people, Lord, that bring glory and honor to your name. If there'd be someone here today who does not know you, our prayer is that they would come to know you on this day, that you might be glorified and honored in their life.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen.