Worship
Know what you know, Live what you know, Share what you know
We are here tonight- all different people coming from different situations, to know the Lord just a little bit more. The message tonight is simple. In fact it is so simple I don’t want you to miss it. I’ll give you the challenge at the beginning. We are here tonight just as we are and I want to ask you to be willing to go one step farther with the Lord today no matter where you are. Just one little step. I am OVERFLOWING with joy about where these little steps that the Lord has graciously reminded me of have led me and changed my life, the lives of my children, my husband, my family and have spoken to unsaved friends. God is amazing.
Introduction
Read John 6:1-15, Mark 6:51-52 The hearts of the people were hard. What are we missing?
- John 5:39-40 “You study the Scriptures but your hearts are far from me.”
o Matthew 18:2-3 “Unless you change and become like little children…”
o It’s not just knowing Scripture.
- John 6:1-2 “… people followed Him because they saw miraculous signs.”
o 1 Kings 19:11-13 The Lord was not in the fire, earthquake, wind, but AFTER all these things had passed, He came in a still, small voice.
o It’s not just about the miracles
- John 6:14-15 They wanted to make Him king and be a part of His army.
o Psalm 51:16-17 “You do not delight in sacrifice… the sacrifice to God is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.”
o It’s not about all the good and “big” things you can come up with to do for God.
So… What is worship?
John 6:5,8-9 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Another disciple, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother spoke up. “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?
He gave Jesus his offering.. AND SO Jesus did what Jesus does!
The little boy listened. He obeyed. He offered what He had. He trusted Jesus with it. And THAT was worship.
Worship is simple.
Worship can take on many different forms.
Worship is defined as “adoring reverence or regard.” (Not a chore.) It is the overflow of sincerity and reality.
To honor with extravagant love and extreme submission, as a lover; to adore.
Worship is living your life as a reflection and recognition for that which you are thankful for, and that which you serve. Whether your offerings are large or small, regardless of whether they may seem significant, they are a reflection of what you love and base your life upon.
We have all sat together through many Bible studies, worship services and lessons. We share the common denominator that we are all in this thing together. I have been struck many times that when we gather we are often so burned out and trying to meet so many needs that it feels like we never get everything done and the “big things” that we feel like we should do for other people are completely out of reach. We fight the same battles and struggles. Yet we are working off of a foundation of the Lord and serving Him. We love Him. We meet to worship Him. So what are we missing?
I want to give you a brief testimony of what I know about the Lord from experiencing Him. The last few years have brought many battles into my life. I can say with full confidence that I have spent my life serving the Lord, following the Lord, asking Him to lead me and to change me. I was also really struggling, burning out, and dealing with the same outer circumstances as well as inner problems. One day I was praying to the Lord and trying again to do what I was supposed to do and give it all over to him. I was praying things like “Lord I just don’t know if I’m doing this right. I don’t know if what I did today was effective. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the person you want me to be,” etc. Finally the Lord said as clear as can be….
“Mary. What do you know?” Stop worrying and addressing the issues that you don’t know about! It’s really out of your hands anyway! Live your life based on the foundation of what you do know. For the first time I really took a step back and examined my life from an entirely different view point. I made a list of the things that my life says that I know. Do you know what those things are? They are the things that come naturally or are the most easy and important to prioritize. I was showing that what I knew and lived my life on was my own inadequacies and need to please the Lord. Yes my heart was coming from the right place, but GOD is truth. He IS the truth.
SO: I started to think through the things that I really know and that I have believed and claimed to base my life on. I only got to the first one before the Lord started to revolutionize my life.
What I’m wondering is, are we really worshipping the Lord? I know that I am holding in my hands the very word of God. I know that because I have seen prophecy after prophecy. I have seen and studied the way that the events match up historically with secular texts. I know that the Word of God is the truth, even and especially when it hurts. I know that the Word of God is living and active because I have experienced it working in, kneading, and changing my own life.
I know that I read about such incredible stories in the Bible like David and Goliath, Moses, Paul, Peter, and so many others. In the New Testament we read about the Acts 2 church and the Bible says that “thousands were being added to their numbers daily.” I want that! I want more of God. I know that Hebrews 13:7-8 says
Remember you leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever.
The great giants of the faith were constantly learning, experiencing and growing closer to the Lord. So there is no condemnation here!!! We are all in this thing together!! And we can ALWAYS go one step closer with the Lord! So LET’S DO IT! Let’s pro-actively take steps together right where we are, no where else, and with just what the Lord has given to us.
I want more of the God of the Bible. I want to see Him more in my life and in the lives of the people around me. If we believe that He is real and that His word is true, then we can believe that HE CAN DO IT. We as a church so often wait for revival and an emotional experience that will facilitate overwhelming change.
But revival is personal.
Revival is one step closer to God. That revives you.
Revival is worship. Worship is revival.
- Ask with worship. If you believe that there is a God, the Bible says to pray with thanksgiving. Worship while you pray. I’ve realized that Scripture never teaches to just ask or to just present requests. Do it with Thanksgiving. It is God centered. It says if I don’t know anything else… I know you are God. I know you have done great things in the Bible. I know that if you so choose you can do this. So I’m giving it to you. Pray with thanksgiving. Ask Him to revive you and bring you one step closer to the Lord.
So let’s have some revival tonight. Will you commit to revival? Let’s stop and pray for revival. Ask the Lord to revive you in some area of your life right now. Just one little step to be revived.
What do you know?
Did you know that there is a difference between belief and knowing? There is a difference between words and faith? 2 Timothy 1:12 says “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”
Do you believe that there is a God? If so it seems that in direct correlation we should be on our knees before the God who made the world on a daily basis. We call Him King. Do we live out our acknowledgement of belief? If you act out your beliefs, you will know it. I started getting on my knees, a physical posture of submission and it has changed my whole life and my whole attitude. If you get on your knees with your children at the start of every day and give your day to the Lord, that is accountability. That is worship. That is real for your children to see. That is a family that is committing to serve the Lord together. If you get on your knees at the end of the day and thank Him for that day… you just wait and see what He will do! The word promises us that the more we seek Him…. The more we will find Him. The more we look for Him the more He reveals Himself to us. Revive the family together. BE STILL. KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. It is so much more affective to spend 5 minutes on your knees really seeking God than to spout off a devotional that you won’t remember later for your convenience or comfort. It puts the focus where it needs to be. Be real with your family. It’s hard to imagine a better ministry to your husband and children then for them to know and see you on your knees believing that you serve a God and by extension will love them in that knowledge. Know it, live it, share it. Start with one truth. Watch how it will transform your life.
If we believe that there is a God then do we believe that He is not here for our own pleasure? Do our lives show that? Do we act on what we believe?
Do we believe that we can be more than conquerors? New creations? The old things have passed away the new has come? That He can mold us and make us completely new… and FREE?
I have a wonderful and rambunctious little four year old boy named Sam. Sam loves chocolate milk. LOVES it. We had a little problem with him however that I’m about to commend him for to you in a sense… but I did deal with him on it!!! J If I was in the kitchen washing dishes or working he would just walk in the kitchen, looking at me with wide eyes and say “And sooooo????” meaning… he wanted me to fix him chocolate milk. While I had to work on his manners in the situation, I was struck by that method. He already knew he was in the kitchen. So was the fridge. And his mom. And the milk. And soooo???? We must always add an “And so” to what we know.
Live what you know
The Bible is based upon faith. We are called to a life of faith. The people who were commended in Hebrews lived lives based upon faith.
Read Hebrews 11:32-34.
Look at what they experienced! It was because of FAITH in what they knew. It was the “and so….” I am only a simple person, nothing more nothing less and I know that God can do this. David had a stone and a sling shot. He was just a boy. Samuel was just willing to say “Here I am Lord. What do you want me to say?” Gideon was one of the most hesitant warriors I have ever heard of. These are the ones that the Lord commended and revealed Himself to. Mary Magdelene humbled herself and poured oil on the feet of Jesus and washed them with her tears in front of people who were mocking her. And SHE was the first one to see Jesus when He was raised from the dead.
These people lived what they knew in worship to the Lord.
Galatians 1:10 says “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of God.” Are we living this with our lives? Is our church as undeniable reflection of this? Are we real and honest with each other?
Philippians 3:7 says “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
If we believe that there is a God, if we believe that He loves us enough to die on the cross for us, do we really want to know Him more than all things? Do we trust everything in our lives to fall under the reign and authority of who He is? He is not made for our glory, we are made for His.
In Genesis we read about the creation. First there was God. God made the world and everything in it. Man sinned by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We live with a curse because of knowledge. I think that God created us to have fellowship with Him, to walk in the garden with Him, and to know Him intimately. We would have known the Lord and gradually been taught and learned knowledge of other things. Instead we are born with the curse of sin… and of knowledge of things OTHER than the Lord. As a result we have to fight to see and know the Lord. This is something that we read, something that we know, something that we believe. So are we living that in faith? Are we taking one step more with the Lord every day? Is our foundation of everything that we say and do WORSHIP TO THE GOD WHO IS?
He named Himself I AM.
MAYBE THAT’S WHAT WE’RE ALWAYS MISSING!!! I’m not sure that we’ve ever… anybody… really lived in KNOWING IT, in reverence and in devotion to that. I AM. He told Moses that. That was the one sole thing that He wanted Moses and the Israelites to take with them when the left Egypt. GOD IS!!!! GOD IS GOD IS GOD IS!!!! HE IS GOD!!!! WE ARE MADE BY HIM AND FOR HIM! THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX!
Share what you know.
If we believe that there is a God, then we are made FOR HIS GLORY. We are tailor made. We are carefully placed. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT. DO YOU KNOW THAT? DO YOU LIVE THAT? DO YOU SHARE THAT THROUGH YOUR FAITH MANIFESTED IN TANGIBLE LIFE?
Do you get on your knees with your children? Do you offer you five loaves of bread and two fish?
I think that so often we read the Bible and we learn about God and what we glean and what we know is that SERVING means we have to be a vessel for God. That is not truth. What the Bible teaches us is that we have to be clay…. He makes us to be the vessel! WOW! “I am. I made you. I know you. Nobody understands an object better than the person who made it. “
God gave you gifts and talents. I am learning to believe that those gifts are in direct correlation to our worship for the Lord. When we use them for worship and in obedience He unleashes them more. Otherwise our own efforts are nice but they are empty. He has made us His church and His body. Let’s use those things that He has given us and put them together.
Let’s worship the Lord with thanksgiving.
Let’s tell each other what we really, really know about the Lord. The world has the Bible. They can buy it for 50 cents. We can spend our lives debating the truth… and it is such a waste. Let’s find out what we know (He is Truth and we can know Him!) and WORSHIP. Let’s live what we know and WORSHIP. Let’s see more of our God and share him and have more worshippers to join together with us and bow on our knees before the God who made us and has CALLED US ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. (Romans 8:28).
If we believe that there is a God and always attach what we know to “and so…” we WILL have real, tangible evidence of our faith. We WILL be overflowing with something to share. We will NOT be able to keep our mouths quiet. Ask around here. Some of us are experiencing this. And the more we do the more we are seeing Him! The more we see Him the more we want Him and having only a small glimpse He is more wonderful than words can describe!!!!
When we share what we know about God… two things happen. First, our words and our actions rise like incense of worship to the Lord. That means… it makes Him happy. And that should excited us!
Second: Our faith becomes sight. If you know something about the Lord say it. The more you say it out loud the more you internalize it. The more you add the faith to speak something that other people might not understand, the more they catch the excitement of the fact that a God who is bigger than our understanding is involved in our very lives! Hebrews 11:27 says that Moses “persevered because He saw Him who is invisible.” We are always hearing the complaint that “we can’t see God.” Well… That’s because it is our responsibility to let our faith become sight. Let your faith be evident to all… so that they can see God.
Let’s look at two men who lived this out in their lives. The first was drawn vividly to my attention as I have been reading about the Acts 2 church and wanting more of this. This man is Peter.
In Matthew 4:18-19 Jesus called Peter. He was fishing, He knew that Jesus was someone He should follow so he followed Jesus. Now what happened when Peter followed Jesus?
He got to know Him.
He got to see miracles.
He listened to the word of God.
In Matthew 14 Peter first experiences the feeding from the 5 loaves and 2 fish… and THEN He walks on the WATER WITH JESUS! That’s incredible. But after all of these things, and not before, Jesus asked Him to know what He knew.
Matthew 16:13-20 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist others Elijah and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And so? What happened then? Peter gather everything He had gleaned. He told Jesus what He knew about Him and was willing to act upon… and then, not before, then Jesus told Peter who Peter was.
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but my by Father in Heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
When Peter left everything and followed Jesus He gave Him His life.
When Peter decided what He knew, He gave Jesus His heart. If you are following Jesus, have you reached a point where you can define without intimidation for people what you know and why? If so you can… just reach for it. Through faith make your life line up with your beliefs.
If you have given Jesus your life, are you sure you have given Him your heart? Is that first and most important? Is that what everything, and I mean everything, is based off of in your life?
Peter gave Jesus His life… and so… He then gave Him His heart. And so.. then what?!?
It is the very next verses after Peter’s confession of faith that that Jesus predicts his death, Peter said “no way” and Jesus said “Get behind me Satan.” How did this happen? How is that the gospels are littered with such a great man of faith making so many mistakes? Peter based what He knew about God… on how it affected His life and left it in the box that the human mind and sin nature allowed for.
Peter said “ I know you are God… and so there’s no way you are going to die like that.”
Peter said “ I know you are God… and so I want to be seated high in heaven for following you.”
Peter said “I know you are God… and so I want to do miracles through you.”
Peter said “I know you are God… and so… I will deny you when I need to so I can live longer to serve you.”
NOW… what happened to Peter? What changed? In Acts He was used to form the church. He performed miracles, He never again wavered or stumbled. He gave his life for Christ… and after every recorded sermon of His hundreds or thousands were saved. What’s different? Peter’s “AND SO” was different.
After the resurrection there is nothing left that Peter says in Acts outside of simply recounting the facts that happened through Jesus life. Nothing. Peter’s confession changed to… “He is GOD. The Great I AM. And so I am not. And so He was blessed. He was effective. He shared.
Acts 4:12 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.People CAN know that we have been with Jesus! Yet only if our beliefs take on an “and so…” that is not about us.
Peter’s faith had become sight for the blind. Do you see that? Peter’s faith was putting into action what he knew to be the truth about God. Evangelism changed. Sharing Christ didn’t mean telling someone who Jesus was… and then finding an “and so” to make it apply, fit in, or easy to understand for another person! Peter’s faith gave them SIGHT. When your faith becomes sight you can say there is a God! Taste and see that God is good! What do YOU believe? What do you do about it? And please let me introduce you to Him because He’s the biggest thing in my life and you won’t believe what He is doing in my real life here today!
Peter had given his life to Christ when he decided to follow the Lord.
Peter gave his heart to Christ when he claimed what He knew about the Lord.
And Peter gave his purpose to Christ and changed the whole world… when he shared what he knew.
And the beautiful thing is that when we are ready to turn our “and so” on Christ….
He pours out His “and so” on us. We receive his promises. We receive Him. HE is TRUTH. We receive TRUTH. We receive life, full, abundant, complete. WOW. He pours out His AND SO on us.
For example… I believe He is powerful. So I will pray with thanksgiving. THAT is worship. THAT is claiming who God is and what He can do. Share it with others. Doesn’t matter if they are believers or not!!! IT is REAL LIFE! It’s real! It’s exciting! Trust Him with that! See God together with other people!!!
The final example I want to look at here is Jesus Himself. Let’s look at John 13 – Jesus washed the disciples feet. Verse 1 – Jesus knew it was time for Him to leave the world – AND SO- He showed them the extent of His love.
Jesus was in the room with His disciples, His best friends, and he was faced with a hard reality because HE KNEW that Judas was sitting there and about to betray Him.
Verse 3: JESUS KNEW that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.” - These are things He knew about God. They were completely independent from what was happening in the passage.
He knew this.. AND SO….
HE GOT DOWN ON HIS KNEES.
HE WASHED THE DISCIPLES FEET.
He worshiped – and he served. Because of what He knew, who he worshipped, and how he served REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT WE EVEN UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS DOING (Peter got in the way again and told him not to do it!!!!) we saw God. Peter’s life was later changed. He was free. He glorified God. Our lives have been changed.
Picture Jesus on His knees. Do you REALLY KNOW that the Bible says that He is making intercession for us…even now?!?!! WOW. Let’s get on our knees and meet Him there. We can see Him better there because our reigning King is making intercession for His loved ones. Do you want to read His prayer? One example of it is in John 17. Jesus prays so lovingly first for His disciples, and then for the believers. Jesus says who God is. Then He says it is not His will that any should perish!
Read John 17:20-26
And so…. We consider all things loss for the sake of knowing him… and becoming like HIM. The GREAT I AM.
Know what you know. Live what you know. Share what you know.
