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Sunday
message: “WORSHIP”
Luke
19:28-46
INTRO:
2000 years ago Jesus entered Jerusalem
on a donkey, proclaiming himself king. The people cried
“Hosanna!” --“Save now!” and “Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
From all appearances most people would say they
were WORSHIPPING that day. Let me ask
the question: When does worship
actually take place? Is it when we
enter this room? Did it start right
after the Announcements or before? During
the singing? What if I’m not singing?
We call this a “worship service,” or “worship
celebration.” What does that really
mean? Let’s look into the Scripture
and see if we can gain understanding about this thing we
call WORSHIP.
Luke
19
– 28—After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead,
going up to Jerusalem. 29—As he
approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the
Mount of Olives, 30--he sent two of his disciples, saying
to them, ”Go to the village ahead of you, and as you
enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one
has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it
here. 31—If anyone asks you, ‘Why
are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs
it.’”
32—Those
who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told
them. 33—As they were untying the
colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the
colt?” 34—They replied, “The Lord
needs it.” 35—They brought it to
Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
36—As he went along, people spread their cloaks
on the road. 37—when he came near the
place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the
whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in
loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38—“Blessed
is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39—Some of the Pharisees in the crowed said to
Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40- “I tell you,” he replied, “If they keep
quiet, the stones will cry out.”
42—As
he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
42—and said, “If you, even you, had only known
on this day what would bring you peace---but now it is
hidden from your eyes. 43—The days
will come upon you when your enemies will build an
embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on
every side. 44—They will dash you to
the ground, you and the children within your walls.
They will not leave one stone on another, because
you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to
you.”
45—Then
he entered the temple area and began driving out those who
were selling. 46—“It is written,”
he said to them, “’My house will be a house of
prayer’; but you have made it a den
of robbers.’”
Now
let’s dig a little & see what we can learn about
worship:
IN
I Corinthians 13:2
we read, “Even though I have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but
have not love, I am NOTHING.”
Ladies,
do you think you are going to win your husband or impress
him with the knowledge you gained at Church? I
Pet. 3 says you can win him “Without speaking a word,”
just by loving him. True
worship changes the heart and attitude! Those
Pharisees definitely needed an ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT.
No,
the Pharisees were NOT worshipping that day. It takes MORE
than head knowledge!
These
were God’s “CHOSEN people”
–descendants of Abraham-- whom God who had made a
nation, and had set them free from bondage, and had given
them His LAW to guide them. Yet time
after time, they turned to other gods; Yet God had heard
their cry for help and had come to their rescue; only to
see them turn away once again.
AND
NOW, when God had sent His only Son---they
would once again harden their hearts. YES,
they hailed Jesus as their King. But as
events unfolded, they decided they didn’t like the kind
of King He appeared to be. They were so
easily led astray from the truth once again.
No,
those
people were not worshipping that day. And
Jesus knew that because they rejected Him, they would soon
seek to rebel against Rome under yet another Zealot;
thus incurring the wrath of the Roman Government.
This happened in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was utterly
destroyed by Rome.
Do
you know
that God still weeps over you and me when He sees the
needless pain and suffering in which we involve ourselves
through foolishly rebelling against His will.
As Christians purchased by his precious blood,
we so easily justify our sins, or we fall back on
the that fact that “God will forgive us!” And
we pay in the loss of God’s blessing.
Where
were these people?
They were in the TEMPLE---the House of God.
It is very OBVIOUS that they were not WORSHIPPING.
It is very obvious their hearts were far from God.
Their minds were on OTHER THINGS---cheating to get
ahead. Their actions & words were
guided by GREED.
Just
because we are in the Church House does not mean we
are worshipping. ILLUS: Jesus had a conversation in
John 4, with a Samaritan woman, about WHERE is the
right place to worship. Is it on This
mountain here? OR is it in Jerusalem?
Where is the place of worship? Jesus
said,(pause) “It’s NEITHER!” He
said, “True worshippers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth, for THEY are the kind of worshippers the
Father seeks.” Some
of my best worship has been in my car!
Look
at the REASON for their emotionally charged PRAISES.
It was “for all the MIRACLES they had seen.”
Then they began to quote Psalm 118, which was used
at PASSOVER, as they sacrificed lambs. Here
before them was the “Lamb of God” who was preparing to
die for their sins, yet they were interested in seeing a
MIRACLE!
It was a lot of EMOTION with no real understanding of God’s grace standing before them.
We
can come together and get very emotional, singing praise
songs that make us cry. It may be
praise---causing us to appreciate what God has done for us
in Jesus Christ. That’s very good!
But that, in itself, is NOT true worship.
Some
of you may be seriously wondering if ANYONE was
worshipping that day! Let’s
consider what TRUE WORSHIP is. The word
“Worship” literally means to “BOW DOWN.”
It means to SUBMIT and give oneself wholly to God.
The Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 12:1
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of
God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God---THIS is your spiritual act of
WORSHIP.”
THIS
is the person who truly worshipped God!
He submitted to Jesus by giving up what Jesus asked
for. The donkey was very valuable in
that day, because it was useful for carrying loads and
doing work. It would be like if the
Lord said, “I need your brand new CHEVY TRUCK!”
If
you said, “Yes, Lord, of course!” In
THAT moment, you would be worshipping God. You
see, we have this idea that we only worship on Sunday at
this building at this time. But quite
frankly, if you understand what TRUE WORSHIP is, there may
not be as much true worship as we thought.
I’m
saying this, because I believe God wants His people to
WAKE UP! To understand what it is God
wants from us. JOKE: It’s
like the mountain man who met his friends one day and they
said, “Jake, where are you going?” And
old Jake said, “Well, I heard that over in Johnson City
there’s a lot of free running whiskey, and some pretty
girls and lots of gamblin’! So
that’s were I’m a goin’!” Jake’s
friends said, “But why are you all dressed up, and
carrying yer Bible, Jake?” He
said, “Well, if it’s as good as I hear, I might jes
stay over fer Church on Sundee!”
Friend,
what is it that God is saying, “I need that!”
What is God asking for from us today?
Just because we came to Church, sang
some praise songs, maybe even clapped our hands, bowed for
prayer, gave an offering, and heard a sermon----is that
all God’s asking for?
God
told His people through the prophet Isaiah---chapter
one---he said, “I’m sick of your worship!”
Not in those exact words, but He found it
detestable. WHY? Not
because they sang out of tune, or the preaching was bad,
or too long; NO, God hated it because
their hearts were not right. They had
not given God their hearts---their devotion.
THAT’S
WHAT GOD WANTS. Your heart.
He wants you just as you are. But
he wants ALL OF YOU.
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