True Worship, Part 8 B

If worship does not into greater obedience: we will worship is worship him as we come out of it with a greater commitment to obedience as worship begins in the holy expectancy blamed that there really is such a thing as false worship is examine the aspects of God that should be the focus of your worship you seen where and when worship should take place and what it means to worship in spirit and in truth and on today's broadcast. John pulls everything together by giving you for important results of worship shows you what your life will look like if you're a true worshiper. Plus you get a handle on the required preparation for worship and the barriers that hinder your worship so to make sure you understand. True worship hears John with the lesson now in our look at worship with private course not to exhaust the theme but just a touch as it were, the edges of the spirit of God might begin to teach us and we look to the definition of worship talked about the importance of worship we know it's important because it's God's priority. He seeks true worshipers. It says in this passage we talked about the source of worship and that is salvation. We were redeemed to worship. We talk about the object of worship and the object is God as spirit and is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We talked about the spirit of worship we are to worship everywhere and at all times and yet uniquely in the assembled presence of God's redeemed people. We talked about the nature or the essence of worship known the results of worship, results we know where to worship because of the community that all of us are result oriented and we naturally asked the question if we really begin to worship will have and I believe this will happen in our lives and in our church. While the results of worship and are so simple and yet so far reaching number one God will be glorified God will begin to see.

He will be glorified.

When he is worship Psalm 5023 whose offer of praise glorifies me when we praise God we worship God.

He is glorified in Leviticus 10 three. He says I will be sanctified in them that come near me and before all the people I will be glorified. God wants to be set apart and as we come to you.

She is glorified among his people, the supreme purpose of life is to glorify God. And if that's all there was. That would be enough when we worship love it when we worship God as God is to be worship. He is glorified and that's the reason we exist. That's an God should be glorified. The second I believe when we worship God as he desires to be worship Christians are purified, Christians are purified. There's no question about it in mind when you approach God to worship God immediately you are faced with this reality.

Psalm 24 that he that cometh into my presence must come with clean hands and a what your heart so that a worshiping church is a pure church.

It demands that as we enter into God's presence. There is a recognition of our sinfulness and there is a willingness to abandon that sinful. There is a consuming desire to be pure to be clean. The closer we draw to God, the nearer we come to God the more overwhelming we become with our sinfulness and cry with David search me oh God, see if there be any wicked way in me, so I believe that God is glorified in worship. That's enough also believe Christians are purified and I believe that the key to the sanctity of the church is the worship of the church and worshiping God and the assembly was redeemed people as you are drawn into the presence of God by the music and by the message of the word of God and the truth that you hear as your drawn into his presence. There is an immediate facing of the reality of your sinfulness.

That's the reason the Lord's table is so very, very important. That's the reason the early church so frequently engaged in the Lord's table. Even daily may be reason enough for you and your family and your fellowship groups to come to the Lord's table that you might come face-to-face with the need to be pure. Thirdly, I believe that were true worship occurs not only is God glorified in Christians purified with the church is at a five the church is edified. The church is built up.

The church is transformed. Can you read the book of acts, and so marvelous that when the church was worshiping a found favor with God. They found favor with everybody and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved if they fill the city with their doctor and they turn the world upside down. They were winsome. They were attractive they were dynamic. I believe that a worshiping church is a church it's built up in May I hasten to add this please by edified. I don't mean we feel better. I mean we live better. We live better. That's the issue we live better. The Lord purchase purifies builds up the church and it says in first Corinthian's 1426. Let everything be done to edifying when everything be done to build the church churches is built up in its worship as you come together to worship the Lord. You become strong. You become transformed.

Let me just say this another way, worship, changes people.

True worship.

If worship does not change us. It has not been worship me when you draw nine of the presence of God. There must be change. You can come back the same anymore than Paul could when he was caught in the third heaven. You can't. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience: we will visit worship isn't worship unless we come out of it with a greater commitment to obedience as worship begins in the holy expectancy. It ends in holy obedience or his worship canopy.

It has to changes so the result is not only that God is glorified.

Christians are purified, but the church is edified, not better feelings, better living as 1/4 result, the lost are evangelized.

The lost are evangelized. The profound testimony of a worshiping community has a greater impact.

Probably than any single sermon does your is a greater impact than any single sermon. Never forget the Jewish lady went down to the temple down the street to get counselor marriage breaking up and they told her she didn't pay and paid her dues, and so they couldn't counselor so she paid up her dues and she was very upset. She came out of happen to be on a Sunday. She got onto the sidewalk and got caught in the crowd and wound up in grace church during the worship service I baptized her a few weeks after that and she said I don't remember anything you said in fact I could even tell you what the sermon was about. She says I was absolutely in all of the joy and peace in the love that was going on among the people as they worship. I'd never seen anything to come close to that as a result he became a Christian, just seeing the worshiping people, results of worship, God is glorified. Christians are purified. The church is edified, lost, are evangelized now. I want to give you a test right here and wants to stay with no legally the next 10 minutes. This is the crux of pulling it all together so you're saying you so John understand worship. Now I understand the importance of the coccyx worship understanding source of my salvation understand the object is God understand the spheres everywhere at all times, especially in the corporate assembly of the redeemed people understand the essence of worship. It must be perfectly balanced between spirit and truth, the word of God in the heart and am ready and you got me slammed against the wall.

Now when I do how do I really prepare myself to worship you going to get up on Sunday evening to how how are you going to prepare yourself to worship, how can it happen one verse can be your test.

You write this verse in the front of the Bible in these four low points and will give you and use it as a worship preparation. Hebrews 1022 Hebrews 1022 to me is that it is the greatest summation of preparation. The issue here, people listen.

Now the issue when you come here.

Worship is not how well-prepared the choir is the issue is not how well-prepared the preacher is issues. How well-prepared are you to worship God now begin with verse 22 it says let us draw near, and you can stop there is a call to worship. Draw near to God. Come on, it's time worship. Let's draw near. Let's move toward God sets know will do.

John understand now I see I will draw near, but there are some conditions for checkpoints first one with a true part. I call that sincerity. That's the first test sincerity. Are you really sincere is your heart fix are you worshiping with your whole heart. Are you praying with David unite my heart will are you really sincere and undivided second draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, not so I called Fidelity. She's writing to the Hebrews and they were very used to the Old Testament.

There are very used to the old covenant, the new covenant had come. The New Testament had come the new revelation in Jesus Christ. The mysteries were unfolding in order for them to worship God.

They had to say no to the old covenant right no more ceremonies no more sacrifices no more symbols, pictures, types in the old is gone. It was set aside. It was over a new and better covenant had come for anyone to say I am coming to God in full confidence of the revealed faith in the New Testament in full assurance that it is in the work system business system. It is that which is revealed in the faith of the new company, you have to come fully by faith in revealed in Jesus Christ. That's Fidelity so you worship not only was sincerity but you worship according to the truth. That's what Fidelity meets. The truth revealed in the New Testament in full assurance that he is saving truth you want to hang onto any of your own works of your own worthiness any of your own self-righteousness any of your own rituals. You're fully assured that you can come to God simply and only through faith is revealed in the new covenant. Thirdly, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. This is humility.

You come to God knowing you have no business being there because your heart is filled with an evil conscience, and you gotta be sprinkled from that and it was the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross that took care of our sin. So you come to God knowing that your unworthy, and that in order to even be there. You had to have your evil heart. Clients as humility. So as we worship there is a sense of unworthiness, a sense of the cross making provision for our sin. Knowing what I have no business being here, except that you wash your sprinkled McLean from the evil that was in me. So to worship God, you must pass the test of sincerity must pass the test of fidelity. You must come strictly and only on the terms of God is revealed in the new covenant, with none of your own goodness and none of your own worth and all you come strip me by faith in full assurance it that's all that's needed.

Thirdly, you come knowing you have no right to be there. That's humility in your there only because you been washed and forcefully in our bodies washed with pure water.

I call this one purity, sincerity, fidelity, humility, impurity, and this is not the same as the prior one. This is that daily washing you know this is where before you come to worship God deal with the sin in your life. Sin, confess sin purged.

Yes your heart is been cleansed of the cross with your feet pick up the dust of the world and must be a confession of sin. Every time you worship the love that I suggest this is the test you have to go through my sincere my heart fix is my whole heart devoted to God by focusing on him by seeing him in the word of discovery and meditation so that my hungering desire in totality is to draw nigh under him and my assured that I can come simply and only on faith and have the full assurance that it is sufficient, as revealed in the new covenant we are saved by faith that we have a new and living way by faith, and my coming, knowing that I have no reason to be there except for Christ coming in humility and in my coming impurity. Having dealt with any sin in my life. I dare say that if you would just take an extra little time in the morning on the Lord's day and open your Bible to that verse and just check your way through you would do more to prepare your heart for worship any other thing I know, and then you can come under me. He says by the new and living way through Jesus Christ you sincere you committed to the truth of the new covenant are you placing all of your right to access on the finished work of Christ and are you sure having dealt with the sin in your life if you are, you can say let us draw nigh under God and he will what draw nigh unto us know all this will work in your life.

All this will change your life.

I believe unless your hindered and I want to close with this and listen very carefully. Some of you men come to church for years, but you've never really drawn nigh of the God you don't have the sense of the nearness of God even in your life in your own private devotion and prayer, and so forth. You don't have it and it may be that there are some things you need to do to prepare your heart for worship. There are all kinds of worship modes, suggests three barriers that will prevent this from working in your life, and this is well finish what you listen very carefully. You've got to start somewhere and you can't just walk in here and open your mouth with the praise for out if you've got some things in your life.

You have dealt with the first one is what I'll call the worship of repentance, the worship of repentance. If there is sin in your life that's not been dealt with. You've got to deal with and you've got to accept the responsibility for and confess and second Samuel chapter 12 we find David Davidson the great sin all what a great sin. Sin with Bathsheba committed adultery and then had her husband murdered and then David who had sin so greatly against God saw the little child born of that union dying and he knew God was punishing him this is what he said this with the Scripture says David arose from the earth wash anointed himself changed his close came into the house of the Lord and worshiped no tenets that is the worship of repentance beset what you mean but I mean that here he was in the midst of the saddest tragic situation. The loss of his little baby son and yet he worship God because he knew he was receiving what he deserved in the midst of his chastening he worship in repentance the salsas I have sin and I deserve these calamities. I have aired against the truth and I have most of all sinned against God, the worship of repentance means that right in the midst of chastening you pour out your heart to God and you confess your sin and you see I'm getting what I deserve. Some of you can't get to the praise part part because you've never dealt with your sin, you never pour out your heart and repentance to God.

You may even be angry or bitter over some of the things that you've been chastened by this going to have to start for some of you with the worship of repentance over your sin David. It says he went into the house of the Lord and worship he could worship God even while God was smiting him so committed. Was he to worship. Secondly, I call this the worship of acceptance.

The worship of acceptance and the familiar words of Job when Job heard the news that everything he loved was gone is possessions is animals his children all gone there with the Bible supports Job arose, his close shave his head fell down on the ground and was new this and worshiped. You think he might've cursed God just lost everything all his children of his crops is animals everything and he worship. I call that the worship of acceptance, jihad and sin like David God was just doing this for his own purposes and job sandlot naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave in the Lord are taken away what blessed be the name of the Lord. That is the worship of an unquestioning acceptance and some of you people have never been able to worship God because you're still unable to accept some circumstances.

God is brought into your life and it made you bitter and you can't worship and until you get to the point of acceptance. You're never going to be able to worship God. You see George Mueller put it this way.

He said there came a day when I died I died to the praise and criticism of man.

I died to everything but the will of God and man, I suggested that was the day he began to live. Job said he knows the way that I take and when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

It's the worship of acceptance to be willing to accept your circumstances to be willing to accept your place in life, your job, your career, your partner, your children, your circumstance and say, God, you knew all of this.

The loss of your loved one. The loss of your child. The loss of your job.

The pain of illness and say I can worship you in the midst of it all you CCN will hold you from worship and so will bitterness and an inability to accept what God is and keep in mind that when God does bring those things in your life. He is purposes. Then lastly, the worship of devotion or commitment that it just hits me that in Genesis 22 Abraham went up to Mount Moriah. He had Isaac and this is so amazing God said you up there and you slay Isaac you kill him as an offer, North says in Genesis 22 Abraham came to the place the Lord spoken to him of an Abraham said to his young men that were the ones traveling with a abide easier with the ass I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship incredible to me, that's incredible. The fact that he could see that as worship to God when it was going to take the life of his own son is he that's devoting yourself to worship. No matter what the cost is to see you seeing beyond the pain. Seeing me on the difficulty so we look at words of God is again by the government. How far is that from being willing to stick a knife in the chest of your own beloved son and calling it worship. That's what God's let's go. He says and worship it and use the word sacrifice what he saw past that he saw beyond that is beyond the giving and the offering he saw me on the price and the cost to the worship some people as I say can't be free to worship because there they gonna start with the worship of repentance for the worship of acceptance or the worship of devotion and are not willing to do with her soon they're not willing to do with their circumstances and are not willing to pay the price. May I suggest to you if you worship you will receive the promise of God through your life. You pour his awesomeness. I close with this EW toes are asked an interesting question. He said this, are we losing our oh are we losing our oh when the heart on its knees, moves into the awesome presence and hears with fear and wonder things not lawful to water the mind falls flat in words previously its faithful servants become weak and totally incapable of telling what the heart hears and see in that awful moment the worshiper can only cry who we losing our oh I prayed. Her father, thank you for a time this morning to pray that you will meet us in our need make us true worshipers for Christ's sake. That's John MacArthur helping you identify what you're doing right and maybe some areas where you could improve in your worship practical goals of this series that John calls true worship along with teaching on grace to you. John's also chancellor of the Masters University in seminary here in Southern California.

John is you wrap up this study on worship. Is there one common misunderstanding about worship that you're hoping you've helped our listeners identify and avoid in their own lives. If you asked me for one common misunderstanding about worship. It's probably the people think worship is some kind of an experience. In other words it's some kind of emotional experience tied to music and maybe staging and because that's what's being thrown at people in the contemporary evangelical movement but worship is really the contemplation of an expression of all that is true about God and if you don't know all that is true about God who is what is done what he commands you can't worship him in the way that he desires to be worshiped where worship in spirit. Yes, with every faculty that we have but in truth, if you have nothing but the spirit and the emotion minus the truth. That's not worship. If you have the truth without the expression without the joyful expression of all your faculties and glorifying God for who he is. That's not worship either. It's the combination of knowing God, knowing him through the revelation of his word and giving him glory for who he is what he is done and the delight of obeying his commands, and seeing him fulfill his promises. We been talking about the book on worship still have some we would encourage you get in touch with Grace to you today because for one thing, tonight ends the 25% discount sale and if you want to get a copy of worship at the discounted price. You need to order it today and there many other things including the CDs that are this series if you don't want CDs.

You can also download the series on MP3 downloads from GT why.org member now get a copy of the book on worship and use it with family and friends. That's right, friend. Glorifying and worshiping the Lord is what you and I were created to do and when we do it biblically, it brings joy to our Savior and blessing to us.

Make sure you're growing in this all important aspect of Christian living, to pick up John's book on worship. Get in touch with us today our toll-free number here 855 grace or place your order@thewebsitegtwhy.org again to order your copy of worship at 25% off the normal price, call us toll-free at 855 grace or log on to GT why.org with our current sale prices. This is an ideal time to fill your library with sound local resources or to bless those you love me spiritually encouraging gift get our flagship resource MacArthur study Bible, as well as books by John including the trio of books on biblical characters, 12 ordinary men. 12 extraordinary women and 12 unlikely heroes all for 25% off the regular price, you can shop online@gtwhy.org or you can call our customer service staff at 855 grace and remember the sale ends tonight so soon. Now for John MacArthur in the entire grace to you.

Staff and Phil Johnson urging you to watch grace to you television this weekend with your family. You can go to our website to see if it airs in your area and join us next week when John looks at why your church and every church should faithfully preach God's word. It's another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth set a time on Mondays, grace to