Want to be closer to God? Worship is a simple, but important, way to invite God into your life. This message explores why God is worthy of our worship, what worship is, and the many ways we can use it to grow closer to God.
Last week we considered that hope always looks forward, not backward, and we can have hope in the grace of God. We learned that God’s grace is undeserved and unwarranted favor towards us. We should continually look to God’s grace that is extended to us every day.
As Christians, our hope is anchored in the grace of God, through faith in Christ for salvation. We are to live holy, set-apart lives because God is holy.
Life is a journey of spiritual growth that begins with acknowledging the grace of God.
Today I want to build on what we learned last week. I want us to continue our journey on the road of spiritual growth, to grow in our understanding of God’s grace and witness the majesty and greatness of God. When we do, we respond to God in worship and praise as only he deserves.
To worship and praise God as he deserves, we must view God like Isaiah: high and lifted up, in all his majesty and holiness.
‘In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for”’ (Isaiah 6:1-7, NIV).
Isaiah, the prophet of God, had a vision of God being high and lifted up. Isaiah sees God as extremely holy. He emphasizes the holiness of God, by repeating holy three times: “holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (v. 3).
Seeing God in all his holiness is what caused Isaiah to realize that no matter how religious he might think he was; no matter how clean a life he lived; he realized that he was ruined, unclean, and guilty of sin. Isaiah realized the holiness of God clearly, maybe for the first time.
Isaiah understood that he could do nothing in himself to atone for his sin. Isaiah experienced the awfulness of his sinfulness and guilt as he gazed upon God’s holiness. Isaiah then experienced his guilt and sinfulness being taken away by the grace of God. An angel takes a live coal from the altar of God and touches Isaiah’s lip and Isaiah’s guilt is removed and his sin atoned for.
How do you respond to God’s presence?
How many of you realize that there are countless shades of white paint? I never realized there were so many shades of white. Check out the white paint swatches some time. Each shade looks white until you place the paint swatches next to another shade of white.
Have you noticed how a person can see themselves as being good when they judge themselves compared to another person? A person may think themselves as being spiritually OK; that is until someone who is doing better comes along.
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah sees himself before God Almighty. He’s not looking so good. God Almighty is holy, sinless, and full of grace. There is nothing Isaiah or we could ever do to compare to the holiness and greatness of God Almighty.
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Isaiah, having seen this vision of God sitting on a throne, and how God’s greatness filled the temple, and how the whole earth is full of the glory of God, realizes his sinfulness, his unworthiness, and the depths of depravity within himself and of those around him. Isaiah recognized his spiritual condition as unclean and he was overwhelmed by his sinfulness as he sees God, in all his holiness.
If we are ever to grow to be the person of God that God desires us to be; if we are ever to worship God as he deserves, we need to recognize our spiritual condition as being sinful and unworthy before a holy God.
It is only because of God’s grace through faith in Christ that the Christian is redeemed from sin. Without God’s grace we would remain spiritually dead in our sin. We would be without hope. Without the gift of God’s grace and faith in Christ, we would remain spiritually condemned for all eternity. But thanks be to God, God is gracious and extended his grace towards us. He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. God is worthy and is far above all other so-called gods. He is holy, holy, holy and the whole earth is full of his glory (Isaiah 6:3).
How would you have responded if you found yourself in the presence of God?
Would you have reacted like Isaiah feeling sinful and saying, ‘“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips”’ (Isaiah 6:5).
Would you feel unworthy? Would you have reacted like John, when he saw Jesus in a vision and said that he fell at Jesus’ feet as though dead (Revelation 1:17)?
Would you feel weak like Daniel? He had a vision of God and he felt helpless and had no strength (Daniel 10:8).
Would you feel afraid? Those with Daniel felt overwhelmed with terror (Daniel 10:7).
We learn from Revelation that reverence, worship, honor, and praise are good responses. There were creatures that wouldn’t stop proclaiming “holy, holy, holy is the Lord” and elders fall before God, laying their crowns at his throne (Revelation 4:8-11).
In the next chapter of Revelation, we see the response of the creatures, the elders and the angels when they see Jesus, the Lamb of God. All heaven is crying out holy and they fall down and worship God and declare worthy is the Lamb of God (Revelation 5:8-14).
‘In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”’ (Revelation 5:12).
All of Revelation is a testimony to the greatness and worthiness of God.
Why is God worthy of Worship?
Why should we declare God worthy of worship and holy? God spoke the worlds into existence, including:
An estimated 2 trillion galaxies.
60,065 different species of trees.
800,000 different insects with 7,000 to 10,000 new species identified each year.
18,000 different bird species, with over 8 million species that are now extinct (according to the American museum of Natural History).
Did you know, according to Rhett Herman (physics professor at Radford University) that the earth rotates at the equator at 1,000 miles per hour? Or that it rotates around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour? Or that we rotate around the galaxy at 490,000 miles per hour? All in perfect balance. Is this by chance? I think not.
Did you know God designed us to perfectly coexist with plants? We exhale carbon dioxide, which plants and trees need to survive; and God designed plants and trees to produce oxygen, which we just happen to need for breathing. The balance, creativity, and diversity of the universe (including of plants, animals, trees, flowers, soil minerals and gasses) is not something that just happened by chance. The balance of fresh and salt water is not by chance. The different types of fruits and vegetables, is not by chance. The different internal organs within your bodies did not just happen by chance. Your body’s ability to fight off sickness; your ability to talk, reason and know right from wrong is not something that happened by chance.
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And the way the Bible, over thousands of years and many different writers, tells the story of God’s love and grace for us was not by chance. The prophecies woven through all 66 books of the Bible are not by chance.
Jesus is working in your life and in the lives of others around the world. Jesus is answering prayers. People are physically healed and he is delivering people from the bondages of drugs, alcohol, and addictions of all types.
How has God worked in your life? Was that all by chance? God forgives you, loves you, and has plans for a hope and future for you—it’s not by chance.
What is worship?
In all of this God is worthy of all our worship and praise. God who is holy, set apart, sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing and ever present is worthy of all our worship and praise. Worship of God is not an observation sport or activity. Worship of God Almighty is an activity that we are to actively participate in wholeheartedly.
Worship is a response from the heart. It is a response that comes from a grateful, loving heart. Worship is the response of a person who recognizes their unworthiness, their sinfulness; and who sees themselves, having once been spiritually dead, but now spiritually alive by the grace of God.
It is only because of the grace of God you are alive and here today. God is worthy of your worship and praise because of who he is.
Worship is not just a single act; although it can be seen as such. Worship is how we are called to live. Worship is giving to God your most prized possession: yourself.
You will worship God only when you see God as holy and high and lifted up. Worship is not something to do or take lightly. It’s an expression of love and honor for God. Worship is your response to God’s presence.
Worship is you inviting God to be God in your life, dying to self and living devoted to God Almighty. Worship is an act of reverence, of giving, of adoration and devotion.
There are many ways to worship God:
In singing, in prayer, in raising of our hands;
Listening to Christian music or quietly standing in his presence, or bowing our heads;
At an altar, in a church, at home, in a car;
Alone or together with others;
In weeping or in joy.
As we grow spiritually, our worship of God often becomes more visible, more vocal, more vibrant and engaging. Let’s decide to set some time aside each day to worship the Lord. As you do, I believe you will find that you will be refreshed spiritually each time. You will be blessed as you worship the Lord.
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