Month: December 2012

The Gospel & Our Worship

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How does or should the gospel influence our worship?

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The gospel powerfully transforms selfish broken sinners into passionate worshippers of the living God. The forgiveness that a person experiences through the gospel leads to a deep gratitude & affection towards the God of all grace . This certainly is true of the sinful woman in Luke 7. This woman has been forgiven by the Lord of much sinfulness and she loved much in return. The gospel’s impact on her lead her to an extravagant expression of worship. She affectionately & unreservedly poured out her life savings on Jesus. She valued Jesus more than any earthly treasure and her actions displayed that.
Through the gospel of Jesus Christ people experience not only forgiveness of sins but a removal of the guilt of that sin. God deeply cleanses the guilt of sin through the powerful blood of Jesus “so that we can worship the living God” (Hebrews 9:14 NLT). Oh what a privilege & joy it is to be forgiven and cleaned
so that we might worship God. This is what David expressed in Psalm 32 after experiencing the forgiveness from God. David was celebrating gospel truth that fueled his worship of God. The Apostle Paul in explaining the gospel in the book of Romans quotes David from Psalm 32, to highlight the gospel truth of forgiveness of sin through faith. David is one of the greatest worshippers of the Old Testament and the gospel truth which fueled his worship ought to fuel our worship much more. Much more has been revealed and given to us through the new covenant. We have a new and living way to approach God, through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:20). We can come to God boldly with a clear conscience because of the blood of Christ (Hebrews 4:16, 10:19, 22).
This is one way the gospel influences our worship.

Good News of Great Joy

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…”Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10, 11 ESV)

What is the good news?
I bring you good news of great joy! This news will eclipse despair and bring a living hope. This good news will cause great joy to spring forth from those who believe it. What is the good news? Jesus Messiah has come, our Savior has been born. This Savior would not be like a politician who promises much but delivers little. He would sacrificially give His life away to rescue us and fulfill all that he has promised. He came to save us from our sins, death & destruction.
This was not just any baby that was born in Bethlehem. This was the Son of God. God became man, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Father gave the world the greatest gift, namely His son (John 3:16). This would change everything!!! Jesus is the good news of great joy! His person & character, His perfect sinless life, His sacrificial death, His victory over death, His return to earth and His restoration of all things.

What difference this good news make?
Peace with God is the result of receiving and believing the good news. No longer does one have to be tormented by the guilt of a defiled conscience and fear the horrors of punishment. “God and sinners are reconciled” through this good news, Charles Wesley wrote in his great hymn Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Fear not the angel said. Why, because he had good news. The good news is the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15) which calms our fears. Through coming to Jesus and believing the gospel we find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30). Those living rebellious lives can get many hours of sleep and still be weary and tired in their souls because only Christ give rest for the soul. Christ is the Prince of Peace and if he isn’t reigning in your heart then you will not experience His peace. St. Augustine wrote “You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You”. Oh how true this has been in my own life. It wasn’t until I bowed my knee to Christ that a massive weight of guilt, hurt, fear, anger, confusion and emptiness left me. And oh how glorious that hour was for me.
Not only did the peace of God fill my soul the moment I was born again but the joy of God overflowed with an abundance of tears. The good news is that of “great joy”! The bible speaks of the “joy of salvation” and that is what the gospel brings. There is joy knowing that all your sins are forgiven and forgotten by God. You are no longer an enemy of God but His friend and child.
Righteousness in the life of a believer is the effect of the gospel. God reveals His righteousness through

the gospel and imputes His righteousness as a gift through faith in Christ. The gospel is mankind’s only way to get right with God. Once a person gets right with God they begin to live a life of righteousness. Right relationship with God leads to right relationships with others. Many desire peace and joy but lack a hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God. The gospel makes a man righteous before God and the result is peace and joy. Paul wrote in Romans that “the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Roman 14:17). Notice the order: righteousness, peace and then joy. Isaiah wrote that “the effect of righteousness will be peace” (Isaiah 32:17).
May you experience every grace that comes from believing the gospel. May the Kingdom of God come and the will of God be done in your life.

Why Worship Matters

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Why does worship matter? It matters because God created mankind for His own glory (Is. 43:7) and worship is the means that we give God the glory He is due. If the chief end and purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever then worship is absolutely necessary, for through worship we not only glorify God but we get to enjoy Him and become captivated by His majesty, splendor, greatness, beauty, glory, grace and love… Living in this broken world with injustice, greed, murder, immorality, deceit and evil it is so refreshing and delightful to focus in through worship on our God who is Holy, Just, Loving, True, Righteous, Pure and Faithful. It is the best thing for mankind to worship God. Those who don’t worship The Lord will something else, which is called are idols or gods. David wrote that those who chase after other gods will be filled with sorrow (Psalm 16:4). Idolaters set themselves up for the worst heart break when they give their highest allegiance and affection to something else rather than God. God knows that He is the only one worthy and trustworthy of all our affection and allegiance. He is perfect. He will never let us down. He will always be faithful, just and true. Those who love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength will not be in any way disappointed or heartbroken. Actually they find their highest joy and satisfaction worshiping and loving God (Psalm 16:11). Worship matters because it brings God glory and it is for our own good that we worship Him.

We know that worship matters because Satan tempted the Son of God to bow down and worship him. But Jesus standing firm in His allegiance to the Father quoted Scripture saying “You shall worship The Lord your God and Him only shall you serve (Matthew 4:7-10). The spiritual battle for worship in these last days seems to be intensifying according to the book of Revelation (13:15-18). Those who don’t worship the image of the beast will be killed and those who don’t receive the mark of the beast won’t be able to buy, sell or trade. Those who are true worshippers of God now will resist the temptations of the evil one to worship anything else.
Worship matters because it is what we Saints will be doing for all eternity and it is what taking place in Heaven right now. Jesus taught us to pray “Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). When the glory of God covers the earth like the waters cover the sea and all the earth worships God then we will see the fullness of the the kingdom of God and will of God done on earth as it is in Heaven. Worship matters because is manifests the kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. The book of Revelation gives us some glorious snapshots of the extravagant worship that is taking place around the throne of God (Rev. 4-5).
The closer we get to God and the more clearly we see Him the deeper and more extravagant our worship will be. The deeper and more extravagant our worship becomes the more others will see The worthiness of the God we worship. Or as Edmund Clowney said “When we worship God as we ought that’s when the nations listen”.