A Call to Worship

[0:00] It's a call to worship.

[0:14] You know, just to introduce this, I was talking to someone just this last week and they were! quite critical of this church. And they gave me some critical feedback, criticising the leadership of this church, criticising! the people of this church.

[0:30] And the conduct of this church. And some of it was fair criticism and I agreed with much of what they actually said. And a call to worship is really about how we should be reverent around the Lord's table.

[0:43] How we should be reverent in our worship. So let's pray, shall we? Lord, we thank you for this time, for our gathering together for your word and for this fellowship time. Lord, minister by your spirit in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:56] A call to worship. I issue a call to worship. Consider the spirit of the age that we're living in. An age where everything is treated as common. Commonplace. There's a breakdown of structure.

[1:07] A breakdown of order. The prevailing culture of our world pays little attention to what is righteous and rightful. And there is in the church there's a lack of reverence.

[1:18] And reverence for the Lord, for his word. Often a shallow approach. The holy worship of God should be something that should occupy us front and centre. And instead in many quarters it's been replaced by a focus of pleasing men.

[1:32] And drawing a crowd to something sadly lacking. It's where the preacher acts more like a CEO or a stand up comedian or a rock star rather than a servant of God.

[1:43] A true shepherd of the people of God. And we have much need of reverence in these days we live. There's a lack of reverence. A lack of the fear of the Lord. No reverence for his person, his word. And for many they treat God's word flippantly, shallow. Only perceiving it where it's something that they want to hear.

[2:06] And disregarding the challenging fears. And God's word is set an order for us. An order in the home for the children to honour their mother and father. An honour, an obedience, a respect, a reverence.

[2:19] As much truth as this in God's word. It tells how we are to obey the authorities who are over us. In Hebrews 13, 17. Our Lord sets an order for us so we can live lives orderly in our worship as well.

[2:34] It speaks much of the holy worship of God. And our worship should be reverent. It should be decent and it should be in order. We handle eternal truths, eternal realities, holy things.

[2:46] And we are called to worship. Called to worship. To biblical reverent worship. And consider these truths as we reflect on this truth of our call to worship.

[2:59] As we call to worship. As we call to worship. As a consciousness of the presence of God. Who the Bible speaks of as a consuming fire. That speaks of a tuning of our hearts before him. Humbly.

[3:10] Of a coming unto the living God. To do business with him who is holy. The holy worship of God. May we take these truths seriously at this time as we commune with him.

[3:22] It's what we are here for. Right here. Right now. The holy worship of God. In 1 Chronicles 16, 29. It says, Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.

[3:35] Bring an offering and come before him. Worship him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Our worship is meant to be God glorifying. And conducted in the beauty of holiness.

[3:47] Only then will it be truly sweet. We don't want anything to distract us from this. The holy worship of God. You know, consider as you think of this gathering time.

[4:00] The Bible speaks of a holy convocation. A holy gathering. And as someone has put it. This holy gathering is a group of holy people. We've been made holy. Made saints.

[4:11] A holy people. A holy people. Gathering together in a holy house. To worship a holy God. Who is here by his holy spirit. And holy angels.

[4:23] And we come together to study God's holy word. These are holy things. Precious things. And this is our call to worship. As we gather just now. Back in the Old Testament days.

[4:34] We see the Israelites as they had the ark of the covenant. The very focal point was the glory of God. And the holy ark of the covenant. And people would not touch it.

[4:45] Lest they die. And they carried it with special poles. Holy men carried it in a holy order. In a holy direction. And right through the scriptures we see holy worship.

[4:58] As something emphasizing the holiness of our great God and Saviour. We see the tabernacle in the wilderness. We see the tabernacle in the wilderness. Which was really just a tent. But it was to be revered.

[5:09] And our gathering place. As humble as it is. Here today it is holy. It is a mere building. But it is a house of prayer today. Isn't it?

[5:20] And it's so blessed to be here with you. Together. Together. And we can enter into together. God's holy presence. His awesome presence. In a consecration of heart. This is worship.

[5:31] And this is just one element of our worship now. This communion time. It's our call to worship. To revere God. As the priority of our life.

[5:42] And it should start here. With the fear of the Lord. This is our priority. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But fulls despised wisdom and instruction.

[5:53] We come fearfully. Humbly. Reverently. Before his majesty. And his glory. To take it in today. With that heart attitude. With that spirit of worship.

[6:05] As we enter in to God's presence. This is something that they did back through Old Testament days. Through the New Testament. And now here. And now in the 21st century. We have God's spirit.

[6:17] God's presence. As really and as truly. As way back then. And worship reminds us of who we serve. He is worthy. Amen. He is worthy.

[6:28] Of all praise. And honour. And glory. And in his presence. The holy angels cover their faces. In Isaiah 6. Verses 1 to 4. And as sinners we stand. Before a God of righteousness.

[6:40] And truth. Of judgment. And justice. And he is a consuming fire. The Bible says. Against sin. And we must stand before God. By no work of our own.

[6:51] But entirely by his grace. And his free gift. That he has wrought for us. And for this. We worship him. His great work of salvation. We acknowledge him. The reality of who our God is.

[7:03] And what shapes true worship. Is our Lord and Saviour. That he has brought salvation. He has accomplished it. And it's his work alone. And we think of the limitless wonder.

[7:15] Of his grace. Of his mercy. Of his loving kindness. That he would extend it to such as we. And we honour him. For his blessings today. With grateful hearts. For his abundant goodness and mercy.

[7:27] This is. Our call to worship. The Holy God. Gave his only son. To save us. When. We were sinners. And his enemies.

[7:38] And the word of God. Tells us of this godly fear. Of this honour. Of this reverence. Of this joy and rejoicing. That fills our hearts by faith. Of who God is. Of the amazing wonder.

[7:50] Of his great salvation. That's why. We are here. It's a call to worship. It's a call to his praise. It's a call to thanksgiving. It's a call to that. Awe inspiring reality. Our God.

[8:01] Is holy. And we know him. We honour him. We reverence him. And we fear him. Worship. It means to prostrate ourselves. It means to bow down. To bend down. To bend the knee.

[8:12] To bend the heart. Worship. That's why we are here today. O come. Let us worship. And bow down. Let us kneel. Before the Lord. Our maker. As we come together. To commune.

[8:23] To come. To come. To come. With the holy God. May our hearts be humbled together. May we recognise our great need. Our holy. Worthy God.

[8:34] Our great and worthy King. God. Is holy. He is totally set apart. To whom no one can be compared. He is a separated from us.

[8:45] From anything that is called creature. By an infinite chasm. And yet. By faith. We can draw near. By his grace. We can come. Into his very throne. And so.

[8:56] We can honour him. And lift him high. Sometimes the words of the psalms. Express this worship. Most beautifully. In Psalm 145. Verse 2 to 6. It says.

[9:07] Every day. Will I bless thee. And I will praise thy name. Forever. And ever. Great is the Lord. And greatly to be praised. And his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy work to another. And shall declare thy mighty hands.

[9:18] I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty. And of thy wondrous works. The might of thy terrible hands. And I will declare thy greatness. This is a truly holy time. In. In.ยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยย was treated with great reverence and yet it's just a gutter word now isn't it the name of Jesus is just a curse word but we treat his name with reverence because of who he is for his very name is holy and reverend my name's not reverend his name yes reverend holy and reverend is his name his name he is all inspiring and he demands he deserves our deepest respect and worship for who he is and what he has said what he has done what he will do sanctify God set him apart in your heart recognize he's truly worthy holy worthy of all praise sanctify the

[10:37] Lord of hosts himself and let him be your fear and let him be your dread may he be your fear may he be your dread these are strong words aren't they in other words don't treat it lightly and carelessly but reverently we need not fear him as a judge but revere him and esteem him and honor him as our personal Lord and mighty Savior the holy worship of God something precious that he wants from us worship that is holy worship that accords with his holy word this is our call to worship brothers and sisters a worship that is reverent decent in order holy biblical worship that is our desire so we do not trifle at this time now this feedback that I got was talking about people toying around and playing with the communion and whatnot and being distracted and little children taking it and you know not what it means let's not be irreverent at this time of holy worship worship today let us take it very very seriously seriously today it's a holy biblical worship that's our desire as a church to please and honor our worthy king to esteem to honor him and his glorious and fearful name

[11:53] Jesus 1.28.58 it says if they will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book that thou mayest fearless glorious and fearful name the Lord thy God that's what we want today isn't it to know him to know him to enter in to his presence to receive and to bless his name and we believe this book from cover to cover cover to cover guaranteed truth and we bow in the name of Jesus our Lord as it says we must and we confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord God has all authority today and we worship him he has the right to be worshipped and reverenced he is a terrible God now let me put that in modern vocabulary in other words he inspires terror fear and dread reverence he provokes reverence he provokes in us that holy trembling before him he is a terrible God in the sense that we should be in awe of him of who he is today and so Deuteronomy 10 verse 17 it says for the Lord your God is a God of God's and Lord of Lords a great God a mighty and a terrible in other words awe inspiring so we submit to God's word as we enter into this call to worship as a God fearing people we worship him who is God alone we will have no other gods before him he alone is sovereign he alone is worthy he alone has the right to demand our all whatever he wills and his name by which he reveals himself to us is holy holy holy psalm 99 3 says let them praise thy great and terrible name for it is holy we should be in awe of him he is great and awesome and mighty and glorious and let us honor and glorify him with the honor and glory that is to unto him today and respect his love his wrath his grace grace as we reflect in the contrast of how we were enemies lost defiled now made clean righteous in his standing and this is our call to worship people of God today and so if you are one of the people of God just as back to old testament days let us enter into the very holiest today by faith because of the blood of Jesus shed for us with that true reverence to approach unto him with a rightful spirit and in this spirit we come to this time of holy communion of holy communion communion