More Than A Song, Part 1
Series: More Than A Song
Sermon: An Invitation To Worship
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Tom Van Kempen
TIn this week's message, Pastor Tom dives into Psalm 95 and what it truly means to worship God. Worship isn't just singing or attending church services; it's an act of reverent love and allegiance to God. Many of us may end up worshiping material things or even ourselves, but true worship is about focusing on God’s presence and lifting Him up as the highest priority in our lives. Pastor Tom reminds us that worship starts with obedience and repentance and invites us to encounter God's presence daily through worship, gratitude, and putting Him first. Together, let's enter His presence with thanksgiving and songs, not just partaking in rituals, but truly placing God at the center of our lives.
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
Introduction to Worship
Worship is often associated with singing and music, but its significance transcends these elements. Worship is a profound act of reverence and love towards a deity, as defined by dictionaries, conveying both awe and allegiance. In a modern world where many view worship as insignificant or superstitious, it is crucial to recognize that everyone, by nature, is designed to worship something. Romans 1:25 highlights that the human tendency often leads to the worship of created things rather than the Creator.
The Essence of True Worship
True worship cannot be confined to a time or a type of music. It is essential to understand that worship is inherently tied to our daily lives. Many people engage in idol worship, which often manifests through materialism, self-interest, or the adoration of others. The gravest form of idolatry in today's society is the worship of ourselves. This self-centered worship distracts us from our true purpose and relationship with God.
Diving Into Psalm 95
The heart of worship is articulated beautifully in Psalm 95, which serves as a call to worship and obedience. The psalm emphasizes the importance of engaging with God through singing, thanksgiving, and obedience. It suggests that true worship involves recognizing God's presence and glory. The psalmist invites us to come into God’s presence, shouting for joy and thanksgiving, which are vital keys to experiencing God’s nearness.
Entering God's Presence Through Worship
Psalm 95 illustrates that worship is more than mere singing; it is a heartfelt exchange with God. As we express gratitude, we acknowledge God's grace in our lives, which in turn acknowledges our reliance on Him. Our emotional responses to various life situations—such as frustration in traffic—highlight our choices in focusing on God's blessings instead of our challenges.
The Role of Thanksgiving in Worship
Thanksgiving is central to worship. As found in Psalm 100, we are encouraged to enter with a heart of gratitude. Gratitude reframes our focus, allowing us to see situations from God's perspective. It is not happiness that makes us grateful but rather our gratefulness that cultivates true happiness. Recognizing God’s grace propels us into a posture of ongoing thanksgiving and worship, influencing our lives profoundly.
The Importance of Bowing In Worship
Worship is fundamentally an act of bowing and surrendering ourselves before God. In Psalm 95, the repetition of bowing reinforces its significance. Bowing symbolizes humility and the recognition of God as the Creator and King. True worship leads us to reflect on our lives, acknowledging areas where we may have fallen short and calls for repentance—turning towards God with sincerity.
Overcoming Barriers to Worship
Sin creates barriers to experiencing God’s presence. Just like Adam and Eve hid from God after disobeying Him, we too can find ourselves distancing from God due to our sins. It is through repentance that we can restore our relationship with Him and invite His presence back into our lives. The story of David illustrates the need for humility and turning back to God after transgression, emphasizing the link between repentance and true worship.
The Power of Community in Worship
Corporate worship enhances our personal experiences with God. Enthusiasm in worship can invigorate our spirits just as cheering for a sports team energizes players. Creating an atmosphere of worship draws us into a deeper communion with God and enables us to experience His power collectively.
The Worthiness of God
Worship hinges on recognizing God’s worthiness. Psalm 95 expresses that God is the great King above all gods, worth our worship and praise. This understanding reshapes our values—our time, resources, and focus should align with the reality of God's greatness. Worship isn’t just an act of singing; it’s the lifestyle of aligning our lives towards God’s will.
Conclusion
Ultimately, every aspect of creation worships God. Humans, equipped with the unique ability to choose whom or what to worship, must wisely direct our devotion toward God. As we engage in worship, we dethrone the idols of our lives, allowing God to reign supreme in our hearts. The act of worship is not merely a religious ritual but a powerful acknowledgment of God's glory, design, and purpose in our lives. By embracing worship as integral to our daily existence, we invite His presence into every situation, cultivating a life marked by gratitude and devotion.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
What was your initial perception of worship before this sermon, and has it changed? If so, how?
Explore how Pastor Tom’s message might have reshaped your understanding of worship beyond just singing in church.
Why is worshipping God described as a key to experiencing His presence?
Reflect on personal experiences where worship allowed you to feel closer to God.
Pastor Tom mentioned idol worshipping in modern times. What are some 'idols' in your life, and how can you de-prioritize these?
Share practical steps to ensure God remains the center of your focus.
How does gratitude tie into worship, according to the sermon?
Discuss moments where a spirit of thanksgiving has brought you closer to God.
In what ways can we continue to worship God daily and not just on Sundays?
Consider actions or habits you can incorporate into your routine that promote ongoing worship.
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Historical Context of Psalm 95 and Romans 1:25
Psalm 95 is a liturgical temple hymn in the Book of Psalms, traditionally attributed to King David. It served as a call for the people of Israel to worship God, emphasizing His power and kingship. The temple was central to Jewish worship, symbolizing God's presence amongst His people. The psalmist invites the congregation to "come into His presence," which was a unique privilege for the Israelites whose worship was deeply intertwined with their spiritual and national identity.
During the Biblical era, worship was often conducted through sacrifices, singing, and other rituals—with constant reminders to honor God with sincere hearts, not just external expressions. Worship was both an individual and communal practice essential for Israel's relationship with God.
Romans 1:25 was written by Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome, acting as a theological dialogue about faith and righteousness. It addresses the tendency of people to replace worship of the Creator with that of created things, a call back to understanding the doctrines of idolatry prevalent in the ancient Greek and Roman societies. Idolatry was a common theme throughout the Old and New Testament, warning against the temptation of valuing tangible items or ideals more than God.
Paul's passage speaks deeply to the transition from physical idols to more subtle forms, such as materialism and self-centeredness, urging believers to stay true to worshiping God above all else. This transition indicates a move from polytheism to monotheism and emphasizes an internal transformation rather than external adherence to religious doctrines.
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Introduction
Today, Pastor Tom talked about how worship is more than just singing songs. Worship is how we express our love and respect for God. He shared that worship can be found in our thankfulness, our songs, and even in our actions! Let’s learn more about how we can worship God in our own lives.
Scripture - Psalm 95:1-2:
"Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms."Craft - Worship Colorful Praise Wheels
Materials Needed:
Paper plates
Markers or crayons
Scissors
Brads (paper fasteners)
Stickers or other decorative items
Instructions:
Take a paper plate and color it with your favorite colors.
Write words or draw pictures of things you are thankful for on the plate.
Cut out a small circle from another piece of paper and write "Praise God!" on it.
Make a hole in the center of the paper plate and the circle.
Attach the circle to the center of the plate using a brad so it can spin.
Decorate your plate with stickers.
Use your praise wheel to remind you of the things you can be thankful for when you sing!
Game - Worship Charades
Instructions:
Write down different ways we can worship God on pieces of paper (like singing, praying, dancing, helping others, etc.).
Put the papers in a bag or box.
Have each kid take turns picking a piece of paper and acting it out without speaking, while the others guess what they are doing.
After each turn, discuss how each action is a way of worshiping God.
Discussion Questions
What does worship mean to you?
Can you think of other ways to worship God besides singing?
How do you feel when you express gratitude to God?
Can you share a time when you felt close to God while worshiping?
Why do you think God wants us to worship Him?
Wrap Up - Prayer:
"Dear God, thank You for teaching us that worship is more than just songs. Thank You for all the ways we can express our love and gratitude to You. Help us to remember to worship You every day—not just at church. We love You and want to live in Your presence always. In Jesus' name, Amen."Let’s remember to worship God with our songs, our thankfulness, and our actions!
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Good morning. It's good to see you in the house of the Lord today. If you've got your Bibles, you can turn to Psalm 95. That's what we're going to be looking at, perusing through and taking stock of today. And before I get started, I do want to introduce my special guest.
With me this morning, my son and his wife are here with us from Phoenix, Arizona. Would you give them a round of applause?
I love being around my kids. It brings me great joy.
It wasn't always that case. But yeah, he was probably the best out of the four, so. And look, he's shaking his head, yes, of course it was me. No doubt about it. So we worship.
When I say that word, what comes to your mind?
Good, good. I mean, we just spent a little time singing. That might come to your mind. Some people think of a worship service, you know, from beginning to end, that which takes place at 8 o' clock here every Sunday morning and 10 o' clock am every Sunday morning. I heard about this little boy.
His name was Alex. He was seven years old and he was standing out in the lobby area of a church very similar to ours. And up on the wall they had a memorial plaque. And he was just kind of, kind of looking at the plaque and trying to figure out what it was. When the pastor came by, put his arm around his shoulder and said, alex, hey, how you doing?
What, what are you doing right now? And the boy said, I'm just trying to figure out what that is on the wall. And the pastor goes, oh, that thing? Yeah. He says that is a memorial plaque to honor those who died in service.
And all of a sudden the boy got horrified, this look on his face. And he goes, which one? The 8 o' clock or 10 o' clock?
I'm hoping our services don't scare people like that. We already talked about singing that's sometimes thought of as worship that. You know, that segment right before the preacher gets up and preaches or the announcements come on or whatever things people do in conjunction with the singing. It's usually the beginning part. Many people think that that is solely worship.
Some take it a step further and they believe that worship is dependent upon the tempo of the music. So they call the fast songs praise and the slow songs worship. But listen to me, Worship is more than a song. Who can say amen? It's way more than a song.
The dictionary actually defines worship this way. The reverent love and allegiance accorded to a deity. And what I love about that is it's. It communicates reverence, awe, even fear in the same sentence as love. And so there's something unique about worship that causes us to be a little afraid, yet simultaneously totally involved in this act, in this thing, in this gift that God has given us called worship.
Now, because of that dictionary definition where we're giving our allegiance and loving a deity, there's a lot of people in the modern world who actually believe that worship is silly and superstitious. But listen, if you don't worship God, you'll worship something else. I guarantee you that. Every human being was designed and created to worship. That's how we were made.
Romans, chapter 1, verse 25 puts it this way. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator. Now the modern man will say, that proves my point, Pastor. Romans was actually written 2000 years ago when people made little wooden idols and little stone carvings of Diana and Jupiter and Mercury and of those things. We don't worship things like that any longer.
Well, I agree there's not much physical idol worship, but there's still idol worship. We've moved beyond carved images and now we worship our cars. We worship our stuff. It's called materialism. We worship money.
And the Bible says you can't love or see both God and money. Who can say amen? I saw an ad in the paper a few years back and it was a full page Porsche ad. And it said, purchase your pre worshiped car today. I was like, whoa, they're tapping into the truth right there.
Some people will say they're just joking, but they're not. I mean, again, you might have a beautiful car, okay? But some guys I know love their cars even more than their wives. I mean, the way they primp and the way they polish and the way they buff that thing out. If they treat their wives like that, they'd never get a divorce.
Amen. And how much more should we worship God? That's what the scripture tells us. How many have ever watched the program American Idol? You might say, pastor, that's just terminology.
They don't mean that. Really? Aren't there something called groupies all over America. And they chase after sports stars and actors and singers from one city to another city. The worship of people has never been greater than it is today.
I know moms and dads who worship their children because the entire world revolves around their kids. That is idol worship. No different from worshiping Zeus or Diana. Who can say amen? We need to be able to identify worship for what it is.
But the greatest idol in the world today, especially in Western culture, is the worship of ourselves. It's the worship of what we want. It's the worship of our preferences. It's the worship of the things that we think are the most important. It's the worship of our own identities.
Listen, listen. That is worship just like anything else. And eons ago, Satan himself convinced Adam and Eve that if they would just disobey God, they wouldn't die, but they would become gods. That is the offer of Satan. Still today, we cannot believe him.
In Jesus name, who can say amen? Don't fall for the devil's lies. That's what he is. So today we begin a brand new series called More Than a Song. And we're going to Psalm 95.
And it's a call to worship and obedience. That's what it says in the title of this particular psalm. A call to worship and. And obedience. Because you can't have one without the other.
Does that make sense? If you're a worshiper, you have to obey God because as a worshiper, you put him on the throne of your life. As a worshiper, he's the most important thing. And so Psalm chapter 95, we're gonna get it up here on the big screen here, and we're gonna open up to the first couple of verses. And this is what it says.
Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let before his presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to him with psalms. And then I'm going to skip over to number six. Oh, I can't skip over to number six yet.
There we go. Skip over number six. Oh, come. So three different times you get this, this challenge to come into literally the presence of God. So God is offering you.
The psalmist is offering you an opportunity to come into his presence. Literally. This word right here, presence, it literally means God's face. And I know we can't see God's face because God doesn't have a body like ours, but the idea here is that you can literally sense God. You can connect with God.
You can feel when he's in the room. And when he's not in the room, you get a sense that he's real. And his, his glory has a weight to it that can literally come down on us. And it can anoint the, the congregation and the pastor to preach the word. And the way that happens is when we, when we entertain this presence of his through our singing, through our thanksgiving, through our worship.
But there's one thing you need to know. This is the key. Worship is the key to experiencing the presence of. And so he begins by saying, first of all, let's sing some songs. This is why we spend 20, 30 minutes singing before we begin preaching.
Because we believe this is one of the fundamental ways of encountering God's presence, of welcoming it. Here. He welcomes us into his presence. We're welcoming him into our presence. I heard a story about this little four year old girl, her name was Delani.
And she went to church with her family every Sunday. And one day her grandma came for the weekend and she wanted to go to church with them. So there was like seven of them. They're all sitting in a row, and Grandma's on one end and Delaney's on the other end. And so during the adult service, Grandma was a little surprised that she was gonna be in there with the adults because she didn't think Delaney knew the words to any of the songs.
And so every now and then she'd look down there and in every song, Delaney is standing up, she is going for the gusto. She's singing at the top of her lungs, she's giving it her all. And. And Grandma was just stunned. She was surprised.
And so after service, they went out to lunch and, and Grandma commended Delaney. She said, delaney, I'm so proud of you. You were praising and worshiping God so great, I didn't even know you knew the songs. And she goes, oh, thank you, Grandma. I didn't know the words, so I just sang Jingle bells, jingle bells.
But you know what's interesting about that story is she entered into the spirit of worship. She didn't know the words, but it didn't matter to her because she sensed that there were people around her worshiping God and, and she wanted to be a part of it. And so she still entered in to praise and worship like only a child can. I'm here to tell you that God wants us to enter into praise and worship with the same childlike innocence. Who can say amen?
But worship is still more than singing. Worship is thanksgiving offered to God. This is another aspect of, of it. And that's why this scripture says, let us come before his presence with Thanksgiving. It's an echo from Psalm 100.
Or maybe Psalm 100 is actually an echo of Psalm 95. Because in Psalm 100, verse 4 it says, Enter his gates with Thanksgiving. We're supposed to enter his presence with Thanksgiving. I was really studying this this week and trying to figure out, God, what are you trying to communicate to us? And one of the things I came across was this quote.
It is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. I started thinking about that. Everybody's waiting for the right circumstances before they thank God. And since He's God, we're supposed to be thanking him in advance. Who can say Amen?
He is worthy of our thanks? Thanksgiving. I've noticed that gratitude oftentimes is nothing more than a matter of focus. There is always good and bad in everybody's life. But what we give our attention to has incredible power and influence to affect our moods, to affect everything about us.
Let me give you an example. So has anyone ever got caught behind some bad Traffic on the 301?
So you notice by the laughing, it's unanimous. Okay. And if you're a person who's lived here for a long time, it's probably gotten worse and worse and worse and worse. So here's the choice. Here's the dilemma we face.
When it's rush hour, it's between 3 and 5 o' clock and we going out there and we hit this, this traffic, we can frown, we can get frustrated, we can get angry, we can get upset for the rush hour traffic. Or we can be thankful that we are driving in an air conditioned car in the middle of a Florida sauna. I mean, summer. I'm sorry.
Oh, it is a sauna. Yeah. I mean, I walked to work the other day and I had to take a shower. By the time I got here, I was just sweating. At 8 o' clock in the morning, I was just pouring sweat because it felt like it was raining and there wasn't even a cloud in sight.
My point is we're on our way to the supermarket which is fully stocked with all the food that we want and all the drinks that we enjoy. And every week there's enough food and enough to toilet paper to take care of our families, who can say amen. But we get frustrated by the traffic instead. Listen, it's a choice, it's a dilemma to worship God and be thankful in every moment of every day. I also noticed that the word gratitude and the word grace start with the same three letters.
And you might say, no big deal. Well, I knew there was a big deal here, okay? So I looked up the root of the word gratitude and found out that it comes from the Latin word gratis. So does anybody know what gratis means? Free.
Somebody said it. Yeah. Gratis means free. And when you go back far enough all the way to Italy, it comes from this idea of favor. Well, grace is also from the Latin word gratis.
I didn't know that. But the idea, theologically speaking, is that when God shares his grace with you, that you're getting something that you don't deserve. It's unmerited favor. And so it dawned on me. I'm starting to get this.
Gratitude is simply. Listen. Recognizing all the grace of God in our lives. It's everywhere. Recognizing the amazing blessings that we have through Jesus Christ and focusing on them rather than the negative of life, who can say amen?
Just a warning here. 35 years ago, when I first started studying the subject of human psychology, I read that man has a negative bias, okay? And so what that means is, is that we're much greater influenced by negative things than positive things. And so back then, the ratio was you needed four compliments for every one criticism just to maintain the status quo as a natural human being. We as Christians, we're supernatural, who can say amen?
Okay, so we don't have to live by these statistics, but today the number is now 10 to 1. In other words, we have become less strong as a society. Our mental state has become 250% less powerful because we need now we need 10 compliments for every one criticism. I'm here to tell you you're probably not going to get it, so you're gonna have to find it in the blessings of God who can say amen. And they are available.
They are there, I guarantee it, in Jesus name. So singing is a worship key that opens up the presence of God. Thanksgiving is a worship key that opens up the presence of God. And I need to turn that off and go to the next verse. Oh, come, let us worship.
And bow down. Remember I showed you. This is in there three times. It's in verse one, it's in verse two, and now it's in verse six. And this word come also has this idea of walk.
So the idea is that you can literally walk in the presence of God that you can encounter him in. Not just on Sunday mornings during the worship service, not just Wednesday nights during the Bible study, not just in Sunday school. You can encounter God. You can walk with God every moment of every day. Have you ever thought about that?
I mean, I've pastored for over 30 years, okay? And sometimes I am walking purely in the flesh. And I don't mean that in a sinful way. I'm just going about my business. I'm just doing my own thing.
I'm just driving down the road, going out to eat. I'm just reading a book, not even aware that God's presence is available to me every moment I can reach him, talk to him, find him. But here's one of the things we really, really need to understand, that when we come to him and walk with him, the scripture says, let us worship. Say worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
So I looked up this word worship, and it means to bow down. So when you're looking at the scripture, it says, let us bow down and bow down and bow down. These two words here also mean praise or worship. So what it's really saying is let us worship and worship and worship. And the key is bowing down.
So this is verse 6 in an 11 verse Psalm. So there's 5 before it and 5 after it. The psalmist is trying to tell us that worship is the central part of your entire life. It is the priority. It is the most important thing.
If you get this right, everything flows from this. Who can say Amen and that bowing down is the first act of worship. What do I mean? Well, watch this. In Genesis, chapter three, verse eight, the scripture says, and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
So walking with God was normal for Adam and Eve in the garden, that was just normal. That's what they did on a regular basis. They walked with God. But this day, something was different. The scripture says Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Who can tell me what changed? Sin. That's right. They sinned. They disobeyed God.
Remember at the very beginning, this is a call to worship and obedience. So disobedience or sin separates us from the presence of God. And so even today, continued sin still causes us not to experience the presence of God in its fullness. God has so much more for us, so much more potential, so much more purpose. And we miss out on it because we allow sin just to linger in our lives.
You guys familiar with the story of David? I'm sure David had an affair with Bathsheba one day and it went far beyond that. He then decided to kill her husband and conceal it and hide it. And a prophet showed up and exposed David for the hypocrite that he really was. And this is David's Response in Psalm 51.
Have mercy on me. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly. Wash me from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me, against you and you only. Have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Why, he answered it in the next verse. Do not cast away your presence from me. Are you hearing that?
Repentance. Repentance is always the first act of worship. It's always number one because we're walking a particular direction, God's over there. And repentance means to turn around and look God in the eye, say we're sorry we've sinned, we can't do this on our own, we need you. And to start walking this life with him who can say amen?
But it's not just a one time act, it's something that we repeat every day on a regular basis. The sin nature tries to rise back up and take authority and put itself back on the throne. And we have to say no again and again and again and again. Salvation is the reason the psalmist invites us to praise and worship God. His heart is overwhelmed singing, cannot contain his exuberance.
So he begins to shout that he's saved. He begins to have a heart expressing joy and worship. Who's ever gone to a professional basketball game, professional baseball game, football game? So have you noticed when the home team gets behind, they either over the intercom system or flash something that says make some noise. And then they have that music, you know, it's that crazy music that the crowd starts getting riled up.
This is what amazes me. I bet you 80% of the time or more, the home team starts making a comeback. The Indiana Pacers are the perfect example. They're down every game, they're down every series, and somehow they, they start making these, these comebacks. And it's typically at home when the crowd is going berserk and the crowd is egging them on and the Crowd is cheering them on.
And all of a sudden that. That noise, that excitement, that enthusiasm starts building in them. Do you understand that worship is your home court advantage? That when you enter into worship, all of the problems of the world start disappearing? Not literally, but they don't have that impact on you any longer.
Because you see your God high and lifted up and his train filling the temple. Who can say Amen?
And then it says, shout joyfully. This isn't just a I'm yelling. It's not a war cry. Even though some of the Hebrew words for shout are war cry, cry. It's shouting joyfully.
It's shouting from the heart. It's shouting because you really, really, really believe what's going on. It's because you really, really believe God is worthy. And then it's repeated in both verse one and in verse three, emphasizing the importance, but also challenging our commitment and our passion for God. How much do we love Him?
One of my favorite analogies that I bring up over and over and over again is if you have a fireplace in your house and you light the fire, how long does the fire burn?
How long? 2 hours, 4 hours? All night long? Something like that. But what happens eventually to the fire?
It goes out. Exactly. Did you know the natural tendency of fire is for it to go out? That's even the passion and the fire that you have for God. And if you don't tend the fire in praise and worship, the fire's gonna go out.
Praise and worship is the air, the oxygen, the wind that you need to keep that fire burning. The word of God is the kindling that you need to keep laying on the fire so that you have fuel sufficient for it to be burned up over and over and over again. And that's what God is trying to communicate here in these next verses. He says, the reason you're doing this for because God is worthy, who can say Amen? He's worthy because he's the great God.
He's worthy because he's the great king above all gods. He's worthy because everything's in his hands. He's worthy because he's your shepherd. He's worthy because he's your Savior. He's worthy because he's your maker.
And all of the other things that are found in 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. These are just a couple of verses, but they begin to help me understand what Paul was thinking In Romans, chapter 12, verse 1, when he says, therefore, brothers, in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing To God. This is your reasonable act of worship. Or as the NIV says, this is your true and proper worship. That's the reason that's given in verse three.
God is worthy. God is the only person, the only being, the only entity, the only God, the only thing worth worshiping. Our English word for worship comes with this idea of worth it. It's what we assign value to the thing that is most desirous in our life, the thing that is most beautiful in our life, the thing that we hunger for the most and yearn for the most, that is the thing, the person that we worship. So worship's all about values.
And he shows this in verse three. For the Lord is the great God and the great King above all gods. In other words, God is the greatest of all time. God's the goat. Greatest of all time.
Let me ask you right now, who's the greatest basketball player that ever lived? Michael Jordan. LeBron James. I heard Wilt Chamberlain, man. Yeah.
Has anybody ever seen those old Wilt Chamberlain videos? I mean, did you know, one season they didn't count blocks back then. One season they believe he averaged 20 blocks a game. Did anybody hear that? If you're a basketball fan, your jaw probably just hit the bottom.
Because the best anyone does now is four blocks a game or something like that. He averaged. I watched him go up against Kareem Abdul Jabbar, which people think is one of the best ever. He blocked him like, three consecutive times in one possession. Kareem with a skyhook got blocked.
Skyhook got blocked. Skyhook got blocked again. An amazing athlete. I'm probably with the Wilt Chamberlain group because everyone else is too young to probably know who that is. Anyway, who's the greatest boxer of all time?
Larry Holmes? Mike Tyson. Muhammad Ali. Let me tell you a story about Muhammad Ali. He was on an airplane one time and he wouldn't put on his seat belt.
And they're getting ready for takeoff and taxiing and all that stuff. And the flight attendant comes up to him and says, sir, you need to put on your seat belt. And he goes, superman don't need no seat belt. And. And she looks at him and she does it right back at him.
Superman don't need no airplane either.
Put on your seatbelt. And so I think she won that argument, just so you know. But there have been a lot of great boxers. But listen, there's not been a lot of great gods. There's only been one.
And he's our God, and he is the king above all other Gods, what a beautiful name it is, says it this way. You have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever God you reign. Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all names.
What a powerful name it is. What a powerful name it is the name of Jesus Christ, my king. What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against What a powerful name it is the name of Jesus. Jesus.
Give yourselves a hand there. Thank you so much.
He's got no rival. He's got no equal. No one even comes close. It's not a matter of he's number one and someone's number two. There's not even a number two.
There's not even a number three. It's. He's the only one. No one is in his league. He's the only in God league.
The rest of us are in elementary school. It is beyond our comprehension who it is we serve. That's why he is the king of kings. And when we worship him, we literally put him on the throne. Not because we have any power over him, but because he honors our worship.
He's like, wow. Did you know the Bible says God's seeking worshipers? He's looking for them. Why? Because he wants to show up on your behalf.
He wants to come down and sit and be enthroned in your midst. It's not about some formula. Just so you know. Isaiah 29:13 says this. These people show respect to me with their mouth.
They honor me with their lips. But their heart is far from me. Their worship of me is worth nothing. And they teach rules that men have made. Their worship was all form and no substance at all.
It was all ritual and rules and no relationship at all. God doesn't want robots, and he doesn't want Pharisees who can say amen. Robots just do it because they've always done it. Pharisees do it because they figured it all out themselves. And they're gonna tell you how it has to be done.
We don't need either of those two groups. That's why Jesus says, you must worship in spirit and in truth. You must worship him with your hearts according to the truth in God's word. Then worship him enthroned. Psalm 22:3.
But you are wholly enthroned in the praises of Israel. And the opposite is also true. When you enthrone God, you dethrone idols. Who can say amen? So when you truly worship God, you start overthrowing all the false gods that we have a tendency of elevating in our lives.
I Think it's first Peter that says, throw up a holy hand with no grumbling or fighting. Okay? So those are two opposites. You can either do this or you can do this. This is what God is asking you to do.
When you give in the offering plate, you dethrone the spirit of mammon and greed. When you make a loud noise or do a little dance or raise your hands and you're a little embarrassed, you're dethroning your own pride. And that needs to be done again and again and again. Why? Because he's also the creator of the universe.
And I'm going to end with this one. I've got a bunch more. I actually cut this message in half and I haven't even finished the first half.
So number three is he's your creator. Amen. So on Friday, Robin and I drove to the Orlando airport and we picked up our son and his beautiful wife at about 6:30 in the morning. And we had this great plan. The plan was, let's just go straight to Universal Studios.
And so that's what we did. By the time we picked them up, it was seven or something like that. We got to Universal, they had some breakfast places open. So we ate breakfast and then we walked on into the park. And.
And to be honest, I always marvel at some of the things that I see. No play on words there, just so you know. Okay. But I marvel at the engineering feats of some of those roller coasters. Because I remember, I mean, I went to Disneyland back in the 1960s, okay.
And I think the train was the most exciting thing back in the 1960s, but. And now you're going forwards and backwards and down and up and corkscrews and just the engineering feats are amazing. And then I started watching some of the technological genius and how they have this movies and these videos working in tandem with your car going through like the King Kong area or something like that. And then just the way traffic flows throughout the park, it's like they know how to funnel you in just the right directions. And they know how to.
They know how to make those Cinnabons or whatever it is they make so that it wafts through the air and you start smelling it and you're hungry. I don't know how it is, but I can eat 2,000 calories during a normal day when I'm at the park at 6,000 calories, calories. And I'm still always hungry the whole day. So. They're geniuses.
That's what they are, creative geniuses. What I wasn't prepared for was coming home with my sleeping son and daughter in law in the backseat because they missed the entire God phenomena that Robin and I got to enjoy. If anybody saw the sunset on Friday night, it was one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen in my entire life. We're driving back and you know, it's periodically raining and different things like that. So.
So there's fog in the air, there's mist in the air, there's clouds in the air. And we come up over this hill and we crest the hill. And the sun in its fullness is right there at the, at the base of the horizon. There's still a little bit of land underneath and it's this big around. And you can look directly at it.
Maybe you shouldn't, but I'm looking at it because it just mesmerized me. It was pink and orange and yellow, and yet there were clouds and rain and fog all covering itself simultaneously. I had never seen a scene like that in my entire life. And then I realized, God does this every single night. God does this every single morning.
He does this in every city and every state and every country of the world again and again and again and again. And sometimes I take it for granted. And I'm sitting there thinking I can't take this for granted. And the reason I can't take it for granted is because our sun is the only sun out of 200 billion trillion stars that sustains life. It's it.
If you believe in UFOs. I'm sorry, I am. You might say, well, Pastor, how do you explain all that stuff? Well, I explain it by a government I don't trust.
How's that? I'm just letting you know they've been playing games out in the skies and outer space for decades and we think it's UFOs. Guys, that's impossible. I could give you 50 logical reasons why it's impossible, but if you believe in UFOs, you're going to believe in UFOs. But my belief is in a God who designed the universe, and this is the way it is, okay?
I mean, do you understand that the world spins at approximately 1,000 miles per hour? You change that spin, that rotation by 1%, life no longer exists on our planet. It jettisons around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour. You change it by 1%, life no longer exists. The sun is approximately 93 million miles away.
If it comes just a little bit closer, it gets too hot. If it moves a little bit further away, it gets too cold. Life no longer exist. God designed this universe. With you in mind, who can say Amen?
So Friday night I got to do what Psalm 148 says. Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him all you twinkling stars. Praise him, skies above. And I got to join in with the worship of the universe.
Who can say Amen? Do you understand, church, that everything worships God except for people? Every animal worships God. Every tree lifts up its limbs to God. The universe is designed to glorify and amplify his worth.
His worth. We're the only ones who get to choose. So as this team sings this next song, I'm going to ask you to stand with us and sing this song with all your heart.
