It's Not Where You Worship It's The One You Worship

This is the manuscript for the sermon preached at Christ Church Los Angeles January 21, 2024. This is the third sermon in the series on worship based on Psalms‬ ‭95:6‬ ‭NKJV‬ [6] Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

The chief end of man is to worship God and to enjoy him forever. Genuine worship is a dynamic experience that brings about dramatic changes in the life of the worshiper. We need to improve the quality of both our public worship and our private worship activities.

It's not where you worship, how you worship, or when you worship it’s who you worship. We are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but our blessings are not determined by the place we worship. Our blessings are determined by who we worship. Our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit so everywhere you are is Holy Ground.

Scripture Reading: 

Matthew 23:16-22 (NKJV)16  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'17  Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?18  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'19  Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?20  Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.21  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.22  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

Introduction

The chief end of man is to worship God and to enjoy him forever. Genuine worship is a dynamic experience that brings about dramatic changes in the life of the worshiper. We need to improve the quality of both our public worship and our private worship activities. That’s why I started this year with a series of sermons based on 

‭Psalms‬ ‭95:6‬ ‭NKJV‬ [6] Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

We often hear people saying come to my church to be blessed; you can really get blessed if you come to my church; come to my church and get healed; come to my church and you will prosper; come to my church;  God does things in my church that He doesn't do in others so come to my church because we are a special place, my church is Holy Ground.  I have at one time or another said most if not all of those things. When most of the people who say those things say them what they are really saying is that my church is special, my pastor is special, my choir is special. 

Now we should think that the place where we worship is great because of the love of the members for each other.  We should think that the place we worship is great because the word when preached is what we need in order to live and function in a fallen world. Yes we should think our church is great but not special.  

It's not where you worship, how you worship, or when you worship it’s who you worship.  We are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together,  but  our blessings are not determined by the place we worship.   Our blessings are determined by who we worship.   Our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit so every where you are is Holy Ground.

There is a song “We are Standing on Holy Ground” often sung during praise and worship at a lot of churches. The church is holy ground because those filled with the Holy Spirit are standing or sitting there. 

One time Jesus had a conversation with the Pharisees about the place and the trappings of the place they considered Holy Ground.  

We read some  of conversation today in our scripture Matthew 23:16-22 (NKJV)

I'm going to take two verses for my text today

Matthew 23:21-2221  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.22  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

For us this means that the place where we worship, or the one that teaches us, or lays hands on us while important in the kingdom of God are not as important as God.  It is God who blesses through the gifts that He has placed in the Church .  

Let’s first look at a definition for worship; it’s “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity”.  To Worship then, is to show reverence and adoration for (a deity); to honor them with religious rites.  Of course the deity we are talking about is God.

We worship when we come into God’s presence. God’s presence makes us who we are. His presence sets us apart from others. And every time we draw near to Him, He draws near to us.

I said last week that God seeks people. In other words, when we come privately or when we come together in our worship together, God is waiting, eager to meet us! He is seeking us in order to enter into the worship experience with us.

John‬ ‭4:23‭ NIV‬ [23] Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 

We don’t have to be in a church or any specific place to feel God’s presence and worship Him.  

Psalm 139 says that God's presence can be wherever we are.

Psalms 139:1-10 NKJV O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord , You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If  I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

We know that God isn’t confined to a church building or only available at certain times of day. So we don’t have to wait until we come to church or a certain time of day to worship Him.  We don’t even have to wait until we feel spiritual. There is no where we can go, no situation, no challenge, no relationship, no conversation where God isn’t present. 

We all remember the story of the conversation that Jesus had with the woman at a well in Samaria which was recorded in John chapter 4.  We talked about it last week.  Remember that Jesus told her that a day was coming when it didn’t matter WHERE a person worshiped God.  What mattered was HOW they worshiped Him. He said they must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

  

John 4:23-24 (NKJV) 23  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Sometimes people walk out of church saying things like, “I didn’t really like the songs today,” or “I just wasn’t really feeling worship today,” It kinda took me out of it.”  Pastor wasn’t on it today that sermon was flat.  The Spirit wasn’t here today.  

Here’s a little secret; worship isn’t about you anyway.   It’s about carving out time in our busy lives and responding to who God is and what He’s done for us. It’s about a deep, inner spirit response.  Worship doesn’t always mean singing at the top of your lungs, or dancing or shouting. It’s about just entering into His presence and your response to that.

God doesn’t require some kind of perfect, complicated worship act. He just wants it to be authentic and genuine.

Here’s what the Bible, God's Word says that God wants in worship.  

Isaiah 1:17-18 (NKJV)17  Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.18  "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 

Hosea 6:6 (NKJV)  For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 

Micah 6:8 (NKJV)  He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 

In other words we are to be completely devoted to him and compassionate toward others, not just giving lip service and empty sacrifices. God wants people to actually know him, not just know about him while, at the same time, ignoring what God considers important which is obedience and love. Living a life of obedience and love is what worship is.  It’s not just going through the motions: outwardly sacrificing and saying the right things, yet inwardly remaining far from God.

We should be so tuned into God that we’re feeling His presence in our lives in big and small ways.  It’s about who He is, what He does, and our response to those things. Worship isn’t about us. It’s about Him.

True worship must be “in spirit,” engaging the whole heart which is the source of our emotions.   Unless there’s a real passion for God, there is no worship in spirit. 

What did we say last week;

John‬ ‭4:24‬ ‭NIV‬ [23] Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

What do we mean when we say that “God is a spirit”? Is he a vague, impersonal, exquisite being, indescribable to man? Not at all! Rather, because he is Spirit, he is free; he is not confined to any one place or time. 

God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.                   

                  

Because God is spirit, his omnipresence makes it possible for me to worship him anytime anywhere. In the privacy of my room, I can worship God; in the midst of the mundane affairs of the everyday world, I can worship God. I can anticipate the blessed privilege of assembling together with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  

At the same time, worship must be “in truth,”.  We have to know who we are worshiping.  Unless we have knowledge of the God we worship, there is no worship in truth. Jesus said that the truth makes us free.  

Something else we said last week was that Jesus prayed for us and said

John‬ ‭17:17‬ ‭NIV‬ [17] Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 

You cannot read God’s Word properly without having a worship experience every time you do. God’s Word, which is the truth of God, is our compass. It keeps both the individual Christian and the church.  

Passion and knowledge are both necessary for God-honoring worship. Spirit without truth leads to a shallow, overly emotional experience.   As soon as the emotion is over, so is the worship. 

On the other hand truth without spirit can result in a dry, passionless encounter that can easily lead to a form of joyless legalism. The best combination of both aspects of worship, spirit and truth, result in a joyous appreciation of God. The more we know about God, the more we appreciate Him. The more we appreciate Him, the deeper our worship. The deeper our worship, the more God is glorified.

Let's pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for this time that we have spent together learning more about you and worshiping your name. As we leave this place today, may we be committed to worshiping and serving you in our daily lives.