Sunday, August 23, 2020

Jesus Worshiped (Jesus Habits Series)

We are currently studying Jesus habits.  Jesus had no bad habits.  He lived a perfect life.  If we could all copy the good habits of Jesus, the world would be a much better place. Can you think of bad habits in your life?  We all have good and bad habits.  Our habits can make us or break us.  Your habits determine the direction of your life.  When we live like Jesus, it changes everything.  When we live like Jesus, it is called Christ-likeness.  Jesus worshiped.

Jesus worshiped.  We should worship like Jesus.
Jesus worshiped.  We should worship like Jesus.

 The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon.  You are invited to watch, listen, and worship with us here.


If you are a Christ follower, then Jesus lives in you.  

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. - Galatians 2:20

If you have given your life to Christ, He has given Himself to you.

The one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked. - 1 John 2:6

We should live as Jesus did.  His habits should be our habits.

Jesus Worshiped

Worship is an expression, an experience, an encounter with God. When we worship, we are glorifying God.  We were created to glorify God.  Jesus glorified God.  Jesus worshiped every day of His life.  Worship was a lifestyle of Jesus.  Worship in the life of Jesus was both private and public.

1.  The Worship Habit of Jesus

Jesus grew up in a home where worship was a priority.

And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. - Luke 2:22

His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast. - Luke 2:41-42

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people. - Luke 2:52

Luke 2:52, Jesus grew.
This Luke 2:52 wall decal is available here.

 

Your kids will never prioritize what you marginalize.  Make worship a priority for your family every Sunday. - Pastor Paul Purvis

Jesus began His ministry by attending a worship service.

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. - Luke 4:16

Jesus worshiped every day.

At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me. - Matthew 26:55

Jesus was passionate about worship.

His disciples remembered that it was written: “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” - John 2:17

Jesus' Passion in Worship:

Jesus sang worship songs.

And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. - Mark 14:26

Jesus loved to see children participate in worship.

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, 16 and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”- Matthew 21:15-16

Jesus loved to see people fed from the Word. 

And yet they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said. - Luke 19:48

And all the people would get up very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him. - Luke 21:38

Jesus was passionate about giving as an act of worship.

And Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. - Mark 12:41

Jesus' Promise About Worship

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. - Matthew 18:20
Where two or three are gathered . . . Matthew 18:20
This wall decal is available here.

 

Worship is Powerful!

2.  What does the habit of worship look like in our lives?

Everybody worships.  The question is not about whether or not we worship.  The question is about what we worship.  Worshiping wrongly results in emptiness and misery.

"Without Worship, we go about miserable."  - A.W. Tozer


True worship is not a place.

 God's Word tells us about the place of worship in our lives when it comes to priority.

Not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. - Hebrews 10:25

True worship is not about us.

We cannot make worship about ourselves.  Worship is not about our feelings, but about whether or not God is honored.  It is about whether or not our hearts are right so that God can be honored by us.

"Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves, and attend to the presence of God." - Eugene Peterson 


True worship has requirements.

As the priests entered the house of God, there was a procedure as they entered the presence of God.  They didn't just show up and automatically worship.

Now even the first covenant had regulations for divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. - Hebrews 9:1

Read more about the detailed procedure for worship described in Hebrews 9 here at Bible Gateway

In Old Testament times, people who entered into the worship area (before the Holy of Holies), they came into the courtyard.  At the entrance was a brazen altar.  On the brazen alter, sacrifices were offered non stop.  It probably smelled horrible but it was a reminder to the people of their sins.  The symbolism of this tabernacle sacrifice points to Jesus in the future.  This carries over into the New Testament.

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. - Romans 12:1

Worship begins when we yield ourselves to God and give Him everything.

Back in the courtyard of the tabernacle, there was a piece of furniture called a laver.  The laver was a huge bowl of water.  The priest was to wash his hands and feet before he went any further into the presence of God.  We are talking about cleansing.  Dirty hands and feet (dirty hearts) are a contradiction to true worship. 

This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me. - Matthew 15:8

In this condition,  our joy is gone.  Our focus is gone.  God is not honored.

Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name. - Hebrews 13:15 (Now we are ready to worship.)

What does it look like to continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God?

It is praise, thanksgiving, singing.  It is the Word of God.  It is prayer, giving, and serving.  Worship is also nourishing, strengthening, healing, refreshing, and contagious. 

Worship is costly.

Worship cannot happen inside the church unless it first begins outside the church.

True worship is what God is seeking.

Worship is a matter of the heart.  It is about a truthful heart and an humble spirit - a repentant sinner abandoning all hypocrisy.   

Read the story about the woman at the well in the gospel of John, chapter 4.  The first person Jesus revealed Himself to as the Messiah in the book of John was a failed, despised woman who knew nothing but failure.  Jesus tells this woman that He is looking for people like her to worship Him.

God is looking for people YOU to worship Him.  

The best worshipers come with their brokenness, scars, failures . . . and God opens His heart to them.  Their hearts are forever changed.  

God is searching for true worshipers.  Being a true worshiper is a daily habit, just like Jesus.  


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Jesus Worshiped.  Jesus Habits.  We should worship like Jesus.
Jesus worshiped. We should worship like Jesus (Jesus Habits)

 

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