In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of speaking and praising God. He encourages the congregation to declare God's doings among the people and exalt His name through worship. The speaker shares a personal story of delivering a message to a couple who had lost their children, and how their response was to bless the name of the Lord. He also discusses the nature of true worship, highlighting the need for genuine devotion to God. The sermon concludes with the reminder that God longs for our worship and calls on the congregation to worship Him for what He has done and where He has brought them.

Matthew chapter 2, verse 2, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east, and we are come to what? Worship him. Verse 8, And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, this is Herod talking, when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. One was a group of men wanting to worship in reality, and the other was a group that was going to worship in vain, right? One was a man interested in worshiping in vain. Well, what are we talking about? Simple this. Have you ever heard anybody say, I just worship the ground that person walks on? Ever heard anybody say that? I just worship the ground he walks on. Have you ever said that about someone? Invariably, if you have said it about someone, it's a sign of your respect and adoration, your loyalty, and maybe even your love for that person. You know, you worship the ground they walk on. It's almost too much. It becomes almost an idol of God. But in the sense of what you're really saying, that that person is so dear to you and means so much to you that you worship the ground they walk on. Wise men still are seeking to worship him, right? You say, is this a Christmas message? No, it's a love message. It's a love message. See, I'm simply saying, if you followed the theme all week, by the way, I've never preached this sermon before, I got it from midnight last night on all day today, so it's the first time. And God just said, here it is, on the end of this series, I'm leaving out, but I have more messages I wanted to get on this whole theme of loving the Lord with all your heart. But here it is. We choose to set our love on the Lord, and we choose to obey him and walk in his paths. And I forget the other messages in between as we come to this. But now, now we say, Lord Jesus, we start a pattern and we choose the pattern of worshiping you. Wise men still seek to worship God. And I believe the missing chord and the missing link in the evangelical church is the chord of worship. It's missing. We have worship services every Sunday morning. We do everything else but worship. You see, come for the regular worship service. Well, let me suggest, first of all, no worship service is regular. That's a misnomer. Because if it's worship, if there's a spontaneity about it, it can't be regular. Regular has the idea of a routine about it. I know what you mean. It's the hour that's regular. But God knows for too long it's been everything else that's been regular. You know, have you ever been in worship services, so-called worship services, that you could just watch the meeting going according to the bulletin, and you can watch it, and you can get your clock going with the bulletin right here, and you're going right down fine? And you know that you're not missing a link, and everything's going right on time. Somebody said the tragedy with most of our services is they start 11 o'clock sharp and end 12 o'clock dull. Well, I'm not jumping on you folks in your church. You don't do that. But I'm simply getting to a point. I'm not over-emphasizing you, perhaps, that we're talking about worship, and we do everything else but worship. You know what happened in our church in Mansfield? We don't make any announcements. I don't know, I forgot whether you do here or not, but we don't make any announcements in the Sunday morning so-called worship service. We don't make any announcements in the middle of the service. It's all done before we start, and we have five minutes of quiet. Approximately five minutes, where the organ is playing softly, and everyone is alone with God. Cargation of 600, 700 people. And there they are, just quieting their hearts. We've already had the announcements, got those details out of the way. The only thing we didn't do was the offering. Maybe they'll get to that, too, get it out of the way before, but we haven't done that. It's the only thing. But then we move on, and we have an hour and a half Sunday morning service. About an hour and twenty minutes. We have time for prayer, and we have time for praise, and we have missionary tidings every Sunday morning, and the preachers preach forty-five minutes every Sunday morning. We hear God, we hear God's Word, we have time. What a marvelous thing. Nobody's in a rush. We take time to get it all in, to hear from heaven. And there's still things there that, to my feeling, I think could even be otherwise, but I'm simply saying, least. It's a start in the right direction. It's trying to preserve something that we've lost. But my brothers and sisters, I'm talking about something far more than the mechanics. I'm talking about more than the mechanics. Because you could even change the mechanics of what I'm talking about, if we don't have the heart of worship, it'll fall flat on its face. I'm getting at something far more basic than just the service. What is it? I'm simply saying that we are commanded to worship God, and worship before the Lord thy God. The Lord shall you fear, the Lord shall you fear, Him shall you worship. It's a command. You could read Psalm 22, what verses? He is thy God, worship thou Him. A command. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. From one moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me. That's the command. Men shall worship Him, every one. Nations, come worship before Him. Let every thing that hath breath, except the people who go unto the own sound while it's first, praise the Lord. Let every thing that hath breath, what? Praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Now I want you to turn to Psalm 22, and look at that. Psalm 22. Tremendous words. Psalm 22. Verse 22. Twenty-two, twenty-two. Twenty-two, twenty-two. Psalmist David says, I will declare thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Where? In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Have you praised the Lord in the midst of the congregation? Ye that fear the Lord. Do you fear the Lord? Okay. Praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glorify Him, and fear Him. All ye that fear the Lord, praise Him. All ye that fear the Lord, glor You know what I mean. Everybody. Now look at verse 25. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation. I'm going to go on record that I praise the Lord. I didn't tell Gloria what to sing. You see what I mean, folks? That's my first time preaching this message. I just got it. I went all day working. I got done at 5.30, 6 o'clock tonight on it. Verse 24, for he hath, and verse 25, I will pay my vows before them that fear Him. Remember that message on paying the vows? Here it is coming through again. So I'm telling you, first of all, we are commanded to worship and praise God. Secondly, the men of the Bible are recorded as having worshiped God. I look through my concordance. If you have a big concordance, I have a little one. And if I'd have a bigger one, I don't know how long the list would be. One of the most interesting studies on this subject of worship. I went right through the concordance, my little concordance that I have with me on the road, and I went to see what it said about the men of the Bible in relation to worship. And you are amazed to see how many names are identified with the subject. David worshipped God. Jacob worshipped him on and on. Go right through it. You will be amazed. God thought so much of this subject of worship that God took the names of the great saints in the Bible. And it says Joseph worshipped him and David worshipped him and Jacob worshipped and worship worship. And I can't tell you how many names I was going to bring my concordance. And read it, but I'd never let it get done. And that's how what God thinks of it is a command of God. And I want to tell you, the men of the Bible obeyed the command. And God put them on record that they obeyed it. Thirdly, I want to talk about the necessity of this true worship. I'm talking about true worship, not just playing games. We're commanded to truly worship God. The men of the Bible truly worship God. But what's the necessity of this business of really worshipping God? What is it? First of all, I have three points. Two points of this basic points. They break down a little bit. Number one, we were created for it. You were created for it. And that's what you were made for. If you don't if you don't get into the slot, you're made for what good is life. You are created to worship God. It says these words in Psalm one hundred two, verse 18. This shall be written for the generation to come. This shall be written for the generation to come. God has put it down for the next generation not to miss it. Psalm one oh two, verse 18. Don't let the next generation miss it. What is it? The people which shall be created. In other words, those that are going to come along in the next generation, the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. Isn't that an interesting statement? Did you know it was in the Bible? This shall be written for the generation to come right ahead of time, so that when they get here, they'll know what they're here for and they'll know what it's all about. The people that shall be created shall praise the Lord. Want them to know what God says, what it's all about. Howard Hendricks said to the believer, worship is not a luxury. It's a life. Worship is not a luxury. It's a life. Some people think it's a luxury. There was a luxury. No, it's a life, he says. He says it's not an optional. It's an essential. It's an essential. It's not something reserved for a body of individuals who might engage in it. It's not just for those few people who want to really worship God. Well, if they want to go that way, let them go. No, he says it's not for just them, but it's not for those who just engage in it. And when they have the time and the concern, it is the Christian's highest occupation. It's the Christian's highest occupation to worship God. Interesting statement in John nine thirty eight where it says and he said, Lord, I believe now that was one of those men who came to Jesus and Jesus had to touch him or Jesus had to deliver him and he said, Lord, I believe it. So that's giving himself to Jesus. Lord, I believe that's getting saved. And we can put it in our modern day language. Lord, I believe, you know, the next thing he says, and he worshiped him. Isn't that interesting? He learned it right away. First, he came into the family of God and the next thing he did, he turned around and started worshiping John nine thirty eight. He learned it right away. Some of us learned it when we were first saved, but we've come a long way from it. I say it's a necessity to worship because you were created for it. Secondly, you cannot be complete without the sense of God in your life. And that's why it's a necessity to worship. You can't be complete without the sense of the presence of God in your life. You cannot be complete. Psalm twenty two, three, but thou art holy, O thou that inhabit this, the praises of Israel, O thou that inhabit this, the praises of Israel, thou inhabit this means he lives, thou art holy, O thou who lives or dwells in the praises of Israel. God dwells there. You know, there are not very many places in the Bible where it tells us God was. It's very interesting when you get on a subject. That the Bible says very little about and which just says in two or three places, you better pick up those ideas because God is saying this is an important point. And so that's why they are pulled out. And there are very few places where it talks about God's dwelling place. And here's one. God inhabits the praises of Israel, his people. He lives there. He feels at home there. He makes his abode there. He makes his dwelling there. Where's another place? Oh, you know that Isaiah fifty seven, fifteen, for thus at the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity. So the Bible tells me he lives in eternity. But that's not all. It says whose name is holy. There's a second time, Psalm twenty two, three. But thou art holy, O thou who inhabit this, the praise of his people. Again, the God who inhabits eternity, thou art holy, whose name is holy. So you have the picture of the holiness of God and was knowing something about his dwelling place, this holy God. Now he inhabits eternity. But he says, I dwell also the God who dwells in the high and holy place. I dwell with him also. Now I'm going to dwell with man. What kind of man? Man that is of a contrite and a humble spirit. I'm going to dwell with a man that is a humble and a contrite spirit. I'm going to revive the spirit of that humble man. And I'm going to revive the spirit of the contrite man. God says I dwell with a humble and a contrite. And if I could ever know a picture of a heart that is worshiping God, it's a picture of humility before God. A humble and a contrite heart is a heart that praises God and worships God and wants no credit or glory for himself. He's broken before God and throws himself totally. The very essence of worship. It's all in his God. Isaiah chapter twelve, look at it. What a chapter. Isaiah chapter twelve. I'm telling you that we need God to inhabit us. We need God's fellowship. We need his presence. We need his abiding and aboding in us. And we need it in our individual lives. We need it in the church. Isaiah twelve. Here's a picture of a Christian life, a normal Christian life. And in that day, thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee. See? Praising him. What's the praise all about? Though thou wast angry with me, we recognize the fact there was a day when God was angry with us. Thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. You see, we were on spanking terms with God. Now we're on speaking terms with him. Things have changed. Behold, Isaiah twelve. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. You see this praise? He also is become my salvation. Now, the first thing it says in verse two, it says he is my salvation. The last thing it says in verse two, it says he has become my salvation. What does it mean? Could it mean that he is my salvation? The first thing is when I become a Christian, I invite Jesus Christ to come in. He is my salvation. And the last part where it says he has become my salvation. Is that a daily salvation? He continues to save me. It's a continually being saved by the life of God. The God that inhabits me because I'm praising him. And so it's not a static experience. It's not just an entering in. It becomes a way of life. He is becoming and he has become my salvation. They're both the same verse. Therefore, you know, whenever you see, therefore, you ask what it's there for. Right. And then we have another therefore beautiful. And this is therefore with long faces. Shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation? But therefore, it was joy. Shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation? Now, wait a minute. When you got saved, you had to draw water. The wells of salvation to be saved. But now my Bible is telling me to go right back to the same wells of salvation and keep on drawing water out of those wells. You see, that means he is my salvation. He has become my salvation. It wasn't just a once and for all thing. But now he has become my salvation. I go right back to the same well and I keep drawing the refreshing of the waters of salvation with joy. What is going to happen because of the praise? Or something's on upstairs, you folks, I think we're hearing something on up there. Something's coming down. Are you hearing me? There's noise coming down from up there. We can hear it all the way down, OK? I don't know if it's the PA or what. All right. So with joy, with joy, we draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day, shall you say, praise the Lord? And we are praising again. Call upon his name. Declare his doings among the people. See, speak, speak, speak. Somehow God has burdened me this week with this message of speak, speak, speak. What's in you to let the redeemed of the Lord say so. And God is waiting for the people of this church to start praising him. And so people who are on the fringes and our young people and our children can hear the praise of God being uttered from the lips of his people. It has to happen, brothers and sisters. But it's biblical. See, drawing water with joy, the praise, the worship of God of the soul. Declare his doings among the people, tell people he's doing something among his people, make mention that his name is exalted, that's worship, exalting his name. Sing unto the Lord for he's done excellent things. This is known all the earth. Cry and out and shout. Thou inhabitant of Zion, we who live in Zion, God's people. Let's make it. Let's raise our voices and let it be known that we're praising God and giving him glory. Why? For great is the holy one. We're back to the holy one again. That's the third time we talk about the holy one tonight. And there it is. Great is the holy one of Israel. Where? In the midst of thee. Now he's with us. He's abiding with us. You see, he inhabits the praise of his people. And that's what needs to happen amongst God's people. God inhabits the praise of his people. And here God has come back to his people in the life that's free and rejoicing and praising God. Oh, my brothers and sisters, what kind of a congregation would you have if this church were filled Sunday after Sunday with people who have spent a week rejoicing and worshiping and praising God when you would meet together collectively? What kind of a sense of God? Great would be the holy one in the midst of thee. As the promise comes through to us. First Corinthians 3.6, it says the letter killeth, but it's the spirit that gives life. You know, we can have all the letter of the word preached and we can study the letter of the word, but it's the spirit that quickens and gives life. And the spirit is the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ, because it goes right on to say now the Lord is that spirit. See, the Lord inhabiting in his people, the Lord is that spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there is what? Liberty. And that's all we need. You see the bondage in the lives of the people. And we can have the letter of the law, we can preach the truth, we can we can exhort and we can coerce and we can admonish and we can have the letter all right down to the T, but the letter of the law alone kills. It's the spirit that's got to take that letter and quicken it and give life in the spirit. What is that? The Lord is that spirit. Well, how do we get the Lord here? God inhabits the praise of his people. Well, I want to tell you something that the desire of God. The obsession of God tonight is for my worship. He's obsessed with it, says in John 4.23, for the father seek it such to worship him. And that's another great truth. What is it? What are the things in the Bible go from one of the Bible to the other and see everything you can find that God is seeking? Find the things that God is seeking. Bible says, I think it's Isaiah 66. God says, for all those things have mine hand made and all and all of these things he's made, but he said to this man, will I look? This is the man I'm really looking at. So this man I'm seeking, who he that is a broken and a humble heart and trembles at my word, that's a heart that's worshiping God. And God says, that's where I'm looking. I'm not looking out there to see the beautiful Lake Louise in Banff. But that's the man I'm looking for. See, not my creation, but I'm looking for that kind of heart. That's something he's come to seek and to say that which was lost. But so many and not very many things that God is actually seeking. But here we have it so clearly depicted for the father's sake is such to worship him. What is it? That's at the end of the verse where it tells us about true worship. And for the father is seeking such he wants this to worship him. His heart is crying for worship. You remember in Luke, chapter 19, when the disciples were trying to shut up the people and the triumphal entries of Jerusalem, they said, oh, all of these Hosanna, King of the Jews, they're waving palm branches and the great trial entry and the disciples and people are trying to shut the house. Oh, don't don't upset Jesus. And Jesus said, wait a minute, wait a minute. You're off on base. You're way off. You're way off. What did Jesus say? Listen, if these people can sing my praises, even these stones will rise up to praise my name. But God wants praise. He wants the worship of his people. Samuel Chadwick said, it's interesting thing is that God nowhere in the Bible is seeking for your Bible study. Wow. Isn't that a statement? Study the Bible, study the Bible, study the Bible, study the Bible, shouldn't we? Yes. But could I suggest to you that it's an interesting thing that nowhere in the Bible does it say God is seeking your Bible study, but God is seeking for those who are continually worshiping him. I want to ask you something. Shouldn't you step up? Yes. I'll get to that in a few minutes. But could I suggest to you, I want to ask you, what do you do after you study the Bible? Does your Bible study lead you to worshiping God? Do you end a Bible study and close the book and you've had another discussion, another study and you fed your mind with more biblical concepts or has that Bible study led you to close that book and you could take you couldn't take any more? You were so full that underneath you had to go and praise and worship the God that you've been reading about. If not, my brothers and sisters, we can get wrapped up in the same old trap where the letter will kill. And we can have library of knowledge full in the head, but hearts so empty because God isn't seeking you to be just a Bible student, he's seeking that you worship him. Catherine Dubois said if God wanted Christians only in order that they could rush around working for him, a lot of people think you're a Christian just so they can work for you and God wants you a Christian. So he has another one to serve him. Said if God wanted Christians only in order that they could rush around working for him, he could have done better by creating robots, don't you think? Pretty good, isn't it? Why? They wouldn't make the many errors and rebel against him as we do. If they're robots, they had no opportunity to rebel. He could have done that to get his job done. But this was not the case. God didn't want robots. He wanted people who could be loved and who could respond to love. He wanted people to see him worthy of worship and to respond voluntarily to him with praise, love and adoration. That's why he made us. A.W. Pilsner, after an alliance man, you know, do you think what he say? God wants worshipers before he wants workers. Indeed, the only acceptable workers, says Dr. Tozer, the only acceptable workers are those who've learned the art of worship. It is inconceivable, says Dr. Tozer, that a sovereign God should be so hard up for workers that he would press into service anyone who has been had been empowered regardless of his moral qualifications. The very stones would praise him if need arose and a thousand lions of angels would leap to do his will if need arose. But don't think that God is interested in workers or worshipers. Nature. Oh, my brothers and sisters tonight. This has to come through to us. The nature of true worship to God. What is it? I want you to turn and see it. What do I mean by worshiping God? The nature of true worship. John, chapter four, John, chapter four. John, chapter four. John, chapter four, verse twenty three. But the hour cometh. The hour cometh. And now is right now we're arrived. Jesus said a way back there in John, chapter four, how much more it is to our day. Right. The hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the father in a lot of Bible knowledge in truth. In what? Oh, spirit and in truth, because the letter of the law kills, but it's the spirit that quickens and gives life spirit and truth, you need truth. But we need the spirit and truth for true worship, for that's what the father seeks to worship him in spirit as well as in truth. Why in spirit? Why? Because my Bible tells me God is a spirit. God is a spirit. And if I'm going to have fellowship with God, I've got to have a common ground in which I can communicate on the realm of God's very character. He is a spirit, God's very essence. And so I must worship him in spirit because God is a spirit. That's a common grounds of communication. A lot of Christians are trying to worship God with a bunch of truth, just truth, with truth, truth, truth, and they'll never make it. God wants spirit and truth. In a few minutes, I'll draw together the importance of the truth. But right now, the importance of spirit, not enough, just a library full in the head. Look at Philippians chapter three. I think Paul puts it so beautifully when he puts it in verse three, Philippians chapter three, verse three, one of the classic verses of the New Testament. Philippians three, verse three. For we are the circumcision, Philippians three, three, we are the circumcision. Which worship God, we worship God. What's the worshiping God all about? Worship God in the spirit. And here it doesn't even say truth. Worship God in the spirit. And when that spirit is worshiping God, you're worshiping him in the spirit. Look what it says. And you rejoice. Oh, excuse me. And you have long faces in Christ Jesus. And you endure Christ and you find Jesus Christ very boring company in the church, a penal institution that you have to attend every Sunday morning. No. And you rejoice in Christ Jesus. When you worship God in the spirit, there's going to be the joy of Christ. And then what? And have no confidence in the flesh. You know, it comes to me and I don't know if this is right or wrong, and if it is wrong, let me enjoy it now and tell me after I'm finished. But it came to me when I looked at this today in a new way that the person who really worships God in spirit, he's going to have a rejoicing in Jesus. Jesus is going to become real to him. But secondly, the essence of true worship is the fact that he wouldn't even begin to put any confidence in his flesh because he is worshiping God. And that worship says is all of you. Oh, God, I want you to know it's all of you. And I dare not even begin to trust my flesh. And it's the spirit of worship that pulls him away from wanting to begin to trust his flesh, put no confidence in the flesh. Most of us put a little confidence in the flesh, but he says none have no confidence in the flesh, never all our battles are lost in the flesh. I wonder if the significant point is worship, true worship. That brings the rejoicing of Jesus in the picture of the flesh. Well, the meaning of the word worship, what is it? It's really the word worth ship, W.R.T.H., worth ship. Better said, worth ship. That's in the meaning of the word worship. What is it? I tell God what he's worth. It's a recognition of the worth of the character of God. When I'm worshiping, I'm recognizing the worth of the character of God. Exalt you, the Lord, our God, and worship at his footstool for he is holy. Exalt the Lord, our God, and worship at his holy hill. You see here we're seeing the holy, the holy one of Israel. Now we're saying we worship at his footstool. We just get his footstool because he's holy. And then we exalt him. We lift him up and worship him at his holy hill. We recognize his hill is holy for the Lord. Our God is holy. How many times can you say it? We recognize the worth of his character. Oh, there's so many scriptures you could go through the Bible on that one. But secondly, it's the recognition of the rights and the works and the ways of God. That's worship. Worship is the recognition of the worth of the rights of God to my life and the worth of the ways of God and the works of God in my life or the works I see around me, recognition of the worth of those. And I verbalize that to God. Well, oh, come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker, recognizing him as the creator and the maker of all. In Habakkuk three, it says 17, although the fig tree shall not blossom, the farmer's having trouble, neither shall his fruit be in the vine. The labor of the olive shall fail. The field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold. Everything's happening, disaster. And there should be no herd in the stalls. There's disaster, isn't it? You think the man says yes, because all this is happening. Therefore, I shall go long faced all winter long. I shall be dragging at the heels all winter long. I'll be complaining and murmuring against God all winter long because I lost the fig trees and the fruit and I lost the labor of the olives and I lost the field and I lost the flock and there are no herd in the stalls. Yes, I'm going to grumble all winter long. No, yet will I rejoice in the Lord. I will join in the God of my salvation. I will join the God of my salvation. That's praise and that's worship. That's saying, oh, God, you have a right to your works and your ways and your rights. The fact is, no matter what happens, I'm not complaining. I never asked why I say yet I will rejoice. Lord, I recognize your rights, the worth of your rights to your ways and your works far beyond God's ways are higher than man's ways and his thoughts are higher than man's thoughts. And I want you to know, I stand right there with you. And that's worship, recognition of his ways and works. Well, what am I saying? No matter how bad the situation is, no matter what you go through, it's a response of praise to God in the midst of the terrible problem. Why? Because God still is God. And you want him to know that you recognize his works and his ways and his rights. That's worship. I remember when I was in Winkler, Manitoba, about two or three years ago, I went into a home to see an elderly couple there in the old folks home. What a dear couple. But why did I go see them? Because there was a history. They had children that they gave to God when they were born. And those children grew up and they were on a farm in Western Canada. And then God called them through through one of our team members. God spoke in the revival in 1971 and went to that town. And God used one situation to speak to another. And now they want to go in the Lord's service. Six children, husband and wife. Here they are getting ready to go. Come back to Morden, Manitoba. They have a farewell at their home church. And off they go to Richmond, B.C. in their automobile, in their station wagon, six children, husband and wife. On their way, 40 miles from home, 40 miles from arrival where they're going to work for the Lord. A man coming the other side of the road, filled with alcohol and drunken stupor, hit them head on. And all six, all eight of them went to a fiery death in an automobile. They could never get out of on their way to serve the Lord. The word came back, the pastor, we were in the church where the pastor had to deliver the message to this dear mother and father, seven o'clock in the morning. He said, I had to go and take the message just two weeks, a week after we had the farewell in our church and out they were. And I had to take the message and deliver it to these dear parents and tell what had happened. And he said, I said, what was the response? And he said, the first words that were uttered from the lips of this dear couple were these, the will of the Lord has been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord. So I had to go see them because we went with a man who God used their children, these that were in eternity, to come to another church, to go to another church and speak. And as a result of their testimony, even before they got full time service, that man now is in full time service for the Lord. And the three of us, Ralph and I, and this dear brother went to meet these parents. But the will of the Lord has been done. Well, doesn't that sound like Job of old? In Job chapter one, verse 20 says, then Job arose and rent his mantle and he shaved his head and he fell down upon the ground and he complained and he grumbled against God after he lost everything. Now, and he worshiped. See, oh, God, I recognize your rights and your ways and your works, even though I might not like them and I have to suffer. I recognize the worth of your rights and I give you the right to all of them. And he said, naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither that the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Then his wife and some other women were saying, Joe, why don't you start in and curse God and look in verse 10 of chapter two. But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips because he knew what it was to worship in an hour such as this. I say certainly worship to worship is recognition of the honor due to the Lord's name. Give unto the Lord the glory due to his name. So worship I, the God of my father, says Paul in Acts. I worship the God of my father's. He recognizes the honor due to the name to his God. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And he recognizes him historically and he honors him as the God of his father's revelation. It says the four and twenty elders shall worship God, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For thou has create all things. That's why you're worthy. He's worthy because he's created everything and he's created everything for his pleasure where they created, it says. Everything, and so therefore, I recognize the honor and I give him the honor to his name, he's created all he's created for his pleasure. He's worthy of praise. Samuel Chadwick said this is the problem that we fail to understand what true worship is, and that's why we fail to experience true worship. What is it? He said, I'm afraid there's so much confusion regarding worship today. He said, worship, however, is something that we do primarily because of what God gets out of it. We do because what God gets out of worship is my personal response to the recognition of God as seen primarily in the word. It's my response to the recognition of the God that I see, first of all, in the word. And it is the expression of my love relationship to that God that I learned about in the word worship is the expression of my love relationship. And I'm getting to the theme of the whole week. Why don't we worship? And why does the worship service become such a formal ceremonial thing that there's not really the heart of worship because our love has grown cold? He said, amazing scriptural principle is this, that when the word of God is properly studied now, we're coming back to the truth when the word of God is properly studied or properly taught, it will cause people to respond in worship to God. I tell you, these words have been challenging my heart this week, my own heart as a preacher, as I've been studying it. And God would make my ministry such. And move it such. As I open this word, it would challenge people to want to worship God. From worship comes the mighty bounties that God will give to his people. Well, what are the proper attitudes of true worship in the multitude of thy mercy and in thy fear, in thy fear, will I worship toward thy holy temple? You worship to the fear of God in your heart. Oh, worship the Lord, fear before him all the earth. And it's the context of fear before God. But look at Psalm 100. What's the true attitude of worship? Psalm 100. Oh, you say, look at Psalm 100. I learned that when I was a grasshopper high in Sunday school. Remember? But you better look at it. Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, O ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. But look at this. Worship come before his presence with singing. Come before his presence with singing. Isn't that the context that there's even the praise of song to come into God's presence? In your own life, is there there the song flow in your heart? And look at verse four. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving. Talk about worship. Do you come in saying, thank you, God? Thank you, God. It's a thankful spirit, that's how you worship. And then it says, and into his courts with praise. So first of all, we've talked about singing and then thankfulness and then praising him. And then it says, be thankful to him and bless his name. Tell him what you think of his name. Bless his name. Men and women, we can't work this up. We can't generate it. We can't just say we're going to start doing it. It's got to come from a love relationship. And that's what we've been preaching all week. We said we set our love on the Lord. We choose. We will to love him. And now we choose from that choice. We enter in by faith into a love relationship. Now we start and begin the program of love. Look at Psalm 149. Psalm 149. Praise you, the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song and his praise in the congregation of the saints. And his praise in the congregation of the saints. I'm not just saying, but his praise in the congregation of the saints. Let Israel be long faced in him. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him. There's God, the creator. See, let the children of Zion be joyful in their king. That's the recognition of his Lordship. That's in praise. The recognition of the Lordship. Let them praise his name in the dance. Let them sing praise unto him with a timbrel and a harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people. In Revelation, it says we were made for God. Now God takes pleasure in his people. What kind of pleasure do you give God? We always think about what we get from God. We never think what God gets from us. And God wants to hear our praise. We make him happy. He will beautify the meek with salvation. If God gets, he's going to give some more. The meek, those are the ones that are praising him. It's a picture of the praising, the humble, the contrite heart. And then God says, I will beautify them with my, I'll beautify those. I'll give them a beauty. Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds. Even in the night hour, there's a song of praise. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. And a two edged sword in their hand. That's the word of God. That's, that's spirit and truth, isn't it, huh? Coming together, we could even put it that way. I don't know it's a direct meaning, but it's not bad. Look at Hebrews, it's all Old Testament. What about the New Testament, Hebrews? Turn to the book of Hebrews and look in chapter 10. Glad you brought your Bibles tonight, amen? See what God has to say. Hebrews chapter 10, Hebrews 10, verse 19. Hebrews 10, 19. Having therefore, brethren. Hebrews 10, 19, having therefore, brethren. Boldness, that's the attitude of worship. Boldness to enter into the holiest. We've been talking about a holy God and the holy one of Israel. And that is the footstool was holy and his still was holy and the holy inhabitation habitations. Now, here's how we can enter into the holiest. We can go right into a holy God. That's where we can worship him and praise him. We enter in with boldness. We don't need to be ashamed to come because of the blood of Jesus. You see, keeping our life cleansed and living in the blood by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. We have an high priest over the house of God. Let us draw near. What's the attitude of worship? With a true heart, in full assurance of faith. You see, know that there's no nothing wrong in the heart. Having a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, cleansed and our bodies washed with pure water. That's when we're going to worship. When we walk in holiness before God, then we're going to worship. And we feel we can come with boldness. And the reason why we don't have real worship in our lives is we're afraid to come. The reason why we don't have the voice of worship in the Church of Jesus Christ, because we have too many people in the congregation are afraid to come. As a body. And what else led us in verse 23, hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, there's assurance of salvation and there's a theology, there's truth that doesn't waver because of a clear heart. You find a clean conscience and truth and faith always, many times come together. When people lack the assurance of salvation, it invariably comes the fact that their conscience isn't clean. People say, I just can't seem to get the assurance of my salvation. The question immediately go to what's wrong in your life, what's not clean in your life. And when the conscience is clean, you watch the assurance of faith comes with it. And then they hold fast the profession of faith without wavering. And then verse 24, let us consider one another. You see, now we're interested in brothers and sisters because we can go through to God and worship. We can go right through the holiest, the holy of holies. And we can come boldly. We've got the assurance of faith and we've got a clean conscience before God. And our faith doesn't waver because we're enjoying God and we're living on the positive side and we're not groveling near on the negative so long. We're just wondering, we're barely hanging on for dear life. No, we're living in the heavenlies in worship. We're living with our God and living there. My brothers and sisters, then we can consider one another. And there are a lot of people in the evangelical church who have no time to consider one another. Number one is the conscience isn't clean. And there's nothing to give to another. And they don't want anybody to get too close because the Bible says manifesting our conscience, manifesting a clear conscience one to another in the book of Second Corinthians, chapter four, our ministry, what is it? The manifestation of my conscience to each other. Can you watch the spirit spread? This is the cry of the church everywhere, provoking unto love and unto good works. Now, we're not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. We're going to love to be together. As the manner of some is, some just come Sunday morning, Sunday night. But exhorting one another and so much the more you see the day approaching body life comes, but it starts all with a clear conscience and boldness to enter in and worship God and know God, have a free, clear conscience and assurance of faith. It's all in there. What a marvelous truth. But you know, my Bible tells me that some people are going to worship in vain. Some people are going to worship in vain. We talk about worship. Some are going to worship in vain. What does it mean? The Paul says you're worshiping to the unknown God. Remember that in the book of Acts? I think of the Mars Hill. He saw a monument built to the unknown God. I know a lot of people worshiping to unknown God. They don't know what they worship is just a nebula or something. It's almost like in the book of Acts, unknown God. It says Jesus said before he told us the hour come, the true worshippers must worship God's spirit and truth. The verse right before that. That's verse twenty three of John four, verse twenty two of John four. He says, where should we worship? They said, should we worship in this hill or should we worship in that hill? Our fathers worship in hill and some fathers worship in this hill. And the statement of Jesus, he worshiped, you know, not what the same thing. Another time, you don't know what you're worshiping, a lot of people, I don't know what it's all about. They were worshiping. No wonder it doesn't mean anything. I like those Greeks in John chapter 20. They were good fellas. You know, they're going to the city of Jerusalem. The Bible says some Greeks went up to Jerusalem and it says they went to worship at that point. They went to worship in John 20 and John 12, excuse me, John 12, verse 20, John 12, verse 20 and verse 21. You don't need a term. I just give it to you. They went to worship. So what are they going to do with worship? They get up to Jerusalem. So they find some of the apostles of Jesus, some of the disciples of Jesus, and they get one of them by the shirt collar and they say, hey, brother, we want to see Jesus. I thought that's interesting. And so then they come and tell Jesus, said Jesus, there's some Greeks over here want to see you. And Jesus said, any man wants to see me, let him know. Except a corner, we fall on the ground and bite alone. It abides alone. But if it die, it shall bring forth much fruit. This he spoke of the death in which he was going to die. Whosoever will lay down his life shall lose it. And whosoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. And it goes on to describe the hour of his death. The Greeks said the Greeks would come to Jerusalem to worship. And the question that was on their mind, we want to see Jesus. They knew what they were after. My brothers and sisters, the Church of Jesus Christ needs to redefine worship. And we need to know who we're worshiping. Some people are going to have false worship. Look at Matthew 15. Interesting observation of what false worship can be all about. Matthew 15, Matthew 15, verse three. Look at what could be false worship, vain worship. Interesting. Jesus answered in verse three and said unto them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Matthew 15, three. Why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? You've got some kind of tradition that's causing you to transgress the commands of God. For God commanded, saying, honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. I'm speaking to children. Honor your parents. And yet you're trying to worship. But you say, whosoever shall say to his father or mother, it is a gift. By whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me. You know what that's saying? Children are going to say to their parents, Jesus is saying here, children are going to say to their parents, why? My parents are lucky to have me. It's just a gift. What they're profiting from having me. So what's the reason I have to honor them? They're just fortunate to have me. That's pretty much what Jesus is saying. That's the spirit, you know, I live for myself. It's just they just have to be my parents and they're lucky to have me. Well, we're all children of parents somewhere. But get the point. Jesus said, honor not his father or his mother. He shall be free. See. Just let me go my own way. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Now, Jesus is just giving us an illustration of how we can make the command of God, the command that you should honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you and live long in the earth. That's a command of God. Jesus teaches it and his teaching. Here we have some who just make that command of God to none effect. They've got they've got it worked up. They've talked around it and it's nil. Now, look what Jesus says in verse seven. He hypocrites. Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, this people draw nigh with them to me with their mouth. You see, they worship me with their mouth and honor me with their lips. That's a that's a physical worship with a voice. But their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me. What is the essence of false worship? Teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men. That last statement, what is Jesus teaching his whole portion? In vain you're worshiping. When you are doing something, what? Teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men. My brothers and sisters, there are a lot of evangelical churches have made the commandments of men and they're teaching them for doctrines. And if you don't agree and cross your T's and doctorize exactly like this church has said it or that church has named it and they've set up commands of men and they make them as doctrines and they teach them for doctrines and their commands of men. And my Lord says in vain you worship if you're busy doing that. Oh, what a warning for us to be careful, even in some of the tradition you've made void my law through your much tradition. And we can even scrap a church. We can scrap an evangelical church. We can scrap an evangelical community. We can scrap a body of believers with even traditions that have robbed us of pure worship. And we've almost made the tradition of men as commands of God and doctrines of God. And we've made vain the worship of the Lord in the midst of it. Interesting observation. You know, there's something else about this thing. Worshipping in vain is not only not knowing what you worship, not only making teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men, but thirdly, worshiping and disobedience don't mix. You'll worship in vain if there's in your life any area of disobedience. And if you want a study of that and we couldn't even begin to touch it, it would be first Samuel, chapter 15. It's the story of the story of so I know that's something I was going to go to David. So my twin brothers in here. Thank you, Harold. The story of Saul in first Samuel 15. That's why I think it's Samuel is a story of Saul. What was it? You remember when he was disobeying God, when God said, do this and slay utterly? And then he even went out and he built an altar and he worshiped God and he had devotions and disobedience. What a mixture. What an odd mixture. We've got a lot of Christian evangelical church. What an odd mixture. They're trying to have devotion and disobedience, worship and disobedience. No wonder it's empty. Never will work. I'll tell you three things about that story of Saul, and it would be a whole study. But let me just give you three points to some of this. He had the he had the Lord in mind, but he did not have the mind of the Lord. He had the Lord in mind. A lot of people have the Lord in mind, but they don't have the mind of the Lord. Secondly, he did the work of God, but he did not do the work for God. A lot of people like that, they worship, they're doing the work of God, but they're not doing the work for God. And thirdly, Saul knew what the word of God declared, but he did not declare the word of God. And that was he knew what God had said, and he didn't tell the people the truth because he feared the face of man more than the face of God and fearing the face of men. He didn't tell the people what God's word was. So he knew the word of God, but he didn't tell the people what the word was from God. And so he was disobedient. My brothers and sisters, there's some pastors and pulpits across North America can identify, I could identify with this truth. And there's some men and women in the churches and there's some people in the churches that you need to exhort and there's some people that you need. You know the word of God and you know that there are people around you who are disobeying the word of God and you're failing to exhort and minister and you're failing to help these dear brothers and sisters. You are guilty like soil while we're trying to worship. We're disobedient. We know the word of God and we don't speak it when it ought to be spoken in the spirit of Christ and love and we see people coming apart at the seams and we don't speak that word of admonition and put our arm around them and bring them in. I'm not talking on the realm of Saul as he was the leader of Israel. It comes right down to you and me in the pews as well. The same principle, devotion and disobedience don't mix. And God gives us commands in many of our relationships with one or the other as Paul knew what they were people were doing was sin against God. He knew the word of God, but he wouldn't share it. How perfectly ridiculous for Saul to think that he could have worshipped the Lord in such a frame of mind. But he did. He built an altar so he could worship God with all this disobedience in his life. And when we've left undone some clear cut commands of Christ, we spend many hours doing other things than the things God tells us and we erect our little monuments of self-esteem. We are continually allowing blatant violations of God's word, the things God tells us. And he's told us and he's told us and we live in those disobediences. And yet we erect a monument to our own self-esteem. All my brothers and sisters, when we should be in the presence of God, don't you think that we ought to recognize it will not mix? Our worship will suffer. How can we fools not think we worship God like that? Can't happen. Well, lastly, I think lastly, we're about their proper heart attitude. What's the proper condition to true worship? What am I really saying? No sin, no sin, no sin. Could Jesus say to any plainer now in John 9 31? Now we know that God heareth not sinners. That's an interesting statement. You know that we all know that God doesn't hear sinners, right? Unless they pray the sinner's prayer. But God has no reason. He has no commitment to hear sinners. We think that means just the unsaved. We think that means just the unsaved, right? Didn't you think that means the unsaved? When I say sinners, oh, not us sinners. We never look at ourselves sinners, but oh, we are. And the Bible still says, now God heareth not sinners. But if any man be a worshiper of God. You see that sinning, God's not going to hear sinners. But if you're going to be a worshiper of God and do it, his will see. That's obeying him and turning from sin. Him he heareth. Him he heareth. And we're back to the same principle. God does not invite us into his presence, men and women, to make us holy. He sent his son to make it possible that we could be clean so that we could go into the presence of God with a clear assurance to enjoy God. He doesn't call us to come into his presence to make us holy. He sent his son to do that, that we deal with that sin to make it possible for us to go in with clear assurance. Boldness there to enjoy the presence of God. That's what it means to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. In the beauty of it, because you've been cleansed and you walk in before your God, knowing that to the best of your knowledge, between you and him, it's clean. And go in to enjoy God, the beauty of holiness, glory in his holy name. But all the idolatry that so many of us have become come into our own worship. What is the idolatry? My Bible talks to me and I can't even touch it tonight because when I build these sermons, I don't know how much I'm putting in, how long it's going to take. But I want to suggest to you that the Bible teaches that there can be idolatry and worship over the works of your own hands. A lot of people are worshiping the works of their own hands. Isaiah talks about it. Zephaniah talks about acts, talks about Micah, talks about revelation, talk about which we can touch each of those. Secondly, we could be busy worshiping Satan. And we heard it on that tape tonight. Jesus was tempted by Satan and Satan came to Jesus. And Jesus said, you worship me. Remember that? Don't you think if Satan went to Jesus and asked him to worship him, Satan would like to get in your life and without even using the words and calling the name he'd like you to get him, worship him, bow down to me and look at all I'll give you. And that'll be Satan's trick to lead you into the temptation of covetousness. And that's what the Bible says. The next is covetousness, which is idolatry. Don't you think Satan's behind the whole pattern? And you can bow down to the God of covetousness. And there are not very many things that are identified as idolatry. And you can find it in the New Testament in some places that make your hair stand up straight where God puts covetousness as idolatry. And idolatry is not worshiping God, but worshiping something else. The essence of sin. Holy, jealous God. And you're not worshiping idolatry, covetousness. And then your idolatry can be in the scripture. Romans 1, 25, who changed the truth of God into a lie. How they worship and serve the creature more than the Creator. You serve and worship. You worship first and then you serve because whatever, whoever you worship, you end up serving. And when you truly worship God, you'll serve him. And they worship the creature more than the Creator. That which God has made, we worship that. Now, wait a minute, I can get very touchy, can't it? I can get into your home. You can worship that. I can get into your very wife, your husband. You can even as I started out the message, I said good and bad. At the same time, you worship the ground they walk on. And you can make an idol even out of an individual. You can make it out of a preacher, the creature of God. You can worship many things that could be the creature of God. You can worship nature on and on. Let God write in your life a creature more than the Creator. And God says, because of that, the Creator, who is blessed forever, they worship the creature. God gives them up and gives them over to vile affections. And that's the society we live in today, given over to vile affections, a society that worships the creature more than created. God turns them over to vile affections. And in the evangelical church, why is there so much immorality going on in evangelical circles? You say, Preacher, I didn't know it. Well, if you didn't, let me tell you, I wish you could follow with us and be in the prayer rooms for about any 12-month period or six-month period. And you want to hear it? I didn't think it was so. And it's getting worse and worse and worse and worse. I'll tell you what, covetousness is coming in. Materialism is coming in and we're living for things. The Sunday night service in the church has become so weak. And the weekly prayer meeting is a weekly prayer meeting. Whether you're praying here or praying at all, that's not the issue. It's the heart for God. And it's just wiping out in the church of Jesus. You see it on every hand. No heart for God, clock consciousness. Worship the creature more than the Creator. And then society's turned over to vile affections. Well, St. Augustine put idolatry as this, and I think it's so beautifully stated. He said, idolatry is worshiping the things you were supposed to use and using the things that you were supposed to worship. Worshiping the things you're supposed to use and using the things you're supposed to worship, idolatry. For thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. Well, we need to confess it. Our lack of worship to God. We seem to need so many enticements, encouragements to worship God, don't we? But Mary didn't need any. Remember when she, the lady who God cast out the seven demons, she didn't need any encouragement. You remember she came to the tomb when Jesus had risen from the dead and she didn't know it. She came to the grave and Jesus was not there. And she found the grave empty. She started to weep because her Savior, this Christ that she'd followed, was not there and somebody had stolen the body. And here she was, so broken hearted. But then there were two angels there that appeared. You think two angels would fill the gap in her heart, but they couldn't touch a candlestick to that issue. They couldn't even begin to fill the gap. Why? Because her love was wrapped up in that Savior. And there was no substitute on earth or in heaven that could take the place of that lovely Savior. The one that set her free from all of that. Oh, she was devoted to a dead Christ more than some of us are devoted to a living Christ. She didn't know that Christ was alive, but even in that she was more devoted there in her worship at that hour. My brothers and sisters, that God would teach us in these days to worship him for that which he has done for us and where he has brought us. Remember, the heart of God is still longing for your worship and for mine. And I would just close with these two, these three statements that I found on a bulletin, a church bulletin. You know, on the back of your bulletin there's some beautiful statements. I hope you read them. And it said words like this to Jesus Christ, the son of God who came from heaven, who gave his life on the cross for our salvation, we owe our worship, we owe our worship to him. Why? What do we owe? Our greatest reverence, our intense love, our extreme devotion, our complete adoration, our unrestrained honor, our unlimited praise, our total obedience, we owe that to him. And then it said, exalt ye the Lord God. And he gave a prayer. Could we pray like this? Would we pray like this? Lord Jesus, we love thee. Thou art wonderful to our hearts. Thou art more precious than gold and dearer than anything else on earth. We worship thee. We adore thee. We love thy words and we love thy wounds. We love to lie at thy feet and we love to see thy glory. We're so glad that the Father hath exalted thee. For thou art king of kings and lord of all lords. We want thee to be thus exalted, O God. We are so glad that thou art coming to rule and to reign. We love everything about thee, Lord Jesus. Thou art altogether lovely. And it says, exalt ye the Lord of our God. And then it says, worship at his footstool. And it went on to say, fellowship is at the heart of Christian worship. What does it mean to worship at the footstool? That's sitting at his feet. That's fellowship. Fellowship is at the heart of Christian worship. Each one of us must lay there his own heart before God at his footstool. Each must offer his own prayer. Very individual worship, which is in love, in utterance and desire. We must tell him of our love and our desire. Each must come to receive into himself the gift of the divine love, life of love. But each must come as one member of the family of God. Each one coming as an individual member, rejoicing in the presence of all God's children and before the one father. Come and have fellowship with us, says John, and know that our fellowship is with God the Father and God the Son. Come on, let's sit at his feet and have fellowship one with another. That these things write unto you that your joy may be full. The heart of God says the hour is come and now is. And the true worshipers should worship him in spirit and truth. Do you need to ask God to forgive you for your waning worship over these years? My brothers and sisters, it's a sign of the lovelessness of our heart and the cold and the lukewarm heart and the leaving of our first love. And when we love, we'll want to worship. And with love will come worship. Oh, that God will just take us into his heart. Show us how cold we've become. Time for everything else. Remember, worship is not a luxury. It's a life. It's not optional. It's a necessity for you and me to exist in victory with Jesus.