Worshipper of God

John's Gospel chapter 9, please, and verse number 31. John 9 and verse number 31. Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

Latter part of that verse, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. That's what I'd like to speak about this afternoon with the help of God I do trust, is a worshipper of God. It is interesting that this statement really is made by people that were enemies of the Lord Jesus, that were so opposed to his blessing in the life of a man that had received his sight.

Now not all that they said in this verse is true. They're saying that God heareth not sinners. We know different than that.

From Acts chapter 10, he would hear Cornelius and others that definitely he heard them. We do not condemn people for not giving thanks for their food out of one side of our mouth, and then over the other side tell them, well, God doesn't hear your prayer anyhow. Who are we to judge who God hears prayer and who he doesn't? But I'm not so much interested in the first part as I am the latter part.

It has impressed me this week, and I want to share with you some things about a worshipper of God. Here's something they understood, but if any man be a worshipper of God and do of his will, him he heareth. Let me ask you today, are you a worshipper of God? What constitutes a worshipper of God? And we'll address that in a very simple way today.

I want you to notice what it come to worshiping, what it took to get a man to worship. I think of Job. It took a storm.

What did it take to get the disciples to worship in Matthew's Gospel chapter 14? A storm. What did it take the nation itself to worship, that's Israel to worship God, in Exodus chapter 4? A storm. Affliction.

Difficulty. I would like to think, brethren and sisters, that more than that and less than that could really make us worshipers of God. It is interesting to notice that when it comes to the disciples worshiping God, just the different times that it took place.

Matthew chapter 14 that I've already referred to, they worship him in the boat, and you'll remember that in that scene they worshiped him before his death. Next time that you will find them worshiping is in Matthew chapter 28, and here they worship him after his resurrection. And then in Luke chapter 24, we find that they worship him after his ascension.

The first one, can I suggest to you, that worship was linked with a confession. Not only Peter's confession of his need of him, but it is leading up to the Peter's confession of Christ himself and to who he was. When I come to them worshiping the Savior after his resurrection, that's linked with a commission.

Go ye forth into all the world and so on. But it's interesting to notice, and it's this, they worshiped him before they were sent. In other words, they had to know something of the sanctuary before they knew something of the service.

I'm not saying I can get up here legislate hard and fast rules, brethren, but I'm sure that all would agree that we'd like to hear even a young brother in the sanctuary before we hear him on a platform in service. Because that is the order that is given to us in Matthew chapter 28. Luke chapter 24 is interesting.

Here they worshiped him after his ascension. It says that they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and it is the first time, this is particularly interesting, it should be noted, it is the first time that an absent Savior is worshiped. Now we claim his presence and rightly so.

I think all of us are conscious of the fact that we worship an absent Savior. I want to address this subject of a worshipper of God, a man being a worshipper of God, a sister being a worshipper of God, and three different aspects. I want you to realize, first of all, there is a cost to worship.

Not only is there a cost to worship, but there has to be a collection for worship. Not only a cost of worship and a collection for worship, but then we'll notice later on there is a concentration in worship. I'm sure I speak for all of us today, if there's a time when my mind, my mind will wander aimlessly and endlessly at any time, but if there's a time when it is at its worst, when I can think of a hundred other things I need to do, should write down, should say, or whatever, it's right when I should be worshiping.

Now why is that? That is because, brethren and sisters, whatever the devil wants or doesn't want, he doesn't want God to be worshipped, much less the Son of His love, the praises of that person ever to be sung. So very quickly, I won't take as long as as you may think, we'll just consider this. First of all, the cost of worship, the collection of worship, and the concentration in worship.

You know, when we came here yesterday, and when we have come here this afternoon, and I think we all are agreed, I've come to get something. That's not an unfair assessment, and I believe that every believer that comes to a conference comes hoping to get something. I trust before this conference is finished that you and I will have not failed in our desire to get something at the Waterloo Cedar Falls Conference.

Now as we gathered here this morning, this is the distinction, okay? Have you ever heard people say, you know, I didn't get much out of that meeting? Sometimes people stop coming on to the worship meeting to break a bread. Our brethren visit them, and sometimes they're told, you know, I'm not getting anything out of it. That's not what you're there for.

That's not what we did here this morning. I'm not saying it because I'm on their platform. I think anybody that was here this morning in a conference, breaking a bread isn't always the easiest, but we had a delightful remembrance of the Lord Jesus.

Do you know why that was? Because there were those that were here this morning audible and inaudible. They did not come to get something. They came to give, to give something.

Now how we make it out, brethren? Already I think it's been referred to this conference. When last did you give to the Lord? I am not saying, please understand, I am not saying that in what we know to be the breaking of bread that that is the only meeting that is a worship meeting. I believe that God is worshiped when the gospel is preached.

That's why we should be at a gospel meeting. I almost think gospel meeting was kind of a second-rate thing, and you know, if I can't worship God when His Son is being preached, something's wrong. I must be awful cold at heart.

But when last did the saints in your local company hear you giving God what He desires? Oh, you say, well, it's a big assembly where I am, and you know, now I've heard that before too. I've heard just about, not quite all. Every time I go to say that I've heard, heard it all, I hear something I haven't heard.

But the importance of routinely being able to give something. Now we're going to cover this in a minute, why it becomes so difficult at times to be able to give Him that which He desires. The cost to worship.

It's interesting. This is something that is incomparably. The cost of worship.

There is a cost. Every time that you have worship in the Bible, there's a cost that is involved. It is sad, isn't it, when you were reading.

I've just come to the Kings. You read of those Kings and that they would worship God, and they would worship God. And then it says that they would worship also Astaroth.

They would worship also Baal. As far as I know, I think David, with all that you want to say for or against David, I think David was one of the few Kings that never bowed down to an idol. He knew what it was to worship God.

He was a worshipper of God. And there is a cost that is associated with that. You remember at the end of our Old Testament, Malachi's day? What's Malachi saying? What's he telling them from the Lord? You brought unto me that which cost you nothing.

Animals that you are going to discard of, you've brought them to me. He says give them to the governor of the land. Will he accept them? Why are you giving them to me? There is a cost involved.

This country is great for some terrific brand names that are worldwide known by renown. Butterball turkeys. You know that Butterball has a hotline.

You can call on that hotline. Ask questions about how to cook your Butterball turkey. Last year, this actually happened, a talk show host listened in on one of these conversations.

And a lady called in and she said, I have a Butterball turkey and it's been in my freezer for 13 years. Now she said, would this turkey be all right? The man that was running the line for Butterball said, has the freezer been defrosted? Nope, hasn't been defrosted. He said, how long? 13 years.

Well, he says, if it's really been frozen all that time and it hasn't been defrosting, it likely would be all right. She said, don't worry about it. She said, I'll just give it to my church.

Is that the way we function? Is that the way we operate? There's a cost that is involved, brethren and sisters. It's not what is left over. There is a cost.

Mr. Ramsey used to tell us a story about the little fellow at the table and he reached for a piece of meat to give the dog. He was at his side there and he reached for a piece of meat. His mother snapped at him.

She said, don't you touch that. You don't give that to the dog. So after the meal was over, there's a few scraps around.

She said, here, you can give this to your dog. Little fellow went around, he cleaned it up and he kind of apologized to the dog. He said, Fido, he said, I really wanted to bring you an offering, but all I got is a little collection.

Brethren, he wants what costs us. Now what's it going to cost you? What's it going to cost me? It's going to cost you your time, believe it or not. Sure it is.

It's going to cost us our time. Remember when it comes to the alabaster box of ointment that is broken? We were hearing very clearly from Brother Skeetch yesterday relative things in our lives that God uses that are broken. That's one of them.

The alabaster box. Isn't it interesting? Now you just think of this for a minute. Just don't fade on me, okay? Nicodemus and Joseph would bring a hundred pounds of the same thing after he died.

Hardly get a mention. Hardly get a mention. She would bring one pound before he died.

Look, the Lord Jesus said, this is a gospel that shall be preached of her. That's what it meant to a living Savior, to one that would not spare what she did to bring unto the Savior. So there is a cost that is involved.

Whereforeever the gospel is preached that she has done this will be told, he said, in memory of her. The cost. Secondly, I want you to think of a collection of worship.

Now what do I mean when I say a collection of worship? Well brethren, you won't be farming forever. No matter what you think, you won't be farming forever. You will not be wiring big industrial complexes forever.

Pulling those wires through. Or if he's here, changing a light bulb for a brother that can't reach it. A preacher.

You won't be doing that forever. You won't be shingling houses forever. God bless you and your job tomorrow morning.

I will not be preaching forever. I will not be printing tracks forever. But I will be worshipping forever.

I will forever be a worshipper of God. Now don't get a wrong concept of that. As I often tell people, sometimes when preaching the gospel, people get some kind of a concept of heaven that it is some kind of a large gathering of people and you're sitting there singing at the back of somebody's head.

It's like a ministry meeting that's going south that won't quit. You think, what am I stuck here for? That's not heaven. It's got a wonderful program.

I don't know. I haven't seen the program. I just know the one who has the program.

I know the one who I'm going to sing about. I know the one I'm going to worship forever. Now, a collection of worship.

Psalm 45. What's the psalmist say? My heart is indicting a good matter. I speak of the things which I have made concerning the king.

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Now, he is speaking as far as I understand. Please, I wasn't a good boy in grammar class.

I didn't listen up like I should have. But I think they call that third person, isn't it? You know, he's speaking about things that pertain to him. But notice how he shifts right away in verse 2. And he goes and he speaks like this, thou art fairer than the children of men.

He says, grace is poured into thy lips. And then he goes on down that Psalm and he says, thy right hand, thine arrows, thy throne, O God. Now, if you follow the psalmist, you'll notice what he's doing.

He is now speaking to the one who has been speaking about during the week. In other words, his heart has gathered something together. And he's been able to speak about it.

He says, my heart's indicting a good matter. He says, I speak of the things as touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

And then immediately he goes right to the second person and he addresses him. Now, you know, sometimes you go to a brother and you say, you know, I missed your worship this morning. Didn't hear you.

I said, I had a hard time collecting my thoughts, collecting my thoughts. Pretty hard to collect something that's not there, isn't it? It's not there. You don't collect it? Collecting our thoughts.

But if we've been doing that, we've been collecting little things that we appreciate about the Lord Jesus speaking concerning him, then maybe it's not so difficult when it comes to Sunday morning. Please, please do not leave this auditorium and tell people that McCandless is so hard up for illustrations, he's now telling us about the cartoons. Because I usually don't do that.

I'll come to that in a minute. When you go to your Old Testament, you will remember that God's people only gathered two things, didn't they? They gathered the manna. That's the word that's used.

The manna came. Remember, it came down early in the morning upon the dew of the ground, and they gathered the manna. What else did they gather? Sticks.

Sticks. Oh, you say, we just got a little remote mention to that in Numbers chapter 15. No, it's not remote.

Go to Numbers chapter 15. How's the chapter begin? Here's people that are bringing in their burnt offering, and their meal offering, and they're bringing, of course, as he goes down there, their oxen, and they're bringing a ram, and then you go into the house, and he speaks about them bringing a cup, he says, a cake rather, of the dough of the first, of their first. And then you go to the end of the chapter, and you find a man that's gathering sticks, and he's doing it on the Sabbath day.

It's interesting. When they went to gather the manna, it wasn't there on the Sabbath day, but sticks were there. Now, why is the manna? I, you know, please, you give me some help on it.

I searched all the commentaries I could. I can't find much. When I run out of them, I usually go to Scott or John Meakin, and they'll, you know, the young fellows, they always got it all there.

No, they didn't have nothing either. Meakin or MacLeod, another one. You say, why is he doing that on the Sabbath day? Do you know what I think? It was such a way of life for six days he forgot it was the Sabbath day.

It was just so easy to do it. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Why not Saturday? I mean, his Sabbath, and I'm linking it with our, it was just something was so calm, so easy to do.

Now, why was he doing that? Why did he collect sticks in the first place? Keep himself warm, wouldn't you? Sure he did. So, if you saw a man out collecting on the Sabbath day, you know what you'd say? That man's a cold man. The manna hasn't warmed his soul, and he couldn't collect enough sticks during the week.

He's doing it on the Sabbath day. Such was the punishment, the severity of it, that he was stoned. Amazing, I gather all kinds of sticks during the week.

I can go to my good friend Irv Sweeter's place, and I can, I can, you know, I'll tell you about things that I can think about during the week. I can just visualize how good a Garmin 1000 would look in a Baron 55, and I can sit, and I can go all kinds of meditation. I can talk to you about it.

I can tell you something that's required for its application, for its use, for its purposes. How much better it is over the steam gauges that I use. Is that when my heart is indicting? You know what I'm gathering? Sticks.

Now, the peanuts cartoon. You remember that cartoon, there's a dog, his dog is called Snoopy. And Linus is there, and she's sitting there, and Snoopy's sitting there, the dog, and takes the stick and whips it.

And for once, Snoopy don't do no running. He sits there, and he looks. And she says, you know, you're having a hard time to just control that, that urge to go after that stick.

She said, what's wrong with you? Here's what he says. I want people to have more to say about me after I'm dead than he was a nice guy, but all he did was chase sticks. You got it.

What do you say after you're gone, brother? Oh, good man. Oh, he could really, you want to see the houses he built. You want to see the way he operated.

He was shrewd. Gathering sticks. No, I'm not saying that you shouldn't gather sticks.

When the Lord Jesus said that men shall not live by bread, he did not say men shall not live by bread, but men shall not live by bread alone. Alone. He knew people had to have bread.

God knew that the Israelite, as he had to gather manna, had to gather sticks. But there was one day in which he could not gather, and he had to gather prior to that. That really is borne out in the language of the psalmist.

So how about it, brethren, let's confess. I got to confess it too. I spent too much of my time chasing sticks.

Hard thing to offer on Sunday morning, isn't it, when I have been just chasing sticks? More than that, the concentration in worship. When it comes to worshiping, concentrating about how do we, how do I discipline my mind to it? This age of technology isn't any help. And I know, you know, we got the Blackberry, we got the iPhone, and we got them on Vibrate.

And then you're in meeting and, no, you're not going to do this. You're not going to sneak a peek. And then you think, oh, well, it might be somebody trying to get safe so they don't have a little peek.

That's what I think. Yeah, right. Well, it might be.

The best thing to do with them, just shut them off. Shut them off from meeting. I won't kill you.

Nobody else will get killed with yours off. My wife and I, since we've got, been married, there's something we have disciplined, tried to discipline ourselves to do, unless it's a real emergency in meetings, and it's this, that when that hour comes, we don't talk. We tried to raise four children.

Maybe there's times when there was a crossover on that and we had to say something one to the other. We have tried our best not to talk. I want to do absolutely nothing that will disturb the concentration in that meeting, whether it be a worship meeting or any other kind of meeting.

We don't need to talk in meeting. No, I know. Preachers are the worst offenders.

Absolutely. The poorest listeners. My mother taught me that the best speakers were the best listeners.

And if you couldn't listen, you shouldn't speak. How do you make out? Well, you say, that's just what you think. Sorry, that's what other brethren tell me, other sisters tell me.

I don't want to say to them. Why don't you go to him and tell him? Oh, she can't do that. You know how it is.

Preachers supposedly are the untouchable. Since when? I was thinking the other day that I have to go for a, I don't like it either. I have to go for a biannual for my pilot's license every other year.

It's awful nice when that inspector kind of hands you your license back. I think maybe a biannual for a preacher's letter accommodation would be a bad thing. Just haul the boy in, sit him down.

Hey, how's it going? Been a good boy? Any violations? Do you think we could be as happy to commend you today as the day? Oh, he said, can't do that. They called Paul and Barnes and they had a few questions for them, wondering what they were doing. Where have they been? We violate principles at times, brethren.

I'll tell you, this isn't a grandfather clause, but these young fellows, young brethren that I have the privilege of working with, there are certain code of ethics. Until you violate that, your letter will be reviewed, if not retrieved. You don't go around asking for a gospel meeting at the conference.

You don't go to the brethren and say, you know, in fact, I'm offline here, but just allow me a minute. I do not write to assemblies and say, what is your Bible reading? I don't want to give any type of a suggesting I'm tendering for a job. If those brethren have one they want to give me, they know how to get a hold of me.

And if I caught the like of these characters up to that, there would be a big spanking. It's like Xadia. You got to be careful.

Very easy to get up here at the saints and tell them what they should do. What about ourselves? Worship. The concentration of worship.

Well, the concentration of worship is this, that it all links, of course, with the collection for worship, which is our intelligent worship. The concentrating of it is to keep our mind fixed on Him and the things of Him, the things of His person. I would not want to rise to my feet and worship God if it was going to distract even the worship of others.

I wouldn't call a hymn that was just my favorite if I thought that it's going to distract and take from the concentration of the worship of others. I mean, you go to Mary with that alabaster box. What's she doing? One thing.

This one thing I do. It was so important. It was so precious.

Such a memorial, such a message to be preached for us and to be preached to us. Now, how did they offer intelligently? Well, it had to be the what was first for God. What was first? We call it the first day of the week.

Sometimes we can be so exhausted from the six days of gathering sticks that we'll come to seventh. We need the rest already. It's not the Lord's day.

The day of rest is we're wore out. So we get regenerated and plugged in again so we could go back to gathering sticks on Monday morning. Concentration of worship.

Now, having said that, I spend a little time farming too. I know what it is to have boys that know what it is to work around the clock. And I'm not expecting, brethren, that there aren't times when we're tired.

There's times when, listen, just one of those days when you couldn't have collected a thought about that was spiritual for anything. I realize that. Let me ask you today, brother, sister, what's the tenor of your life? So here we are, we've remembered him this morning, sitting here in a minister meeting, comfortably, and we're looking for the Lord to come.

But if he doesn't come, let me remind you there is one that is in heaven that is waiting the whole of a week, the whole of a week for his people to gather and to worship him. That isn't that he isn't praised, he isn't worshipped other times even in your life. The worship that is going to be a concentration of worship is going to be that which is intelligently with an understanding and appreciation of his person.

Now listen, that does not mean that if some young brother gets up and offers, and I appreciated our young brethren that were participating this morning. Somebody came to me and I said, I don't know if they're doubting, they said, does that young brother take part in his home assembly? I said, yes, he does. I've been there.

Intelligently, also intimately. Nice when there's something warm about it, okay? Listen, it's not a place to get up and go over the offerings and let us know how much you know about, I'm just using the offerings for an example, how much you know about the offerings and we should know. It's got to be something that has an intimate touch to it.

That I love the man that I'm speaking about. That my heart, notice that the psalmist, he does not say, you know, got these things stored up on my head, I've got this figured out, I've got this understood. Notice how he links the heart and the tongue together, my heart.

That's where it starts, brethren and sisters, my heart is indicting a good matter. Not only intelligently and intimately, but there is worship as well, it is inaudibly. I've said it before, others have said it, I'm not the first to say it, the presence of our sisters in their godly department, dressed as the scriptures teach, does something for our worship that nothing else will.

That is why, dear sister, you're absolutely indispensable in God's assembly. Nobody can replace you, nobody, more than that. Your praise, your expressed appreciation, your worship helps to contribute to the worship that is given audibly.

You'd have that given to us in the Old Testament. So, in conclusion, just let me say this, amazing what an outside world knows. Here's this poor blind man, and boy, they're quizzing him, and they're questioning him, and finally, they come to their conclusion, well, I said, we know, that if any man be a worshiper of God, what's he say? Does his will, does his will.

Don't let my worship on Sunday morning be a contradiction of what I do during the week. I do his will, I carry out his commandments. If any man be a worshiper of God and doeth his will, what's he say? Him God heareth.