BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
SUNDAY 31JAN10

God has recently challenged me to take a hard new look at two separate elements of our Sunday morning “celebration/fellowship”; wisdom and worship.

In our daily walk wisdom and worship are inextricably linked, or at least they should be.
Wisdom is to equip us to make our entire lives one continuous act of worship.

On Sunday morning Wisdom is experienced in the Sermon, in Sunday School, in small groups, in counseling and in  other teaching contexts.  Learning the Word and how to apply it.  The widsom interaction is mostly intellectual, with elements of the emotional, physical, and spiritual.  (If one does not struggle with a sense of awe at God's perfection in all things and His provision of all that we need then I wonder if one “get's” the value of God's Word as His resource for us.)

Worship is experienced in Music, Prayer, and Testimony.  Coming into the presence of God in a corporate context is to be an intentional time of awe and love and submission.  Mostly emotional with elements of the intellectual, physical, & spiritual.  (If one is not moved to tears, both of joy and sorrow, I wonder if one is even fully engaged in worship.  Care does have to be taken to avoid emotional manipulation or performance by the leaders and careless disregard for Biblical truth or attention-seeking by participants.)

The hearts of the leaders are all in the right place but I sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit to press ahead even further.

Bethel tends to be pretty strong on the wisdom side (teaching) but less so (to Linda's frustration) on our full participation on the worship side - we are mostly observers rather than participants.

This Sunday I want to give you a heads-up that I am going to be challenging us all to "turn up the volume", rhetorically – not literally, on our worship.

I'm not talking about the performance-type show so common in so-called contemporary fellowships, nor am I talking about the silliness that one often finds in the hyper-experiential charismatic/pentecostal format, I am talking about really engaging the act of corporate worship.

Standing and half-heartedly singing with little thought to the words and their meaning is not worship, it is empty ritual.  We all do it sometimes, don't we?  We need to really engage if our fellowship is to know the power of worship that God has for us.

Pray ...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
From: LifeTruths (Holman) & LifeWords (KJV)
Text: Ecclesiastes 2:18-26; 5:18-20
WRESTLING WITH WORK
My Work--My Legacy
My Work--My Joy
My Work--God's Gift
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Explore The Bible
Mark 8:34-10:31 (esp. 9:33-43, 47-50)
HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Follow The Right Model
Forget About Honors
Focus On Others

Today's Sermon

or

I have often prayed that we need to leave our cares at the door, and even said the words that we should leave our “work” outside, be it a traditional “job” or raising children or caring for home and loved-ones in retirement, or whatever occupies our energies and time.  My family will be shocked to hear me say it … but … I Was Wrong!

Today we are going to discuss bringing work, and anything and everything else that occupies your waking hours, into our time of learning and worship … so that together we may discover how God would have us live.

Let's begin with a country-style song about work.  As you listen, feel encouraged in whatever it is that you do (or would do were the economy more healthy, and even in retirement what you are doing to serve others) … and contemplate what you know about how God views your work.

40 Hour Week by Alabama 

There are people in this country,
Who work hard every day,
Not for fame or fortune do they strive,
But the fruits of their labor,
Are worth more than their pay,
And it's time a few of them were recognized,

Hello Detroit! (Auto Workers),
And I thank you for your time,
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line,

Hello Pittsburg! (Steel Mill Workers),
And I thank you for your time,
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line,

This is for the one who swings the hammer.
Drivin' home the nails,
For the one who's behind the counter,
Ringin' up the sales,
For the one who finds the fire,
The one who brings the mail,
For everyone who works behind the scenes,

You can see them every mornin',
In the factories and the fields,
In the City streets and the quiet country towns,
Workin' together, like spokes inside a wheel,
They keep this country turnin' around,

Hello Kansas! (Wheat field farmers),
And I thank you for your time,
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line,

Hello West Vir-ginia coal miners,
And I thank you for your time,
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line,

This is for the one who drives the big rigs,
Up and down the road,
For the one out in the warehouse,
Bringin' in the load,

For the waitress, the mechanic, the policeman on patrol,
For everyone who works behind the scenes,
With a spirit you can't replace with no machine-e-e-e,
Hello A-mer-ica, Let me thank you for your time
Transcribed by Gerry Watkins

God places a high value on work, and a low value on sloth.

From the very beginning God spoke of work:

Genesis 2:15  "The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it." 

The writer of Proverbs 6: 6 writes “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Observe its ways and be wise” 

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 reads "For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.”  For we hear that some among you are living an undisciplined life, not doing their own work but meddling in the work of others.  Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and so provide their own food to eat. " 

And we work with excellence, consistent with the teaching that our “yes be yes and our no be no”, when we agree to a days work for a days pay we keep our part of that contract to the letter:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24)

Even the one who is in some form of bond-servant slave-like circumstance, perhaps to pay-off a debt, is expected to work ethically:

"Slaves obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service as people-pleasers but with sincerity of heart fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward You are serving the Lord Christ."  Colossians 3:22-24

God's perspective is that we may be working so that we may help others – so we work not merely for our own needs but also so that He may show us how we may help others:

“The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.” (Ephesians 4:28).

“You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:34-35). 

However, we are to be responsible members of the community, caring for those whom we call “family”.  This may also be understood as the family of believers:

“But if someone does not provide for his own, especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6:10). 

And there is the spiritual side of things ...

“So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10)

In Luke 10:1-8 Jesus sends Seventy-Two disciples on a mission of evangelistic missions:

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves.  Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road.  Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’  And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.  Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house.  Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you. “

Does it sometimes feel as though you pray and pray and God doesn't hear you?

What is up with this “religion” stuff?

What is this “church” and “Christian” thing all about anyhow?

Why do we believe what we believe and why do we bother to gather together?

It is such a hassle to get up and get dressed and to drag ourselves here on Sunday morning when we'd really rather just sleep in and slack ... and for many that hassle is multiplied times the number of other people you help to get here ... children, spouse, other relatives, friends, and perhaps neighbors.

Let me ask you a question “What has been distracting you from full and un-distracted worship this morning?”

Is it an argument you had yesterday that remains unresolved?
Is is a hassle from this morning as you made your way to church?
Is is someone else here in the church, a physical problem, a nagging challenge in your life, lack of sleep, trouble at work, trouble with the children, too much week left at the end of the paycheck ...?

1 Corinthians 7:35 “And this I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is seemly, and to secure un-distracted devotion to the Lord.”

Everyone please take one of the three slips of paper you should find there on your seat.  If you cannot find one please raise your hand and some will be brought to you.  If you did not bring a pen or pencil with which to take notes - you should find a pen or pencil on the shelf in front of you.

Please write down one or more things that interfere with your un-distracted worship of God. Do not put your name on it. Tear it off and hold it for further instructions.

When you have finished lay it down on the floor and stand up with your foot on top of it and wait.

PRAY “Lord, we have just now confessed in writing that we have allowed something to interfere with our un-distracted worship of you this morning.  We accept that Jesus provided for forgiveness on the Cross - we now ask that you strengthen our resolve to repent (turn away) from this and to be led by you to a restoration of undistracted worship.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.”

Please be seated. 

Don't you feel more free all ready?

Matthew 18:19  reads "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

Everyone please take another piece of paper:

Write down something for which you'd like a fellow Christian to pray for you for one week. 
Something with which you need God’s help so that it does not limit or prevent your full worship of Him on Sunday and during the week. (Write down something. Do not put your name on it. Tear it off and hold it for further instructions.)

When you have finished fold it in half and pass that section to the person on your right (if you are at the end of a row then pass it across, if that doesn't work then just hold on to it and give it to a member of staff or a deacon at the end of the service and we will pray for you).  Please say to the person to whom you hand your prayer request “I really need your prayers.  Thank you.”

PRAY  “Lord, please help us to be faithful in praying for one another as You have instructed.”  Amen

So now we have surrendered one distraction to the Lord (it is under your feet) and we have shared one with a brother or sister in our Sunday morning “family of the moment”.

Now we will choose to make God's Word the center of our lives all week long.

When family read through the Bible from beginning to end back in 2008 we were in the early Old Testament books and found Numbers 3:4 – which reads “Nadab and Abihu (two of Aaron's four sons) died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children.”  They knew very clearly from their education every element of worship in exhaustive and repetitive detail, yet they violated God's laws.  God takes worship seriously!

Acts chapter 5 tells of Ananias and Sapphira who “lied to the Holy Spirit” falsely testifying in church to Peter as to the sale price of property.  They claimed that they donated it in its entirety
 as an act of worship.  God struck them dead on the spot for their lies.  God takes worship seriously!

 Acts 16:22-26 describes an attack on Paul & Silas “The crowd joined the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had beaten them severely,  they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely. Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose.”  God takes worship seriously!

Hebrews 10:19-22 reminds us to draw near to God in enduring faith:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. “

Please write the following two verses down on the third slip of paper, you may fill in the actual text later:

Luke 4:8 “Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”
	
Hebrews 12:28 “So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and 
through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe.”

This piece of paper goes wherever you are most likely to see it more than once during the day – on the refrigerator, mirror, computer monitor, wherever -- please feel free to make copies and post them in multiple places – fellow geeks please consider making it your screen saver as well!

Please make a point of reading these verse aloud every time you look at them, you may even choose to memorize them, do so at least once – preferably more than once every day this week.

As we close I recommend the lyrics of a song by Matt Redman:

Heart Of Worship

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come

Longing just to bring that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required

You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

Chorus
      I'm coming back to the heart of worship
      And it's all about You
      It's all about you, Jesus
      I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
      When it's all about You
      It's all about you, Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath

Chorus
      I'm coming back to the heart of worship
      And it's all about You
      It's all about you, Jesus
      I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
      When it's all about You
      It's all about you, Jesus

CONCLUSION & PRAYER

Dear Lord,

	Please help us to make our work, and every other part of our lives, an act of worship of 
You.

	When we gather together let us bring a report of the blessings you have brought as a result of our faithfulness and a petition for forgiveness and restoration where we have failed.

	We are excited as we look ahead to this week – knowing that You will do great things!

Amen

Invitation

As we sing our closing song please come forward - and pay no attention to anyone or any thing but the Holy Spirit Who is encouraging you right now to come.  If you are shy - please catch one of us afterwards - we will stay as long as necessary to serve you. 

Prayer of Dismissal