What Exactly is Worship? Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Exactly is Worship? Part 2. He will be reading out of Isaiah 1:11-20.

And you and I have a responsibility how we treat others. You can’t walk out of this place and live like the devil and then come back here next Sunday and think that your worship is acceptable to God. It’s not.

Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from The Open Door Church, and I want to welcome you to Hope Worth Having, and we’re delighted that you’re listening today to the program. And we’re looking forward to what God has to say and teach us today. And we’re going to be in Isaiah chapter one, verse 11 through 20.

We’re continuing our study on what exactly is worship. So I want you to grab your Bible and join me as we study together. You just cannot be right with God if you’re wrong with everybody else.

It’s impossible. That’s why Peter said to the believers that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

And he’s not talking about unbelievers. He’s talking about believers. And this is what Isaiah the prophet is saying when he says to them in verse 15, you spread out your hands.

They’re lifting their hands unto God. Great, wonderful. But he says, I’ll hide my eyes from you.

Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. It could refer to the blood of the sacrifices, or it could be symbolism of how they treat other people.

Either way, the point is clear, that God will not hear the prayers of his people if our life is not aligning with the word of God. And that it is hypocritical to come into the house of the Lord and worship God when we are walking in sin. So third John tells us, beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.

He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil has not seen God. See, people watch our lives, don’t they? They see how we act and react and how we handle circumstances. And they are seeing whether we worship God in our daily activities, that all that we do is for his glory and not for our selfish ambitions or our own agendas, but rather everything is about God.

And so they look at us, and John is saying, you need to do what is right or what is good. Because that’s what God’s good work is in you. That’s how he is glorified for you.

So we come down to verse 16 and 17, and there’s a call to repentance. Look at it again. Wash yourselves.

Make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Rebuke the oppressor.

Defend the fatherless and plead for the widow. The prophet is not trying to tell us to work our way to heaven. He’s trying to say, show yourself as being a person who has been touched by heaven.

That God has done his good work in you. That you are to be a person who promotes justice. You’re to be a person who learns to do good.

That you speak up and step up against those who are oppressing others. This is a reflection of our heart. This is a reflection of who we are as we worship God.

We are worshipers of God, and we worship him in spirit and in truth. And the Bible tells us to worship him in spirit, which means that it needs to be authentic. He’s not talking about the Holy Spirit.

Certainly the Spirit of God leads and guides all of our worship. That’s a known factor. But in the idea of this word and the original language, he’s talking about being real in your worship.

Being true to God in your worship. And then not only are you true to God in your heart, but you are guided by the truth. Worship God in spirit and truth.

The truth shapes our worship, and it shapes how we live. And as we are out there interacting with others and operating as believers and true worshipers of God, people are seeing whether our life is glorifying God, reflecting God. Then they know that there is a God, and that God can change a heart, and God can transform a person.

James put it like this in James 1, pure religion, undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Now again, sometimes people like to make these the marks of salvation, but that’s not the point. The point is that these are the marks of someone who’s truly been saved.

These are the marks of true worshipers who are genuine before God in their walk with him. And so Isaiah continues on after this call of repentance, after he acknowledges in verse 11 through 15, he points out the failure of outward religion and outward worship going through the motion, and then a call to repentance in verse 16 and 17. Then we come to an incredible invitation in verse 18 through 20.

Let’s read it. Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. What beautiful sets of words, amen? Because see, that’s what I love about God, is that God doesn’t just say, hey Mike, this is your problem, but he says, I want to show you a path to deal with it.

He helps me and restores me and renews me. He brings me back. He shows me the path.

We like to refer it to like this, that it is redemptive discipline. Redemptive discipline. When we came many years ago, we believed it was important to establish redemptive discipline in the Christian school.

Because we believe that redemptive discipline is the way of the Lord. And so it is in our walk with Jesus Christ this morning, is that God is not cutting you off because you came just dragging in and going through the motions. And though he may have been disappointed that your heart was not really there and all in with worship this morning, God is saying, hey, I want to restore you.

I want to renew you. And he says, here’s the way. And he gives us an invitation.

Let’s look at first the tone. It’s a tone of reason rather than demanding. He says at the outset, let us reason together.

I love this because one of the things that I think is so essential in the 21st century in the American church is this skill set to think or to discern. It seems to me that so many Christians have quit thinking. There is no discernment in the body of Christ.

And that whatever is the razzle-dazzle and whatever moves the heart and the emotion, whatever makes the foot tap, it must be from God. And if it came down from heaven, or at least I should say it says heaven or Jesus on it, it must be true. But you see, the Bible tells us that the devil appears as an angel of light, doesn’t he? And we’re called to test all things, to prove all things.

And here God says, I don’t want you to check out your brain when you come to the gathering. I don’t want you to check out your brain when you are coming to assemble as corporately as believers. But he says, I want you to reason with me.

I want us to reason. Use your noggin. And so it is that God is not only a righteous judge, but he’s a loving father.

And his tone towards us is, let’s think about this. Let’s just think about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it. And his tone is one that he certainly has great sorrow over his children.

We jump back to verse 5 and 6. He said, why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart faints. Verse 6, the sole of the foot, even to the head.

There is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. They have not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment. He is saying, you’re sick.

And I care about you. And I care enough about you to intervene. To be intentional.

Not to just leave you in your sickness and delay in your spiritual bed. And let you deteriorate spiritually and drift from God. He says, I want to get your attention.

So God, out of great love, gives this great invitation. And that he gives it in a heart that cares. We remember our Savior in Luke 13 who said, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

The one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But you were not willing.

Our empty worship breaks the heart of God. Our hearts that have drifted break the heart of God. He cares.

It does matter. It is important to him. So what an amazing thing that God reasons with us when we stray.

How incredible that the Lord Jesus knocks at our door even though we have become lukewarm in our faith. You remember the words of Jesus. Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

And if anyone hears me, my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine or fellowship with him and he with me. This is the tone that God has this morning to each of our hearts. It is a desire that we would open the door and that we would reconnect with God and have that fellowship with him at a deeper level.

That our Bible reading would be more than just, I checked that off. That our prayers would be more than, yep, got that done. So I don’t have to worry about pastor getting on to me about that.

But that we would want to fellowship him at a deeper level. That we’re not worried about a checklist. But we are passionate about spending time with Jesus every day.

Let’s talk about the terms of this invitation. Stepping from his bench, the judge offers the accused a full pardon. Both wool and snow are white by nature.

And the Lord is offering to give each of us, his people, a new heart and a new nature. It’s like the words of John when he said, if you walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all of our sin.

You see, friends, when we respond to God, he takes the initial step. He reaches out. He’s the one that is searching, looking, and being intentional.

But when we respond to his great work in our hearts, what does he do? The Bible teaches us that he cleanses us, he washes us, and he makes us brand new. Gives us a fresh start in the Lord Jesus Christ. And what I want you to know in 1 John 1, 7, is that there’s a connection here.

Again, what I’ve already taught you. That you can’t be wrong with others and be right with God. And you can’t be wrong with God and be right with others.

It’s just an impossibility. It’s something that we have to keep in the forefront of our hearts. And so, John says, we have fellowship one with another.

You see, you may drift. God hasn’t kicked you out of the family, but the fellowship’s not as sweet, right? You’ve been to those Thanksgiving dinners when it was awkward. Maybe a brother and sister aren’t getting along.

Maybe a mom is upset with a son. Maybe a dad is disappointed in his children. And yet, we all tried to do the Thanksgiving dinner because we’ve always done the Thanksgiving dinner.

And we kind of just showed up and we ate the turkey and we ate the cranberry sauce. And then we were trying to figure out how to get out of there because we can’t stand some of these people. Amen? But here’s what God does.

He comes in and wipes all those offenses away. All those issues away. And he brings us back into sweet fellowship with him.

And he brings us back in sweet fellowship with others. It wasn’t the sacrifice of animals. It wasn’t the rituals that was going to make it right.

It had to be getting right with God in their hearts. That was essential. You know in Isaiah 53 verse 1 and 2. I want you to real quickly just jump over there.

Will you do that for me? Because it becomes such a thread throughout this whole book and even the Bible. That it’s hard for us to ignore this great passage in Isaiah 53. In which we are reminded who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed.

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant. And this is a prophecy about Jesus. And as a root out of dry ground he has no form or comeliness.

And when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. And look at verse 4. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are healed. We are healed spiritually.

We are healed from the offenses of sin. And the walls of disfellowship. We are healed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is a condition. And the condition is that we must repent. It means we need to change direction.

Now guys, if you’re like me and most of you probably are in some way. Is that you’re hard headed. And we’re saying, I know how to get there honey, don’t tell me.

And my wife will say to me, Mike, I think we’re on the wrong road. Honey, I have driven this way 10 times. I know what I’m doing.

This just happened, okay. And I am so determined. And then I can’t find where we’re supposed to be.

And I got to humble myself. Not only do I have to humble myself to my wife. But I have to humble myself to the GPS lady.

So now I got two women to humble myself to. But I got to change direction. And you see, that’s what God’s saying.

He’s saying change direction. Change directions. Reject apathy.

Reject formalism. Reject the charade. And let God do his work in your heart as you are repenting.

Now verse 21 through 31, we don’t have time to read every verse. But we’ll point out a few. But there is a painful purification.

So God has given us this great invitation. But he’s purifying us too. That as we come to him and we make things right, he is purifying our hearts.

So unlike Sodom, remember that he sarcastically called him Sodom? Remember he referred to the people like the people of Gomorrah? And you remember that story that God just rained down judgment upon them? Well, these people are his people, Judah. And so it’s a little bit different in that the Lord is going to purify, not annihilate. He’s going to purify our hearts.

And so we are a stubborn people and we can be persistent. But God is still going to draw us to him. Look at verse 26.

I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Look at verse 27.

He says, Zion shall be redeemed with justice and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together. And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

He goes on to talk about those who reject God. But he goes on to teach us that he is purifying us. He is purifying us, church.

And I want you to understand something. That God will discipline you. He will discipline me.

He will confront me. He will confront us if need be. He will judge our sins and we will have to face the consequences of our sin.

But he has not given up on us. He has not kicked us out of the family. When we try to substitute religion or a religious experience for genuine worship and obedience to God and love for others, it will always fail.

But God says, I want you to realign your heart. I want you to realign your heart. Yes.

I want you to remember that, and again you can read this on your own, but in 1 Peter, the Bible teaches us that we’re tried by the fire. And when Peter shares this story about being tried by the fire, he talks about all the infirmities when the gold is put into the fire or the metal, the precious metal is put into the fire, that all the infirmities rise to the top, and then the blacksmith takes a tool and wipes that infirmities away. And it’s a beautiful picture of the believer going through adversity, that we are tried by the fire.

There is a purification that God is doing in our life. And some of you are wondering the what and the why. There are storms of correction that God is using in our life to help us get back on the right path and to purify our hearts.

And when all of our weaknesses are exposed in the midst of the adversity, in the midst of the trial, in the midst of the challenge, who you really are is right there naked before God. But it’s also right there naked before you, isn’t it? Some of you remember what it was like taking a test in school, don’t you? But I want you to know it was not just to let the teacher know, did you learn anything? But see, the test was designed to show you what you knew and didn’t know. And what I want you to know, that as I walk through a test or trial, you and I together as we walk through adversities, that it’s not only showing God where am I at and what do I need to work on, but it’s revealing to me where I’m at and what I need to work on.

And God is purifying me so that I would stay in alignment with Him. There is no vital relationship with God apart from obedience to God. And you and I have a responsibility how we treat others.

You can’t walk out of this place and live like the devil and then come back here next Sunday and think that your worship is acceptable to God. It’s not. You can’t be wrong with people out there and then come in here thinking you’re right with God because you lifted up your hand or you prayed a prayer or you signed a card or you went through the motions.

You need to make sure that when you leave this place that your worship continues to God in how you treat others. And that’s why Isaiah spent so much time in this chapter talking about defending the fatherless, helping the widows, seeking justice. He is saying that it all flows together because our proper treatment of others is foundational to our worship to God.

And so if you want to abandon empty worship, you have to abandon a lifestyle that is contrary to the Word of God out there so that when you come in here that God is receiving your worship as true. Let’s pray. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are close.

We don’t stand in judgment to you this morning. We say we know and we understand, but we call upon you to join together as believers to say, Lord, forgive me. Maybe there’s something you said or did this week that needs to be brought to the Lord in this moment.

This is our response to God. While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, I invite you to respond to Him, whatever God has pointed out. And maybe even through your adversity, God has shown you some things you need to work on, things that you’ve got to make right.

And maybe there’s someone you need to be right with and you need to reach out and connect so you can be right with God. That’s the crux. You can’t be wrong with others and authentically worship God.

You just can’t. And so through His blood, let Him cleanse you and make you white and pure. And the Bible says if we confess our sins, He’s faithful.

May it be our heart this morning to sing again in our hearts, change my heart, oh God. May I be more like you. If you’re here this morning and you don’t know Jesus Christ, I pray today that you would reason with the Lord, that you would come to Him, and that you would see that you’re a sinner in need of a Savior.

And the Savior through the blood of Christ can wash away and make you as white as snow. He can wash away your sin if you’ll only come with a surrendered and submissive heart. Heavenly Father, this morning we come acknowledging that there have been moments and times we have just walked through the rituals.

We just did the motions, but our heart was not there. And for many reasons, our heart was not there. But we ask God that you would again renew our hearts, restore us in fellowship with you, with others, and may we walk in alignment with your truth.

May you bless us with your wisdom as we navigate the challenges of this world. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to be real as you expose what we need to address in our hearts. Grant us hearts that are obedient, hearts that are humble.

I pray, Lord, for anyone here this morning that may not know you as their Savior. I pray that they would engage their mind and think about your invitation to them and how reasonable it is to come to Jesus, how much sense it makes to bring your sins to you, Lord, and that you promise when we humble our hearts that you will forgive us of our sins, that if we call upon your name that you would save our soul. I pray that many hearts today would trust you as Lord and Savior.

And we ask God that you would forgive us of empty worship and that you would grant us hearts that authentically and genuinely worship, not just here, but throughout the day as we interact with others. We pray all this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Despite their rebellion, the Israelites did not abandon religion.

But unfortunately, the Lord could not bear their rituals anymore, and he was tired of their insincerity. And so when we think about worship, it’s not so much the outward as it is the inward, and that we need to make sure our heart is in alignment with Jesus Christ, that we’re not caught up into empty formalism, and that we are distant from the Lord in our hearts where we are indulging in hypocrisy. So I pray that God will grant us a sincerity as we worship him.

I want you to know that we appreciate your support. Many of you pray for our radio program. Many of you are sending donations and thank you because as you give, it helps us to stay on the air.

And make sure when you give, let us know what radio station you’re listening to us on so that we can continue to be an encouragement to them as well. So this is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.