Peter Tan-Chi - True Worship, Get Real
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Summary
The preacher stresses that true worship is our heartfelt response to who God is, what He has done, and trusting what He will do, and how we worship now reveals our eternal destiny with Him. Drawing mainly from John 4, Psalm 100, and examples like David’s joyful dancing and the healed lame man leaping in praise, he contrasts genuine spirit-and-truth worship with false or idolatrous forms. In the end, he calls believers to excited, whole-life worship expressed in joyful service, anchored in Scripture, and lived out in continual thanksgiving to a good, loving, and faithful God.
What is Worship?
What is worship to you? For many people, worship is what? It’s a religious activity? You come. You go to a place, you sing. What else? You attend gatherings. You pray. Maybe you focus on the posture of your body. You prostrate yourself or you kneel down. Those may be all part of worship, but worship is more than that. Why is this topic so important? Because we all worship, whether you like it or not. Even atheists worship. The only difference is who do you worship? See, worship is from the word worthy. You worship. You give allegiance. You give devotion, adoration to something or someone. All of us worship. Your worship today will reflect to me how you will spend eternity in heaven.
Worship Reveals Eternity
Let me repeat: how you worship God is a revelation of what you will be in eternity. If you don’t enjoy God now, you don’t want to worship Him, what makes you think you will be in heaven? Think about what I’m saying. If you don’t desire God, you don’t want to worship Him, you don’t give Him priority, it’s a thermometer of your relationship with God.
Let me give you a definition of worship. Worship, everybody, together, is our proper response to who God is, what He has done, and our trust in what He will continue to do. This simple definition of what is true worship. It is our proper response. To whom? To who God is. If you don’t know God, you cannot respond properly. You cannot worship somebody you don’t know. So it’s a proper response to who God is.
Knowing God for True Worship
If you haven’t experienced what He has done for you, how can you be thankful? You have no experience. You don’t know Him. So it requires an intimate encounter. So what is proper worship? Our response, proper response, to who God is. Next, to what He has done, and our trust in what He will continue to do for you in the future. Worship is God-centered. Why is this message important? Because it will reveal to you, today while you’re alive, you can do something about it. If you are not excited about worshiping God, it tells you perhaps your relationship with God is problematic. You think you have relationship, but you have religion.
True vs. Counterfeit Worship
The Bible talks about true worship and counterfeit worship. What do I mean? God wants to protect us. That’s why the first commandment in the Bible in Exodus, you’ll be amazed. God tells us why you need to protect yourself. Everybody, together. This is the Ten Commandments. The first one. Everybody, You shall have no other gods before me. You see, we are idol factory. All of us. We want to make our own gods. So God says, be careful. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in water underneath. Everybody read, you shall not worship them or serve them.
Warning Against Idolatry
This is a warning. You know why it’s a warning? Because idolatry is something that will just creep into your life. Even atheists, they worship themselves. They worship something else. Look at Ezekiel Chapter 14, verse three. This is the most dangerous, the worship of idols in your heart. The Bible says, the word of the Lord came to me; son of man, these men have set up idols. Now what are the idols in your heart? Oh, think about it. What really preoccupies you? What are you really pursuing in your life? What do you really love most? As of now? This is something that you need to examine.
The Danger of Idols
That’s why this series is important. This series, we’re going to discuss worship based on the Book of Psalms. We will discuss different Psalms and it will teach you how to worship God. Would you like to learn how to worship God? So that you will take care of the idols in your heart. Remember, the Christian life is a process of destroying idols. All of us have idols. Look at the danger of idolatry. In Second Kings. Let’s read this together. They followed vanity and became vain. What is vanity? You choose something that is like a vapor. It’s meaningless.
They forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served Baal. The Israelites worshipped a male god, Baal and a female goddess called an Asherah, something like that. Because that’s what we do. And the problem is this. It will affect you. Worship of idols will destroy you because idols give you false promises. It is bad for you.
Syncretism in Worship
Look at the next verse I want you to read in Second Kings. They feared the Lord and served their own gods. This is what you call syncretism. They believe in God, but they worship something else. And that is a common problem of many Christians. You believe in God. You believe in Jesus. But on top of that, you also worship something else. It’s called combining everything. You may not realize this, but all of us, you have to examine your heart. What is the object of your trust in life? What do you really trust for your future? For your well-being?
For some people, it’s man. It’s politics. It’s power. It’s all of these other things you add to Christianity. My friend, I want you to grow. Do you like to grow? Because worship is the most important, fundamental thing you will do. Not just now, forever. Do you realize evangelism will stop someday? When I go to heaven, no more evangelism. But worship continues because worship is our response to an infinite holy God.
True Worshipers in Spirit and Truth
God is infinite. You will never get tired of knowing Him. The more you know Him, the more you’ll say Wow. Awesome. That’s God. So we will focus, if you don’t mind, on what Jesus wants us to learn. True worship versus false worship. John chapter four. Let’s read this together. An hour is coming. And now is where the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Notice he talks about true worshipers. Meaning there are false worshipers.
Who are true worshipers? Can you ask your neighbor, ask them, Are you a true worshiper? Well let’s pray we can all be true worshipers. How do you worship? You worship who? The object. True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people, the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God wants true worshipers. Next, God is spirit. Those who worship Him must worship him in spirit and truth.
Worship from the Heart
What does that mean, in spirit? You worship God from the heart. You worship God based on truth. Who is the true God? In Christianity we have learned we worship God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. I’ll show you verses on that. In the meantime, God wants you to worship in spirit, from the heart and based on truth. Now Jesus is very emphatic. In Mark 7, Jesus tells us rightly did Isaiah prophesy, you hypocrites! Why is Jesus angry?
The people, everybody read, the people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines, the precepts of men. What is false worship? When you come to church, when you say you worship God, but you neglect the commandments of God and you hold the tradition of men. So religion can be a form of false worship. When you cling on to tradition, certain ways, that is against the Bible, be careful.
God Rejects Empty Worship
Because God says, everybody together, Neglecting the commandments of God, You hold on what, tradition. No wonder, Isaiah chapter one, verse 13. Everybody, let’s read this together. Bring your worthless offerings no longer. Incense is an abomination to me. I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly, when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes. Even though you multiply prayers. I will not listen.
REAL Worship: Recognizing and Responding
What is real worship? This is for you to remember Psalm 100. What is Psalm 100? It begins with R, recognizing who God is, and you respond. Okay, so what’s the first R? Recognizing who God is. Sing with joy. It’s a command, all the earth. Because of God. You worship God. Sing to the Lord. Amen. All the earth. You respond. What’s E? E tells you the next verse. Serve him. And then what’s the next word after E? A, you must anchor your worship based on who God is.
The Bible tells us God is our maker. God is the one who made us. What is real? What’s L? You live it in thanksgiving. You live in thanksgiving. So let’s start with number one. What’s number one? Shout joyfully to the Lord. Shout joyfully. How many of you have been to an UAAP game? That is very popular in the Philippines. UAAP game, one university against another. You have the green against the blue against the maroon. All kinds of colors. Yes or no?
Excitement in Worship Like David
But can I tell you something? In UAAP game, you begin to see how people worship their team. What do I mean? I was in our class reunion last year during the UAAP championship and we are all already 70 plus. And I see these grandmothers, suddenly they stand up, jumping! These are grandmothers jumping, clapping because our team was winning, okay? My goodness, I said, you cannot tell these people Don’t jump. Don’t shout. Just relax. No no no. If you are excited, what do you do? You shout. You jump.
On Sunday, you and I, every day of our lives, are you excited about the Lord? Well, let me tell you an example of somebody who is excited about the Lord. His name is David. I want you to look at the life of David. Okay, David brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom, the city of David with gladness. Background: When David became the king, the first act that he wanted to do was to bring back the Ark of the covenant. The Ark of the covenant, if you studied the Old Testament is the very presence of God.
So he wanted to bring it to Jerusalem. That’s what he did, his first action. Let’s bring this to Jerusalem with gladness. David was dancing before the Lord with all his might. Dancing. David was excited. He was dancing. You know why? When you’re excited about God, you dance. Now, not only that, David was wearing a linen ephod. If you know he was not wearing his robe. He was not trying to tell people he was the king. He was wearing ordinary clothes. It’s a thick underwear where all the people are wearing also.
David’s Joyful Celebration
So continue reading. David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and the sound of trumpet. Do you understand the heart of David? He was so excited. He was jumping. He was leaping because he was excited about God. I don’t know about you. You get excited on Sunday to worship God? My friend we need to transform our culture in CCF. We need to learn to worship with joy, with excitement. Amen. But don’t fake it. Make it from the heart.
What is the next verse? It happened as the ark of God. The Lord came to the city of David. Jerusalem. Michal, the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, And she despised him in her heart. That is something you need to consider. Why was the wife of David despising him? Was she not excited about the presence of God entering Jerusalem? Why was she angry? Why was she despising?
Michal’s Criticism and David’s Response
Can I suggest something? Michal did not really know the Lord. I don’t think she understood the significance of David’s love for the Lord because she was born as a princess. She lived in the palace. She focused on what? Dignity. How a person should behave. She was focused on what people think, not on what God thinks. So she wasn’t happy with David. In her mind. David was making a fool of himself.
What’s my proof? Read the next verse. When David returned to bless his household, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David. How the King of Israel distinguished himself today. In other words, she was insulting him. He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones, shamelessly uncovers himself. You see, she was looking at people. Some people come to worship God on Sunday. But perhaps you better focus. Are you judging people or are you focused on God? Michal was focused on people.
Look on the next verse. David said to Michal, it was before the Lord to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord. In other words, David knew what God did for him. I was a shepherd boy and he elevated me to become the king. Therefore I, everybody read, I will celebrate before the Lord. Worship is celebrating before God. It is recognizing who God is. And how do you recognize Him? You respond properly. Responding. I will be more lightly esteemed than this, and I would be humble in my own eyes.
David is saying, if they laugh at me, it’s okay, because worship is not about me. You may laugh at my dancing. Jumping. It’s okay. I’m here to worship God. Notice what David said, with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them, I will be distinguished. Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death. God did not bless Michal. It matters to God, your attitude towards Him. Are you excited about the Lord? Yes or no? David was. He jumped, dancing, leaping.
The Lame Man’s Leap of Praise
That’s why I don’t judge other Christians, other churches, when they start jumping up and down. Look at another man who jumped up and down. He was a lame man. He was lame. He could not walk. Then one day Peter came. When the apostle Peter saw this lame man, This is what he did for this lame man. Peter said, I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. You see, this man was a beggar. He couldn’t walk. But Peter said, look, I don’t have money. But what I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Walk!
Peter gave him Jesus. With a leap, he stood upright and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them. How did they enter the temple? Walking, leaping and praising God. Did you see the guy was walking, leaping? Why was he walking and leaping, and praising God? and leaping, and praising God? Because he encountered the goodness of God. All the people saw him walking and praising God. So worship, if you want to understand how to worship God, be excited about the Lord. Do you come on time? Do you prepare your heart?
See, some of you come. If you’re not careful, you may fall asleep. That’s how you worship. You worship God. Don’t worship the speaker. Don’t worship who is here. Don’t worship the choir. You worship God collectively, you will discover that in this verse as we go along. So what is worship? Let’s review. Worship is recognizing who God is and respond wholeheartedly.
Express Worship in Service
This is so crucial. Principle number two. When you worship God, express in service. You see, worshiping God isn’t just dancing up and down. It’s your entire life. It will affect you. What do I mean, your entire life? Look at Psalm 100, verse two. It says what, together. It’s a command again. Serve (it’s a command) the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful singing. Do you notice the emphasis of worship, joy. the emphasis of worship? Gladness and doing something. You shout for joy. You serve him.
Many of you don’t realize this. You are serving. My only question is, who are you serving? Think about it. Whether you like it or not. You are serving — yes or no? Yeah. What are the people you would probably serve? If you’re not careful, You’ll serve yourself. You’ll serve others. You’ll serve your company. You’ll serve for money, or you’ll serve your family. Nothing wrong. But who is the ultimate master?
Choose Whom You Will Serve
Look at Joshua, in Joshua chapter 24. I want you to read this, okay? Everybody read. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, the word serve, just like in Psalm 100 verse 2, the word serve, comes from the Hebrew word «avodah». «Avodah» means what? Work. It means serve. The first time you see the word «avodah» used, It’s in the book of Genesis when God told Adam and Eve to work in the garden, it’s the word «avodah». The «avodah» is what? Work. It’s also used as worship. It’s used as service.
So the Bible tells us, Joshua is now saying, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve, whom you will worship. «Avodah». Life is about choices. Whether you like it or not, you are making choices every day. Listen to me. If you don’t make a choice, it’s a choice. And then tell your neighbor. Who will you serve? Choose who is going to be your god. Who will you serve? Well, Joshua said here are the options. Whether the gods which your father served, your tradition. What is your traditional religion before? Yeah, you can go back there. Follow it. Your choice.
Or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. So who or what are people worshiping today? Popularity, fame, whatever it is, materialism. That’s your choice. You want to live for that? That’s fine. But then he continues. But as for me and my house, We will serve the Lord. I made that decision years ago. As for me and my family, I will serve the Lord. It’s a choice.
No Regrets in Serving God
And I’m happy to tell you, I have no regrets. If I have to live all over again. I will do the same. I will serve God the rest of my life. Because I’ve seen enough of my classmates, enough of my friends. They give themselves to something at the end of their lives, it’s sad. Because idols will surely disappoint you. People will disappoint you. Only God will not disappoint you. And that’s why this topic is important. Real worship. Who God is. What He has done for you. Serve Him.
Now, the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 12, what does it mean to serve Him? Romans 12:1 tells us how do you worship God in the New Testament? Therefore, When you see the word therefore, it means look at the past. What is the past? I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, meaning, all that you have known about God. Romans chapter 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. All Romans chapter one through 11 tells us what God has done for you. His mercy, His grace, what He did for you.
And because of God’s mercy, He now tells you how you should respond. How should you respond? Together. Present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice. That’s how you respond properly. You give your entire life, your entire bodies, your service acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. You cannot worship God without giving your entire life. It’s fake. And many people fake and mock God every Sunday. You come here, you worship. I don’t really know why. Perhaps you really mean it.
Worship Through Daily Life
My only question to you is this — is it affecting your life from Monday to Saturday? Are you a better person at home? You show kindness to your family? Do you serve your family? That’s worship. Every day. Don’t be a counterfeit worshiper, once a week worshiper, it should be daily. Notice what CCF is doing. Why do we allow you to be part of a small group? Because in the small group, that’s how you serve. You know the needs of people. You go out of your way. You help. When you meet people, you know you are God’s representative.
Look at Colossians. You know what the Bible tells us? Whatever you do, do your work, what? Heartily, as for the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord. You’re a doctor. You’re a housewife. Do it for the Lord. You know I tell pastors. I tell leaders if you serve God with the wrong motives, whatever you are doing becomes secular. And all of you in the office. Whatever you are doing, you do it for the Lord, It becomes spiritual.
Look at 1 Corinthians. Whatever you do, do all for, everybody read. Whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. My friend, if that’s your motive, your life will never be the same. In your company, in church, in ministry, It’s not about you. It’s not about your position. It’s not about your title. It’s all about God. You do everything for His glory. And that is true worship.
Anchored in God’s Word
Next, what is true worship? Well. Let’s read. What is true worship? Anchored in God’s word. True service is centered on who God is. You know, I like what John Stott said about true worship. All true worship, everybody, is a response to the self-revelation of God in Christ and Scripture, and arises from our reflection on who He is, what He’s done. Mine is just shorter. Mine is true worship. It’s our response to who God is, what he has done. But you will not know God if you don’t study the Bible.
You see, God has revealed himself in the Bible. The unique thing about God is His self revelation. No other scriptures in the entire world can equal to the Bible. God declares Himself what He is like His character, His righteousness. For example, the complaint of the Bible about us is you make God to be like what you think. Let me repeat: the problem with us We invent a God of our own imagination and think He is God.
What’s my proof? Look at Psalm 50. Psalm 50 tells us these things you have done And I kept silence. They were justifying evil. You thought I was just like you. God is telling you, don’t think I’m like you. When you worship God, do not have a picture of a man made God because of your father. Because of your past. Don’t picture God the way you want to picture him. You must picture God based on his self-revelation through Jesus Christ.
Balanced View of God
Example, if you just say God is love, what’s the consequence? It’s okay for me to commit sin. He loves me. Whatever I do, it’s okay. God is love. But that is not the God of the Bible. The Bible says God is love and God is Holy. The Bible tells us God is righteous so He will not tolerate sin. But if you have a picture of a lopsided God, that’s how people get into trouble. Why do you think people keep living in sin? They don’t understand the love of God and the holiness of God. You got to combine the two.
If you are very legalistic, you know, I cannot do this. That’s sin. It’s all legalism. You will never experience forgiveness because you are too harsh on yourself. So you got to balance. Is God a forgiving God — yes or no? Louder. Does he discipline? He disciplines. Why? Because He’s holy. If you think of a God that prepares heaven for everybody, and the God who does not make a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous, my friend, that’s not the God we worship. The God we worship makes a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous.
God as Creator and Shepherd
And that’s what the Bible is saying. Look at Psalm 100. Know the Lord. What does he want us to know? Everybody read. Know. You see, know, you have to anchor your faith in the truth that the Lord Himself is God. It is He who has made us, not we ourselves. Who is the God we worship according to the Bible? Our creator who made us. You did not make yourself. It is God, and if it is God made you. You owe it to him to submit to him, to trust him, and not make up your own rules. Because God is God. He’s Almighty. But not only is he Almighty.
The Bible tells us we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. We belong to God. You are so special. You are chosen by God. You see, if you don’t understand the Bible, you got to dig deeper. To worship properly, you got to grow deeper in God’s Word. Know him. What do I mean? Example, what is the implication of we are his people, we are His sheep. He’s our shepherd? Look at John. You study the Bible. You realize, wow, this is the meaning. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus is now telling us I am the good shepherd. I love you. I laid down my life for you. I want you to know I love you. I’m not just your creator. I am your redeemer. I’m your shepherd. Everybody read. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me personally. God is saying I’m a good shepherd. I love you. I know you. Look at the next verse. The next verse. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow me.
Evidence of True Relationship
My friends, how do you know God is your God? God is my shepherd? Look at the evidence. My sheep, my sheep. Hear my voice. Some of you have never heard the voice of God. You have been in CCF. You say you’re a Christian, but you don’t have any personal encounter with God. Why? You don’t listen to Him. And the reason why you don’t listen to Him Is because God has stopped talking to you. Why will God keep talking to you if you keep disobeying Him? My sheep hear My voice, and I know them. And they. what? They follow Me.
How can you be a Christian And you don’t follow Jesus? So a true Christian not only knows that God is His creator, but God is His Savior. His shepherd. Notice His promise? I give them, what? Everybody read. I give them eternal life. They will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. You see, God promised to give you eternal life. Forgiveness. Is God good? Yes or no? Praise God. Now, do we worship a good God? Yes or no? And that’s why when you encounter Him, you will worship Him.
Have you experienced eternal life? Have you experienced the forgiveness of God in your life? Okay, so worship is knowing Him. You got to anchor, You got to study the Bible. Many of you don’t study the Bible, If you come here once a week, you will not grow deep. Your worship won’t be exciting. You know why? Shallow, you have shallow relationship with God. You got to study the Bible. I study the Bible everyday, as much as possible. I’m sure there are days I miss, but as a rule, I study to know God.
Live in Thanksgiving
And now, what do you need to know about God? Well, the next principle is very simple. You must recognize not only who God is expressed in service, anchored in God’s love. Lastly, you must live in thanksgiving. What does it mean to live in thanksgiving? Well the Bible is very clear. Look at Psalm 100 verse 4. Psalm 100 has only five verses. We are now in verse four. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him. Bless His name. This is a command. You enter His courts, His gates with thanksgiving. His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him. Implication. Christianity is never alone. I worship God privately, but I also worship him as I enter the gates. I am with other people. Christianity is never worshiping alone. Those of you who are watching us in your bedroom today. Wherever you are at home in your bedroom, I want you to have the attitude of the importance of worshiping together. There are reasons why you worship alone sometimes. I understand that. But as a rule, make it a habit to worship God together.
If you’re alone, well, I suggest don’t worship God alone. Bring others with you. I remember I was in a house church in a CCF house church. They had three, four families gathered together and during the singing they stood up and during the message they listened. They participated. Nothing wrong, but it’s a group effort. You worship God together.
Public and Collective Worship
What’s my proof? In the Bible, thanking God is always public. You don’t thank somebody without telling others. Enter (His gates), give thanks to the Lord. Look at some verses. Give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. Everybody read, make known His deeds among the people. You see, worshiping God is letting people know about the goodness of God. Make His deeds known. Look at Psalm 105 verse 1. Praise the Lord. I’ll give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the company of the upright and the assembly.
My friend, public, collective worship is important. Private worship is important. Public worship is equally important. The New Testament practice this. Let me read for you, Acts. Let’s read together, chapter two. Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple, (big gathering in the temple) and breaking bread from house to house. House churches. House fellowship. They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.
Don’t stop here. Praising God, you see, publicly, together, praising God together, having favor with all the people. The Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. The New Testament church was alive, vibrant. They gathered together. They gathered publicly together. They also invite friends. That’s why it says day by day people are getting saved.
God’s Goodness, Love, and Faithfulness
When you meet together, do you talk about the Lord? In your own group, When you meet together, what do you talk about? Gossip? Or you talk about the Lord? I do my best to talk about the Lord, what he has done for me. I want to encourage people. And you know what you talk about, as we close, why do you talk about the Lord? Look at Psalm 100, as we close, The Lord is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting. His faithfulness to all generations. He talks about the three important attributes of who God is.
Number one, God is good. Do you believe God is good? My friend, the challenge is this. If I’m having problems today, if I’m having sickness or loved ones, How can God be good? You interpret circumstances based on who God is. Next Sunday, I’ll talk to you how worship will impact the way you interpret things. You interpret things based on, number one. God is good. Number two, God is, what? Love. His loving kindness. It doesn’t mean you’re not a problem. But do you believe God loves you? Honestly, you believe God loves you?
Do you believe God is faithful to you? You know, I’ve been young and I’m still young today. As I look back in my life, I can honestly say, inspite of the many problems I’ve gone through. At the end of the day, God is good. With all my heart, I believe God is good. With all my heart, I believe God loves you. God loves me, with all my heart. And I believe with all my heart that God is faithful. He keeps His promises. But do you know Him? Do you know Him?
Personal Encounter with God’s Faithfulness
Let me close with what I’m trying to say. Worship becomes very real If you really encounter the goodness of God, the love of God and His faithfulness. My wife and I, We brought our children to Palawan to visit our missionary work. You know, new tribes mission. Many of them worship with CCF. We help them We took our boat to go to a tribe, but something happened. The engine broke. The engine conked out. And the worst of all. I saw the cloud. It was turning dark and the wind was blowing. No engine. Our boat was being blown away.
And worst of all, my missionary friend, he was in panic. He dropped the anchor. Except the anchor was not tied to the rope, To the boat. So the anchor went down and I saw his face. Now, this guy is a white American missionary. He was white. But when I looked at his face, he was whiter than ever because he panicked in the sea. No anchor. And the wind is blowing. I know my geography. We will end up in Vietnam. So I jumped into the water. My wife jumped into the water. Those of us who can swim, we jumped into the water.
Because I have young kids, my kids were still small. We were pushing the boat. But I tell you, no way you can push the boat. When the wind is blowing, you just keep going further and further away. And I look at the water from blue to dark blue. And I imagine the movie, the Jaws I got, but I tell you something, We were praying like crazy. Praying and praying. Raining, wind. And would you believe it? A boat came. Another boat came.
I don’t know how they saw us. They helped us, but we don’t have any more rope, right? So we had to do some fixing to get there. But can I tell you something? When we hit the land, when I went down to the beach, this is what I did. I went down. I went down. Raise up, My hands up. And I kissed the ground. And I said, Lord, thank you. I am on the land, not on the sea. My friend, there are many lessons you can learn. But when you really experience God’s goodness, faithfulness, you cannot help but worship Him. Amen.
Call to True Worship
And that, my friend, is what you need to cultivate every day. Live in thanksgiving. Learn to count your blessings. Don’t ever take your blessing for granted. So every day I try to count my blessings. Is God good? All right. Next, as we close in prayer. If there’s anyone here, you are being honest, Peter, I don’t know this kind of worship. I have religion, I have some religion. But I have never given my life to Jesus as my Lord, my Savior. You don’t know God as your shepherd. You have not been following Him. But today you want to change. Well, I praise God you can change today.
Would you like to change today? Okay. Bow down with me. You pray with me. Those of you who want to change. To live a life of worship. Raise your hands. I want to pray for you. In fact, I want to make it a real challenge for you. Humble yourselves, between you and God, I’ll pray for you. Stand up, those of you who need prayer. You want to surrender your life to Jesus. You want to give Him, to surrender everything to him. Stand up. Anybody else?
You want to say Lord, I want to really learn to worship You. I surrender my life to You. Anybody else? You say, Lord, I want stop playing games. No more games. I will take You seriously. I offer a life of worship. Those of you who are not reading the Bible. You want to repent? You stand up. Lord, I want to commit to start reading the Bible. Stand up also, make a commitment whatever you want to do, but you got to make a public commitment to the Lord.
Praise God. Anybody else? You see, these are moments when you have to make a choice. Choices is what will determine your future. By not choosing anything, you are making a choice. I want you to make a choice to live a life of worship. A life of surrender to God. Anybody else? Stand up. Praise God. Those of you who are watching us, feel free Wherever you are to stand up and pray this prayer with me.
Lord Jesus, here I am. I surrender my life to You. I have not been worshiping You. I worship myself. But today I humble myself before You. I surrender my life. I ask you, Jesus, to forgive all of my sins. I admit I’m a sinner. And now I accept You. The gift of forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. Change my heart. Give me a heart of worship. In Jesus name we all pray, Amen and amen.