Robert Morris — His Worship
We've been talking a lot about worship, how that relates to living in God's presence and I want to talk to you about worship. What worship is and what it is not. And I want you to understand, you were born a worshiper. You were born a worshiper. It's natural for you to worship. The question is not, are you a worshipper? The question is, what or whom do you worship, because we all worship. And worship is not just singing. That can be worship but people can sing and not worship and we've done it. We've sung and yet, our mind was somewhere else. And that's not worship.
Worship is not just exalting God. That's a part of worship and can be worship but you need to understand that God did not create you to exalt him. Please hear me. He had the angels to do that. The angels were doing it before creation, they're doing it right now, and according to Revelation, they do it for all eternity. They exalt God. And, you might go back to a message I shared about how one-third fell, and you say, "Yeah, well, but one-third of the angels fell". Yeah, but two-thirds didn't. There's still plenty of angels to worship God. He gives His angels charge over you, there are six-billion people on the earth. So, I don't know how many angels there are. We don't know. We have one place in the Bible that says 10.000 times 10.000 stood before him — and that's a big number.
And some refer to the Judgment, some believe that it's also angels there, as well. Jesus said to Pilate, "You don't think I could ask my Father, and He would send 12 legions of angels"? 12 legions. "Legion" was a Roman word, 6.800-something soldier. So, over 75.000 people right there. He said, I could get 75.000 angels just like that. So, there are a bunch of angels. Here's the reason I'm saying that, God did not create you because he needed someone else to exalt Him. So that's not what worship is.
So I'm going to give you a definition of worship and it's a short definition that hopefully you can remember, it's just two words. Worship is love expressed. Love expressed. And we're going to break down those two words here in a moment. But if it's love and it's not expressed, it's not worship. And if you express something, yet it's not love, it's not worship. Do you follow me? Worship is when we express our love to God. You were created to give and receive love from God. And let me go back to this, the angels worked. The angels were not created to love God and be loved by God, only you were. So worship is about love. That's what it's about and it's expressing that love.
So, I only have two points this weekend and we're going to breakdown both words, all right. So here's point number one, worship is love. Worship is love. Now, I'm going to show you some scriptures in Deuteronomy 11 and I might shock you with this but God actually commands us to love him, It's a command. Now, you might think, well, how could God command me to love him? Well, I don't have time to go into all of this but I've shared this before and it's a big thing to understand in marriage, love is a choice. It's not something you fall in and out of. You chose to love. So the reason God can command you is because you have a choice. So he's commanding you to make the right choice, for your benefit by the way.
So look at Deuteronomy 11:1, "Therefore, you shall", this is like the Ten Commandments using the word shall and shall not. "You shall love the Lord, your God, and keep his charge, his statutes, his judgments, and his commandments always". Deuteronomy 11:13, "And it shall be that if you earnestly obey my commandments, which I command you today", now, watch what he commands them today, "to love the Lord, your God, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul". Now, I know these Old Testament, you know, I don't get hung up on that because when the New Testament confirms it and the Old Testament is God's word too, but, let me just show you how this is confirmed, not just by the New Testament but by Jesus himself.
Matthew 22:35-38, "Then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question testing him and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law'? Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind'. This the first and great commandment". Now, we read Deuteronomy 11, he's not quoting Deuteronomy 11 there, he's quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. But the point is, Jesus, they said, what's the great commandment. He said, "You shall love the Lord, your God". That' the great one and that's the first one. It's amazing.
So we're commanded to love God but how do we love God? It's really simple. When you got saved, God gave you the ability to love him. You need to know this. God gave you a new heart so you could love him. He actually gave you a brand-new heart, the seed of your emotions, so that you could love him. Well, look at this verse. Deuteronomy 30:6, "And the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart", now, this next phrase, really good, really, really good promise to claim for your family. "He will circumcise your heart and the heart of your decedents". Isn't that good? How would you like to claim that for your family? Okay. Watch, what is he going to circumcise your heart to do? "To love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live". In other words, again, for your benefit.
So God gave you the ability to love him, but, have you ever looked at someone and thought, I wish I loved God as much as he does or as much as she does? I wish I loved God that much. You ever had that thought? You ever seen someone, that in your opinion, loves God more than you and you have that thought, I wish I loved God that much. Okay? Well, why is this? How do we explain this? Well, let me tell you two things about love. All right? First of all, love leaks. Love leaks. In other words, your heart's full of love and it can leak out. Let me give you an example. Marriage, standing there at the altar, for better — Yeah, you don't mean that. Because when it gets worse, you get mad. Right?
So something can happen. Think about how love can leak. It's your heart. Satan — here's what Ephesians 6 says, "He shooting arrows at you". You know what he's trying to do? He's trying to punch a hole in your heart with a hurt, with an offense, with a judgment, with a lie. And so, if he gets that arrow through, if you receive it and you don't have to receive it because you can block every fiery dart, flaming arrow with the shield of faith. It says, "Everyone of them". But if you receive it, boom, you got a hole in your heart? And that can be in a relationship or it can be with God. You can get mad at God. You can get disappointed at God.
So love can leak. So that's one way you can say, well, that person seems to love God more than I do. Well, you need to see if there are any holes in your heart. Here's the second thing about love. Love grows. Love grows. Let me use the analogy of children. You're in the hospital, you've got the beautiful baby, you hold that baby for the first time. You don't think that you could love that baby any more. Is that right? But you do. Don't you? As that child grows up, your love grows for that child. You love that child more. Now, there are seasons you don't like them but you love them. You get mad at them about something. You go through something but you love them.
See love in our hearts can leak and it can grow. That's why it appears sometimes that we know my love for God is growing cold. That's when we press into God. That's when we're honest with him. That's when we say, God, I just don't feel what I used to feel. I'm telling you, it won't intimidate him for you to tell him that. He can do something about it.
So first of all, worship is love. Here's number two, worship is expressed. Worship is expressed. So if it's love and it's not expressed, it's not worship. Again, let me use an analogy of a marriage. If you're in a marriage and you never express your love that's not a good marriage. See it doesn't work. Guys, just so you know. It doesn't work to say, "Well, I told you I loved you 30 years ago and if it changes I'll let you know". That doesn't work. Love has to be expressed. And let me say it another way so it will give us another word. Love expressed, let me say it this way, love communicated. Love communicated which literally means that giving and receiving, communicated. There's something that I'm doing.
God created us to communicate with Him. He created us to walk and talk with him in the garden but sin came in the world. Now, if you're Genesis 4, let me show you this, you may see a verse you've never seem before. Now, what I mean by that is many of us have read through the Bible and some several times, but, you've probably all had this happen to you; you read something and you think, I never seen that verse before. Right? Okay. That's the way God's word is because it's infinite even though it's literally on pages, God's word is eternal. So let me show you a verse maybe you've never seen before to be the last part of he second verse we read. All right?
Genesis 4:25-26, "And Adam knew his wife again and she bore a son and named him Seth for God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel whom Cain killed. And as for Seth, to him also, a son was born and he named him Enosh". Now watch this phrase, "Then men began to call on the name of the Lord". Lots of versions. Fun to read this version That's when men first began to call on God. Here's one, New Living Translation, "At that time people first began to worship the Lord by men". It was during Enosh's lifetime that people first began to worship God.
Now, again, I'm going to tell you something surprising. Remember God created Adam and Eve and they walked and talked with him everyday until sin came. Every conversation, all you got to do is read Genesis 3 and 4, it's between Adam and Eve and then, Cain with God. Every conversation after the Fall was not initiated by people. Every conversation after the Fall, until Genesis 4:26 when it says, "Then men began to call on God". Every conversation is the person, Adam and Eve or Cain answering a question. Where are you? Who told you were naked? Did you eat from the tree? Where is your brother? You remember? What it asked Cain. Okay? Everyone of them.
And so, God asked them asked a question and then, He pronounces the judgment. And then, Adam and Eve are driven out from the garden, the presence of God. Cain is driven out from the presence of God. And we think that this didn't, you know what, this just happened in a few years. But remember, they lived over 900 years back then. So at 900 years and then, you've got Seth, lives over 900 years. Then he has a son named Enosh who lives over 900 years. But in Enosh's lifetime, Adam and Eve's grandson was the first time people began to call on God. People began to call out. People began to communicate with God. They began to worship God. That's what we were created to do.
Now, I have a real desire for men to worship God. It's a strong desire in my heart. So I want to talk about a little something here because we're talking about love expressed and women express love easier than men. And love communicated and women communicate easier than men. This is just scientific fact. I mean, even the secular studies bear this out. I know there are men who are less verbal or more verbal. Women who are less or more. I'm not talking about that. Let me tell you one study. Women learn and they communicate, now listen, communicate by listening and talking. Now, all the ladies here are thinking, uh, yeah, that's how you communicate. Listen and talk.
Okay. But that's not how men communicate and that's not how they learn. Men communicate by watching and doing. That's why they like shop class. They get to watch and do. That's why men like driving. They get to watch and do unless they have to listen to someone talk. I'm kidding. Sorry. Think about this. Jesus had 12 disciples and they were men. They were men. What did he say? "Watch what I do — watch what I do and then, do what I do". That's the way he trained them. You say, yeah, but he also told parables. That's because there were women there. And I'm going to prove it even further. What did the men, what did the disciples do after he told the parable? What did that mean? Is that right? But the women knew what he meant.
See, I'm telling you, I'm just helping you. Men do things together and they're closer. Men go play golf and they don't say five words and they come home and they're closer. But, when we get home, what do you say? "What'd y'all talk about"? And what do we say? "Nothin'". We're not lyin'. And for a long a time, see, Debbie didn't get that. And she'd try to get me to communicate, you know? So, here's what she'd say, "Listen to me". So I would focus. And then about five minutes gone, she'd say, "Talk to me". "I thought you wanted me to listen"! And then, finally, a woman catches on.
You wanna know what a man does when he's gone, don't say to him, "What'd y'all talk about"? When he comes home, say this: "What'd you do"? He will talk! Promise — He'll say, "Well, we got up about 5 and we had breakfast. And then we went huntin'. "And Bill saw the big 10-point we'd been after. I mean, he just saw him, he couldn't get a shot on him. I lost all the..". — he'll just talk, and talk, and talk! Just ask him what he did! Same thing: men don't ask her, "What'd y'all do"? Ask her, "What'd you talk about"? But you better have some time.
Okay, so. I know I'm just giving us some funny examples, but I know men are different. I understand, they communicate different, science proves it. Okay, but... men do talk. Ask 'em about the Cowboy game this last week. And praise the Lord, thank you Lord... Finally answering our prayers. But ask a man a question about something or someone he's passionate about. When a man meets a girl, he starts talking about her. Right? And you're like, "Okay, quit talking about her. Let's talk about something else". He doesn't wanna talk about anything else. And by the way, pretty soon he starts spending all his time with her. And you're like, "Where's Bill"? Next thing you know, you see Bill at the mall, holding a purse. Another one bites the dust.
Sorry, but men listen to me, you do communicate about what you're passionate about. And here's what I'm telling you, you say, well, I wish I were more passionate about God. Listen to me. This is the whole crux of the message, you do love God because God created you with the ability to love and he created you with the ability to communicate. And you don't have to it the same way your wife does. You don't have to. God didn't make you like a woman. He made you a man. If you like the woods, go to the woods. And when the sun comes up, tell the Lord, that is a beautiful sunrise, Lord and thank you that the sun has come up in my life. And just talk to him and when we come together, worship him. And when you get up in the morning, worship him. And what is worship? Love expressed. Just express your love to him. That's one of the great things about church, not just watching it. And I know if you can't be here I want you watch online, but, being here, you want to know why? Because you can express your love to God and others.
Years ago, about 11 years ago now when my wife's father went to be with the Lord. And I preached his funeral service. He didn't talk much. He never talked much. Matter of fact, one of his favorite expressions was, "They just use too many words". He said that one time when they got a new Pastor, "He just uses too many words". And I used to finish his sentences for him. I mean, he liked it that way too. He'd say to me, "Robert, get your —", I'd say, "Keys"? "Yeah". He says, "Let go to, uh —". "Walmart"? "Yeah". Then he'd say, "We got to get some, uh, —" and that tough because Walmart has a lot of things. But he just didn't talk much.
At his service though, it was the largest church in that area, largest sanctuary, totally packed, people standing in the back from a guy that didn't talk hardly at all. And they had already told me this would going to happen but I came out and sat on the stage and then, right after I came out the back doors opened and 11 State Troopers came down the aisle and sat in the second row. And then they led his funeral procession. He was not in law enforcement. So I said to one of them, "How do you know him so well"? He said, "Because every time someone was stopped on the side of the road with car trouble he was there".
And I said, "Have you ever lead a civilian's processional before"? And they, "We never. We only lead government officials or State Troopers, law enforcement". "We've never lead a civilian's, at least I never have, never, ever lead a civilian's procession before". I said, "Why did you lead his"? This is what they said, "Because he was the greatest public servant we've ever known". See in his way he expressed his love. I'm just asking you to learn to express your love to God and I promise you, you will live in his presence.
In my father-in-law's own way, he expressed his love to God and to other people. And I want to encourage you, you say, that's just not my personality like some people's personality. I understand that. I'm not trying to change your personality. But I want to encourage you to express your love to God. That's what worship is. Worship is expressing love to God and we express our love, it enhances our relationship. Just like a married couple. It does something to bring us closer together. It develops intimacy between God and us. That's what worship is. So express your love to God today. Do it today. Do it tomorrow. Continue to express your love. That's how we live in his presence.