Sacred Worship: A Sacrifice of Praise 

Introduction 

Yesterday was my dad’s birthday. Went out to buy him a card. 

Any kind of card you want; whether your relationship is distant or intimate. 

Beautiful words that you simply have to sign your name to and mail it in (literally). 

While I am sure my dad appreciates getting a card in the mail, that’s all it is—a form letter. 

How often is worship like this? 

Form letter, named signed, “Thanks God for all you do, your son/daughter…”

Mail it and go on with our lives. 

Convinced we come here expecting more. 

Hoping for transcendence, and struggle with concentration. 

We know what worship matters—but what is it and why does it matter?

Series: Sacred Worship. 

Major thought: Worship is a sacrifice of praise, offered in spirit and truth, by grace bought sinners, which transforms their lives as they give glory to God. 

Today: Worship is a sacrifice of praise. 

Worship 

Man has an innate desire to worship. 

From cosmic bodies to cruel-faced statues. 

Christians know they should worship/desire to worship God—yet what does that mean? 

Different words for worship in NT. 

Proskuneo: to kiss; to bow before and kiss the feet of (Rev. 4:10). 

Sebomai: to step away from in reverence and awe (Matt. 15:9). 

Latreuo: religious service done on behalf of deity (Matt. 4:10). 

Together: an act of kissing the ground and bowing before, in reverence and awe, as we serve our God. 

But why?

Psalm 95:1-3; 6-7: the Psalmist calls for worship because they recognize who God is; they see his majesty, glory, and worth. 

Worship: Worth ship. 

Not physically bowing down before our God, but a heart that recognizes the absolute worth of God and responds in praise. 

Story of the the family broach and the lady taking it to the jeweler only to discover its a lost treasure of immense worth. 

Value and beauty demand praise; joy isn’t complete until we do praise it. 

What, in your life, do you give the most value to?

What is the greatest desire of your heart?

Harry Potter and the mirror of Esired; sees his parents and Ron sees himself as a sports champion. 

In order for proper worship to occur, we have to be honest about our greatest desire—our Lord—and transfer that devotion and worth to God. 

When you recognize God’s worth, there is a response to that: sacrifice. 

Sacrifice 

From the beginning worship was about bringing a sacrifice (Gen. 4:3-4). 

Worship cost me something—pride, self-praise, time, words, affections, money, etc.

Giving of the self to God; oriented on Him, and not on me. 

If it is focused on the self—our emotions, our intentions—we will never receive the blessing of worship. 

This is a different orientation than how most view worship. 

Everything is oriented toward the seeker; to make individuals not feel uncomfortable. 

2 Sam. 24:24: But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”

Seeker sensitive worship misses the blessing of worship: we sacrifice to receive; we empty ourselves, and are filled. 

Our willingness to sacrifice for the sake of worship shows the worth of God. 

Matt. 2:11: why do they give these precious gifts as an act of worship? 

In giving them they are proclaiming the worth of Jesus: that he is worth far more than all of these treasures. 

Contrast: Mal. 1:8. 

What does our worship say about the value we place on Jesus? Our singing, prayers, meditations as we enter the Lord’s Supper?

So worship says—or communicates—something about the value or treasuring we have in God. 

Praise 

Heb. 13:15: the praise we give to God is a sacrifice because we giving him honor that we would not give another. 

Sacred; something set aside specifically for God and no one else. 

Exercise: think of top three compliments you received in your life. 

Probably have received higher praise, but don’t remember them or dismissed them: they were flattery. 

We know the difference.

He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease 

Introduction 

“Pray dangerous prayers.”

Patience, endurance, greater faith, constant sense of your abiding presence, etc. 

Are we ready for God to answer those prayers? 

Process before the prize (James 1:2-3). 

Dangerous prayer: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

God’s answer to John’s prayer? He was imprisoned, beheaded, and humiliated. 

No doubt everyone here want’s Jesus to increase—but are you ready for that prayer to be answered? 

Does that mean that desiring God to be increased, means a sentence of misery and loss? Does my desire for happiness and fulfillment have to be sacrificed for the sake of God’s glory? 

Does God’s glorification always come at the expense of my satisfaction? 

The Necessity of Jesus’ Exaltation 

Interesting that this text begins with an argument (v. 25). 

Spurns John’s disciples to come to John, “Why is everyone leaving you and going to Jesus?” (v. 26). 

Followers seem defensive: He was with you—not the other way around. You bore witness to him; you baptized him, he didn’t baptize you. 

The group is getting smaller, they’re going to the new teacher down the road; followers perspective is that this doesn’t make sense. 

Embarrassing—if your baptism is so good, why are they going to Jesus? 

In response John informs them that this isn’t happening by accident: this is how its supposed to be. 

This is the edict of heaven (v. 27, 6:37). 

This is the fulfillment of his own personal testimony (v. 28). 

The is the bridegroom’s time (v. 29). 

Because of this: he must increase, but I must decrease (v. 30). 

John view’s Jesus exaltation as an absolute necessity that is built upon his own humiliation. 

These two truths are inseparable: the increase of Jesus results in the decrease of John. 

For one to happen, the other must occur; two realities dependent on each other: in order for people to know Jesus they have to forget about John. 

Again: are we ready for God to answer this prayer? For in order to Jesus to increase in our lives we must decrease—and that is absolutely agonizing. 

We want Jesus to magnify his worth through our success and esteem, not our failure—yet, in reality, often the only way God can magnify his worth to us and the world is through trail, struggle, and difficulty. 

2 Corinthians 1:8-10: 

“So utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself…we felt that we had received a sentence of death”—ever felt that way?

Paul sees a purpose in this suffering: “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but God who raises the dead.” 

God’s ultimate goal for Paul wasn’t to be comfortable. God’s ultimate purpose for Paul wasn’t to never have heart ache and despair—God’s ultimate purpose for Paul was that he become absolutely dependent on the power and sufficiency of God. 

And the only way he could do that was to lay him bare on the altar of sacrifice; to absolutely break his will to find any sufficiency in this life. 

To bring Paul to where he says as the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). 

In order for a radical hope in God’s power to increase in the heart of Paul, there had to be an immense decrease in Paul’s self-reliance. 

2 Cor. 12:8-10

Paul is pleading for relief from some chronic bodily ailment that makes him physically weak. 

The agony and heartache this gives him is seen in the fervency and frequency of the request. 

Jesus answer is “No”—but “No” for a purpose: because through your weak and broken body I can magnify the sufficiency of my grace and power. 

Would that answer satisfy you in a similar situation? 

Paul doesn’t say, “But Jesus”—no he boasts in this truth, coming to this radical conclusion: when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Sound similar to another verse American Christianity has absolutely abused: Phil. 4:13. 

Paul isn’t saying He is going to give you strength to run for a touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday so that

Immanuel 

Introduction 

6lbs 14 oz. 19 inches long. 7 lbs 10 oz. 

These are the weights and lengths of all three of our children when they were born. 

Each one of those moments was a special occasion. A moment of love, family, and great potential. 

One of our favorite things in this past pregnancy was revealing, not only the gender of our newly arrived baby but also the name. 

Lincoln’s middle name, James, was special because it was the name of my great-grandfather who was a preacher of the gospel. 

Names mean something to us—but not as much as within other cultures. 

Within Jewish culture, a name is given in hopes of that child fulfilling that particular name; or because of some special moment; or given out of reverence or respect to God. 

Moses, “To draw or pull out”; Isaac, “Laughter”; Jacob meant, “supplanter” but was later changed to Israel, “One who struggles with God.” 

These names were significant, and sometimes even seemed to determine the path that the child would later take. 

It’s by no accident that, in the introduction to Matthew’s gospel—in the midst of a long list of names—the birth of the Messiah surrounds the importance of two specific names that are given to the new baby: Jesus and Immanuel. 

Yet, is the significance of these names (particularly Immanuel), and what does it tell us about our Savior and about us? 

Text: Matthew 1:18-25

A Key Doctrine 

In recent years we have seen an increasing number of Christians question what have in the past been referred to as key or “cardinal” doctrines of Christianity. 

These are beliefs and teachings which have always been considered central to the message of the Christian faith. 

At the top of that list is the divine conception/virgin birth. 

For some, this concept is far too outrageous to be true. 

Like Zechariah, they question the possibility of such a miraculous intervention (Luke 1:18). 

For them, believing and following Jesus is key, and whether or not you believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ is inconsequential to your Christian faith. 

Yet, not only is this possible (Luke 1:37), it is central to understanding the nature and person of Jesus Christ (which is the central truth of Christianity). 

In fact, if this doctrine is so inconsequential to the Christian faith, why would Matthew go out of his way to emphasize it within his gospel (as does Luke?). 

Makes sure that the reader knows this wasn’t due to Joseph and Mary’s union: 

“Before they came together” (v. 18). 

“Resolved to divorce her quietly” (v. 19). As a side note, notice how the righteousness of Joseph is discussed in the context of giving mercy. 

“Knew her not until she had given birth to a son” (v. 25). 

On the flip side Matthew makes it very evident that this conception was divine; that is, From God the Spirit Himself. 

“She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (v. 18). 

“That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (v. 20). 

“Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (v. 23). 

Matthew wants to make it as clear to the reader as possible that what is happening here isn’t natural—its supernatural. A work of God himself. 

This divine conception central to understanding the meaning and mission of Jesus and his name. 

The Name of Jesus 

Notice there are three characters within v. 21: she will bear a son, you will call his name Jesus, and he will save his people from their sins. 

This is later fulfilled within v. 25; emphasis on “he” call his name Jesus. 

The act of Joseph naming this child shows adoption, ownership, and bringing within the family lineage (Luke 3:23; as was supposed). 

As we mentioned earlier, Jewish names meant something and we see that connection here as well. 

Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name “Joshua.” 

Joshua means, “Yahweh saves” (hence, the statement from Gabriel that Jesus will save his people from their sins). 

So, from the very beginning, the mission of Jesus is set by the name: Jesus is here to sav

Introduction 

The principle of “Divide and Conquer” is one that has been used in politics for many years—going all the way back to Roman times. 

The idea is that if you can break up existing power structures, or prevent smaller groups from coming together, they are easier to conquer. 

Within politics, if you can pit a political party against itself and create internal struggle, it makes it much easier for the outsider/opposition party to conquer them. 

The power of this tactic is how easily humans fall into this snare, often times justifying ourselves and fighting to “keep” unity when in fact we are causing greater harm. 

Jesus knew the power of divide and conquer. 

When assured of working on behalf of Satan he quoted one of our more well known passages, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). 

Knowing that the church could only fulfill its mission through a united front, Jesus prayed for absolute unity between His people (John 17:21). 

Yet, it wasn’t long after this, when the church began to grow and flourish, that threats to this unity arose. 

In Acts one of the key issues was the Gentile inclusion within the church (Acts 15). 

When we open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians we see further division threatening the local church. 

Isn’t division that we see within Christianity today, but divisions within a local congregation dividing over who baptized them. 

It is into this fray that Paul asserts himself and lays the groundwork for Christian unity and fellowship, which gives us a guide for Christian division today. 

The Call of Fellowship 

Paul sees the gospel as God calling humanity into fellowship with His Son, “Jesus Christ Our Lord.” 

Notice that the major action of creating fellowship is an act of God (Unity of the Spirit, Eph. 4:3). 

He calls all christians into fellowship with the same Lord (v. 2c). 

So the basis of fellowship is this understanding that we are called to share in something by God—that is fellowship isn’t something we create, but something we receive. 

The basis of this reception is the identity of Jesus as Lord: we recognize the shared Lordship of Christ (culminating in baptism). 

Not, this doesn’t mean that this is all that matters for the basis of fellowship—but the foundation: submitting to the gospel and recognizing Jesus as Lord, the Son of God (Matt. 16:18). 

Outgrowth of Fellowship 

Fellowship isn’t just a word we use: it means something. Unity must be shown and experienced in a tangible way. 

Paul says that the way in which unity and fellowship is expressed is through: 

“speak the same thing” or “all of you agree”: be united in your teaching. 

Just as a tongue which speaks both “blessings and cursing” is an abomination (James 3:9-10), so is a church which has doctrinal divisions within it. 

This assumes something; namely that we can agree and that we can “speak the same thing.” 

That is, we can have doctrinal agreement; we can come to know and agree on the truth—if we are both seeking the authority of the Lord (which is discovered in scripture). 

This was the basis of the Restoration Movement: that christianity can agree on important doctrinal truth, while being patient with less obvious matters (our, “what we believe” section on the website).

Yet, we cannot conned that doctrine doesn’t matter or can’t be agreed upon—this is a recipe for division. 

Just as a platoon of soldiers must speak the same mission (that is their fellowship depends on the message), so too the church must speak the same message if we are to truly be unified. 

Which leads to the next outgrowth of unity: that there be no divisions among you. 

If you are speaking the same message, then there shouldn’t be division among you. 

What was happening at Corinth (v. 11-12). 

Different “teachers” with different “interpretations.” 

Paul informs them, that dividing over teachers within the brotherhood is absolutely against christian unity (3:4-6). 

This is “carnal” that is, no