Morning Worship
DOES EVERY MAN HAVE THE FREEDOM TO BELIEF ANYTHING?
INTRO:
A.
Philippians 1:9-11
B. Commonly held belief that it does not make a difference what a person
believes
C. If it makes no difference what a person believes:
1. Jesus would not have warned against false prophets -Matthew 7:15; II
Peter 2:1; I John 4:1; II John 7
2. There would be no such thing as error - Ephesians 4:14; II Peter 3:16
3. Error (if it did exist) would be as valuable as truth. But consider -
John 8:32
4. There would be no need to teach others
5. The scriptures would not be needed for correction (II Timothy 3:16-17)
6. Consider the prevalent notion that every man has a right to his own
belief
7. Examine incidents in the lives of three individuals. The Biblical record
of these events clearly teaches it does make a difference what we believe
I. Cain did not have a right to his own belief:
A. Genesis 4:3-5
B. Abel offered his sacrifice by faith - Hebrews 11:4; Romans 10:17; Acts
10:34,35
C. Cain offered his sacrifice according to his own idea, his own opinion.
Consequently God rejected Cain’s offering -Genesis 4:5
II. Naaman did not have a right to his own belief:
A. II Kings 5:1-14
B. Naaman wanted to follow his own ideas instead of the simple instructions
relayed to him by the prophet - Consider II Timothy 4:4:1-4
C. Naaman was not cleansed of his leprosy until he submitted to God’s
commands
III. Paul did not have a right to his own belief:
A. Acts 26:9-10
B. Paul did the things he did with a good conscience -Acts 23:1
C. Paul could not be saved until he learned and obeyed the truth - Acts
22:10, 16
CON:
A. Those persons who claim that every man has a right to his own belief
often do so in an attempt to justify rejecting the plain teachings of the
Bible – MARK 16:15,16
B. They do not want to comply with Christ’s simple teaching concerning
matters such as the terms of pardon, wearing Christ’s name, being A MEMBER
OF Christ’s church, etc. – JOHN 14:15
C. The only way we can be pleasing to God is to surrender to God’s will –
ROMANS 1:5, OF NOT – II THESSALONIANS 1:7-9
Evening Worship
The Act of Worship
Hebrews 12:18
INTRODUCTION:
A. Variety of thoughts regarding worship:
1. “As I PLEASE”
2. “WHATEVER THE MANUAL SAYS”
3. “ DOES IT REALLY MATTER”
B. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH?
DISCUSSION:
I. Acceptable worship is an act (as opposed to an emotion):
A. Anna – Luke 2:36,37 - Anna worshipped God with (by means of) fasting and
prayer
B. Ethiopian eunuch – Acts 8:26,27 - The Ethiopian had traveled hundred of
miles to Jerusalem in order to worship
C. jesus and the woman of Samaria – John 4:19-24.The Samaritans had built
their temple in Mt. Gerezim. The Jews had their temple in Jerusalem
II. Acceptable worship involves an audience:
A. God is to be the object of our worship – Matthew 4:10. Whatever we
reverence, love, and obey becomes our god, our object of worship. When a
person decides not to worship God, something else takes priority in his life
and becomes his god
B. We are not the audience! There is a sense in which the things we say are
directed toward one another – Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16. However, even
these things are ultimately to be directed to God. Notice Ephesians 5:19 –
"singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord"
III. Acceptable worship requires the proper attitude:
A. The holiness of God stands in stark contrast to the sinfulness of man – I
John 1:5
B. The first verse of the Bible describes God as the creator of the heavens
and the earth – Genesis 1:1 - When we worship God, we offer our worship as
creatures to the creator
C. We are to enter into our worship with an attitude of reverence and awe –
Psalm 89:7
IV. Acceptable worship requires authorization for those things we do:
A. It is possible for our worship to be either accepted or rejected by God.
The only acceptable worship is that worship which is authorized by God –
JOHN 4:24
B. Unless we can find in the Bible that Christ commanded the apostles and/or
the apostles taught the disciples and/or the church observed a practice in
worship, it ought not become a part of our worship – ACTS 2:42-47; MATTHEW
28:18-20
CONCLUSION:
A. Our emotions toward God are expressed in the act of worship
B. In order for this worship to be acceptable it must be carried out with
the proper attitude and consist only of those things for which we have been
given authorization in the New Testament
