The Heart Of True Biblical Worship

open your Bibles with me into the book of Nehemiah at chapter number 8 Nehemiah at chapter number 8 you got a passphrase and second chronicles and all of that esra and then you will come to nehemiah use the table of contents that's what I do when I can't find the book in the Bible Nehemiah chapter 8 and all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the Watergate and they speak under Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel and Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month and he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday before the men and the women and those that could understand in the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law and Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the press and beside him stood six men on one side whose name I cannot pronounce and seven men on the other side whose names I cannot pronounce and ezreal opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people and when he opened it all the people stood up and Ezra blessed the Lord the Great God and all the people answered amen amen with lifting up their hands and they bow their heads and worship the Lord with our faces to the ground and some names I cannot pronounce cause the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place verse eight reads so they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading thank you you may be seated the grass withers and the flower their world faded away but the word of our God shall stand forever I want to preach this morning this today and at 11 o'clock worship from the thought the heart of true biblical worship the heart of true biblical worship I am a child of the church I was born and raised in the church my mother sang in the choir my father was a deacon in our church I've always liked going to church they never had to make me go to church because I have always loved the church I loved my pastor I loved listening to him preach I loved watching him we sang in the youth choir and all of the children were fidgeting and getting phone numbers and eatin candy but my eyes were on Reverend Wilkerson I admired him I loved watching him I loved hearing him preach his voice to me sounded like what God's voice must sound like I liked the aura the presence of people in church I like driving in front of the church I like to come in church when nobody is in the church I like the windows are in like the doors I love the pews I love the people I love the Bible I love the choir I love the grass I love the sidewalks anything that looks like a church just moves me because I've always loved the church and I have lived long enough now to see it take a shift to see it make a dangerous turn I watched the culture and Trish Wars I've seen the shift from traditional church to contemporary church I've seen it move from organ and piano and choir to Orchestra and band and musicians I've watched the music go from sacred to secular a whole lot of this church music now is R&B with jesus thrown in every other verse i've watched the shift from preaching sound doctrine to making it light and easy to hear is gone from fire and brimstone to health and wealth it's gone from people living righteous lives to everybody doing what is right in his own eyes and there is a dangerous shift in what really goes for all makes up authentic true biblical worship is it traditional or contemporary I think not is it gospel or anthems is it the liturgy that makes true worship biblical is it the reading of the scripture before we go into the worship experience itself or has the church become this place where we go to feel good on Sunday morning brothers and sisters I need to say up front so that you will know what this message is about the heart of true biblical worship what up be central in the worship to make worship really palatable in the sight of God the centrality of worship always if it's going to please God must be centered on the word I don't I don't have anything more than that I don't have anything sexy I don't have anything exciting I don't have anything earth-shattering all I want to present to you this morning that if God is going to be pleased with our worship then central to what we do is the Word of God jiya quasi God right there and I'm think brothers and sisters that the reason why many preachers are not preaching the Word of God is because they don't trust the word to do what God says the word is going to do they think we've got to add something to it to make people come in here in the thing that you've got to prop it up with something that's enticing and sexy and otherworldly to make people flock in great numbers to hear it but when the word of God is central in the worship true Christians want to hear the word of God this this this this business of clapping when the preacher gets through preaching is a new phenomenon that's new in the church now you clap at a sporting event you clap at a Municipal Auditorium but the sound for the church that was the sound in Ezra's day is amen now Amen means I agree with that now to say Amen and I agree does not mean I'm doing what I agree is right but because I'm not doing it does not mean I should not agree that is the Word of God it's the Word of God even if I'm divorced it's the Word of God even if I'm committing adultery it's the Word of God even if you're a homosexual it's the Word of God whether you like it or not that was a time and I can remember when when it shifted when we didn't apologize for preaching the gospel we didn't preface it by trying to make people feel good about what we have to say there was a time when the preacher rammus in his role as a messenger as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ as a mailman of sorts as a mailman I just delivered the level I'm not responsible for the content I just deliver the mail talk back to me if you can as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ I'm just responsible for delivering the message that was given to me I have no responsibility beyond delivering the message I still don't think I'm getting it over to you I am ambassador plenipotentiary that's a good word look it up in the dictionary I am an ambassador plenipotentiary from the imperial court of King Emmanuel set out to deliver and Herald a message now after I have heralded the message it is up to you to take it to heart he told zekiel you are a watchman on the wall and if you sound the alarm and they don't hear you the blood will be on their own hand if I got a witness here but if you do not sound the alarm and the people are destroyed then the blood will be on the preachers hand and I don't want anybody's blood on my hands so I'm going to deliver to you what was once delivered to the Saints and that's the faith the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ much preaching has become crowd-pleasing of self-aggrandizement I wish I had a witness here but when you read the text the Bible says the people called for Ezra to come and read to them from the book of the law and he stood behind a pulpit made of wood above the people to give centrality power authority not to Ezra but to the Word of God wish I had a witness here because those of us who preached have no authority the power is in the word lies are changed by the authority of the word Direction is given by the authority of the word the Bible says when Israel opened the book they stood up and they said amen amen which leads me to what I want to say firstly that if worship is going to be true and biblical in the hearts of the people that must be a longing for the word a longing of the heart a hunger for the word of God I wish I had a Bible reader to help me right here the psalmist says as the heart panted after the water Brooks so pen is my soul after the yoga as a deer is petting for water that's the soul of the believer panting longing hungry for the word of God when I come to church to hear preaching I want somebody to stand up because my heart is I've had it last Sunday it did me some good last Sunday but I got messed up Monday I got tripped up Tuesday I lied Wednesday I wish I had somebody to help me but time Sunday morning rolls around I'm hungry I'm panting after the word of god bless it of it who and verse after righteousness coz when you're hungry for it you'll feel you but we're not going to church there's no sermon that I listen to but I don't get something from either it's commending me for some good I'm trying to do or reproving me for some good I'm failing to do Paul told Timothy preach the word not your opinion I was a head of witness here not the Wall Street Journal not what's going on in the Houston Chronicle preach the word be instant MZ come on you can help myself and I'm Caesar that means when they want to hear it and when they don't want to hear it for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine the man or the woman of God longs for is hungry for the word of God and listen when you really love the word when you really love preaching anybody can't preach to you when I was growing up as a boy somebody who just stopped preaching who wasn't cold who stopped preaching because he didn't want to work when I was a boy they called him a jackleg preacher a jackleg men here he ain't got nothing sounds good look good but he ain't saying nothing because real authentic preaching will change your life it'll make you go home and reread the text it'll make you go study for yourself it'll give you a hunger for the word and a hunger for the word and a hunger for the word that you can't get enough of it because what you heard inspired you to want to hear some more I want you to know the integral I want I want lily Grove Church to know I want you to know that one of the great compliments that has always paid this church by preachers who come from across this nation to preach him the great compliment that is paid to you as a church is that lily Grove is one of the best preaching spots in the country that does accredit so your long end to hear the word and then we get emails and and texts and letters from people who want to come to the 7:30 service because they say every time we hear you preach on the CD you say I wish I had my 7:30 car and I hurry up and tell them that 7:30 crowd is a churchy crowd because if you get up this early in the morning in the fall in the rain feeling bad 6 sometime got to get dressed and drive from Humble in Galveston and Sugarland and Missouri City and the north side of town and to get here after 7:30 on time in your seat you have a longing for the Word of God at 7:30 crowd is a chechi crowd because you long for you're hungry for the word of God they they they pay you every preacher who's ever preceded said Lily Grove is not just a church you visit Lily Grove is a church you have to experience they called not me other preachers called it the lily Grove experience because you can't get the scripture out they say before they get happy they shout on the scripture reading especially at that 7:30 crime that 7:30 crowd is a churchy crime because they have a longing for the word which leads me to the second thing that's in the text and when you're aspera started reading from the word the Bible says not only did they long for it but they lifted their hand which not only means they were hungry for the word but they got a happy when they heard it I don't know of anything that excites me more than expository biblical preaching somebody ought to help me here listen the scripture says they came together men and women and everybody who had understanding and those who did not have understanding they stayed until the scribes gave them the sense of the passage read it read it is right there in the words in other words they broke it down for them if they could not understand neuter and voice syntax and grammar they taught them the sense of what was being read it doesn't make sense the preach if the folk don't understand aw Chozen says the missing ingredient the missing jewel of contemporary worship is expository preaching it's preaching that opens exposes the text so that the hearers can understand and I want those of us who preach and those of us who teach in our church school class don't ever think that when you have spoken you've communicated because speech is not always communication I wish I had a witness in that's why preaching has got to be bathed in the Holy Spirit because from my mouth to your ears the devil gets in there and jams the signal so that sometimes I don't know what I'm talking about and you don't know what I'm talking about because I have not given you the sense of the text I have this argument with myself and with the preachers that little grow who know how serious I am about preaching I don't I don't think much of a preacher who doesn't like to go to church to worship I don't think much of a preacher who only wants to come to church when he preaches if this is hard to hear and this will upset you but you know I don't care nothing about that I don't I don't care much about a Sunday school teacher teaching in Sunday school who just coming is your Sunday to teach I'm diffident I'm standoffish with a choir member who only shows up when you got to lead a song I'm a lad with Usher who just come when is your Sunday Dush cuz every time the church door is open that's something in it for you have a got a witness here and if I'm not leading the worship I ought to be in the background cheering on the presser who's giving leadership if I'm not singing the song I ought to be saying amen for the one who is singing if I'm not preaching the sermon I ought to be in the background saying preach because I don't want the worship to honor God they lifted their hand they were saying that Israel preached boy we getting happy now that's that's another thing I see missing at the church I saw it take a shift folk no longer get happy in general those of you who like myself was raised in the church we knew people by name who would get happy every son someone ought to help me here you could almost set your watch at the true light Baptist Church to miss Davene roper miss Devine had big fat arms and she'd sit on the front seat at the church and we would look at her from wherever we were in the church and when she stopped flapping those big arms the ushers would get their smelling salt ready they would start pulling these stuff out because they knew in another minute or two she was going to start running from the front of the church all the way to the back of the church I wish I had a witness here and then Miss Corinne Williams were sitting in what they call the Amen Corner and she was started rocking from side to side and our daughter had to go sit by her because she would bled out in the service if you talking about Jesus he's a friend of mine and then Miss Mary or Nora was in the choir and she was thought of waving her hands and saying if I didn't if I wouldn't have a religion I couldn't feel some time somebody ought to help me here and then they would start getting happy and shouting all over the place on the Word of God I wish I had somebody to help me here because they were excited just to hear the word of God you can help me preach this watching the great were glad they were excited over the Word of God and it just took a little preaching to get them happy now I got to preach hour and 40 minutes just to get you to say Amen but who really loved the word and were raised in the church you did another thing you saw them do you would go home after church and play Church you would get happy like sister Devine Roper and you would run around the church and then I would preach and Johnny would fall out and grinning winking with ketchup like the Russians used to catch mr. Dean Roper and then Johnny would fall on the floor like mazanik Ross did in the choir because we were playing Church but I've been with the Lord a long time now God has brought me through sickness I've been broke down to my last dime I've been in trouble I didn't know how things were gonna turn out and now I'm not playing church anymore I'm about to get a happen right now if you talking about Jesus he's a friend of mine I wouldn't have a religion I couldn't feel some time I got to leave you alone now but there's one more thing in the text belong for the word that was a longing in their hearts a hunger for the word a longing in the heart that led to a lifting of the hands made them happy just to hear the word but when it's true biblical worship the longing in the heart that leads to the lifting of the hands leads to a lowering of the head the scripture says they bowed their heads the translation is they submitted themselves to what the preacher was reading now listen preaching doesn't do you any good if you're not going to do what you just heard faith comes by here you can help me preach this watching and hearing by the Word of God how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed I wish I had a Bible reading and how shall they believe on him in whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be see I mentioned the other night during revival that there's a difference between gifted preaching and anointed preaching you can help me close this once you gifted preaching is just like eating Chinese food hour later you're hungry again but an ardent preaching you're chewing it all day long you're chewing on it all the week long because there's power in the Word of God I wish I had two or three witnesses hear that word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against none listen it doesn't mean that I won't sin but he said I might not if I had no word it would keep me from most sin someone ought to help me preach right if I stay in the word it'll keep me from a whole lot of sin because either sin will keep you from this word of this word will keep you from seeing you help me close this won't you that's power in the Word of God I said that's power in the Word of God I don't know how you can call yourself Christian and hear the word of God preached and it doesn't move you how do you call yourself a believer and you hear God's Word read and it doesn't warm your heart I wish I had one or two more witnesses how can you hear preaching how can you hear a fake biblical preaching and it doesn't move you inspire you to do what God called you to do thank God for the true Christians in here today that even if we don't do it we still know it's the right thing to do that's why you say Amen that's why you agree with the word because the word cannot lie have a got a witness here the word cannot be wrong the word cannot be false the Word of God is always true the Word of God is always right now I'm not always right but the word of God is always right because I have a treasure in an earthen vessel I need two or three more believers to go with me in my seven thirty cry when I hit a word preached him it warms my spirit because I love the Lord he heard my cry he pitted my every groan long as I live while trouble right I will hasten to his throne this music we hear now got Jesus every once in a while that's why you got to sing it so long because it has no theological content but the music we used to sing in the church made them just get happy must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free no there's a cross for everyone and there is a cross for me the consecrated cross our back till death shall set me free and then go home my crown to wear for there's a crown for me what a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and griefs to bear what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer if the world from you with whole of its silver and it's gold and you have to get along with meager fare just remember in his word how he feeds the little bird take your burden to the Lord and leave it there why should I feel discouraged why should the shadows come why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home when Jesus in my portion my constant for him is he his eye is on the sparrow he watching me I sing because I'm happy I see because I'm free God's eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me is there anybody here love the Word of God is there anybody here long to hear the word lift your hands in the sanctuary lower your head in humility shame father I stretch my hands of thee no other no other no other help I know ah if I'll withdraw myself from me whether shall I go is there anybody here excited about the Word of God if the Lord opened doors for you if the Lord made a way for you if the Lord pick you up turn you around place your feet on solid ground why don't you grab somebody why don't you hug somebody tell them you don't know like I know what the law what he walks with me he talks with me he tells me I am his own and the job the job we share the joy we share the jar we share the joy we shall is that anybody here got real John I'm not talking about happiness now I mean real joy you're sick but you still got Joe you're getting old but you still got Joe you can't walk fast as you used to walk but you still got John tell the law Frank here from a John thank you for my salvation thank you for your Holy Spirit shake somebody's hand awesome have you got get religion and then they all I answer you certainly laws awesome have you been baptized and they ought to answer you certainly loan awesome is the name on the road they oughta ask to you certainly load why don't you talk somebody tell him I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it y'all I gotta I got it our got it I got it I got it I got it I got it this job that I have the world didn't give it to and the world can't take it away now I'm bout to shout now I'm bout to praise the Lord now cuz he's done so much he felt so much he's done so much if he's got something for you if he's got something for you if he's got something for you tell your neighbor I got it I got it y'all I got it when worship is real and when it's authentic it leaves our longing in your heart a lifting of your hands and a lowering of your head yeah that's that's the way Church used to say that that's the way the church uses shame somebody would start hauling thank you and then somebody over yonder would say hallelujah somebody back there would say thank you Jesus that somebody was not bashing and shouted I got it he brought me some of my little always I'm trying to leave it alone now but I got it I need I know we're running out of time I know we're running out of time in this service but but I need some old churchgoers some old church boys to help me right here is getting laid in the email and the Sun going down I need the whole church going is getting laid I wouldn't have a religion come on you can help me said I couldn't feel sometimes I wish I had a whole church going I wouldn't have a religion sometimes I need one more old churchgoer to help me right here if I can't sail where I just way in my hand if I can't sell well ah I would just way I just need one I can still hit my mama saying this my mama would sit over in the back of the choir and by this time she's getting happy and she's starting to rock from side to side and she said there's a man at the river somebody ought to help me giving sight to the blind that's Jesus she was talking about there's a man at the river giving sight to the blind

Channel: lillygrovembc

Views: 64,123

Rating: 4.7376237 out of 5

Keywords: Reverend Terry Anderson Pastor Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church Houston Texas

Id: ttwnyxoehNw

Length: 47min 52sec (2872 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 23 2015