All of Me - Part A

When God is in your midst, if the Lord is real to you, you will engage Him on some level of worship. Why is it that Christians think that enthusiasm for the most worthy thing in all of the universe must somehow be carefully contained? God is not too excited about secret admirers.

He likes to be told that you love Him. People have devoted months, years, maybe even a lifetime to hobbies like collecting ersic bags and extreme ironing. But there's only one thing worth your total commitment. Today on Connect with Skip Heising, Skip explores how you can experience God's unconditional love by committing your whole life to honoring Him. Right now, we want to tell you about a resource that will help nourish your faith as you grow in God's truth. A recent study from the Cultural Research Center found that Christians are almost just as likely to reject the idea of absolute moral truth as they are to accept it. For American adults, belief in absolute moral truth is eroding across all age groups and political ideologies, whether they're churched or unchurched. What that means is that over 75% of Christ followers, or those who purport to be Christ followers, are saying that nothing can be known for certain. There is no absolute truth.

What about you? We want to help you understand the nature of truth so you can pursue God's truth and apply it in your life with two brand new booklets by Pastor Skip, Why Truth Matters and God and Suicide. If you fall into that category, what do you do with the claims of Christ? Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. These booklets are our thanks for your gift of $35 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's word.

To give, call 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer. Now, as we join Skip Heitzig for today's teaching, we're in Psalm 100. If you had to live your life over again, what would you do differently? When I asked that question last night, somebody up front shouted out everything.

If you had to live your life all over again, what would you do differently? Some people might piously say nothing. I don't think that's a great nor is it an honest answer. A group of 95 year old men and women were asked that question. It was a little sort of a target survey. They asked these elderly men and women, if you could live your life all over again, what would you do differently?

There were three answers that dominated the response. Listen to them. I would reflect more. I would risk more. And I would do those things that would outlive me more. I would reflect more.

I would risk more. And I would do more things that would last or outlive me. In other words, if I had to live my life all over again, I would be more thoughtful. I would be more intentional with my life, with my family. I'd think about things. I'd weigh things out more.

I would also get out of my comfort zones more and more. And I would make sure that my life counts. Now let me ask you as a believer in Christ, if you, as a believer in Jesus, could live your life all over again, what would you do differently? Would you pray less? Would you love God less? Would you obey God less? Would you help people less? I have never met folks on their deathbed who have ever said anything close to that. I've never heard anyone say, you know, I really regret in my Christian life that I prayed as much as I did and helped people as much as I did and worshipped and loved God as much as I did.

I really wish I would have done a little less of that. So with that said, let's today plan what our response to God is going to be from this day forward. How we're going to spend the rest of our lives. What is our response going to be? And you know, everybody on earth has some response to God, everyone. Every person responds to God in some manner. Some people will ignore him, completely ignore him.

He may be there, I'm not sure if there's a God, but I'm going to live my life as though God doesn't exist. They ignore him. Another response people have is to abhor him. They just hate God, they hate the notion of him. Whenever you bring up God, they fidget, they squirm, or they leave the room, or they say something derogatory. They abhor him. A third response is some adore him. They adore him, they love him. The name of Jesus, they just respond, their heart warms up.

Now I know most of us would like to think we're in category number three, but not so fast. Let me explain category number three based on Psalm 100 to you. Because I actually think that some who claim to adore God really ignore him. Oh, they'll tip their hat to him every now and then, once a week, but they'll live their daily lives as though God really didn't exist as they live on and make their choices.

One person said, a Christian is someone who feels sorry on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and will do again on Monday. That's not an appropriate response. Let me give to you, out of Psalm 100, four appropriate responses that every follower of God should have. Four appropriate responses. And there's four words that I'm going to give you.

Here they are. Worship, Serve, Love, Thank. Worship, Serve, Love, Thank. They're easily memorable. You can say them.

Let's say them. Worship, Serve, Love, Thank. Now I'm going to explain those four words because those principles are found in our text. It's a short psalm, but it's a very powerful, powerful psalm.

The language is lively and the theme is profound. Psalm 100 says a psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands or all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness.

Come before his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name for the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generation. The first word is worship.

Let me be more specific. Worship the Lord joyfully. Worship the Lord joyfully. Verse one, make a joyful shout. Some translations say a joyful noise to the Lord all you lands. Second part of verse two, come before his presence with singing. Now we believe that this psalm was used in the temple. That it was a formal call to worship for pilgrims who were approaching the temple and coming into the courts to offer their sacrifices and to praise the Lord. It is still to this day used in synagogues. But you'll notice that it begins by saying make a joyful shout. I discovered no less than 18 times, 17 or 18, again depends on which translation you use, 17 or 18 times we are told to make a shout or a noise of joy unto the Lord.

Now here's the thought behind that if you've ever wondered. In ancient times it was customary when you were in the presence of your king as a people or if the king came into the presence of his subjects. That they would let out a shout of victory. It was their way of expressing our king is strong and we are victorious because of him.

Here's an example. In the book of Numbers the 23rd chapter when Balaam the false prophet is hired by King Balak to curse the people of Israel. And God wouldn't let him do that.

You know that story. So he looks over and sees the people spread out before him and he says the Lord their God is with them and the shout of a king is among them. They believe by that shout that the presence of God was with them. In Joshua chapter 6 they surround the city of Jericho and the instructions of general Joshua to his troops are this shout for the Lord has given you this city.

Here's another great story. In 1 Samuel when the Philistines are fighting the Israelites. There's a crucial point in the battle when the Israelites ask for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought into their camp.

Remember that story? We want the Ark brought into our camp. So the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the camp of the children of Israel.

And this is what the text says. When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. And the Philistines said what is all this shouting in the Hebrew camp? And then they learned that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp to them that signified the presence of their king, the presence of the Lord.

Third chapter of the book of Ezra is another one. The temple has been rebuilt. And the Bible says all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord. Now with just a sampling of the verses that I just read it sounds like their worship was pretty alive.

That they actually believed they were in the presence of God himself. And it was a joyful shout. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, Our happy God should be worshiped by a happy people.

A cheerful people is in keeping with his nature and his acts. Now do you know that the Bible does not tell us how we are to sing to the Lord? That is in terms of technique or beat or song choice. The Bible never says something like this. Thou shalt sing to the Lord thy God with four four beat. Three four and two four is strictly forbidden.

There's none of those kinds of instructions. However, the Bible does say we are to sing. And the Bible does say here we are to shout. And the Bible does say it is to be joyful.

Can we all agree that the Bible that we just read says those things? Now whenever this is brought up, and I do bring it up, there are rebuttals to it. There are excuses to it.

Let me give you a few. But I'm not a good singer. I don't sing because I'm not a good singer. If you were to sing, others around you would sing louder just to drown you out.

That's a positive. But I'm not a good singer. Let me say this very respectfully and very tenderly.

Get over it. The Lord God Almighty has given you an adequate enough voice, an adequate enough instrument to make a joyful noise unto Him. Anybody can do this. Anybody can do a joyful noise, a joyful shout unto the Lord.

I've told you what my camp counselor told me, told us when we were years ago at a summer camp. He said, if God has given you a good voice, then use it in worship to Him. If He has given you a bad voice, give it back to Him. I'm not a good singer.

Let me just say to you non-musical people, the voice you have is the voice God has given you. And it applies to you and to me and to all of us what Jesus said in Mark chapter 12. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind.

And what's the fourth one? All your? All your strength.

All your strength. Here's the second excuse. I just don't feel like it.

Okay, that's an act of will. You don't feel like it. I understand that we have bad days, bad weeks.

Tragedy may have happened and you come into the house of God. You don't feel like it. You don't feel happy. You don't feel good. You don't feel like expressing it.

But can I just add something or say something in response to that? You don't feel like getting up early Monday morning and going to work either. But I bet you'll do it. You will often do what you don't feel like doing because you got to do it.

You do it. It doesn't make it less real when you do it. Here's a third rebuttal. Well, I'm not the emotional type. Okay, fair enough. I understand this one.

I'm not the emotional type. But let's suppose that you as a non-emotional person are teeing up on a par three. And it's a perfect day. And you swing that club and your ball goes so straight and so far and you see it hit the green and you watch it with one shot roll into the cup.

Now you've gotten a hole in one. I have a question for you. Do you stand there and fold your arms and go, How nice.

No, you'll be five or six feet off the ground and you'll be shouting and telling everybody. And I've seen some of you at Lobo Games when our team scores. There's some emotion that goes on there. There's some excitement that goes on there. Or maybe more to the point when one of your sons or daughters at a game scores a point, you get pretty emotional about that.

You know why people do that for those events? Because those things are real to them. And when God is in your midst, if the Lord is real to you, you will engage him on some level of worship. Why is it that Christians think that enthusiasm for the most worthy thing in all of the universe must somehow be carefully contained? God is not too excited about secret admirers.

He likes to be told that you love him. You know, I hate to say this, but some folks are going to even complain when they get to heaven. I think they will. It's going to be too loud for them in heaven. It says they sang a song so loud, Isaiah said, that the doorpost of the temple shook.

In Revelation 5, the song was a loud voice of praise unto the Lord. Some people won't like that. Some people are going to complain because of the lights. Because in heaven, we're told that the heavenly Jerusalem has an iridescent shine and that the light of the city comes from the Lamb of God, Jesus himself, and he is compared to shining so brightly, it's like the strength of the sun. That's a bright light. Oh, it's too bright.

I don't like that light. And some will complain about the haze in heaven. The vision that Isaiah saw in chapter 6 says the glorious singing shook the temple to the foundations and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.

That's the evidence of the Shekinah glory of God in that covenant. Worship God joyfully. Make a joyful shout to the Lord. Come before his presence with singing.

That's an appropriate response. Here's the second. Serve God gladly. Serve God gladly. Verse 2, serve the Lord with gladness. So we have glad singing, number one.

Number two, we have glad service. Singing joyfully is great. That's the first response when you're in the presence of the king. But God wants more than fans. God wants followers. Yes, I think we should respond to God on some level of emotion.

But we should also respond with motion. Following up the emotion with the motion of obeying what he says. Serving him.

There's an old saying that says, it's not how high you jump, it's how straight you walk once you hit the ground. Okay, it's great to get all excited about the presence of the Lord, but then living and serving out that lifestyle is so important. You see, spiritual maturity isn't measured by glorious singing as much as by glad serving. Serve the Lord with gladness. Have you ever seen somebody serving the Lord, but they moan when they do it? They moan, they're doing it, but they're complaining, they're griping, they're moaning.

It's the worst. There was somebody like this in the New Testament. Her name was Martha. Remember Martha and what's her sister's name? Mary. And she comes to Jesus, this is in Luke chapter 10.

And she complained in her serving. Lord, how come I'm the only one doing the work and you're letting Mary sort of get away with it? I'm the one that's serving, I'm doing all the work. Mary, you remember, was at the feet of Jesus listening to his voice, listening to his message, worshipping him. And Jesus said to her, Martha, the serving one, the one doing the work, because she wasn't doing it with gladness, but with a moan. Martha, Martha, you are distracted by much serving. Mary has chosen the better part, the better part, which will not be taken from her.

Why did he say that? Because worshipping is a lot better than whining. Serve the Lord with gladness.

Now we have an Old Testament example of somebody who served the Lord while moaning. Can you remember his name? He's a prophet, that's a clue.

He has a book named after him and it's a very short book. Jonah. When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, did he go, yes, Lord, joyfully I'll serve you.

I'd love to go and do whatever you want me to do and say whatever you want me to. Did he do that? He went in the opposite direction. He went on a Prince's cruise all the way to Portugal, that's where he wanted to go, opposite direction.

Nineveh's this way, he went that way. You know why he went that way? You know why he wasn't joyful? He couldn't stand the thought that God would forgive and be merciful to those he hated the most, the Ninevites. He couldn't stand that thought. Well, eventually he went, but he didn't go joyfully.

He went under duress, he went out of duty, and he went after he was dumped on the shore by a great fish. If you're going to serve the Lord at all, please do it with gladness, not with sadness, not with complaining, not with moaning, but with gladness, with joy. There was a time in church history, oh, it was in the Middle Ages, when it was thought that if you're in the clergy, if you're like me, you should wear all black, all black. That is befitting what clergymen ought to wear, all black, and you ought to be very serious and austere and not smile much, for this is serious business. No wonder Oliver Wendell Holmes, years later, said, I would have entered the ministry except all the preachers I know look and act so much like undertakers.

My apology if you're an undertaker and you have a joyful life. You do not have to be sad in order to be sanctified. You do not have to be gloomy in order to be holy. God wants whatever is done for him to be done with gladness. And that goes for every activity, including our financial giving. Remember what Paul writes, 2 Corinthians 9. Let each one of you give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly, nor out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The word in Greek is a hilarious giver. Let me just append that verse a little bit. God loves a cheerful giver. God also loves a cheerful liver.

I don't mean that. I mean he loves a life that is lived cheerfully for him. Do you know that serving the Lord gladly is great advertising?

There's nothing more infectious and inspiring than genuine joy. Sometime back, a newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, found out about a woman who was a cleaning lady at an office complex and she held the job for 40 years. They were interested in any lady doing the same boring, they said, monotonous job for 40 years. So they interviewed her and they asked her point blank, how could you do this? How could you for 40 years do the same boring, monotonous job of cleaning after people?

Here's her answer. I don't get bored. I use cleaning materials that God made. I clean objects that belong to people that God made.

And I make life more comfortable for them. My mop, she said, is the hand of God. How's that for joyful service?

My mop is the hand of God. Two appropriate responses. Worship God joyfully. Serve God gladly. Here's the third. Love. Love God intelligently.

That's Skip Heiseck with a message from the series playlist. Now, we want to share about an exciting opportunity you have to take your knowledge of God's word even deeper. Are you looking to pursue biblical studies beyond church and personal Bible study? Take your learning and your life's purpose to the next level with Calvary College. Registration for the 2021 spring term is open now and the curriculum features both online classes and onsite classes at calvary.com. Classes include biblical studies like spiritual foundations and the history and authenticity of the Bible, plus classes in key books of the Bible like Daniel, Romans, and Revelation, with video content from world-renowned biblical scholar Skip Heiseck. Calvary College partners with Veritas International University and Calvary Chapel University so you can earn an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree or simply increase your knowledge in biblical studies.

The deadline to get your application in for the 2021 semester is December 4th. Find out more and apply today at calvaryabq.college. That's calvaryabq.college. Thank you for joining us today. Our goal is to connect listeners like you with the truths in God's word so you can stand on its solid foundation.

That's why we make these teachings available to you. If you've been encouraged in your faith, please consider giving us a call to keep these messages available to bless you and others around the world. Just call 800-922-1888.

That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate.

Thank you. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heiseck shares how you can experience a refreshing sense of freedom by surrendering your heart and mind to Christ daily. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the crossing.

Cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heiseck is a presentation of Connection Communications. Connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.