Welcome to Delight in Grace. the Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Mankind, made in the image of God. cannot help but worship.
It's built into us. The question for each of us is, Who or what will we worship? Deuteronomy 12 gives a portrait of what it looks like to worship the Lord God of the Bible. In this message titled A People Who Worship You Shall Rejoice in the Lord, Pastor Rich lays out seven principles for worshiping our Lord God. Let's listen in.
This is part three of a message first preached on July 14th, 2024, at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.
So We worship through Our sacrifice of praise and service. Why? Because it is anchored in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
So our worship is to be Our worship of God is to be rooted in sacrifice. Number five. Our worship of God is to be affirming Rest. Look at verse 8 with me. You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you.
But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when He gives you rest. from all your enemies around you, so that you live in safety. Then to the place that the Lord your God will choose to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your contributions that you present to all your. Your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. Rest.
What is this, rest? Fast forward. 400 years about.
Solomon is dedicating. a brand new temple. a masterpiece of architecture. And the king of Israel is dedicating this temple. to be the place of God's dwelling.
That God is among his people. 1 Kings chapter 8, I consider it to be the apex. of Israel's history. And in that, Solomon, in his prayer, he says this: Blessed be the Lord who has given. Rest.
to his people Israel according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise which he spoke by Moses. his servant. Rest. What is this?
Rest. Psalm 23, David knew it. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leads me by. The accurate translation is Waters of rest.
Waters of rest. Psalm 95 is quoted in Hebrews chapter 4, where God says of the people, the people that rebelled. Remember when they spied out the land and they rebelled, he says, they shall not enter. this rest because of their faithlessness. You do not enter a rest.
when your life is characterized by Faithlessness and disobedience, but you will enter rest when your life is characterized by obedience and faith. And he says in Hebrews chapter 4: today, if you hear his voice, Do not harden your heart. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Verse Hebrews chapter 4, verse 3. Who are the ones who experience the rest?
Here it is. We who believe have entered. That Rest. We who believe have entered that rest. What is that?
That is the finished work of Christ. The finished work of Christ. Here it is. Jesus. is our resting place.
Jesus is our resting place. What does that mean? In Christ, having surrendered myself in faith to Jesus Christ. He has taken my sin. He has given me his righteousness.
That has made me acceptable before God. I am therefore righteous. reconciled to God. That is rest. That is rest.
I am redeemed. I am forgiven. Everyone needs forgiveness. And we all strive for it. And in Christ, we are strong.
We rest from having to strive for it. I am reconciled. I am accepted. Who here does not want to be accepted? Who here does not want to be loved?
You see, in Christ, we have all of that. Christ is our resting place. And so our worship of God. must be a worship that affirms Rest. Number six.
Our worship of God must be replete. With Rejoicing. Three times The Lord says here, verse 7, You shall rejoice. Before the Lord your God, you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you. Verse 12, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.
Verse 18, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake. Our worship of God must be replete with rejoicing. Why? Because of who He is. and what he has done.
and our worship. reminds us fills our minds, our attitudes, and our affections. and our emotions with the truths of who God is and what He has done. And that's why we are called together to make much of God. That's worship.
Our worship of God is anchored in His steadfast. Love. His redeeming sacrifice and his lavished favor upon us. This word rejoice right here is also numerous times translated glad or gladness. in the scriptures.
I want us to read about it. It's a responsive reading. Yes, I'm going to ask you to stand again. It's a good break. You've been sitting for a while now.
But this is from the Psalms. This is so this is a glad, responsive reading.
So I will read the yellow and you read the white. This is from various Psalms successively, beginning at Psalm 31.7. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love because you have seen my affliction. You have known the distress of my soul. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
For our heart is glad in him because we trust in him. in his holy name. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore.
Great is the Lord who delighteth in the welfare of his servant. May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation say continually, Praise the Lord. Please be seated. We gather here to make much of God.
Because he is worthy of it. We are gathered here to acknowledge His worth. As blood sacrifice. Our worship is rooted in that sacrifice. We sang.
More than once this morning, about how the sacrifice of Jesus is what establishes. and affirms are worth But what's also true is as we gather together to affirm the worthiness of God. It is strangely Strangely. attractive to the unbeliever. Strangely They might come in and consider it strange.
But it is strangely attractive. And the New Testament tells us that. Number seven. Our worship of God is to be inclusive. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your male servants and your female servants.
And the Levite that is within your town, since he has no portion or inheritance with you. And we see something similar in verse 18. You see everyone who's included in that. Everyone is included in that. Male servants and female servants and the Levites, I'm glad that's in there too.
Your worship leaders are to be included in worship, right? Worship is our worship of God is inclusive because we worship an inviting and welcoming God. of compassion. He is an inviting and welcoming God of compassion.
So our sons and daughters. ought to be worshiping with us. The male and female servants, many of them, were probably foreigners. They should be worshiping with us too. And the Levite.
We didn't own anything. And remember back in chapter 10 and verse 19, we are called to love the sojourner. Why? Because remember, you are sojourners in Egypt. Love the alien.
include them in worship. Our worship of God is to be inclusive. Number eight. our worship of God is to be passed on. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace.
You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission. To help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good. and your deepest satisfaction in him. the one who is infinitely good.
We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
