WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.679 Hello everyone, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the 2 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:10.279 Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren. We are excited that 3 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:13.160 you are with us today as we bring our powerful 4 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:17.960 series How the Church Meets your Deepest Needs to a close. Together, 5 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:21.600 we'll uncover the joy and strength that comes from being 6 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:24.960 a part of God's family. So let's continue now with 7 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.280 the final part of a message called how Worshiping with 8 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:29.719 others changes you? 9 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:35.200 Now, how do I worship? I want to give you 10 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:39.479 some tips here. I want to talk about how do 11 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:41.719 you tell God that you love him? And I want 12 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:45.799 to give you seven different very practical acts of worship. 13 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.000 So write these down. But not only were we just 14 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.240 going to write them down, we're going to do them. 15 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.600 And in each of these we're going to pause and 16 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:58.600 usually ask you to actually do what I just talked about. Now. 17 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:00.880 The one we're starting with is what we are doing 18 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.439 right now. The first way you can worship write this 19 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:09.560 down is by listening and responding to God's word. By 20 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:14.280 listening and responding to God's word, I'm teaching you from 21 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:17.280 God's word, what you're doing right now is an act 22 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:22.280 of worship. The Bible says in Deuteronomy thirty one, verse twelve. 23 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.239 In the New Century version, it says, gather all the 24 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:33.079 people together, men, women, children, and the immigrants living in 25 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:37.079 your towns. He's talking about visitors, people who are not 26 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:41.359 citizens here. Gather all the people together, men, women, children, 27 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:45.599 and immigrants living in your towns, so that everyone can 28 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:50.799 listen and learn so to respect the Lord and carefully 29 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:54.599 obey everything in his words. Notice, he says, this is 30 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:58.879 something we do together. We worship together. We're to gather 31 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:02.079 together to get up and go to a place of worship. 32 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:05.480 Are you doing that every week? That's what God wants 33 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:09.199 you to do. Psalm eighty five, verse eight says this, 34 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:14.280 I listen carefully to what God, my Lord is saying, 35 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:19.879 for he speaks peace to his people and his faithful ones. 36 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:23.919 Now notice he says, I listen carefully to what God says. 37 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:26.159 How do you listen carefully? Well. One of the ways 38 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.000 you do this, what you're doing right now, take notes. 39 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.840 The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory. And 40 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:36.599 one of the reasons why we pass out notes and 41 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.680 let people see the notes that they can take notes 42 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:43.879 on is so you can listen carefully. Did you know 43 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:46.960 that you forget about ninety five percent of everything you 44 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:50.159 hear within about seventy two hours. That's the United States 45 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.599 Air Force statistic, and that's depressing statistic. If you're a pastor, 46 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:57.319 it means that I can spend all week preparing to 47 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.840 teach you, and then by Wednesday you've forgotten ninety five 48 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:04.039 percent of it. You could have been a member of 49 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:07.439 Saddle Backed Church for thirty years and you've forgotten ninety 50 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:10.680 five percent. You've forgotten all but five percent of everything 51 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:13.639 I've ever taught unless you wrote it down. But if 52 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:15.400 you write it down, you can go back and review it. 53 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:18.759 When we teach the Purpose Driven Church Conference to pastors, 54 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:21.680 and over half a million pastors have taken this from 55 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:25.159 one hundred and sixty four countries, I give them fifteen 56 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:28.719 reasons that they should never teach without actually handing out 57 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:32.479 an outline. In the first place, everybody uses different translations, 58 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.039 and so when you look on an outline, everybody can 59 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:38.840 read from the same translation. The second place, writing it 60 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:43.120 down increases your memory and your retention. Third, you can 61 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.960 go later, go back and review it. I won't go 62 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:49.560 into all of these reasons. I know guys who've wadded 63 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:52.159 up the sermon notes and put them in their wallet 64 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:54.800 and pulled them out later when they need it. You 65 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:57.879 can put it up on the wall. You can underline, 66 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:00.680 you can circle, you can take notes. So all of 67 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:04.039 these are just to help you to listen carefully to 68 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:07.599 what God says, for he speaks peace to his people. 69 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:11.319 But it's not enough to just take notes. If you're 70 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:13.840 really going to worship, you have to do what he says. 71 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.839 The Bible talks about being doers of the word, not 72 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:20.959 hearers only. In John thirteen, verse seventeen, Jesus says this, 73 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.439 now that you know these things, you will be blessed 74 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:29.120 if notice you do them. He didn't say you'll be 75 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:31.319 blessed if you know them. He doesn't even say you'll 76 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:33.519 be blessed if you take notes on them. He says, 77 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.240 now that you know these things, you'll be blessed if 78 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.639 you do them. So taking notes is a part of worship. 79 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:43.279 Why because it helps me to have my to do 80 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:47.759 list after worship is over all. Right, So the first 81 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.600 way that you can express your love to God is 82 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:54.360 by actually listening carefully to the word of God. And 83 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:56.560 you care enough to take notes. I'll never forget that 84 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.560 one time I read the verse where Jesus says, don't 85 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:03.839 cast you pearls before swine. And as I was reading 86 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:06.120 that verse, I felt the Holy Spirit saying, Rick, who 87 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.240 do you think the swine is? And I said, well, 88 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.120 that's got to be the religious pharisees, who you know 89 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:13.680 we're attacking Jesus all the time. He said, no, you're 90 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:17.519 the swine. So what mean why? He said, because you 91 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:19.839 don't care enough to write down what I say to you. 92 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:24.480 And the Word of God are the pearls of wisdom 93 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:26.519 that come out of the word of God. And God 94 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:29.279 is casting these pearls that you but you're just letting 95 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.120 them fall away. You're not writing them down, you're not 96 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:35.240 connecting them, you're not collecting them, you're not reviewing them, 97 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.240 you're not applying them, you're not practicing them. So I'm 98 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:43.959 casting pearls before swine. So learn to listen carefully. That's 99 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.439 an act of worship. Take notes and write yourself to 100 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:49.480 do list and things you're going to do as a 101 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:51.959 result of what you learn from the word of God. 102 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:54.639 All right, let's go to a second way to worship. 103 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:57.680 This is one we all know about. I can worship God, 104 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.959 I can show my love to God by singing to him, 105 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:04.040 by singing to him when we sing to Him with 106 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:08.199 our whole hearts, and it's not half hearted singing, it's 107 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.720 singing with our whole hearts. Remember God loves whole hearted worship, 108 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:15.000 Psalm thirty two, verse eleven. I love this. In the message, 109 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:21.600 it says this, celebrate God, sing together everyone, all of 110 00:06:21.639 --> 00:06:25.920 you with honest hearts. All of you raise the roof. 111 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.600 I love that raise the roof. Worship is meant to 112 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:34.720 be a celebration, not a commiseration. It's meant to be 113 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:40.120 a festival of joy, not a funeral of sadness. He says, 114 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:42.759 sing together. I was glad when they said to me, 115 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:44.240 let us go into the house of the Lord. Not 116 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.480 I was mad or sad, or bored or oh brother, 117 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:51.639 it's not a duty. It's a delight. Celebrate God sing 118 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:55.720 together all this week in our daily devotionals. I'm going 119 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:59.360 to give you some ways to celebrate God on your own, 120 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:01.839 but it's it's really important for you learn to celebrate 121 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:06.240 with other people. I have a counselor friend, a therapist 122 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:09.560 who everyone who comes to him who's depressed. One of 123 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:11.399 the first questions he asked is did you sing all 124 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:15.439 the songs last Sunday at church? And they said no. Well, 125 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:21.199 he says impression without expression leads to depression, and you 126 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:24.399 need for your emotional health, you need to sing. You say, well, 127 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:27.079 I can't carry a tune in a baggy. You know, 128 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.879 I'm a prison singer. I'm always behind a few bars 129 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:32.040 and I never have the right key. Well, you know what, 130 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.480 the Bible says, make a joyful noise. Anybody can do that, 131 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:38.319 and so you don't have to be on key. You 132 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:40.920 just have to sing with your heart. And you know what, 133 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.759 would you rather sing by yourself? Would rather sing with 134 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:47.319 one hundred people or three hundred people or a thousand people? 135 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:51.319 The Bible says we sing together, and that is an 136 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.000 act of worship. Did you know that music and love 137 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:58.839 to go together because music is God's gift for expressing emotions, 138 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.560 and all of the emotions that are known demand can 139 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:05.560 be expressed through music. You know, there are radio stations 140 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:09.959 that are dedicated entirely to just love songs because they 141 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:13.360 are a way of expressing emotions. Now, I know some 142 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:16.079 people come to church late because they go I just 143 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:18.399 want to hear the message, and they want to come 144 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:20.240 in in the music. They don't worry about getting there. 145 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:24.480 You are making a big mistake and it is detrimental 146 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:27.519 to your spiritual health, to your soul, to your spirit, 147 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.680 and to your emotional health as well. You need to 148 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:35.039 sing these songs. You're cheating yourself. You're missing out on 149 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:40.039 an importantnt A moment of worship if you don't sing 150 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:43.759 along the song. So learn to sing the songs. Praise 151 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:49.639 is a moodlifter. It's an anecdote, as I said to depression. Now, 152 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:52.360 let's go to a third way that we worship God. 153 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.519 A third way we worship God is by talking to 154 00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:00.879 God together in prayer. By talking God to God together 155 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:03.360 in prayer. Now, of course you could pray on your 156 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:07.759 own anytime, but you know there's added power when we 157 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:11.440 pray together. The Bible says when two or three agree 158 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.399 as to anything, it shall be done. There's additional prayer 159 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.919 power when we pray together. In Acts, Chapter one, verse fourteen, 160 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:25.039 it says they all join together constantly in prayer. You know, 161 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:28.360 we would have the power of the New Testament Church 162 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:30.720 like they had in Acts. We'd see those kind of 163 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:34.159 miracles if we prayed as much as they did in 164 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:37.559 the Book of Acts. Paul talks about the importance of 165 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:41.759 prayer in corporate worship in Romans, Chapter one, verses twelve. 166 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:45.120 He says this, we must help each other with the 167 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:48.600 faith we have, and your faith will help me, and 168 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:51.279 my faith will help you. So when we pray together 169 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.080 and we're all praying for the same thing that builds 170 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.080 my faith, it builds your faith. You don't get that 171 00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:59.919 when you pray on your own. There's an additional element 172 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:05.039 of prayer power that happens when you pray with other people. 173 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:09.600 And that's why prayer together is a part of worship. 174 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.360 You know, one of the things I've learned about a relationship, 175 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:15.720 whether it's friendship or marriage. I've been married now for 176 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.440 forty two years, is that if you're going to build 177 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:22.360 a relationship, you've got to communicate. On the days that 178 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:24.919 Kay and I communicate with each other through the day, 179 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:28.840 our relationship grows. On the days that I don't get 180 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:32.440 to talk to her through the day, it decays. The 181 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.879 same is true with God. If you want to build 182 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:36.919 a friendship with God, you've got to talk to him 183 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:38.879 all the time. Of course, you can talk to him 184 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:42.159 all the time, but if you never talk to your 185 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.279 spouse or they never talk to you, you'd start doubting 186 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:48.600 that they loved you. And if you really love God, 187 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:51.000 you're going to talk to him all the time. What 188 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:53.919 do you talk to God about? Well, whatever is interesting 189 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:56.360 to you. You can talk to God about your hopes, 190 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:01.000 about your dreams, about your fears, about your heart. You 191 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:03.080 can talk to God about the conflicts. You can talk 192 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:05.639 about how your stomach feels. You can talk to him 193 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:09.039 about things that you feel are not fair. There is 194 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:13.039 nothing off limits in a love relationship with God. He 195 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.399 wants to hear everything that is a concern to you. 196 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:17.519 He doesn't want to hear what you think you how 197 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:21.759 to talk about. He wants to hear what's really concerning you. 198 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:25.360 Prayer is not a duty, it is a privilege. And 199 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:30.039 if you don't feel close to God, there's a simple remedy. 200 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:34.320 Talk to him more. Okay, talk to him more. Prayer 201 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:37.879 is an act of worship, but particularly when we pray together. 202 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:41.480 There's power in group prayer. And so pray in your 203 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:44.759 small groups, and pray in your Bible studies, and pray 204 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.600 when you're at a church worship service together. All right, 205 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.879 let's go to number four. A fourth way that we 206 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.720 express our love to God is by sharing the Lord's 207 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:01.080 supper together. By sharing the Lord's supper together, it's called communion. 208 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.720 It's called the Eucharist, which comes from the word eukaristo, 209 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:09.879 which means I receive it with thanks. But Jesus gave 210 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.200 us two symbols of his death and his burial and 211 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:18.960 his resurrection. One is the Lord's supper and the other's baptism. 212 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:23.480 In First Corinthians, chapter eleven, verse twenty five, Jesus said, 213 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:26.879 this cup the cup of communion that he was going 214 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:29.960 to pass around to his disciples. He said, this cup 215 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:35.600 is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by 216 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:40.480 the shedding of my blood. So do this often in 217 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:44.200 remembrance of me. We are to do this often in 218 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.120 remembrance of him. Jesus said, I want you to take 219 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:51.519 the bread and the cup together because it symbolizes my 220 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:56.200 death and resurrection and my salvation that I've paid for you. 221 00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:59.799 The fact is Jesus paid the penalty for your sin 222 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:04.080 by his death on the cross, and he broke the 223 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:06.639 power of sin so you could be free from all 224 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:10.399 of the habits. And he guarantees freedom eventually from the 225 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:13.440 presence of sin in your life because of what he 226 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:15.000 did on the cross. One day you're going to be 227 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:17.840 in heaven. There's going to be no sin there. So 228 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.960 what should be my attitude when I take communion? Jesus' 229 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:30.480 sacrifice did three things. It paid for your forgiveness. Every 230 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:34.919 sin you've ever done wrong is completely forgiven. It's wiped out, 231 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:38.559 washed away. Think of the most guilty thing you've ever done, 232 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:42.559 the thing you're most ashamed of in your past, and 233 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:46.559 thank God that that's forgiven. It's not only forgiven. God 234 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:49.399 wiped it out. It's forgiven and forgotten. So he paid 235 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:52.440 for your forgiveness. So what should be my attitude when 236 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:56.000 I come to the Lord's Supper? Should it be guilt 237 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:00.120 over my sin? No, because it's all been paid for, 238 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:03.919 it forgiven. Should it be grief over Jesus' death? No, 239 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:07.600 because he didn't stay dead, so it's not a grieving thing. 240 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:10.080 He came back to life. That's what Easter is all about. 241 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.720 It shouldn't be guilt and it shouldn't be grief. The 242 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:19.240 attitude for the Lord's Supper is gratitude. I should take 243 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.960 it grateful, grateful e charisto. I receive it with thanks 244 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:29.360 that God would love me this much. Now, communion is 245 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:33.159 not for everybody. If you have never accepted God's gift, 246 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:36.480 the salvation and forgiveness, you shouldn't take communion because it 247 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:40.240 doesn't mean anything to you. It's meaningless, it doesn't help 248 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.000 you in any way. But if you have never given 249 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.480 your life to Christ, before we take these elements, you 250 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:49.240 need to say God, as I take these elements today, 251 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:53.360 the bread and the Jews, I am saying by taking 252 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:56.320 these that I accept what you did for me, and 253 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:58.799 I ask you to forgive me, and I ask you 254 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.000 to accept me into your faith, and I need your salvation. 255 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:06.440 That's the right way to take communion. Because Jesus paid 256 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:10.440 for your forgiveness. He also paid for your freedom. So 257 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.399 I want you to think about the thing that you 258 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:15.120 would like to change the most about you, what you'd 259 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:17.399 like to change but you don't feel you can change. 260 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:19.960 And in a minute, I want you to thank God 261 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:23.320 that you have the power to change. That He will 262 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:26.799 give you because of what Jesus did for you, your forgiveness, 263 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:31.919 your freedom, and then your future. The Bible says because 264 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:35.519 Jesus Christ died of the cross for you, that he 265 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:38.639 has a future for you. In heaven. The Bible says, 266 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.519 eye has not seen, and ear has never heard, and 267 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:43.879 no one has even imagined the wonderful things God has 268 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:48.600 prepared for those who love Him. So not out of grief, 269 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.200 not out of guilt, but out of gratitude. We take 270 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:56.639 these elements and we thank God for our forgiveness. We 271 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:59.720 thank God for our freedom in Christ, and we thank 272 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:04.399 God for our future in heaven. During communion, you probably 273 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:08.559 did something that is the fifth way that we offer 274 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:12.919 our worship to God. Number five is by recommitting our 275 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.120 lives to God. Many of you did that as you 276 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.519 were taking conminion communion. Some of you did it for 277 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.799 the very first time, and you committed your life to 278 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:25.279 Jesus Christ, saying, I want you to be my Lord, 279 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:27.879 to be my savior. I want to accept your salvation. 280 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:32.360 I need your forgiveness. Now, this is an important act 281 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:36.200 of worship. Romans twelve, verse one says this because of 282 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:39.360 God's great mercy to you. In other words, because God's 283 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:43.919 been so good to you, offer your lives as living 284 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:49.200 sacrifices to Him, dedicated to serving Him in a holy 285 00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:51.600 and pleasing way. Now, I want to stop right here 286 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:54.039 and look at this first for just a minute. First, 287 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:58.120 it says, because of God's great mercy. Mercy is when 288 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.159 God doesn't give us what we deserve. He's merciful grace 289 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.279 is when God gives us what we don't deserve. So 290 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:09.079 mercy takes away all the bad, grace gives us all 291 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:12.079 the good. He says, because of God's great mercy and 292 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:17.319 his grace, he says, offer yourselves as living sacrifices to him. 293 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:19.759 That means you say, God, I give you myself. You 294 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.640 know the old problem with the living sacrifice, It can 295 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.920 crawl off the altar. And that's what happens. On Sunday, 296 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.640 on the weekend, we say God, I give you my life. 297 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:32.480 I give you my time, my money, my life, my energy, 298 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:36.200 my future, my reputation. And then on Monday we crawl 299 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:39.880 off the altar. We sing onward Christian soldiers on Sunday, 300 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:43.640 and on Monday we go a wall awl absently without leave. 301 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:48.680 The Bible says, offer your lives as living sacrifices to Him, 302 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:51.599 dedicated to serving him. This is an act of worship God. 303 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:55.440 I want to serve you this week, serving Him in 304 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:59.880 a holy and pleasing way. This is your spiritual act 305 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:04.000 of worship. Underline that this is your spiritual act of worship. 306 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:06.759 Did you know that every time you make a spiritual decision, 307 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:13.400 a spiritual commitment, you are participating in worship. Nothing ever significant, 308 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:17.759 happens without worship. You will become whatever you are committed to, 309 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:22.799 whatever you commit to, And so your decisions determine your destiny, 310 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:28.680 and your commitments determine your character. And so worship is 311 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.720 something that we say, God, I give you myself. Now. 312 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:36.480 Along with that, in that offering basket we put our offerings, 313 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:39.759 and that leads to the sixth act of worship. Write 314 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.359 this down. I show my love to God by giving 315 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:47.759 back some of what God has given me. I show 316 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:51.599 my love to God by giving back some of what 317 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:55.720 God has given me. You can give without loving, but 318 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:59.400 you cannot love without giving. When I first fell in 319 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:02.240 love with k I could not keep money in my pocket. 320 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.160 It's like it was burning a hole. I wanted to 321 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:06.039 spend it on her all the time. Why I was 322 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:09.359 in love with her and I just wanted to buyer things. 323 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:13.480 Because when you love somebody, you want to be generous 324 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:15.559 with them. You want to give them, give to them. 325 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.359 The Bible says God so loved the world that He gave. 326 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:22.960 And so in giving back to God, we don't give 327 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:28.000 out a duty. We don't out of pressure. In fact, 328 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:31.000 you should never give out of pressure. You give out 329 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:32.839 of love. Because if you don't give out of love, 330 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:37.279 and you don't give wholeheartedly, it doesn't matter. But giving 331 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.079 is an act of worship. A lot of people think, well, 332 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.279 when the offering baskets are past, I mean it's time 333 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:45.240 to get up and leave because the worship is over. No. 334 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:48.319 One of the most important parts of worship is the 335 00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:50.720 act of you giving back to God. Here's what the 336 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:53.960 Bible says in one Corinthians sixteen, verse two, in the 337 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:59.039 Living Bible, that says this, on every Lord's Day, each 338 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:02.519 of you should put aside something from what you've earned 339 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:04.440 during the week. What's the Lord's say this first day 340 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:07.480 of the week, and put aside something you've earned the 341 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:11.400 past week and give it back to God as you're offering. 342 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.640 The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped 343 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:18.039 you to earn. Now this is pretty basic. It's proportional giving. 344 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.000 If you made a lot of money this week, then 345 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.480 you give a lot back to God. If you made 346 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:24.240 a little this week, you give a little back to God. 347 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.160 If you didn't make any, then I guess you don't 348 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:29.359 give anything back to God. You can always give something. 349 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:31.319 You can give a penny if you have to, But 350 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:34.640 it's just an attitude that says God, I want to 351 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:37.480 express my love to you by giving. The amount depends 352 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:39.400 on how much the Lord has helped you to earn. Now, 353 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.119 the Bible uses the word tithe, which means ten percent. 354 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.160 Means if I earned one thousand dollars, one hundred dollars 355 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:47.799 comes back to God. If I earned ten bucks, one 356 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:51.119 dollar comes back to God. Kay and I have been 357 00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:55.000 reversed tithers for over twenty years now. We give away 358 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:59.200 ninety one percent of our offerings and of our income 359 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:02.359 and give away and live on nine percent. Most of 360 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:04.519 you know, I don't take a salary from Saddleback Church. 361 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:08.119 I've served this church for free now for almost forty years. 362 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:11.000 But God says, play this game with me. I'll give 363 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:12.400 to you, and you give to me, and we'll see 364 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:16.839 who wins. I've lost that game for almost forty years. Now. 365 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.359 Here's the last of seven ways. There many many more 366 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:22.759 other ways that you can worship God. You can worship 367 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:25.720 God in silence, but The seventh way that I want 368 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:27.920 to give you this weekend is that I show my 369 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:34.359 love to God by being baptized, to publicly declare our faith. 370 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:38.559 We're baptized as an expression to the world. It's not 371 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:41.440 in secret. It's kind of our coming out party. It's 372 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:46.319 kind of your debutante. It's your saying I'm not ashamed 373 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:49.880 to say I love Jesus Christ. Let me just close 374 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:54.559 with a few verses. Romans Chapter six, verse three tells 375 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.000 us that baptism symbolizes what Jesus Christ did for us. 376 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:01.759 In the message prayer phrase, it says this, when we 377 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:04.839 went under the water, we left the old country of 378 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:07.799 sin behind where we and when we came up out 379 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:10.920 of the water, we entered into the new country of grace. 380 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.880 We left the old country of sin under the water. 381 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:16.599 We come out to the new country of grace, a 382 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:19.039 new life in a new land. That's what baptism in 383 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.160 the life of Jesus means. When we're lowered into the water, 384 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:25.200 it's like the burial of Jesus, and when we're raised 385 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:28.279 up out of the water, it's like the resurrection of Jesus. 386 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.559 So it symbolizes what Jesus did for us. But it 387 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:36.079 also has a much greater significance. Colossians chapter two, verse 388 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:40.799 twelve tells us that baptism symbolizes our dying to an 389 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:45.480 old lifestyle Colossians two twelve, and the message says, going 390 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.799 under the water was a burial of your old life, 391 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:53.200 and coming up out of it was a resurrection, God 392 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:57.839 raising you from the dead, just like he did Christ. 393 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:02.200 So it symbolizes Jesus death and resurrection. It symbolizes you're 394 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:05.799 dying to all your old sins and being given a 395 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:09.200 brand new life. And then it symbolizes our new life 396 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:13.039 in Christ. Galatians three twenty seven. Then the message says 397 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:17.000 this your baptism in Christ was not just washing you 398 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:21.200 up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you 399 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:25.039 in an adult faith ward robe. Have you been baptized 400 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:28.920 as an adult? And it's your commitment to Christ, Christ's life, 401 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:34.079