The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 2: The Heart of Worship

Episode Date: October 4, 2020

All right. Church, if you got a Bible, turn to Malachi. That is a book of the Bible. Actually, if you don't know where that is, it's the very last book in the Old Testament. The easiest thing to do is find Matthew and then just turn a couple pages the other way. And we are in a series. We started last week a series on the book of Malachi. And Malachi takes place about 400 years before Jesus shows. up. And it's about a hundred years after Israel has come back out of Babylonian exile. The second temple had been destroyed. They got to rebuild it. If you ever heard the story of Nehemiah and building the walls back around Jerusalem, that's this kind of time period that's going on. And God brings these people back, the Israelites, back into Jerusalem, and they say, God, it won't be like it was. I promise we won't act like that. We won't do those sorts of things, we won't depart from you, and just like every other time, and just like you and just like me, we make big promises to God about how everything's going to be different,

and then it's not, right? And we seem to make the same mistakes over and over, the same sins over and over and yet God is faithful, and that is what the book of Malachi is about. And so, I want to kind of back up and look at Malachi chapter one, starting in verse one, and just kind of catch you up if you weren't here what we studied last week when we started it. And so Malachi chapter 1 says this, the or literally that word oracle means the burden. And in this book, God is going to lay out six burdens or disputes or ways that he's going to correct Israel. And so he says the or the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel. and that's important to understand

that this is directed to God's people, people that were following after God. And so the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi, and that word, that name actually means messenger. And then God says this in verse two. I have loved you, says the Lord. Love is the first word that comes out of God's mouth in this book. And that is really, really important

because as God is about to lay out his burdens, what you need to know is the burden is born out of love for his people. That we said last week before God is going to correct, he's going to connect with his people. And so he wants to say, listen, this is all coming, not because I'm angry at you, not because I'm mad at you, but because my heart breaks, because I have a burden that is born out of love for you.

And then Israel says this. but you say, how have you loved us? I mean, when you read that, you can almost hear the contempt in Israel's voice, can't you? I mean, they're like, okay, God, you say you love me, how have you loved me? Well, God goes on in the next couple of verses

and he tells the story of Jacob and Esau and Edom and go back, listen to last week's message, but the whole point of this is God would say, you want to know how I've loved you? I have loved you unconditionally. I have loved you so much that I never waited a moment on you to come to me. I have made every move to come to you.

That I loved you unconditionally. I chose you unconditionally. I saved you unconditionally. I've kept you. I brought you back unconditionally. That's how I've loved you. And then he says in verse 5, Your own eyes shall see this,

this unconditional love, this unconditional choosing and saving and keeping. Your own eyes shall see this. And you shall say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. Now when he says that, that's worship language. He's saying, when you see, when you catch a glimpse of my unconditional love for you, this burden of love that I carry for you, when you see that, and when you see how I chose you and I chased you down and I saved you, not based on anything you did, but based on who I am and what I do.

When you see that, what should explode from your heart is worship. Great are you, Lord. That's what should just flow out of our heart when we catch a glimpse of this kind of love of God. But this is what leads to the first burden that God is going to give, the first of six burdens. And so he says in verse six, a son honors his father. This is straight out of the Fifth Commandment, right, out of the Big Ten, you shall honor your father and mother, right? And the way you can remember it's number five, as number five is a hand, like honor your mother and father. So you honor, he's saying, a son honors his father and a servant, his master.

if then I am a father. Now this is remarkable. God is calling himself father. I don't know if you've ever thought like in the Old Testament God is wrathful and vengeful and mean and angry. And that may be things that we lay on God, but when God says here's who I am, he consistently says, I'm a father.

father. So he says, if I'm a father, where's my honor? And we tend to think that that Fifth Commandment is primarily about obedience to our earthly mother and father. But what God does here is he's saying, hey, the obedience that you give to your mother and father is it's sort of a picture of honor and worship that you give to me. That the Fifth Commandment is first about our worship. And to God as a father. And so he says, where's the honor that's due to me? And if I'm a master, where is my fear? Now, fear here is not scared. That's not what fear means. Fear here is like awe and wonder, that sort of jaw-dropping glimpse of God where you just go, wow, I can't believe that's him. And he says, if I'm a master, where is my fear? Where is my fear? Where is my fear? Where

is my awe, where is my wonder, says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name? So he says, I should be getting honor. I should be getting worship. I should have this, you should have this sense of fear or awe or wonder in me, but instead, you just despise my name. And God's burden here is that they aren't worshiping him with all of their heart and soul and mind and strength. When they've seen the faithfulness and the unconditional saving of God, what hasn't come out of their mouth is greater you, oh God. And so he lays it out for them and he says, my first burden for you is that you're not worshiping me. Now, you have to pause for a second, because if I said my burden for you is that you're not worshiping me, that would be massively selfish.

it would be hugely problematic because I'm not perfect and I'm not infinite and for me to ask you to worship me would be for me to ask you to put your eyes and your life on something and rested on something that is that's fallible and it's finite but for God to ask us to call us to worship him it is the most loving, kind, good, right thing that he could do. Because there is nothing greater, there's nothing higher, there's nothing more perfect, there is nothing more infinite than God. And for us to put our worship on God and for God to call us to put our worship on him is the best thing that he could do for us.

And so for God to demand worship from us is not selfish. It's actually the most loving thing that God could do for us. But then Israel, they push back again. And they say, but you say, how have we despised your name? God says by offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, how have we polluted you? He's saying, how have we caused this burden on you, God?

What did we do to cause you to feel like, what is it our, we need evidence, we need proof that we're not doing this. God says, okay, by saying, here's what God responds, by saying that the Lord's table may be despised. When you offer blind animals and sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? present that to your governor. Will he accept you or show you favor? Says the Lord of hosts. What he's saying here is he's saying,

hey, you bring lame and sick animals, and you wouldn't even give those to a corrupt politician that doesn't have your best interest in heart. And here I am the God who loves you unconditionally. You wouldn't bring that to him. Why would you bring that to me? Now skip down to verse 12. We're going to get to those middle verses.

in a second. But in verse 12, God restates his case. He gives them more evidence in there. He says, but you profane it, my name, when you say that the Lord's table is polluted and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, what a weariness this is. Now, if you got something to write with, you need to circle, that word weariness is important. That's the key to this whole thing. What a weariness this is, and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what's been taken by violence or is lame or sick. And this you bring as your offering. Shall I accept it from your hand, says the Lord?

Curse be the cheat who has a male in his flock and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord, what is blemished? Now, listen, we don't worship. with animal sacrifices. Thank God. And so we miss this. And I think we can go, well, what's the big deal? Like, they're bringing some animals with some spots or they don't exactly walk right? Like, what's God's big deal in this? And on the surface, one of the deals is that God has just said, in Leviticus, if you read the first seven chapters of Leviticus, God is very clear, here's the law, here's the type of animals that you're to bring in certain situations to me. There's to be

unblemish, they're not to be lame, they're not to be sick. So God says, don't do this. Here, bring perfect, spotless animals to me. So there's a sense that God has said, this is the law. And animal sacrifice played a central role in the temple worship in Israel. This is, there had been one temple, there's a second temple, and there is now no temple. In 67 AD after Jesus's life, the temple that would have been at this point and on through Jesus's life, get them. destroyed. And so the reason that Jewish people today don't sacrifice animals is because they don't have the temple. Synagogues are not temple. Synagogues are places that they go to study what we call the Old Testament. But if there was a new temple to be built, which it can't because there's now

a mosque sitting where the temple should be built. But if it was or the day comes when it does get built, there will be animal sacrifices there. And animal sacrifices play a central role in this temple worship. And so on a surface level, they're breaking the law and they're, they're messing with God's way of wanting to be worshipped in the temple. But it's deeper than that, really. That's just kind of up here. But when you peel back the layer, the question is, why the animals, like, why does God want these perfect animal sacrifices brought to them? And the deeper issue is because those perfect animals symbolized God's perfection. They were a statement of the value and the worth and the purity and the holiness of God. And so when God says bring these into worship,

they are a sign that the people would value God as perfect and holy and blameless himself. The other reason that these animal sacrifices had to be this way is because they symbolized how serious our sin is. That it just, it wouldn't take any kind of sacrifice. That there had to be a specific, there was a costliness to our sin that separated us from God. And then ultimately, these sacrifices that had to be unblemished eventually pointed to the one who would come one day and become the once and for all sacrifice for all sin. Jesus. And that's why this is such a big, big deal. Because it's not the surface level stuff, the animals.

It's the heart behind it. Jesus would later come and say, hey, where your treasure is, there's your heart. And you can see in there, there's this deep heart issue for why they're not worshiping. Because in verse 13, they respond, what a weariness there is. What's going on why they're bringing

these sort of blemished animals or these lame or sick or animals that are gotten by stealing or cheating or however they're gotten them? Animals they couldn't sell on the market so they bring them to God as their leftovers. The reason that they're doing that, they say is, God, we're just weary.

We're just tired. Our whole heart isn't in this thing. and the heart of the issue is that their hearts are not in their worship. That's what's going on. Have you ever been there? Have you ever gotten to the place where you just go, God, my heart's weary. I mean, have you ever shown up, even showing up, maybe tonight you show up and you're like, my whole heart is not in this thing.

Have you ever gotten to the place where you just, you want, maybe you want to worship with all your heart and all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength, but you're just like, I can't get there. Maybe life has gotten so busy that no matter how much you want to, literally the energy has just been sucked out of you and you don't feel like you have anything to bring. Or maybe you are going through,

or I've gone through something really, really hard. And it's worn you down. And you just don't feel like, God, because this thing is going on that is so hard, I just don't know if I can worship with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength. Or maybe it's because you walk in and you think, all right, I'm here, but I'm just doing this

because I think everybody expects me to do this. There's a lot of ought and there's a lot of should. Or if you looked around and you see other people, man, they're just hands in the air and they're going for it and you just think, I'm just not there, and I don't know how to get there. Or maybe this whole season of COVID, it just made you weary. And you just don't know, God, I don't know how to even bring all of my heart and all of my soul and all of my mind and all of my strength. Have you ever been there?

The answer is yes. We all have been there. every single one. In fact, the longer you are a follower of Jesus, the longer you, and the more you kind of get in this, you can become used to what happens in worship and it can actually become almost an occupational hazard. Then it can become this sort of rote thing,

and before long, you're doing it just because it's the thing to do and you got in the pattern, but if you were really honest, you'd say, no, I'm kind of weary. Or my whole heart and my whole soul and my whole mind and my whole strength is not. not in this thing. And when that happens, what do you do?

Like, how do you draw your heart up to God in worship? What will stir the affections of your soul to worship with all of your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength? Where do you go to stir that up? And I'll tell you what won't work in the long time. term. It may work for just a second, but I'll tell you what won't work that a lot of times we go to. What won't work and won't sustain a life of worship is leaning on a personality type.

I think a lot of times we can go, well, he or she, they're just really expressive, so worship is just easier for them, or they're an extrovert, or they're artistic, or whatever it is. They're musical so they can clap on beat. Had a drummer one time look at me and go, Adam. When my drumstick hits the snare, you do that. Had the band one time to say, can we turn your microphone down in our ears so we don't hear you? But I'm telling, we can think, oh, I just don't have the worshiping personality.

I'm not expressive. It's not a personality type. or we can think sometimes the circumstances. If things were just better, I would worship more fully. In good circumstances, man, that's wonderful. But they will not carry your heart to worship God in fullness. It won't sustain you. Or a sense of obligation like I ought or I should.

And there are seasons. I'm telling you. you, there are seasons that that will kind of push you through the season, but you can't live a life that is full of worship and hearts stirred to affection for God on a sense of duty of ought and should. I don't know about you, but like when the song gets going, right, and all of a sudden the bass like really starts to thund the kick drum and it starts thumping and the sound guy like pushes it up and you're like, I feel it. I love that moment, but I'm not. I'm telling you, there is no amount of haze, there is no amount of lights, there is no amount of

kick drum that can sustain you and stir up your affections to worship God with all of your heart and all of your soul and all your mind and all your strength. And sometimes you can have these pinnacle moments. You've had them, haven't you? Have you ever had that moment where you're like, if I could just stay up here? those are great they just won't carry you like a wedding is wonderful but you can't live off your wedding for a great marriage christ will talk to you in a minute i fully agree so the question is where does it come from where does a heart of worship a heart that is full worship that flows out

of all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength where does that come from. And God answers it. I love in the six, from verse six to verse 14, God wraps up his burden and he inserts in the middle of it answers for us about where this comes from. As he lays out the burden, he doesn't just lay out the burden. He actually gives us the answer. He says, here's what the heart of worship is. When you pull all this thing, wait, let me give you where the heart, the baseline, deep down what will stir your affections for worship that will sustain a life of worship. And the first one is this. A heart of worship is the character and the nature of God.

It's who God is. If you want to have your affections stirred for God in worship, it's who God is. Listen to what he says in verse 6. A son honors his father. and a servant his master. If them, I am a father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my fear or awe? This is the Lord of host.

And then if you skip down at the very end in verse 14, it says, for I am a great king. Did you see what God says about himself? God says, I'm a father. Abba, that's the word, Abba. I'm like your dad. I'm the, what your dad should aspire to be.

I'm, I am close and I'm loving, and I am tender, and I'm providing. You are my child. You can pull up into my lap. I'm your dad. And then he says, I'm your master, not taskmaster. The word is Adonai. It's Lord. It's I, I'm, yes, I'm your father, but I am also the type of father that is completely in control.

And when I think about the fact that God is not missing anything, nothing is slipping by God, nothing is ever caught God by surprise, that stirs something up in me to want to worship God. And then God says, I'm the Lord of hosts. He says it six times in this passage, you'll say it 24 times in this book. And that little phrase is actually the name Yahweh. And we say Yahweh, but in Hebrew, you almost can't say it. It means I am who I am or I will be who I will be. You almost just kind of have to breathe it like Yahweh.

It doesn't have vowels in it. It's kind of a non-word. And there is supposed to be this sort of otherness in that name. And I think there is something about the otherness of God. Like, yes, God is close and yes, God is my father. And yes, God is right here in control of the imminent things in my life. And God is completely and totally other. Jesus is not my homeboy.

He's other. He is God. And when I think about how other God is, that causes my heart to want to leap in worship, because God is so different. He's like nothing else. And then he says, I am a great king.

You know what a great king does? A great king cares and provides and protects. That when I stop and I think of all the ways that God has provided and protected me in my life, sustained me and carried me, that stirs my heart to want to worship. When you make worship about you, when we walk into a worship service like this

and we go, all right, I'm ready to receive. God in his graciousness does in worship pour out to us. He does that. He fills us up in worship, but that's not primarily what worship is about. but when we make it primarily about us, it should be no surprise that we grow weary with it because that is so hard to sustain.

But when we make it about God, you know, I get asked all the time because I, well, I used to travel around the world, I don't travel to the other side of the city now. But people will ask me all the time, what's the secret sauce about 1122? And the thing I think that is deep down in there, in this place that is so special, is that at every turn, what we have tried to do is to make this about God, about who he is. First and foremost, God, everything is for you and to you. It is all about you, Jesus. And the thing, if you're not able to stir up those affections, if you feel them faint and you feel

them drift in worship, the thing to do is to fix your eyes on the character and nature of God. That God is a father, that God is Lord, that God is so other, and God is yet your provider and your protector. And the second thing is that at the heart of worship is the grace of God. Look in verse 9. God says, and now, this is what God is saying to them. In the middle of his saying, you haven't worshipped me. He says, you want to solve this worship problem.

Here's what you need to do. And now entreat the favor of God. That he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you, says the Lord of hosts. The word favor is just the Old Testament word for grace. He's saying, entreat the grace of God. Beg God to be gracious to you.

God has given a gift, a free gift, and he shows grace. Listen, the fact, last week, 1001 people went from death to life in Jesus. That's the grace of God. That's the favor of God. That is God's gift. 227 people declare and demonstrate that Jesus is their Lord and Savior and baptism. That's the grace of God. That's the grace of God on every one of those people that came to faith, on everyone

of those people that got baptized, and that's God's grace on us. Who are we that we should get a front row to see God do something like that? That's stunning. We're not that good. That's the grace of God. Listen, when I was 15 years old, I went to camp up in upstate New York. I went to a Young Life camp. I've told you this before.

And I was not looking for God. I did not go on that trip thinking, you know what? I'm going to spend a week deepening my relationship with the Lord. I was 15. My best friend David was like, you want to go to camp? Sure, let's go to camp. And we went, and I'm telling you one night I could take you back to the spot where God just reached down and ripped my dead heart of stone out of my body and gave me a

fleshy heart and gave me new birth and breathed the life into my dead body. And that's the grace of God. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us while we were dead in our trespasses and sins made us alive together with Christ. And Paul says in Ephesians 4, it is by grace that you have been saved. If your heart needs stirring up to worship, think about the grace of God. Be utterly in awe of the grace of God. And the heart of worship is the once and for all life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You're like, where in the world? Jesus is not even mentioned in this passage. Look in verse 10.

Oh, that there would be one among you. Oh, that there would be one among you who would shut the door, meaning one that would stop the cycle of these sacrifices that have to happen over and over and over again. Oh, that there would be one among you that would shut that door, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain. I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of Host. I will not accept an offering from your hand.

Do you know the one? The one is Jesus. The one is Jesus. Jesus is the once and for all sacrifice for our sins. The book of Hebrew says that Jesus, when he died on the cross, there was no more need to repeat endless sacrifices in vain to God because God had provided the perfect sacrifice in Jesus. Jesus was the spotless lamb.

Jesus was the unblemished sacrifice. Jesus was not, he was, he never sinned. Therefore, he didn't go to the cross, lame with sin. He was the perfect sacrifice. He was the God who became man and gave his perfect life on the cross that we should never have to sacrifice again. And for all who place their faith in Jesus as that perfect sacrifice, your heart is tied to the Lord forever. I can't get over that.

I can't get over when I just stop and think about it for a minute. I can't get over the fact that God would send his perfect son on a rescue mission for me. How does that work? and if you stop and think about that, it's stunning. And if your heart is not turned towards worship, if you will stop and fix your eyes on Jesus, if you will put your eyes on the cross, if you will fix your eyes on the life, the death,

and the resurrection of Jesus, it will stir you so that you will worship with all your, heart and all your mind and all your strength. I love, there's a song by Isaac Watts. It was written almost 300 years ago. It says, when I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast. Save, except in the death of course. Christ, my God, all these things that charm me most, these vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood, see from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow

mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns composed so rich a crown? And then he says this, were the whole realm of nature mine. That were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine. It demands my soul, my life, my all. It doesn't just demand it. It stirs it.

When you consider the cross, the life, the death, and resurrection of Jesus, it stirs your soul to just worship. Then the heart of worship, number four, the heart of worship is the promises of God. Listen to what he says in verse 11. For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations. And in every place, incense will be offered to my name.

In a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Do you know what will be is? Will be is a promise. Got to say, this will happen. This will happen. my name will be great. You can take that one to the bank.

And Paul knows we're going to ask, in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20, Paul knows we're going to ask, well, how can I count on the promises of God? And Paul says, all of God's promises are yes in Jesus. Do you know how all of God's promises? Do you know how you know that you can take every promise of God to the bank?

is because that Jesus that died on the cross three days later got up from the grave. That is the guarantee of every single one of God's promises. When you're like, I don't know, can I trust God? Think of the resurrection. Think of the resurrection. Do you know in the Bible there are 7,487 promises of God? not just general statement promises, but promises from God to people, 7,487 of them. If you want to stir your heart to affection for God, if you need, if you feel like God I'm not

worshiping you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, you need to get a hold of some of the promises of God and claim the promises of God. In fact, I keep a list of promises of God in my wallet. And here, I just want to share with you, here's some of the promises that I literally, here it is. And when I don't feel, I'll pull it out. Matthew 1128, Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. That's a promise of God. Psalm 145.18, the Lord is near to all who call on him. Isaiah 41.10. I am your God. I will strengthen you.

I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Romans 10.9. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That's a promise of God. John 637, Jesus says,

all that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. If you have come to Jesus, Jesus will never lose you. That is a resurrection promise of Jesus. Philippians 419, my God will supply every need of yours

according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Psalm 138 8, 8, the Lord will fulfill his purposes in me. James 4.8, draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Isaiah 4031, those who wait on the Lord for the Lord shall renew their strength. Second Corinthians 1219, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in your weakness.

Romans 838, for I am sure there is no doubt for I am sure that neither death nor life angels nor rulers nor things present or things to come nor powers nor height. nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. These are promises of God and there are 7,487 blood-bought resurrection guaranteed promises of God. And I'm telling you, if you just are weary in worship, claim the promises of God. He gave them to you. He gave them to you. And number five, the heart of worship is that God is a global God for all people.

He says in verse 14, for I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. My name will be held in awe among the nations. Habakkuk 214 says the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the seas. Think about that. God will be known across the earth and his glory will flood the earth. He is a global God. This world will know that he is a great king. Last, over saturated, we had over 400 people text in this little phrase, send me. It was our way of saying, if you just want to raise your hand and put your yes on the table and let God put you somewhere on the map to make him known as a great king across the globe,

we had 400 people. If you think, that's 400 people that are saying, I will make God know. as a great king, a global great king to all the people of the world. Matthew 2819, Jesus says, go and make disciples of all nations, of all ethnos. Go, all the world, make disciples, because disciples know that God is a great and global king. In Revelation 7, 9, it's one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Paul gets a glimpse of what eternity looks like. And this glimpse of eternity is there, he writes, John writes, that around the throne of Jesus is people from every tribe and every tongue and every nation, every ethnos, every ethnicity.

That around the throne of God will be people from every tribe. and they will worship God. And one of the things that stirs my heart to affection for God in worship is to look around and see the beauty of the diversity of humanity which God has made. That is a testimony to the glory of God. And when I think about how it will be, that stirs my heart to want it to be that way now. I want to begin to live that. I want that kingdom to come and God's will to be done like that. And when I picture what that will be like, that stirs the affection to my heart. And so listen, if you are struggling, if you feel weary, it's not more willpower. It's not more ought.

It's not more should. It's that you would fix your. attention on who God is, the character and the nature of God, that you would just dwell on the bottomless depths of the grace of God, a well that you can never run dry, that you would ponder for a minute, the links that God would go to, that he would send his son to be a perfect sacrifice for you and for me, that we would stop and look and be stunned by the, honestly, the outrageous promises of God. And that we would remember that there is coming a day when God's name will be known as great across all the nations. And let that stir your heart. let that be the thing that God, the gift that God would give you to stir your heart for worship.

That would be at the heart of your worship. There's a song, it was written in 1999 by a guy named Matt Redmond, and he wrote a song called The Heart of Worship. And we're going to sing the song in a minute, but the story behind the song is that Matt Redmond, Redmond was a young worship leader at a church called Soul Survivor Church in England. And the church was filled with a ton of young people. And the pastor came one day and he just said, hey, here's what we're going to do for a season.

We're not going to have any musical instruments. It's just going to be our voice because I think we need to be called back to the heart of worship, what this whole thing is really about. And let our affections for the Lord be stirred, by God himself. And so Matt Redmond wrote this song. And so here's what I want us to do for just a minute. Band's going to come out and I want you to just listen to it. I want you to let it just wash over you. And I want you to make this a prayer. And then during the song, the band is going to stand us up and we're going to sing this out to God. And I want us to worship.

I want you to let God stir the affections of your heart so that you would worship him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. It is the most loving and gracious thing God could call us to do. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, I am so grateful that you have a burden that your people would worship you. and Lord like we're going to sing I'm so sorry I repent of the thing that I would tend to make it God this whole thing is about you you are worthy of all our worship and all our glory and all our honor and all of our praise with all of our heart and all of our soul and all of our mind and all of our strength you're worth it you're worth it you gave us your son

Jesus, how could we not worship you God? So Lord, and the song that we bring to you right now, be an offering to you, be an act of worship, be a heartfelt prayer. Lord, for those of us that need to repent, that we've been weary and tired and confess it, Lord, we bring that to you now, knowing that it is your kindness that would lead us there. And Lord, would you pour your spirit out on us? That we would worship you not in our strength, but in yours. Not in our spirit, but in yours. Not in our power, but in yours.

And we pray it in your name, Jesus. Amen. Let's worship together.