Sad is the person that only sees the storm clouds and Woe unto the person who only looks for them!

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1 SERIES: The Life Long Journey Of Discipleship. SUBJECT: Worship READING: Psa 122:1-9 A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. (2) Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. (3) Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: (4) Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. (5) For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. (6) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. (7) Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. (8) For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. (9) Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good. Introduction: Life is without doubt a struggle and there are times in which we see only darkness. But the fact remains that behind the blackest and most turbulent storm clouds there is a sun shinny blue sky. Sad is the person that only sees the storm clouds and Woe unto the person who only looks for them! One of the afflictions of pastoral work has been to listen, with a straight face, to all the reasons people give for not going to church: "My mother made me when I was little." "There are too many hypocrites in the church." "It's the only day I have to sleep in." Me and God have this arrangement. You don t have to go to church to be a Christian. There are different ways to respond; My mom made me eat ice cream but I still eat it. 1

2 Maybe if you gave God a couple hours he d give you another day off. If a hypocrite is between you and God he is closer to god than you. But the truth is nothing I said would have made a difference! A pastor of mine used to say An excuse is a skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. Millions of Roman Catholic go to church because it is there duty; many go because they find it gives them good standing in the community; some go for the music, some for the preaching but honestly the only reason that God is interested in is folks going because they love God, His word, and His people. I am polite and say nice things, sometimes dropping into my prayer asking God to work things out in the life so they can be able enjoy the ministries of the church. Praying that the Holy Spirit will use something I say to create in that person a determination join others in the church in worshiping God. Many people do: they decide to worship God, faithfully and devoutly. Faithful worship is a key ingredient in a life of discipleship. It is far more interesting to discover the reasons do worship than hearing the excuses people give for not worshiping! The third in the sequence of the Songs of Ascents, Psalm 122 is the song of a person who decides to go to church and worship God. It is a sample of the complex, diverse and worldwide phenomenon of worship that is common to all Christians. It is an excellent instance of what happens when a person worships. 2

3 Psalm 122 is a demonstration of what people of faith everywhere and always do: gather to an assigned place and worship their God. I. Perhaps the most refreshing words to God ears are in the first verse; I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. a. Of the many things Christians do Worship is the most popular. b. There was a time in which much of Christian behavior was embedded in our social expectations, c. Take for example the horizontal part of the 10 commandments Exo 20:12-17 (12) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (13) Thou shalt not kill. (14) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (15) Thou shalt not steal. (16) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (17) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. These were in another age all a part of the cultural and social fabric of our communities; We are seeing the awful consequences of these being eliminated from the social fiber; It is no wonder that antisocial acts are multiplying exponentially! Even though there are laws which still enforce penalties; the penalties are often soft and punitive. 3

4 d. But worship is not forced. Everyone who worships does so because he or she wants to. i. There are, to be sure, a few temporary coercions children and spouses who attend church because another has decided that they must. ii. But these coercions are short-lived, a few years at most. Most Christian worship is voluntary. e. An excellent way to test people's values is to observe what we do when we don't have to do anything, how we spend our leisure time, how we spend our extra money. i. The contemporary Churches answer is to give them what they want to get them to Church! ii. Make church an entertainment experience; make it comfortable, make it a self esteme builder or a vision builder! Example: Here is the lead in to Joel Osteen s message today; Keep Your Vision in Front of You Is there something that you see every day that reminds you of what you re believing for, something that inspires you and ignites your faith? Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no vision, the people perish. Many people lose their passion in life because there is nothing to remind them of their dreams, hopes and prayers. That s why vision is so important what we see each day determines the direction our life will go. Let Joel show you how to have a greater vision for your life. If you ll have a big 4

5 vision, God will not only do what you re dreaming about, He will do more than you can ask or think. iii. I wonder if Joel will bring the interpretation of Proverbs 29:18; Where there is no vision, the people perish. The reference is where there is no vision of God s Law before their eyes they will perish! f. So when we hear the psalmist say, " I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." we are not listening to the phony enthusiasm of a propagandist drumming up business for worship; we are witnessing what should be typical of those who are pursuing Discipleship! i. Although it seems to have become an exception in the average Christian ii. It is to that which we aspire; it is an instance of the evidence of Discipleship! II. Why do true disciples do it? a. Why is there so much voluntary and faithful worship by the true Disciples of Christ? i. Why is it that we never find a Christian disciple who is a true Christ follower without faith worship in the background somewhere? ii. Why is it that the backbone of every church are those Christians who faithfully worship and look forward to the time they have the privilege to do it? 5

6 b. Psalm 122 singles out three items: worship gives us a workable structure for life; worship nurtures our need to be in relationship with God; worship centers our attention on the decisions of God. i. Worship gives us a workable structure for life. The psalm says, " Psa 122:2-3 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: ii. The city to which the tribes ascend, all God's tribes go up to worship. Psa 122:4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. " iii. Jerusalem, for a Hebrew, was the place of worship (only incidentally was it the geographical center of the country and the political seat of authority). iv. The great worship festivals to which everyone came at least three times a year were held in Jerusalem. v. In Jerusalem everything that God said was remembered and celebrated. vi. When you went to Jerusalem, you encountered the great foundational realities: 1. God created you, 2. God redeemed you, 3. God provided for you. vii. In Jerusalem you saw in ritual and heard proclaimed in preaching the powerful 6

7 history-shaping truth that God forgives our sins and makes it possible to live without guilt and with purpose. viii. In Jerusalem all the scattered fragments of experience, all the bits and pieces of truth and feeling and perception were put together in a single whole. These were God chosen people all gathered for the singular purpose of hearing from and about God! c. Our King James Version translates this sentence "Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together." Earlier Coverdale had translated the latter phrase as "that is at unity with itself." The city itself was a kind of architectural metaphor for what worship is: i. All the pieces of masonry fit compactly, ii. all the building stones fit harmoniously. iii. There were no loose stones, no leftover pieces, no awkward gaps in the walls or towers. iv. It was well built, compactly built, skillfully built, "at unity with itself." d. What is true architecturally is also true socially, Scripture continues, " Psa 122:4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. i. In worship all the different tribes functioned as a single people in harmonious relationship. ii. In worship, though we have come from different places and out of various conditions, we are demonstrably after the 7

8 same things, saying the same things, doing the same things. iii. With all our differing levels of intelligence and wealth, background and language, rivalries and resentments, still in worship we are gathered into a single whole. iv. Outer quarrels and misunderstandings and differences pale into insignificance as the inner unity of what God builds in the act of worship is demonstrated. Conclusion; I will close here with this thought; When our life is confused and confounded and things refuse to fit together, we to get away from all the hassle and "get our head together." When we are able to do this, we can find the tranquility in which to see the real problem, to discover the best solution, to "put our lives together." That s what happens when true voluntary worship is something we delight in! No person can be the disciple God intends him to be until he says with David;. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. 8