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What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Twenty Eight
The Results of Worship

INTRODUCTION: TEXT: Isaiah 1:11-20

All of God's children know that they should worship Him. The scriptures declare, "For He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him." (Psalm 45:11) Psalm 95:6 says, "O Come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker." We who have been saved know from Hebrews 10:25 that we ought not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together."

I fear that though all of us know we ought to worship, not many of us know what the result of that worship should be. If the proper results do not occur in worship, the worshipper has not offered acceptable worship unto God. If you think you can go to the House of God, go through a few motions of worship, then leave and forget it all, you've missed the whole point.

This lesson is going to look at worship and you. It is particularly going to stress the results that worship should have in you, results that will both bless your heart and honor God. The main focus will be upon the results worship should have in you, for worship without results is mockery before God. Our text, Isaiah 1:11-20, is a classic passage setting forth this truth. Listen to the words of God: "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

I. YOU NEED FIRST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WORSHIP IS.

A. There are five formal acts which constitute worship of God.

1. These acts are: singing, praying, preaching, giving and the Lord's Supper.

a. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 exhort us to sing praises unto the Lord. Singing vents the soul, and good scriptural songs do much in communicating the truths of God's Word to the participants.

b. Our Lord has taught us to pray in Matthew 6:7-15. I Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." Prayer humbles us, and helps us to discern the will of the Lord for our lives. It also exhorts, edifies, strengthens and instructs fellow members who hear the prayers.

c. The Lord taught generous giving in Luke 6:38, and it is re-emphasized in such passages as II Corinthians 9:6,7 and I Corinthians 16:2. Giving conquers covetousness and stinginess. It gives victory over greed and selfishness. It makes us masters over our money, instead of our money being master over us.

d. Jesus went about preaching and I Corinthians 1:21 says, "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." II Timothy 3:15-4:5 will give several of the values of preaching. Preaching is a time for communicating the truths of God's Word in a powerfully persuasive way. It is a time of instruction, correction, rebuking and exhorting.

e. In Matthew 26:26-29 Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and told us to keep it unto His return. I Corinthians 11: 23-26 tells how the Lord's Supper is designed to call our attention to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, how that He shed His blood and His body was broken for us, and how that He is coming again.

2. All of these acts of worship are designed to help the worshipper. They will help him to see his faults, and tell him how to correct those faults. They will teach him how to treat his fellow man, how to walk uprightly before his God, and how to take care of his own body. They will inspire him and help him conquer his most lethal enemies.

3. In order for worship to accomplish its designed purpose, it must be rendered by the worshipper in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) If a worshipper doesn't offer his worship with a spirit of love, and according to the instructions that are set forth in the Word of God, then his worship becomes totally vain. In that case, it does not accomplish the good which true worship is designed to accomplish.

B. Our worship of God today, by singing, praying, giving, preaching and the Lord's Supper, parallels the worship of God in Old Testament times by burnt offerings and sacrifices.

1. The first three chapters of Leviticus particularly outline several elaborate sacrifices that were to be offered in worship before the Lord.

2. Moses told the people of Israel concerning the priests in Deuteronomy 33:10, "They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar."

3. King David said in Psalm 66:15, "I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats."

4. You could hardly read the Old Testament without seeing the elaborate system of sacrifices and offerings that were employed in the worship of God.

II. JUST AS THE METHODS AND ACTS OF WORSHIP IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WERE DESIGNED TO CAUSE THE WORSHIPPERS TO SEE SOME BEAUTIFUL TRUTHS, WHICH WOULD AFFECT THEIR LIVES, LIKEWISE, OUR WORSHIP OF GOD TODAY IS DESIGNED TO CAUSE US TO SEE TRUTHS THAT WILL PRODUCE AN EFFECT FOR THE BETTER IN OUR LIVES.

A. Folks, worship never has been, nor is it now, an end within itself. Worship is only a means to an end.

1. Its purpose is not just to give you a good feeling and some emotional stimulus or inspiration. It may, and should do that, but it must do much more if it is to accomplish its purpose. If worship does not cause you to see beyond its mechanics to the truths involved, then you've missed the point of worship.

a. If all you can see from giving is the fact that you've put ten percent plus and offering into the church treasury, you've missed the point of giving. If you cannot see beyond the mechanics of the money to the truths of generosity, missions, selflessness, and the prosperity of the Lord's work, then you're blind to the lessons of giving.

b. If preaching doesn't cause you to see yourself before God, and dozens of other truths that you need to know and practice, then you are missing the point of preaching.

c. I am grieved to know today that all worship means to many is going to a church building two or three times a week for a couple of hours of emotional stimulation. They are careful to do that with regularity, and while they are going through the motions of worship, they are certain that they cross every "t" and dot every "i" just right. But, as far as anything they do in worship effecting any real change within their lives, it does not They continue right on with the very same attitudes, with the very same conduct, and the very same approach to life as if they had never worshipped God for one minute. All worship is to them is an emotional stimulus and a fulfilling of religious duty. It never has the least bit of practical effect within their lives. They have the completely blinded concept that worship is an end within itself. It is totally foreign to their thinking that worship is really just a means to an end.

2. There are four distinct things that should always result from your worship of God. These are all well illustrated in Isaiah 6:1-9.

a. Worship ought to first result in your seeing the Lord.

(1) In a scene that typifies a man's time in the Lord's church, Isaiah the prophet said, "I say also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (verse 1) The first four verses of this chapter describe Isaiah's view of the Lord.
(2) Folks, every act of worship is designed to point your attention to the Lord. It is designed to show you His body and blood, which were broken and shed for you. It is designed to show you His majesty and glory. It is designed to show you His personal concern and ability to care for you. It is designed to show you what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is going to do for you. In worship, you shouldn't see the preacher, the singers, and the others who lead in the services, you ought to see the Lord.

b. Also in worship, you ought to see yourself.

(1) Isaiah 6:5 will show you that once Isaiah saw the Lord he then saw himself. He realized just how weak and unworthy and dependent upon the Lord he really was.
(2) Fellow laborer, every act of worship is designed to show you how much you need the Lord, and how you need to take His word into your system and abide by His counsel.

c. Worship should also make you see others.

(1) Isaiah also said in the same verse, "I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." When he saw the Lord and saw himself, he also began to realize there were others around him who also needed the Lord.
(2) The acts of worship are designed to cause you to see others and their needs. Right praying, singing, giving, the Lord's Supper and honest preaching will all point our attention to the lost world and Christians who need to be restored into fellowship with the Lord. Worship is designed to cause you to see others.

d. The fourth thing that should result from your worship of God is that your life should be changed.

(1) Isaiah 6:6-8 will show you how that Isaiah's life was touched and changed for the better in view of his encounter with the Lord.
(2) Dear child of God, worship is designed to change your life for the better. It is a means to that end. It ought to change your attitudes, correct and adjust the course of your life, cause you to walk in honesty and integrity before God, and cause you to grow daily in the Lord. The point of worship is not to emotionally stimulate you for three or four hours a week within the walls of some church building. Its design is to effect full-time change in your life every day. It is designed to cause you to talk better, to control your temper, be more generous, treat your family better, be a better employee or employer, to be a better citizen, to be a better servant in the church, to make you more humble, to make you more zealous and bold, and to do a thousand other good things for you. In simple terms, it all amounts to the fact that you should put into practice those things that you see and learn in worship of God.

B. If these results occur, you will be blessed, people will be helped and God will be glorified.

1. Jesus said of your personal blessings, "If you know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." (John 13:17)

2. As to people around you being helped, King David indicated that when his heart got right with God, "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." (Psalm 51:13)

3. And, whenever we see the truth and begin to practice it with the right spirit in our daily lives, I Peter 2:5 says, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." That is simply saying that God is glorified by right conduct in His children out of a heart of love.

III. IF THESE GOOD RESPONSES DO NOT RESULT FROM YOUR WORSHIP, THEN YOU HAVE FAILED IN YOUR WORSHIP OF GOD.

A. Just because you sit in church regularly doesn't mean you are worshipping God.

1. It may never have occurred to you that you can fail in worship, but you can. True worship may be going on all around you, yet you may not be worshipping at all.

2. You can be going through all the motions of worship, yet not be worshipping. You can put your money in the plate, sing the songs, offer prayers, participate in the Lord's Supper and even preach or hear preaching, yet be far from true worship of God. These things can be faked, counterfeited, just "put on" by you. This is exactly the situation God described in Ezekiel's day in Ezekiel 33:31-32. "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not."

3. No doubt today, thousands are just going trough the motions. Oh, they take pride that they are performing every aspect of worship exactly according to the letter, but they do not realize that it takes more than just going through the motions to constitute worship of God.

B. You are truly worshipping only when praise is being rendered in spirit and in truth, and when it is producing results in your life.

1. In the first place, that tells you that it is very important that you be in a church where proper worship is being conducted.

a. Remember from John 4:23-24 that true worship must be in spirit and truth.

b. If you are participating in a church where no true worship occurs, then you cannot possibly expect right results to occur in your life. In order for right results to be produced in you life, not only must the worship of the church be performed through the spirit of love, but the methods and procedures of the Word of God must also be followed.

2. In the second place, it is extremely important that you respond properly to true worship and that you allow it to produce results in you.

a. If you just go to the church building without any response being prompted in your life, again I remind you that you have failed in your worship of God.

b. And I can assure you upon the authority of God's Word that when no results are produced in your life from worship, God is not the least honored by it. God is far more interested in the response worship produces in your life than He is in the mechanics of worship themselves. Listen to Amos 5:21-27. God says, "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts." It is not difficult to see that singing, praying and worship of all sorts was not pleasant and honorable unto God where the people missed the points of worship, such as judgment, righteousness and integrity in their lives.

c. Fellow Christian, don't let your head swell up with pride because you are faithful to every service of the church, because you give your money and because you go through the motions of all the worship of God. God is far more interested in grace and truth in your life than He is in the mechanics of your worship of Him. You can be as regular as clockwork in your worship and have a head full of knowledge, but if you've missed the point of worship, and fail to let it produce practical, daily results for the better in your life, then you're going through the mechanics of worship, and it is nothing but fraud and abomination to God. Samuel the prophet once said, "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22) Fellow Christian, God is far more interested in generosity and victory over greed and covetousness in you than He is in your money. He is not nearly as interested in your singing as He is in the responses of humility, love, encouragement and other such values that singing should promote in you. He is not nearly as concerned about the mechanics of preaching as He is the truth that preaching ought to produce in your life. You can hear a sermon on soul winning, but that sermon hasn't done you one bit of good unless it makes a soul winner out of you. You can hear a song or a sermon or a prayer on meekness, but that sermon, song, or prayer hasn't helped you at all unless it gives you a measure of victory over your temper. What I am saying is that you have not worshipped unless a proper response is produced in your life. Listen to Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah 7:21-24, "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward." Brother, something is wrong with your understanding if you cannot see from that passage that God is far more interested in obedience than He is in the mechanics of burnt offerings or other worship.

C. If worship stops short of resulting in change for the better in you, then you become a hypocrite, and God is dishonored by it.

1. Jesus said of God, "And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." (Mark 12:33) In two places, Matthew 9:13 and Matthew 12:7, Jesus said, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice."

2. The Psalmist David wrote, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." (Psalm 40:6-8) That same truth is restated in Hebrews 10:6-8. Again, it is obvious that it is the result of worship, not the mechanics of worship, in which God is most interested. Micah the prophet said in Micah 6:6-8, "Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Fellow Christian, I tell you again, that God is far more interested in justice, love, forgiveness, meekness, temperance and other such qualities in your life, than He is in all the songs, prayers, money and other such things you could ever offer unto Him. All in the world that these mechanics of worship are designed to do is to point you to Godliness in your daily life. Listen to how God speaks to the people of Israel through Hosea the prophet in Hosea 6:4-6, "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

3. Of all of your worship, apart from a result, God said through Jeremiah the prophet, in Jeremiah 6:20, "To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me." King David said of God in Psalm 51:16-17, "For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

4. I hope you are beginning to understand now, why our text of Isaiah 1:11-20 is so pointed. God is talking there and asking why bring sacrifices and burnt offerings if you fail to practice justice and judgment in your life. He is making the point amply clear that if you do not get the point of worship, then your worship is vain. If that worship produces no right results in your life, then that worship has failed. I hope every Christian listening to these words will take a personal inventory. Is Christianity to you just a two or three hour a week proposition? Do you simply come to church and get a few minutes of emotional message and then leave the church building and forget it all? God forbid! May what you hear have a practical effect in your daily life. As James exhorted in James 1:22, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

5. In view of the results that worship should produce in your practical life, it is no wonder that wise Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:1, "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil."

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"