Hindrances to Worship in the Converted, #2

Introduction: The Nature of True Worship and Hindrances

0:03 Our Lord Jesus Christ, in speaking with an immoral woman whom he has come to save, in the process of his conversation with her, has begun to discourse concerning the whole subject of worship. And we read his words to this woman in John 4 and verse 21. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall ye worship the Father. Ye worship, that is, you as a Samaritan, that which ye know not.

0:45 We worship that we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such doth the Father seek to be his worshipers.

1:09 The Father seeks worshipers who will worship him in spirit and in truth. We come this morning to the seventh and last message in this brief series of studies in which we have concerned ourselves with this vast and vital theme of the worship which God seeks. The worship which honors God. The worship which in that sense is both from God and accepted by God.

1:45 And in the unfolding of this theme, we have considered, first of all, the legitimate activities of God honoring public worship. And we saw from the scriptures that all of the activities which God seeks in his worship can be ranged under the two simple headings, those activities in which we bring something to God and those activities in which we receive something from God. And then we considered the second vast area of concern, namely, the agent of worship. And we saw from the scriptures that the proper agent in public worship is the child of God in the totality of his redeemed humanity. He is to worship with his whole soul and with the engagement of his entire body insofar as its engagement is necessary to serve the ends of the activity of the soul. And then we spent some time in this third area which we conclude this morning considering hindrances to worship. And I suggested that the hindrances fall into two basic categories.

3:03 Hinderances in the context of worship. Hinderances in the worshiper himself. In the context of worship, if there is the intrusion of carnal aids to worship or the inclusion of unwarranted activities in worship or the toleration of unnecessary distractions to worship, somehow acceptable worship to some degree will be hindered. But then when we consider hindrances in the worshiper himself, Hinderances in the context of worship.

3:34 There are those hindrances peculiar to the unconverted man who would seek to worship. He is not accepted in his person. He is not furnished in his heart. Therefore, he cannot truly worship.

3:47 And now we conclude with considering the hindrances in the true believer. The root causes of all those hindrances are two. Indwelling sin and the reality of an imperfectly sanctified physical life. The physical frame.

4:06 Wherever indwelling sin is present, it is present not in a dormant way but in an active way. The flesh lusteth against the spirit, is the language of Galatians 5.17. So, if we would render worship to God in spirit, whether we view that as our own human spirit, that is, worship from the heart, or in the realm of the activity of the Holy Spirit operating upon us, upon our spirits, in either case, Galatians 5.17 is the great reality that must enter all of our thinking concerning worship.

4:44 If we could worship in spirit and in truth without the counter influence of remaining sin, worship would be nothing but a sheer delight as it will be in the world to come. But here and now, we must worship as those who bring with us into every situation of worship the awful reality of this active principle of indwelling sin. When we would do good, evil is present with us. And then we must worship now with this imperfectly sanctified body, this body characterized by weakness and dullness, and therefore often a great enemy to us in our specific acts of worship. And so, we dealt then with that basic foundational principle or the foundational ingredients of our hindrances, and then we looked specifically at the physical hindrances to worship and how to counteract them. Then we looked at the mental hindrances and how to counteract them. And now, this morning, we come to consider some major spiritual hindrances to God-honoring worship and how to deal with them.

Defining Spiritual Hindrances: The Battleground of the Human Spirit

6:00 So then, our subject for this morning, in this final, practical, pastoral series of studies, is specifically this, some major spiritual hindrances to God-honoring worship. Now, let me define my terms. What do I mean by spiritual hindrances? When I use the term spiritual, I am referring to those hindrances which arise from the state and the activities of the human spirit, as it is influenced on the one hand by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and by the presence of indwelling sin.

6:42 For in a very real sense, the human spirit is the battleground of the Holy Spirit and of remaining corruption. The verse we referred to earlier, Galatians 5.17, the flesh lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. Now, if we are conscious of the reality of indwelling sin, lusting against the spirit in the area of our physical weaknesses, if we are conscious of indwelling sin in the realm of our mental weaknesses, ignorance and mental dullness and distraction, we will be most conscious of the activity of indwelling sin in those aspects of worship which are most important to us. They are most peculiarly spiritual. In other words, the more we move into the realm of the activity of our spirits and away from the activities that are external in the flesh, the more violent will be the actings of indwelling sin. John Owen has very wisely said, all the opposition that arises in us unto anything that is spiritually good, whether it be from darkness in the mind, or aversion in the will,

8:07 or sloth in the affections, all the secret arguings and reasonings that are in the soul in pursuit of them, the direct object of them is God Himself. Remaining sin is at enmity with God. God is the object of that enmity. The more spiritual any activity may be, the more we have direct dealings with God, in that activity, the more violent will be the opposition of indwelling sin.

8:37 Owen goes on to say on this very point, the nearer, if I may so say, anything is to God, the greater is the enmity of the flesh unto it. The more of spirituality and holiness is in anything, the greater is the enmity of the flesh to that thing. That which hath most of God, hath most of the opposition of indwelling sin. Now, Owen didn't speak as a detached theologian.

9:10 He spoke as a pastor and as a saint who knew his own heart as well as his Bible. So then, when we think of the hindrances to worship, and we move into the realm of those distinctively spiritual hindrances, the hindrances that are not limited or bounded by the dullness of the body that we can in great measure overcome by sitting erect in the chair and sucking plenty of air into our lungs and, if necessary, pinching our cheeks or doing something else to clear our heads and to give ourselves to worship, when we move from that relatively external realm, we move from the relatively easy to the more complex and difficult hindrances to worship. Now, specifically how, does spiritual dullness and weakness manifest itself in worship? And as time permits, I want to zero in on at least two, we may have time for more, but at least two of the major spiritual hindrances to God-honoring worship, and the first one is this. I'm calling it weariness of God and the privileges of His worship.

Spiritual Hindrance #1: Weariness of God and His Worship

10:27 Perhaps the greatest spiritual hindrance to worship experienced by the people of God is this one. Weariness of God and the privileges of His worship. And there are two key texts in the Old Testament which speak to this issue. The first is in the prophecy of Isaiah.

10:50 Isaiah chapter 43. Isaiah chapter 43. The prophet has been announcing in the name of Jehovah some very wonderful promises of restoration, to God's sinning people. He has announced some wonderful privileges that are theirs.

11:16 And after doing this, he says in verse 22, in spite of all of this, yet thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob. Isaiah 43, 22. But thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me of thy sheep for burnt offerings, neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices.

11:42 I have not burdened thee with offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense. Thou hast brought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices, but thou hast burdened me with thy sins. Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. Do you see the progression?

12:04 When the people of God became weary of the privilege of worshiping God, it wasn't long before they wearied God with their sins. What a strange expression. Thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. And this weariness expressed itself in their failure to call upon Him.

12:33 Verse 22. Thou hast not called upon me, but hast been weary of me. Verse 23. It expressed itself in the withholding of the reasonable demands of their public worship.

12:50 For their public worship, God demanded a certain modicum of sacrificial ritual. And God says this was not unreasonable. He said, I have not burdened thee with offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense. What I required of you was perfectly reasonable, but because you became weary of me, you became indifferent to bringing that which I appointed for my own worship.

13:20 Now, keep that in mind as we turn to a parallel text in the prophet Malachi. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, chapter 1. In this chapter, God is indicting the priests. Verse 6.

13:37 A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests that despise my name.

13:51 And then he begins to show them specifically how they have manifested this indifference to him, how they have despised him. And it comes to a climactic statement in verses 10 and following. Oh, that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that he might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand, for from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, in a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.

14:35 But ye profane it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even its food, is contemptible. Ye say also, Behold, what a weariness it is! And ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts, and ye have brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame and the sick. Thus ye bring the offering.

14:59 Should I accept this at your hand, saith the Lord? But cursed be the deceiver, who hath in his flock a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing. For I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is terrible among the Gentiles. You see the parallel indictment.

15:22 In the midst of the prophet's words directed to these priests, he says that your language in the performance of your priestly functions is this. What a weariness it is! And you've snuffed at it. And how did the weariness manifest itself?

15:40 In carelessness with respect to regulating their worship according to the Word of God. God said, I want an unblemished lamb, and my worship has become so weary, he says, that you go out, ho-hum, and just grab any old lamb, even the blemished, and you dare to offer it, and in so doing you despise me, and you snuff at my worship. And you say, well, the table which could refer either to the table of showbread or to the altar, being the table, as it were, upon which they spread the sacrifice, they had this attitude, ah, that's a contemptible thing. It isn't.

16:18 It isn't worth any real care that we order the sacrifice as God demands. It's all weariness. It's all weariness. And so the two prophets, Isaiah and Malachi, must indict the people of God that they had grown weary of God and of the privileges of His public worship.

The Incongruity and Fruits of Weariness in Worship

16:42 Now think for a moment of how utterly incongruous this was. In the midst of all the pagan darkness of the ancient world, there was but one spot in the entire world where God Himself came and said, this is how I choose to be worshipped. When you draw near to me, it is to be in terms of these specific men functioning as priests, with these specific offerings offered in this specific way. And every time a Jew would bring his offering, there should have been the joyous recognition, why am I bringing this offering?

17:24 Because Jehovah required it. And why did Jehovah require it? Because of all the nations of the earth, He has set His love upon my nation, the nation of Israel. He spoke through Moses to us and to us alone.

17:39 The very fact that I'm seeking a male out of the flock, an unblemished male to bring to God, why, what a wonderful reminder that we're the objects of distinguishing mercy and love. Furthermore, the fact that He is demanding that I bring it to a priest, who in turn will take its blood and sprinkle it before God. God is saying that though sin has barred me from His presence, in mercy He has come, in grace He has taken the initiative, and He has reopened the way into His presence. And He says it's by means of a mediator, by means of blood.

18:17 So in a sense, every time an Israelite would contemplate performing specific acts of public worship, his heart should have leaped within him, because it was a vivid reminder of the sovereign mercy of God set upon that nation. It would be a reminder of the manifold grace of God opening a way for sinners that they might hold communion with the living God. But what had happened? They had forgotten those great realities until the very apex of drawing near to ordain sacrifice time again. Oh, would to God that spirit had died with that nation. But if you're honest concerning the state of your own heart, you will acknowledge that weariness of God and His worship is probably the greatest enemy to your rendering consistent God-honoring worship right here in this place.

19:38 And it ought to fill us with blushing that we should be weary of God. For as with the Israelites, so with us in even a greater and more lofty sense. The very fact that we are found in a place of worship with people directing our worship according to the word of God is a revelation of God's sovereign love to us in Christ. The very fact that there is an appointed way to bring those spiritual sacrifices which we examined some weeks ago.

20:16 The very fact that there is a mediator at the right hand of God, a great high priest who takes all of our spiritual sacrifices and presents them to the Father. It ought to make us leap for joy and make our hearts dance with a holy vigor. But instead, again and again we are found weary of the worship of our God. And what did that weariness produce in the Israelites, remember?

20:48 No real calling upon God. Thou hast been weary of me. They ceased to be thrilled at the thought that the ears of the Lord were open to the cry of the righteous. Ah, here comes prayer time again.

21:04 It will be one of those ten minute prayers. The pastor will pray for everything from the sick to the president. What weariness! When will he be done?

21:15 All sense of the wonder of calling upon God. How else did the weariness express itself? It was manifested in their withholding the reasonable demands of God. He says, I didn't weary you with my demands.

21:40 We do not bring to God the whole-souled praise. We do not bring to Him that abandonment of holy worship. We withhold. Why?

21:51 Because we've grown weary with God and His worship. And furthermore, it ultimately results in wearying God with our sins. You know what happens? We begin to be critical.

22:03 I'm tired of the worship. We need something. We need a little innovation. And really, the sermons are too complex and too involved.

22:12 And really, it's not quite proper. The men who preach to us, they're either too soft or they're too loud or they're too complex or the outlines are so simple they insult our intelligence or they're too complex and we can't follow them. And you begin to pick and become critical. All of that is the fruit of weariness of God and of His worship.

22:37 The human heart is not changed. And these were the frightening fruits of that weariness in the history of Israel. And they will be in any place the frightening fruits of weariness in the worship of God. Well, you say, Pastor, how, how can we combat that weariness?

Combating Weariness: Reflecting on God's Majesty, Grace, and Demands

23:00 What tools, what weapons has God given us? Let me suggest three of them. And they're bound up in these passages, first of all. Consciously, deliberately reflect on the majesty of the God whom we worship.

23:16 Look at the Malachi passage, Malachi chapter 1. As the prophet would seek to indict those who are guilty of this weariness of God. He says in verse 14, Cursed be the deceiver who hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts. He says if you remember who I am, how can you offer to me something less than that which I require?

23:56 How can you allow weariness of my worship to produce carelessness in the specific details of that worship? If you remember, I have not changed. Was I your king when I spoke from Sinai and revealed how you were to approach me? Was I your king when I thundered and sent lightning upon that mountain?

24:20 I am still your king, filled with majesty and glory. Remember who I am! Things that stir me more to shake off this spirit of weariness of God in his worship than to think that the king, the God of heaven and earth, not only requires but delights in the worship of the likes of this creature. How can we be found crippled with weariness when we think that the God of heaven who existed in the majesty and glory of inter-trinitarian perfection and love and delight from all eternity who needs nothing from the creature? How can we be dull and weary when we think the Father, that God, seeks such to worship him? And so I would urge you, as you come into the place of worship, as you are driving to worship in the morning, as you awake, as you are shaving, as you are taking out your curlers, as you are trying to move your mind into the activities of the day, reflect upon the majesty, the might, the glory, the transcendence of the true and the living God. How can you count it weariness to be privileged to render worship to so high

25:48 and lofty a being as is our God? And then secondly, reflect also upon the marvels and the wonders of his grace. And that's the emphasis of the Isaiah 43 passage. God in grace has made abundant promise of restorative mercies to his people.

26:09 And then he goes on to indict them for their weariness. And then when he's all done, he says in verse 25, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins. What kind of a God is this who promises restoration to a sinning people, indicts them for their sin, and then extends again the promises of forgiving mercy? Oh, dear child of God, how can there be weariness of God when our eye is fixed upon the cross?

26:43 How can we be weary of God when we contemplate the awful price paid to secure our access to him? How can you be weary of a God who baptizes his Son in the agonies of hell that we might draw near to him in worship? How can you be weary of him whose crucified is in your eye? And then thirdly, consider the reasonableness of his demands.

27:15 That's the emphasis again, is it not, of the Isaiah passage. I have not burdened thee with offerings nor wearied thee with frankincense. What does God ask of us in our public worship? He says the spiritual sacrifice of joyous expectancy that he will be here, the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of a broken and a contrite heart, the sacrifice of our gifts and tithes and offerings, the sacrifice of a teachable, moldable spirit brought to his word.

27:47 What is unreasonable in any one of those demands? Why, not a thing. They are all essentially and wonderfully reasonable. They take into consideration our true condition, our true needs, our true responsibilities.

28:07 Dear child of God, when you find yourself beginning to drift into that state of weariness of God and his worship, bring yourself up short and say to yourself, dare I come before so majestic a God with this cursed spirit of weariness of God. Dare I come with a heart fixed upon his mercy and yet a heart given over to weariness. Dare I come in the spirit of weariness in the light of the reasonableness of his demands. And child of God, only you can fight this plague and you must do it individually and consciously and deliberately. You don't just pray a little prayer, Lord, help me and then just do what comes naturally. No, the flesh is lusting against the spirit and it may be that halfway through a worship service the spirit of ho-hum will come over you. What weariness it is.

29:11 Why bother? And remember who it is that you worship, the majestic, glorious God of heaven and earth. Dare I insult him. Speak to yourself and if you need as it were to retreat from the hymn that is being sung, if you even need to retreat from the hymn that is being sung, if you even need to retreat for a moment from a certain point in the sermon to talk to your soul, speak sharp things to your soul if you would dare to give yourself over to the spirit of weariness.

29:44 And I'm not talking now, you see, about physical weariness. We dealt with that under a separate heading. I'm talking about this spiritual weariness. But then there is a second great enemy that I want to touch on this morning, a second great spiritual hindrance to worship.

Spiritual Hindrance #2: Carelessness in Preparation for Public Worship

30:00 And I am going to talk about the second great enemy that I want to touch on this morning. And I shall describe it in these words, carelessness in preparation for public worship. Add to weariness of God in public worship carelessness in preparation for public worship. Now we have emphasized again and again in this series of messages that the great issue in worship is the engagement of the heart.

30:36 Mark chapter 7. This people draw nigh to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. According to John 4, the great thing in worship is worship in spirit, that is, internally, vitally, with the heart as opposed to mere external form. Worship in the realm of truth as opposed to the realm of man's notions and mere tradition.

31:02 And John Flavel in his marvelous treatise, which every believer ought to attempt to read periodically, dealing with the subject keeping the heart, Proverbs 4.23, John Flavel introduces this vast subject with these words, the greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God. Now that's true. The only reason any man, woman, boy or girl sits here this morning unconverted, it's not that you don't know the gospel, it's that your heart is set upon the world, the flesh and the devil, upon sin, upon sin and death.

31:40 And the greatest work in conversion is that of the heart. The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God. Now, Flavel says, the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God. The greatest difficulty before is to win the heart to God.

32:01 The greatest difficulty after is to keep the heart with God. Here lies the very pinch and stress of true religion. This is what makes the way to life a narrow way and the gate to heaven a narrow gate. What a wealth of sound Biblical truth is bound up in those words.

32:21 It's one thing to have had the heart won to God in conversion, but to keep it with God in the day by day experience is quite another thing. Our Lord must speak to one of the most amazing and thriving churches in the apostolic age and say, I have somewhat against thee. Thou hast left thy first love. Their doctrine was pure.

32:46 Their worship was pure as to its external circumstances. They were judging heresy. They were zealous of good works. But he says, the heart has left me.

32:56 Thou hast left thy first love. The great work of the Christian is heart work. And when we come to the subject of worship, the great work is the engagement of the heart. The Psalmist said, my whole heart will I seek thee.

33:16 As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. As a man purposeth in his heart, so let him give. Jesus said, those that receive the word profitably are those who receive it in a good and an honest heart. You take every one of those spiritual sacrifices that we've enumerated in the past and the heart is the key in each one of them.

33:38 Now, if that be so, then do you see what the great work of preparation for worship is? It is the work of dealing with the heart. Guard thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. There must be time given for the preparation of the heart.

The Necessity of Deliberate Heart Preparation

33:57 Whether that time is formally spent on one's knees in the closet before ever moving out to the car on the Lord's Day morning, in some cases that's well nigh impossible. But it is the work of dealing with the heart that's well nigh impossible. Some of you mothers of little children, by the time you feed Pop and the kids and get yourself looking half presentable, there's hardly time to catch a breath, let alone get alone in the closet. And so I'm not speaking idealistically or unrealistically.

34:30 I want to speak realistically. You must somewhere along the line, whether it's driving to church, whether it's sitting in the few moments before the opening of the hour or whether it's sitting in the closet or whatever, you must be conscious, deliberate preparation of the heart for the exercises of worship. It's in this connection that Flavel says, sequester yourself from all earthly employments and set apart some time for solemn preparation to meet God in the duties of worship. It is with the heart a few minutes since plunged into the world now at the feet of God, just as with the sea after a storm which still continues working muddy and disquiet though the wind be laid and the storm be over, thy heart must have some time to settle. The sediment of the world and the flesh suspended in the heart through close and necessary contact, and you see, dear people, in a day when we have been made so mentally lazy, a day in which we have been made such passive receptors of the mass media, the television, the radio,

36:00 and the cassette and everything else, there are some people who would feel they were being tortured if you shut them up for fifteen minutes in a room where punishment is more than I can bear. I know preachers that can't even prepare sermons without background music. Imagine. Now, I'm not condemning it per se, but to me that's a tragedy.

36:31 If someone has got to have some kind of input to his senses, he can't be shut in in silence with himself and his own thoughts and his God. But dear people, God will not bend the principles of our day. He will not do it. And if you and I are to render acceptable worship to God, we must make some progress in this second major spiritual hindrance, the carelessness in preparation for public worship.

37:04 We must look upon our hearts as a field which cannot receive seed until it's plowed up and harrowed and made soft and pliable. And time must be spent to plow up the heart. We must look upon the heart as a garden which cannot produce lush fruits unless we spend some time pulling out the weeds that will choke out the nutrients of the soil that will, by their foliage, keep the sunlight from bearing down upon our plants. We must look upon the heart as an instrument whose strings must be tuned if we are to bring the praise worthy. You see, the tragedy of indwelling sin is that it is never inactive. And if grace is not consciously and deliberately, volitionally employed or the means of grace and we just sit back, as it were, hoping we'll maintain the status quo, we deceive ourselves. I've looked out at my garden time after time and said, where in the world can I do a thing and I have a garden full of weeds?

38:26 If you ever see a well-dressed garden, you know it ain't done it by itself. Somebody's been a-working. And when you find a heart that maintains the freshness and the fervor of worship, somebody's been out pulling on the weeds. And my friend, you've got to pull your own weeds.

Practical Steps for Heart Preparation: The Lord's Day Eve and Morning

38:50 I wish there was some magical weed I could actually plant on this garden and say, here is the seed of good and good and good and good and good and good and good and good and good and good and good and Throughout the week, yes, but in a special way. Lord's Day morning, better yet, Saturday evening. For most of you, the battle is won or lost from about 8 o'clock Saturday evening onward.

39:42 And frankly, I cannot understand, I cannot understand the believer who said he's serious about worship that will sit up watching innocuous television programs Saturday night. Watching movies, watching crime dramas.

40:02 I cannot understand the believer who said he's serious about worshiping God, whose mind has been bombarded with the world in areas where he has no choice about it all during the week, to think that he will sit down on the eve of the Christian Sabbath and open the doors of his heart and say, World, come in! And that's exactly what you do. With almost anything you'll watch. I know because I've checked the TV guide enough to know that Saturday night programming is for the most part 98% junk.

40:44 And yet I venture to say, if I were to take a poll right in this place and you were to be honest with Judgment Day honesty and asked how many of you sat up and watched television from 8 o'clock on to any time in the last evening, there'd be a lot of red faces here. My friend, why is your face red before fellow mortals? Have you dared to appear with that kind of a heart before the God of the universe? Who do you think he is?

41:06 Who do you think he is? To bring a heart! All cluttered up with that garbage!

41:17 You may be one of the very ones who finds yourself nitpicking and criticizing and carping. Why?

41:25 Because you've grown weary of God.

41:29 And you've grown weary of God.

41:32 Because you've been coming with an unprepared heart to the worship of God. Does that sound harsh?

41:43 Does that sound unreasonable? Does that sound reasonable? That you would deliberately shut the doors of your heart? And say, world, I had to listen to you, I had to be in your presence, at the job, in the place of business, in the office, at the factory!

42:00 But you have no claims over these hallowed hours. Be gone. What about Lord's Day morning? Would it really kill you to set the alarm clock just 15 minutes early?

42:17 Would it? I mean, you really think we'd be having your funeral two weeks from now if you did that? Now, I know you sound like you're dying. If your wife, your husband tried to get you up 15 minutes early.

42:28 But really, do you really think it would kill you that we'd have to have your funeral? Oh, what those 15 minutes could do. If you just moved the whole schedule back. And instead of tightening your tie at 10 after 9, it was all done at 5 till 9.

42:46 And you sat quietly for 15 minutes and said, Lord, help me to do some sanctified weed pulling. To think upon the majesty of God and the glory of Christ. And the salvation of Christ. Read some of the Psalms and some of the portions in the Gospels and the Epistles.

43:04 Specifically calculated to make the mind fertile with these lofty thoughts of God. I tell you, if that would happen, there may be times when we'd have to restrain some of you from waiting till the worship hour begins. Your heart would be full well nigh to bursting. You would long to open that voice in full mouth, whole soul to praise.

43:27 Praise to the living and the true God. And my friends, nobody can do this for you. It is your responsibility. It is my responsibility.

Anticipating Future Worship and a Call to Unbelievers

43:40 And the thought that the Father seeks such to worship Him ought to fill us with holy zeal to perform that responsibility. But even when you've done this, be prepared to have conflict with sin right in the midst of worship. Let it humble you. And let it encourage you as we saw two weeks ago.

44:03 With the reality that an hour is coming when you'll worship Him with no more struggles. And you see, that's why every Lord's Day ought to be not only a looking back with gratitude for what God has done. But an earnest, a down payment of the best that is yet to come. The eternal Sabbath will come when we shall love Him and praise Him with unsinning heart.

44:29 And my final word is directed to those of you. Who could care less about worshipping God. You say, it is weariness to me and I want it to remain that way. My friend, my friend listen.

44:41 You'll be a worshipper someday. Did you know that? Yes, you will be. Because the Bible says in Philippians chapter 2 that every knee shall bow.

44:52 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And though your worship will not flow from a heart that delights in God. Your lips will acknowledge He is God. And He'll prove His Godhead by saying depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire.

45:12 And you'll obey Him. He stretches out His hands now. And in the Gospel He says come. He pleads.

45:20 He entreats. He commands with royal power. And with unspeakable grace. Come, come.

45:31 And you say I'm not coming. I'm going to do my own thing. I'm going to live my own life. And you know what God does?

45:37 He bears with that. The long suffering of when He says to the sinner go. Depart. There is no dickering.

45:49 For the Scripture says these shall go away into everlasting punishment. My friend don't you dicker with God. He says come. He pleads.

46:04 He entreats. He reasons. The door of mercy will be shut. Oh may God grant.

46:14 That you'll come. While He pleads and entreats in the Gospel. And if you come to Him. He'll make of you a worshipper.

46:24 Fill you with such lofty thoughts of God. And such understanding of the glory of Christ. That you will find your delight as did that woman of Samaria. Who up till that encounter with Jesus.

46:40 Thought that the best thing in life. Was sexual dalliance. She had four men. Previously the one she now had wasn't her husband.

46:52 She was bedding around good and proper. Trying to find the perfect mate. To have the best high. Human nature is no different.

47:04 Jesus said the Father seeks worshippers. She became a worshipper. And she found the true meaning of life. And now was prepared both to live and to die.

47:16 Oh my friend whatever you seek. If it is not the living God and His Son. It will lead to nothing but emptiness and barrenness in life. And destruction in the world to come.

47:30 May you seek the Lord while He may be found. And call upon Him while He is near. And may we who are the people of God. Labor and work at becoming true worshippers.

Pastoral Prayer: Confession, Forgiveness, and Zeal for Worship

47:44 To the glory of God. And to the blessing of our own hearts. Let us pray. Our Father.

48:00 It is with a sense of shame that we must confess. That we have all too often been weary of You. And of Your worship. Our minds tell us that this is an unthinkable.

48:16 Unreasonable wickedness. And yet we must confess. It has been our wickedness. Oh God.

48:29 What can we say? You've showered such grace upon us. You've shown such faithfulness. You've shown such favor to us.

48:40 Our renewed minds tell us. That every waking moment of every day. We ought to be found filled with wonder. Love and praise.

48:48 That worship ought to be our highest delight. As well as our constant desire. And yet the reality of our lives. Is that we are often weary of You.

49:02 Oh God. Forgive us. Forgive us. And cleanse us in the blood of Your dear Son.

49:08 Restore to us that first love. May our greatest delight be. To praise and to magnify You. To have our lives conformed to Your holy word.

49:22 Make of this people. A truly worshiping people. May each of us know how. With increasing biblical accuracy.

49:33 And with increasing spiritual enablement. To prepare and present those spiritual sacrifices. Which You seek. And Lord.

49:43 What can we say before You. As we contemplate. That sitting amongst us. Are men and women.

49:48 Fellows and girls. Who refuse to give You any worship. Who take the life You have given. And squander it upon themselves.

49:57 Oh God. Our hearts would break for them. Our tears would flow for them. But we cannot change their hearts.

50:10 Therefore we cry to You. To do what we cannot do. Do for them what they least want. But what they most need.

50:18 To behold Your glory. In the face of Jesus Christ. Hear our prayer. Seal the word to our hearts.

50:27 And be with us the remainder of this Your day. That we may profit in it. That our families may profit and be enriched. That the gospel may gain greater triumphs.

50:39 That truth and righteousness may advance in the earth. And that the name of Jesus may be praised. Hear us as we make our approach to You. In His name.

50:51 Amen.