Who Do You Worship?
Sermon Notes
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to gather with you both onsite and online. We have three things we want to celebrate before we dismiss the children to children’s church. The 1stthing is obviously Mother’s Day, which is a special day for us to celebrate the impact mothers have in caring for their children. A mother’s role is critical in continually teaching and pointing their children to Jesus, so let’s praise God for all the mothers in the room today!...Happy Mother’s Day to each of you.
The 2nd thing to celebrate is our Children’s Ministry’s been growing. The past several weeks we’ve had over 30 children in children’s ministry, and we have 3 new babies expecting to be born next month, so let’s praise God for that!...As exciting as that is, we need 8 more people to help serve in children’s ministry to keep up with our current growth. It’s a great opportunity to invest in making disciples out of the next generation, because we don’t view children’s ministry as a daycare, we view it as a launching pad. It’s a launching pad for making future disciples of Jesus. So we’re growing, but right now we need 8 people to fill out the next steps cards on your seats, and bring it to our guest services tent after the service so we can give you more details.
The 3rd thing to celebrate is our Parent Commissioning. We want to celebrate and pray over several families that decided to go through our Parent Commissioning class, and so let’s welcome these families to the front at this time.
At this time we can dismiss the children for children’s church, and if you didn’t get to check your child in, please see our children’s ministry leaders in the back and they’d be more than happy to assist you with that...Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Romans. It’s a series about renewing your mind for the transformation of your life, and what we’re talking about specifically today is worship. Who do you worship? The reality is everybody worships something...We either worship God, or we worship something else as god, but either way everybody worships something...Do you worship wealth, or do you worship God with how you use your wealth?...Do you worship your academic and athletic achievements, or do you worship God with how you use your academic and athletic achievements?...Do you worship your career, or do you worship God with how you use your career?...Some of you are like “No I hate my career. My boss is the devil and my workplace is hell, so I definitely don’t worship my career.” If that’s the case, then you’re probably worshiping another career, instead of worshiping God as you’re working in your difficult career. The point is everybody worships something. We either worship God, or we worship something else as God. But either way everybody worships something, and that’s what we’re talking about today. So let’s turn to Romans 11 and get into it. You’ll find Romans in the last quarter of the bible, and we’ll be in Romans 11:30-12:1. The title of the message is Who do you worship, and the big idea is we either worship God, or we worship something else as god...We either worship God, or we worship something else as god...
Here’s your context. Romans was written by the Apostle Paul who was a skeptic and enemy of Christianity, until 35 A.D. when he has an interaction with Jesus that changes his life, and he becomes a Christian. He writes this letter to teach others about Jesus and the very gospel that transformed his life. In ch’s 9-11 Paul’s given several reasons for trusting God hasn’t failed to keep his promise to save both Jews and Gentiles through faith in Jesus. Then after presenting his case, he responds with worship. At the end of ch 11 we’ll see Paul responds with worshiping God, and his response teaches us three reasons to respond with worship too. Let’s check it out.
Romans 11:30 states, “As you once disobeyed God but now have received mercy through their disobedience, 31 so they too have now disobeyed, resulting in mercy to you, so that they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so he may have mercy on all.” So the 1st reason he responds with worship, is because of God’s irrevocable mercy...What causes him to worship is God’s irrevocable mercy, to both the Jews and Gentiles. As I mentioned last week Gentiles are everybody who isn’t Jewish, and throughout Romans Paul’s been saying both Jews and Gentiles deserve God’s wrath instead of God’s mercy. We deserve God’s wrath because we’ve all sinned, we’ve all disobeyed God like he mentions in the text. We all deserve God’s wrath instead of mercy, but Paul responds with worship because God’s showing mercy instead of wrath, to anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. He says in vs. 29, “God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable,” meaning when God saves you, he keeps you. When God gives you mercy instead of wrath, his saving mercy is irrevocable. Paul uses the word mercy four times in this text, and mercy is what happens when God doesn’t give us what we do deserve. It’s what happens when God doesn’t give us the wrath, the punishment we do deserve...
For example when I was in high school I had a Physics teacher I didn’t like, and I egged her car with 3 dozen eggs. She just bought a brand new car, a few of my friends found out where she lived, and we egged her car with 3 dozen eggs early in the morning, so the eggs would cook on the car and eat the paint. Well one of my buddies started bragging about it, my teacher heard him, which led to a dreaded parent teacher conference. But instead of reporting us and pressing charges against us, she offered to tutor us...That’s mercy...She could’ve reported us and pressed criminal charges against us, but instead she offered to tutor us, and that’s mercy since she didn’t give us what we did deserve. But you know who didn’t show us mercy? Our parents...Instead of showing mercy they showed some wrath, including paying for the car repairs...But as my teacher tutored me, as she poured into me, she helped turn my life and my grades around from an F to an A, and she became one of my favorite teachers ever. What changed my heart toward her, is she showed me mercy...That’s what God’s mercy is supposed to do for us...It’s supposed to turn our hearts from rejecting God, to being filled with gratitude over the mercy of God. It’s supposed to turn our hearts from delighting in sin, to delighting in our relationship with him. It’s supposed to cause us to be in awe over God showing us mercy, for all the sinful criminal acts we committed against him and his creation. When was the last time you were in awe over God’s mercy?...When was the last time you just sat and pondered God’s mercy, for all the sinful criminal acts he’s forgiven you of?...The more you realize how much mercy God’s shown you, the more your heart will be filled with gratitude and worship over God’s irrevocable mercy like Paul.
Vs. 33, “Oh the depth of the riches, and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!” This is the 2nd reason he responds with worship, it’s because of God’s infinite wisdom...What causes him to worship is 1st God’s irrevocable mercy, and 2nd God’s infinite wisdom...Paul says “Oh the depths of his riches and wisdom.” He’s simply in awe over God’s infinite wisdom. Paul was an intellectual, one of the elite scholars of his time. In fact several months ago when we started this series I mentioned Paul was such an intellectual, he explains the gospel in such a methodical and logical way in the book of Romans, that for over 100 years Harvard Law School required their 1st year students to study Romans. For over 100 years they wanted their students to learn from the methodical and logical way Paul structured his case for the gospel. Yet here’s this intellectual in so much awe over God’s infinite wisdom, that it causes him to worship God. When was the last time you were in awe over God’s infinite wisdom?...When was the last time you just sat and pondered the infinite wisdom it takes to create and sustain our complex universe?...When was the last time you just sat and pondered the infinite wisdom it takes to create and sustain our complex human anatomy and DNA?...In his infinite wisdom, God knows every atom, every molecule, every complex detail of the universe at the macro and micro levels, he knows every brain cell allowing you to think, and he’s sustaining it all without flexing, straining, needing a Celsius or double shot to stay awake. Paul’s in awe over God’s infinite wisdom, and it causes him to worship God. When was the last time you were in awe over God’s infinite wisdom?...
Again vs. 33, “Oh the depth of the riches, and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!” What Paul’s admitting here is that he doesn’t always understand God’s ways. He’s still worshiping God even though in his finite wisdom, he doesn’t always understand God’s ways. Like Paul we’re going to face tough times where we don’t understand God’s ways, or why God’s allowing certain things to happen. It's in those times that our belief in God’s infinite wisdom gets exposed. If you have a decreased view of God’s wisdom when you’re facing hardships, then you won’t feel like worshiping God as much as you did before your hardships. You’ll start questioning God, questioning his wisdom and his ways. I know for me personally, I sometimes act like God needs my advice...I know God has infinite wisdom, but when I’m wrestling with understanding God’s ways, I sometimes act like God needs my advice, my finite wisdom and counsel, which Paul mentions next.
Again vs. 33, “Oh the depth of the riches, and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”Paul’s quoting Isaiah 40:13 to point out that God doesn’t need our advice, our finite wisdom and counsel. God doesn’t need an advisory board, a PR team, a marketing team scrambling to put together a few patriotic videos like Bud Light...I mean it’s foolish to think we’re wise enough to say “Hey God, I think there’s a better way to do things. Have you thought ever about doing it this way instead?” It’s foolish to think God’s like “Wow! I never thought of that before...You’re so wise, I need you as my advisory board.” It’s foolish to think God doesn’t know what he’s doing, and in our finite wisdom we could think of better ways. It’s okay to express your struggles to God and admit you wrestle with understanding his ways. But we also need an increased view of God’s infinite wisdom, that drives our hearts to still worship God, as we’re wrestling with his ways. We need to remember if God’s infinite wisdom can create and sustain the complexities of our universe and human anatomies, then his infinite wisdom can create and sustain the complexities of your life. If his infinite wisdom knew what he was doing when he created the 6 sextillion planets in the known universe, then his infinite wisdom certainly knows what he’s doing in your life, even as you face certain difficulties in life. In his infinite wisdom he could have infinite reasons for allowing you to face certain difficulties in life, even if in your finite wisdom you can’t think of one reason. Paul still worships God, even though he doesn’t always understand God’s ways. It’s because his worship flows from an increased view of God’s infinite wisdom, not from an emotional view of his hardships.
Vs. 35, “And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?” He’s saying who’s ever given to God, something that was so great, it repaid God for all the sinful criminal acts we’ve done? The answer to that is nothing. There’s nothing finite humanity could ever give to repay an infinite God. We need God’s irrevocable mercy and infinite wisdom to save us since we can’t save ourselves, which is what Jesus came to do. He’s our infinite God who in his infinite wisdom, came to repay the infinite sin debt we owed by dying for our sins on the cross. He did this so we can enjoy his irrevocable mercy and friendship through faith in him. He doesn’t owe us anything. He doesn’t owe us health, wealth, happiness, or anything else, but Jesus gives us irrevocable mercies and eternal friendship with him, which is greater than anything else.
Vs. 36, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.” This is the 3rd reason he responds with worship, it’s God’s incredible glory... What causes Paul to worship is God’s irrevocable mercy, infinite wisdom, and incredible glory... Since the irrevocable mercy and infinite wisdom to save us comes from him and through him, it means all glory should go to him. It means all glory, all our worship should go to Jesus and nothing else. We’re supposed to be in awe over who Jesus is and what he’s done to save us. In fact the primary point of the bible isn’t to fill your head with knowledge, it’s to fill your heart with awe over Jesus. The bible doesn’t point you to human heroes to emulate, it points you to a glorious Savior to worship. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states, “There should be a time in your bible reading where the pen goes down, the eyes go up, and you stop saying, ‘Oh my God look at all I have to do.’ And you start saying, ‘Oh my God look at who you are, and all you’ve done for me!’” When was the last time you did that?...When was the last time you just sat in awe over who Jesus is, and what he’s done for you?...When was the last time you just sat in awe over the incredible glory of Jesus?...Every morning we wake up, go outside, and his incredible glory is shouting at us through his creation. John Piper says, “Open your eyes! Do you see it? Do you hear it? He shouts through the billowing clouds. He shouts through the endless blue summer sky. He shouts with gold on the horizon in the morning, and through the breathtaking expanse of galaxies and stars at night. Don’t you see it? Don’t you love it? In all these things he’s shouting ‘I AM GLORIOUS!’”
The issue is we ignore it. C.S. Lewis says we’re like a dumb dog whose master keeps pointing him to something great, but he keeps missing it because all the dog does is looks at his master’s finger and licks it. Everyday creation keeps pointing us to the great glorious Jesus, but we keep missing it. The other issue is we’re glory thieves. All creation’s shouting he’s glorious, but we’re constantly shouting “I’m glorious!...Look at my career success, my ministry success, my academic and athletic achievements! Look at me because I’m so glorious!” We don’t say it externally, but internally we’re glory thieves constantly seeking glory or giving something else the glory only God deserves. The issue isn’t our career, ministry, academics, and athletics, it’s that we’ve put those things in a glory seat only God deserves. We put all kinds of things and even people we admire in a glory seat only God deserves. When we do this, when we ignore God’s glory or live as glory thieves, our lives become out of alignment with
God’s intended purposes. The only way to get realigned with God’s intended purposes, is to give him glory like the rest of creation. It’s to be in awe over God’s incredible glory, and worship him like Paul.
Again vs. 36, “To him be the glory forever. Amen. 12:1 Therefore, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.” Paul sums everything up pointing back to God’s mercies. He says in view of God’s mercies, offer our lives as an act of worship to God. It’s in viewof God’s mercies, that we’ll be able to make it through our difficult days still worshiping God like Paul, and our empty hearts will be filled again. As we worship and glorify God he ministers to us, refreshes us, fills our empty hearts again. It’s because our hearts are realigning with what they were always meant to do, which is to worship and glorify God. When we take our eyes off ourselves and lift our eyes up to the God, he’ll fill our empty hearts again. It’s in view of his mercies, that we’ll make it through our difficult days still worshiping God, and our empty hearts will be filled again.
In 1952 Florence Chadwick wanted to be first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California Coast, which is a 26 mile swim. It was extremely foggy that day, and she couldn’t see anything. Her mother was in a boat next to her, and after 15 hrs in the water Chadwick cried out, “Mama I can’t make it, I can’t go any further!” She kept swimming another 55 minutes, before she finally quit. She was only a 1⁄2 mile away from reaching the coast. When she was asked why she quit despite being so close, she said it was because it was too foggy, and she couldn’t see the coastline...Two months later she got back in the water, and she not only made it to the coastline, but she also beat the men’s world record by 2 1⁄2 hrs! What’s so incredible is she broke the record even though the fog was way worse than the first time. She literally couldn’t see anything! When they asked her how she did it, she said “I just kept picturing the shoreline.” She made it through the difficult foggy waters, because she kept picturing the shoreline. Paul says it’s the view...It’s the viewof God’s mercies, that’ll help us make it through the difficult foggy waters of life.
The big idea is we either worship God, or we worship something else as god...We either worship God, or we worship something else as God...Who or what do you worship?...If you’re a mother, the greatest thing to teach your child is to worship Jesus. Will you sometimes stumble in that and feel like you’re failing to lead them well? Will you sometimes lose your patience, snap at them, hide for 30 minutes in the bathroom just to get a break from them?...Yes, but don’t stop pointing them to Jesus and showing them you need Jesus just as much as they do.
If you’re a skeptic, your heart will forever be out of alignment until you align your heart with Jesus. Your heart will forever be out of alignment and restless, until you align your heart with worshiping Jesus...If you’re a believer, realign your heart with Jesus this morning. Ponder the awe of his irrevocable mercy, his infinite wisdom, his incredible glory, and respond with worship. If you can’t understand his ways, then remember the mercies of his loving nail pierced hands on the cross. If you can’t understand his ways, then keep picturing Jesus, on the shoreline.