PLANNED FOR GOD'S PLEASURE

PLANNED FOR GOD’S PLEASURE
REV. 4:11

Growing up insecurities……
You were planned for God’s pleasure. The moment you were born into the world, God was there smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival gave Him great pleasure. God did not need to create you, but He chose to create you for His own enjoyment.
Bringing enjoyment to God, living for His pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. Bringing pleasure to God is called “worship.”

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created” Revelation 4:11.

The Bible says, “The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love” Psalm 147:11.

Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. Anthropologists have noted that worship is a universal urge, a part of our being. It is as natural as eating or breathing. If we fail to worship the one true, living God, we always find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves.

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in manmade temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs. he himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is….His purpose in all of this was that the nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him – though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist” Acts 17:24-27.

“…We shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. God overlooked people’s former ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone everywhere to turn away from idols and turn to him” Acts 17:29-30.

“The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him in spirit and in truth” John 4:23.


What is Worship?

I. WORSHIP IS FAR MORE THAN MUSIC
For many people, worship is synonym for music. This is a big misunderstanding. Every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, Scripture reading, singing, silence, giving an offering, baptism, listening, communion, and even greeting other worshipers.
If worship were just music, then all who are nonmusical could never worship. Worship is far more than music.
Matt Redman, a worship leader in England, tells how his pastor taught his church the real meaning of worship. To show that worship is more than music, he banned all singing in their services for a period of time while they learned to worship in other ways. By the end of that time, Matt had written the classic song “Heart of Worship.”
I’ll bring you more than a song,
Because a song in itself is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Than the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart


II. WORSHIP IS NOT FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Worship isn’t for your benefit. We worship for God’s benefit. When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not to ourselves.
You do not sing para ma-exercise ang vocal chords mo. You do not give for others to see your generosity. You do not attend a worship service to show people that you are a church-goer.
If you have ever said, “I didn’t get anything out of worship today,” you worshipped for the wrong reason.
Of course, most worship services also include elements of fellowship, encouragement, and there are benefits to worship, but we don’t worship to please ourselves. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our Creator.

In Isaiah 29:13, God complains about worship that is half-hearted and hypocritical.
“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”

The people were offering boring prayers, insincere praise, empty words, and man-made rituals without even thinking about the meaning. God’s heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment.
III. WORSHIP IS NOT A PART OF YOUR LIFE; IT IS YOUR LIFE
The Bible says, “praise him from sunrise to sunset” Psalm 113:3.
David says, “I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever” Psalm 145:2.
“I will praise the Lord as long as I live, I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath” Psalm 146:2.

In the Bible people praised God at work, at home, in battle, in jail, and even in bed! Praise should be the first activity when you open your eyes in the morning and the last activity when you close them at night.
Worship is not only during Tuesdays or Sundays. We can worship wherever we are and whatever we do – every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. The Bible says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31.
This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship – doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying a continual conversation with Him while you do it.
“Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” Colossians 3:23.
Kaya marami sa atin, madaling mag-worry, mag-init ang ulo, wala sa mood, sige yawyaw, kasi pagkatapos ng worship service, tapos na din ‘yong worship life natin. Next time na naman.

Worship is our life – not just a part of our life. It’s not something we do when we’re free. It’s what we do consistently.
Worship is falling in love with Jesus.
Worship is a love affair; it is making love to God.