THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST OF WORSHIP

Luke 18:9-14

Man’s chief end is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. We probably delight in God more fully in worship than in any other activity in this life. Worship is an end in itself because we glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In worship, we do not come to give but to get. We do not watch; we participate. We don’t care what other people think. We’re focused on one thing: pleasing God and enjoying Him.
If worship has a reward, it also has a moral enemy. Jesus Christ makes this clear in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

“Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: ‘Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like the tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.”


I. THE ENEMY OF WORSHIP
“The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like the tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income” v. 11-12.
Pharisees during the time of Christ were deeply religious people during the time of Christ. They keep the law of Moses and they were the official interpreters and teachers of the law in Israel. But Jesus denounced them publicly despite of their being religious.
Luke 11:37-52:
 They were hypocrites (v. 39)
 They give their tithes in everything (v. 42)
 They love public recognition (v. 43)
 They have burdened the people with many rules and regulations (v. 46)



Now, this particular Pharisee went to the Temple to worship. What’s wrong with his attitude?
 Attitude of comparing
 Attitude of self-sufficiency
“God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them” Matthew 5:3.
The moral enemy of worship is DUTY. The Pharisee went to the Temple to worship because it was his duty. When worship becomes a duty, it dishonors God. When there is no longer the joy of worship, then, it is no longer worship. When you go to God in order to give rather than to get – worship becomes a duty. Let us not allow worship to become a mere performance. Let us God to quicken our spirits.
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away” Matthew 15:8.

II. THE REWARD IN WORSHIP
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.”
Tax collectors were very unpopular during the time of Christ. They were outcasts. They were irreligious. They were treated with contempt by the people because they were traitors against their own government and people. They were collecting taxes for the Roman government and they collect more than what was right. Pharisees looked at them with scorn and disgust.
His attitude in worship:
 He did not enter into the temple.
 He cannot look up.
 He was beating his chest in sorrow.
 He was asking God for mercy.
 He came to get not to give.

Jesus said it was the tax collector who went home justified or forgiven, not the Pharisee, who was a very religious man. God looked upon him with mercy and lifted the load of sin in his heart and filled him with overflowing joy. For the first time in his life he felt clean and experienced true happiness as a result of his attitude of humility before God. God gave Himself to him. That is the great reward in worship.
“Without faith it is impossible to please God. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him” HEBREWS 11:6.
You cannot please God if you do not come to him for reward! The reward is not the gift, because worship is not a work that after doing it you receive a salary. Worship is a better deal!

AFTER PLEASING GOD IN WORSHIP, HE GIVES HIMSELF TO US. HE IS OUR EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD! WE FEAST ON HIM! WE ENJOY HIM. HE FILLS US WITH EXCEEDING JOY!

In God’s presence there is pleasure, joy, and delight.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” PSALM 27:4.

Dr. Ron Allen refers to worship as our CELEBRATION OF GOD. Listen to his words thoughtfully.
“What, then, is the essence of worship? It is the celebration of God! When we worship God, we celebrate Him: We extol Him, we sound His praises, we boast in Him.
Worship is not the mumbling of prayers or the mouthing of hymns with little thought and less heart; we celebrate God when we join together earnestly in prayer and intensely in song.
Worship is not self-aggrandizing (conceited) words or boring clichés (basta lami jud ang fud, try ninyo, basta enjoy jud siya promise) when one is asked to give a testimony; we celebrate when all of the parts of the service fit together and work to a common end.
Worship is not grudging gifts or compulsory service; we celebrate God when we give to Him hilariously and serve Him with integrity.
Worship is not haphazard music done poorly, not even great music done merely as a performance; we celebrate God when we enjoy and participate in music to His glory.
Worship is not a distracted endurance of the sermon; we celebrate God as we hear His Word gladly and seek to be conformed by it more and more to the image of our Savior.
Worship is not a sermon that is poorly prepared and carelessly delivered; we celebrate God when we honor His Word with our words, by His Spirit.
As a thoughtful gift is a celebration of a birthday, as a special evening out is a celebration of an anniversary, as a warm eulogy is a celebration of a life, as a sexual embrace is a celebration of a marriage – so a worship service is a celebration of God.”