## How To Know We Have Worshiped #1

## Psalm 22:3

One of the most interesting points of a pastor's week is greeting people after Sunday morning worship. People say the most interesting things to the pastor as they file out the doors. I like the story of the young pastor and his first Sunday at his first church. An elderly lady said to him, "That was the worst sermon I've ever heard." He merely ignored her remark until the next week. Again she said, "That was the worst sermon I've ever heard." This went on for some weeks. Finally, the pastor asked one of the deacons about her. The deacon responded, "Pastor don't pay much attention to what she says. She's feeble-minded. She just goes around repeating what everyone else is says."

People do say the strangest things after morning worship. They'll tell you that your message was great when you know and they know they slept through it! However, there are days when everything seems just right. There are days when we connect. There are days in which God's presence is so tangible and we all sense it.

Each evening following the messages on worship, I have challenged all of us to consider the question, 'Have we worshiped God today?'. Tonight I want us to consider how can we know we have worshiped God. How can we leave this place and honestly say that we have been in the presence of the living God? What must we do? Where must we go? How can we know that we have worshiped God? Tonight I want to give you several elements of worship.

I. We Worship Through Thanksgiving.

A. We Worship God by Expressing our Gratitude.

1. Married couples sometimes struggle with expressing thankfulness to each other.

a. An old man and his wife were sitting on their front porch swing.

b. As he thought back on their 42 years of marriage, he realized what a wonderful, willing woman she had been.

c. As they watched the sun set on the western horizon, he said, "Mabel, you've been such a wonderful wife that there are times I can hardly keep from telling you."

2. Do we struggle with being thankful to God?

a. For what are you grateful?

b. For what can we thank God?

c. We can thank him for life and health.

d. We can thank him for family, for husbands and wives, parents and children, especially grandchildren.

e. Of course we must thank Him for our salvation and our security in Christ.

f. We should thank Him for our church family and the wonderful family of God.

3. If we are having difficulty with worship, just stop and consider all the blessings that God has given us.

4. Then, in detail, we need to thank Him for each of them.

B. Throughout the Bible Thanksgiving is portrayed as an act of worship.

1. We are happy, we are to thank God.

(Deu 8:10) "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee."

2. When we are at peace, we are to thank God.

(Col 3:15) "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

3. When circumstances are difficult, we are to thank God.

(1 Th 5:18) "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

4. When we face trials, we are to thank God.

(James 1:2) "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;"

5. When we are worried, we are to thank God.

(Phil 4:6) "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

C. Jesus Recognized Worship in Thanksgiving

1. Read: Luke 17:11-19 2. As Jesus entered "a certain village," He met "ten men who were lepers."

a. Leprosy is a hideous disease; because it was highly contagious, they "stood afar off."

b. Recognizing Jesus as "Master," they begged, "Have mercy on us!"

c. They knew that only God could help them.

d. Jesus told them to show themselves to the priest.

e. That was what the law said one was to do if leprosy went away.

f. At this point however, they were still infected.

g. Jesus was asking them to take a step of faith.

h. Note that "as they went, they were cleansed."

2. Only "one" of those ten men, "when he saw he was healed" came back.

a. Notice, "with a loud voice" he "glorified God."

b. He also "fell on his face at His feet."

c. Then he began "giving Him thanks."

d. Of the ten, this one was a "Samaritan," yet in great faith, he worshiped God through thanksgiving.

D. Let's take a few moments this evening to worship God through thanksgiving.

E. I want some of you to shout out your completion of this sentence…

F. "Lord I worship you because I am thankful for…"

II. We Worship God Through Praise.

A. A Proper Definition of Praise.

1. Praise comes from a Latin word meaning "value" or "price."

2. So to give praise to God is to proclaim His merit or worth.

3. Thanksgiving is about what God has done for you.

4. Praise is about who God is.

5. Many terms are used to express this in the Bible, including "glory," "blessing," and "hallelujah."

6. In fact, "hallelujah" is a transliteration of the Hebrew for "Praise the Lord."

7. We ought to use this!

B. We can Praise the Lord in Many Ways.

1. Israel used to offer sacrifices as praise.

2. King David "danced before the Lord" in praise as the ark was brought home to Jerusalem.

3. In both Old and New Testament periods, people raised their hands in praise to God.

(Psa 134:1-2) "Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. {2} Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD."

4. Psalm 77:11-12 reminds us that praise can be meditation.

(Psa 77:11-12) "I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. {12} I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings."

5. Psalm 66:16 refers to praising God through a testimony.

(Psa 66:16) "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul."

6. Praise is almost invariably linked to music, both instrumental and, especially, vocal. Cf. Ps. 150:1-6

C. While the Bible teaches us to praise, there are also warnings about the way we praise God.

1. Praise is to originate in the heart and not become mere outward show.

(Mat 15:8) "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."

2. Praise is to be carried on in an orderly manner.

(1 Cor 14:40) "Let all things be done decently and in order."

3. Let's praise the Lord by completing the sentence, "I praise the Lord because..."

There is much more I want to say on the different elements of worship, but I will continue this thought next week. Tonight let's once again ask ourselves, 'Have we worshiped God today?' We express our worship through thanksgiving, and through praise.