Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
He can do everything that you and I can do,
and do the better. But there's one thing God wants
from you that nobody else can do. For God in
your place, There's one thing that God wants from you
that nobody else can do but you, and that is
for you to love Him, praise him, adore him, worship him,
(00:23):
and make that the ultimate in your lane.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Christians often struggle to find God's will for their lives.
While He can call us to do many things, there
is one singular purpose for every believer in Jesus Christ. Today,
in Touch, the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley, we
continue the series looking at the Biblical view of worship
to help us clarify what our lives should really be
(00:51):
all about.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
We're in the series on worship and goodnight. God's great purpose.
So Revelation chapter four, And if you look in the
verse verse, if you will after this, I look and behold,
A door was open in heaven. And the first voice
which I heard was as it were, of a trumpet
talking with me, which said, come up hither, and I
will show thee things which must be hereafter, So that
(01:19):
everything that follows from chapter four, verse one will be
those things that God revealed to the apostle, John John
the Beloved, while he's in exile on the isle of Patnas.
And immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a
throne was set in heaven, and one set on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a
(01:41):
jasper and a sardin stone. And there was a rainbow
round about the throne in sight, likening to an emerald.
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats.
Upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting
clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads
crowns of gold. Now, friend, that has got to be
some kind of a sight.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.
And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,
which are the seven spirits of God. And before the
throne there was a sea of glass likened the crystal.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
And in the midst of the throne, and round about
the throne were.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Four beasts or four living creatures full of eyes before
and behind. And the first beast or a first creature,
was like a lion, and the second like a cab,
and the third creature had a face as a man,
and the fourth was like a flying eagle. And the
four creatures had each of them six wings about him,
(02:43):
and they were full of eyes within. And they rest
not day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty,
which was, and is and is to come. And when
those creatures O beasts, give glory and honoring thanks to
Him that said on thee who liveth forever and ever.
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that
(03:05):
sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever
and ever, and cast thou crowns before the throne, saying,
thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
And honor and power.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created Loocord Verse eleven. Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for
thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they
are and were created. God never does anything with a
(03:38):
very definite purpose. He doesn't react to anything. He doesn't
respond to anything on the spur of the moment. He
never responds or reacts in ignorance or without all the
information of all the facts. Every single thing that God
does he does with definite purpose in mind. Everything people do,
we can always say that they do with purpose. Everything
(04:00):
the Church does, we can't always say they do it
with the right purpose, or any purpose at all in mind.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
But everything that God does he does with purpose.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
For example, he created this world with a very definite
purpose in mind. He created flowers to bloom and to
give beauty. He created birds to sing in the early
morning hour. He created the stars of the heaven, the moon,
the sun to give light. God has done everything with
a very definite purpose in mind.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
All of creation has the purpose behind it.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
You and I are the only creatures, and all of
the vast creation that God has made, we are the
only creatures that have the capacity to bow down and
worship the God.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Of this creation.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
He created you and me for the ultimate purpose of
worshiping Him. That is God's great purpose in the universe.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Now we get it all mixed up. Look if you will.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
In Oilyippians chapter two, you know this passage, but I'm
gonna move to a moment you'll know, but I want
to apply it in a different way. In Philippians chapter two,
you and I know the passage that says that one
of these days, God, having highly exalted the Lord Jesus Christ,
one of these days in verse ten, that at the
name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue shall
(05:26):
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
To the glory of God the Father, every kneed will bow.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Now we ought to be bowing our knees in worship
and praise and adoration and genuine listen love toward God.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Listen watch this not because of what he does, but
because of who he is. And he wants us to
love him.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Not because of what he does, but because of who
he is. Now, let me just give you something personal
along that line.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
One day somewhere, I was sitting on the beach.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'd been down there very early in the morning taking
some pictures of the sunrise, and when I had finished,
I sat down on the rock and I was just
sitting down. It's just like the Lord just said to me,
just like that, love ist thou me. And then I
knew that he was trying to get my attention about something,
(06:19):
and without me answering, It's just like he said, do
you love me because I provide for you? Do you
love me because I protect you? Do you love me
because I've called you to preach my word? Do you
love me because of the blessings I send into your life?
(06:41):
Or do you love me simply because I'm me? And
I'm afraid I had to tell him what most of
you had to tell him. Lord, if I'm really honest,
I'm sure the deep down inside for the most of
my whatever love I've expressed towards you has been motivated
(07:04):
by what you did for me, not because you're just God.
Then it's just like the Lord said, do you know
how long I've loved you?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
I thought, yes, I do.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And it's like the Lord said, what motivated me to
love you? And I couldn't think of a thing. Wasn't
my righteousness, wasn't my service, wasn't anything within me? And
it's like the Lord said to me, now, look, I
want you to start loving me because I'm me, not
(07:40):
because what I have to give you. Isn't it strange
how we think we love God so much and our
love is conditioned upon his answered prayer, condition upon his provision,
with this, that and the other. We don't like to
admit that, but you see, when you stop and examine
(08:01):
the real feelings, what you're thinking and feeling down inside.
You might be surprised what motivates you to do whatever
you may do in the name of Jesus Christ. And
the Lord has just opened my heart and searched me
and stripped me and exposed me, analyzed me to myself.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Now he knew it all along.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
But you see, God's great purpose in our life is
not that we serve him. That's just part of what
he wants to do. But his purpose in our life
is that we worship him. Now, what is it that
God had in mind when he created the world. Well,
let me just share some things with it to night
that I believe give evidence to the fact that God's
(08:44):
ultimate purpose for our existence and everything he does for us,
is that we might worship him.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Let me ask you a question. Can you name anything
God needs nothing?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Can you name anything God cannot provide for himself?
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Nothing?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Can you name the one thing that God wants from us?
The one thing that he wants from us above everything
else that he would not do for himself. He wants
us to worship him. Listen, motivated by love and devotion
to him because of who he is, and not because
(09:30):
of what he's done. Now, because of what he's done
is the thing that grab their attension to begin with.
But what He wants to work into our life is
a higher purpose than serving him, a higher purpose than
winning souls, well that's a part of it. A higher
purpose than any kind of ministry we could ever have.
God isn't impressed with anybody's ministry who has not learned
(09:54):
to worship God.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
You see, he can do everything that you and I
can do, and do it better.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
But there's one thing God wants from you that nobody
else can do. For God in your place, There's one
thing that God wants from you that nobody else can
do but you, and that is for you to love Him,
praise him, adore him, worship him, and make that the
ultimate in your lane. He said, well, what about those
(10:22):
other ultimate goals? Well, all of these are tangible things
that you and I work out here. His vocation for
our life, his marriage partner for our life, all of
these things constantly being conformed to His likeness.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
But why did He create this world?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And I believe one of the first things we need
to acknowledge is this that the only reasonable rational explanation
for the creation of this world and humanity itself, is
that God could create a host of living human beings
who would choose, by their own rightful choice, overcoming sin
and defeating Satan and choosing God above the other idols
(11:03):
of the earth, and choosing to love him, worship him,
praise him, and to live in adoration. Taught him that
doesn't mean that you and I just ought to walk
along in some ethereal religious act all the time, because
worship is not located in some particular place. Remember what
Jesus said to the woman at the well. And you know,
(11:24):
if you look at the woman at the well and
the Nicodemus, you would have thought that Jesus would have
switched those two sermons around. He would have talked about
a place of worship and all these things with the
wise man like Nicodemus, And for a woman who was
living in adulter, he would have talked about being born again.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
That's the wisdom of the Lord.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
He knew that nicodemus problem was self righteousness. He knew
that her problem was that she was lost, And he
said to her, if you knew who you were talking to,
you would ask of him and he would give you
a drink of water.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
And you would ever need but one drink.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Because I'd placed within your well of water springing up
everlasting life. And she tried to get him off the
subject by talking about worship. But in that conversation Jesus
gave some beautiful truths about worship that we'll get to
later on some other message. But the very purpose of
creation itself is the worship God. The second thing I
(12:18):
want you to notice is this, when you go back
to the Ten Commandments in the twentieth chapter of Exodus,
how did the.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Lord begin them?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And I think this is evidence that one of his
great that his great purpose in life, is that you
and I would learn to worship God. In the twentieth
chapter of the Exodus, how does he begin, I am
the Lord, thy God, which hath brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Make under thee any graven image or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them. For rather, the Lord Thy God, God,
I'm a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children of the third and the fourth generations
of them that hate need of his ten commandments of
(13:08):
the love of God. How did he begin? He began
by giving instruction about worship, and Jesus said to Satan,
he says, as it is written, thou sure worship the
Lord Thy God, and him only shalt thou siren. You see,
he didn't start with things that you and I would
have started with.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
He started with the basis.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
That is, when a man learns to worship the Lord
God when he sees that is God's great purpose for
the nations, for example. And you see, God's purpose is
greater than oftentimes we think. And here's what happens to this.
And I see this going on all the time. We
get all wrapped up in our little church or our
big church or whatever size church you may go to,
(13:50):
and we see all the people that we love and
our friends and our fellowship. We think that's great, our
program and all these things that are happening. But listen,
what we need to see is that we are one
small part of God's vast, vast body of believers. And
when he puts all the believers together, what does he
have them to do for eternity? We are going to
(14:11):
worship him. He's saved as out of our sin, brought
us together.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
That teaches the truth of the scripture.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Why not that we simply serve him, though that's a
vital part of it, but that first of all we
learn to love him, unmotivated by anything, but just because
he's God. We learn to adore him and praise him
and reverence him, and honor him and bow down before
him because he's God. And you see, most worship today,
(14:41):
most sermons today are not sinned around God.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
They're sinning around man.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And secondly, they're not sending around what we can what
God is and who he is and our relationship to him.
Most sermons you here today are sinned around what can God.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Do for me?
Speaker 1 (14:59):
That's not what the scripture teach us it all. When
the Lord thinks about us, he's talking about our worshiping him,
our serving him, our loving him, our devotion to him,
our lawyer to to him. It's all to him. He says,
I'm a jealous God, and I'll.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Not share you with any other.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
And you see, that's the reason God has drawn a
line in this world. He says, don't step over that line.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Open. This side of the line is the world. The
world is full of idolatry.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
And the reason he says to the nation of Israel,
he said, you'd be a peculiar people, because he didn't
want his people getting all fouled up by mingling and
mixing with people who are living in idolatry. Which brings
me to the third reason. I think the evidence that
this is God's great purpose for mankind is the penalty
He warned the nation of Israel love if they violated
(15:48):
that commandment, and all through the Old Testament, for example,
he's talking about, well, how many times does he have
to come back to the nation of Israel, for example,
and warn them about the same old sin over and
over and over again, the same thing, and somehow they
never understood. You look at the Book of Judges. Do
(16:08):
you know why the Book of Judges is in there?
The Book of Judges, for example, are the dark days.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Of the people of Israel living in adultery.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
And here's what you've got to roller coast of life
for the nation of this from the Book of Judges.
What are they doing in idolatory repent, idolatary repent, adultery, repent,
Look if you will. In Deuteronomy chapter eleven, verse twenty six,
he says, behold, I sit before you this day, a
blessing and a curse. A blessing if you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you
(16:40):
this day, and a curse if you'll not obey the
commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out
of the way which I commanded you this day, to
go after other gods, which you have not known. Now, listen,
I want you to think about this. What is God's
great purpose for the nations? What's God's great purpose for us?
His purpose is that we honor him.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
There is something about worship that releases and liberates.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
There's something about it that energizes.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
There's something about worshiping God, praising him, looking to him,
singing to him, wanting nothing in return, but just the
capacity to tell him how.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Great he is. Revelation chapter fifteen. Look at verse four.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Who shall not fear thee o Lord, and glorify thy name,
for thou only art holy for all nations shall come
and worship THEE for THEE. For Thy judgments are made manifest.
Every nation of the earth, he says, shall come before
THEE and worship THEE. Listen, watch this. It is God's
(17:47):
ultimate purpose that the people of God would worship him
and love him and be devoted to him. But listen,
what is his purpose?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Now? Watch? Here's what we do.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
We get all married up, an adult church, and all work,
no old fan oil of this, that, that and the
other and so forth, and what happens.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
We miss the big picture.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
And the big picture is that we are a part
of the vast kingdom of God. We're a part of
the vast glory of God.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
God is doing something.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And if you and I could back off out into
space and picture the world, and every single true believer
would stand up holding their arms straight up, praising the Lord.
I'll tell you I believe it would pass through the atmosphere.
When the people of God really begin to worship God,
there's something electrifying, something motivating, something powerful. There is a
(18:39):
releasing of the spirit when God's people bow their knee,
thy heart, their spirit before him, and they want nothing
in return but just to love him. We know more
about everything in the church than we do how to
worship God. But I just want you to get the
(19:00):
picture here that God's great purpose in your life is
not to go into the ministry. That may be his
will for your life, that may be his call for
your life, but is ultimate purpose for your life and mind.
And he says in Revelation chapter fifteen and fourth verse
for the nations of the world, when he says he
(19:21):
delivers up the kingdom, what is it going to be
for to worship and praise and adure the Lord, our
God forever? When you look in the book of the Revelation,
you see the martyred saints. What are they doing? They're
worshiping the Lord. And I want to ask you tonight,
why do you pray to get something or to give something?
(19:52):
And maybe you and I should check our praying out.
And after we've prayed, to ask Lord, now have I
given something?
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Or have I just been the RECIPI you by asking
the son.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
You kids are going to college, You're going to get
a degree, and you're going to be taught how to
do certain things. But you know what God's interested in.
He's not interested in plaques on the wall. He's not
interested in eloquence and all the rest. He's just interested
in whether you are willing to bow your spirit before
(20:25):
Him and to.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Walk daily in adoration and praise to the Lord.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
God.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Worship is not just a Sunday morning activity. Today on
in Touch, doctor Stanley's message challenge you to make it
your daily goal to live in a way that brings
praise and honor to Christ. If you would like to
know more about living to please the Lord, visit InTouch
dot org for access to free resources to encourage your
(20:59):
faith in Jesus. And if you'd like to renew this message,
click on the link to Today on Radio. To order
a copy of doctor Stanley's message, God's Great Purpose, visit
our online bookstore. It's also part of the complete teaching
set titled Worship of Biblical View. Again. That's in touch
dot org. To call or text, it's one eight hundred
(21:22):
in Touch. You can write to us at in Touch
Post Office Box seventy nine hundred, Atlanta, Georgia, three zero
three five seven. What do you do if you're in pain,
concerned or anxious about something practical? That vice is coming
up in today's moment with Charles Stanley, We're not.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
The first to seek a life of purpose. The Bible
tells of many who followed a specific path, step by step,
with courage, with surrender for a deeper purpose, a stronger passion.
A lasting piece introducing your path to purpose, passion and peace.
A new ninety day devotional inspired by the timeless teaching
(22:07):
of doctor Charles Stanley, available now at InTouch dot org
slash store.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Trusting God each day can be a challenge, but working
to grow that trust brings greater joy in peace than
we could ever find on our own. In trusting God.
With today the three hundred and sixty five day devotional
from the teachings of doctor Charles Stanley, we are encouraged
to believe in God's love and rest in his purpose
for us. Order today at in touch dot org slash store.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
You're listening to in Touch Praising the Lord isn't just
for the good times. Learn a practical way to respond
when things are not so good. Here's a moment with
Charles Stanley.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Whatever concerned you this morning, What you need to do
is the zero in on that thing, and I mean
every day you just cover that with praise. Now, he said,
what am I supposed to say? Praise the Lord. Praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord. No, I'll tell you what
to say. You get in the psalms and you just
start reading the psalms, read them out loud to it.
If you don't know how to praise God, just read
(23:18):
a psalm to it. Just say that Lord. I really
don't know what to say, So I'm gonna say this
to you. I praise the Lord with my whole heart.
I sing praise unto THEE I am worshiping you. You
just take one of those psalms and you find one
that fits what you're concerned about, and you just read
it to it. Whatever that concern may be, you will
(23:39):
watch God miraculously do something to it.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Visit us at InTouch dot org to learn more about
the power of praising the Lord in the midst of suffering,
and if today's program has prompted you to consider how
you could share Jesus Christ with others, please let us
know next week on in Touch. There are many aspects
to worshiping the Lord. Explore the variety of ways we
(24:04):
can bring our praise to God when the series continues
Monday on in Touch. The teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley.
This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries Atlanta,
Georgia and remains on this station through the grace of
God and your faithful prayers and gifts.
He can do everything that you and I can do,
and do the better. But there's one thing God wants
from you that nobody else can do. For God in
your place, There's one thing that God wants from you
that nobody else can do but you, and that is
for you to love Him, praise him, adore him, worship him,
(00:23):
and make that the ultimate in your lane.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Christians often struggle to find God's will for their lives.
While He can call us to do many things, there
is one singular purpose for every believer in Jesus Christ. Today,
in Touch, the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley, we
continue the series looking at the Biblical view of worship
to help us clarify what our lives should really be
(00:51):
all about.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
We're in the series on worship and goodnight. God's great purpose.
So Revelation chapter four, And if you look in the
verse verse, if you will after this, I look and behold,
A door was open in heaven. And the first voice
which I heard was as it were, of a trumpet
talking with me, which said, come up hither, and I
will show thee things which must be hereafter, So that
(01:19):
everything that follows from chapter four, verse one will be
those things that God revealed to the apostle, John John
the Beloved, while he's in exile on the isle of Patnas.
And immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a
throne was set in heaven, and one set on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a
(01:41):
jasper and a sardin stone. And there was a rainbow
round about the throne in sight, likening to an emerald.
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats.
Upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting
clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads
crowns of gold. Now, friend, that has got to be
some kind of a sight.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.
And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,
which are the seven spirits of God. And before the
throne there was a sea of glass likened the crystal.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
And in the midst of the throne, and round about
the throne were.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Four beasts or four living creatures full of eyes before
and behind. And the first beast or a first creature,
was like a lion, and the second like a cab,
and the third creature had a face as a man,
and the fourth was like a flying eagle. And the
four creatures had each of them six wings about him,
(02:43):
and they were full of eyes within. And they rest
not day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty,
which was, and is and is to come. And when
those creatures O beasts, give glory and honoring thanks to
Him that said on thee who liveth forever and ever.
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that
(03:05):
sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever
and ever, and cast thou crowns before the throne, saying,
thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
And honor and power.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created Loocord Verse eleven. Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for
thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they
are and were created. God never does anything with a
(03:38):
very definite purpose. He doesn't react to anything. He doesn't
respond to anything on the spur of the moment. He
never responds or reacts in ignorance or without all the
information of all the facts. Every single thing that God
does he does with definite purpose in mind. Everything people do,
we can always say that they do with purpose. Everything
(04:00):
the Church does, we can't always say they do it
with the right purpose, or any purpose at all in mind.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
But everything that God does he does with purpose.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
For example, he created this world with a very definite
purpose in mind. He created flowers to bloom and to
give beauty. He created birds to sing in the early
morning hour. He created the stars of the heaven, the moon,
the sun to give light. God has done everything with
a very definite purpose in mind.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
All of creation has the purpose behind it.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
You and I are the only creatures, and all of
the vast creation that God has made, we are the
only creatures that have the capacity to bow down and
worship the God.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Of this creation.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
He created you and me for the ultimate purpose of
worshiping Him. That is God's great purpose in the universe.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Now we get it all mixed up. Look if you will.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
In Oilyippians chapter two, you know this passage, but I'm
gonna move to a moment you'll know, but I want
to apply it in a different way. In Philippians chapter two,
you and I know the passage that says that one
of these days, God, having highly exalted the Lord Jesus Christ,
one of these days in verse ten, that at the
name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue shall
(05:26):
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
To the glory of God the Father, every kneed will bow.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Now we ought to be bowing our knees in worship
and praise and adoration and genuine listen love toward God.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Listen watch this not because of what he does, but
because of who he is. And he wants us to
love him.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Not because of what he does, but because of who
he is. Now, let me just give you something personal
along that line.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
One day somewhere, I was sitting on the beach.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'd been down there very early in the morning taking
some pictures of the sunrise, and when I had finished,
I sat down on the rock and I was just
sitting down. It's just like the Lord just said to me,
just like that, love ist thou me. And then I
knew that he was trying to get my attention about something,
(06:19):
and without me answering, It's just like he said, do
you love me because I provide for you? Do you
love me because I protect you? Do you love me
because I've called you to preach my word? Do you
love me because of the blessings I send into your life?
(06:41):
Or do you love me simply because I'm me? And
I'm afraid I had to tell him what most of
you had to tell him. Lord, if I'm really honest,
I'm sure the deep down inside for the most of
my whatever love I've expressed towards you has been motivated
(07:04):
by what you did for me, not because you're just God.
Then it's just like the Lord said, do you know
how long I've loved you?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
I thought, yes, I do.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And it's like the Lord said, what motivated me to
love you? And I couldn't think of a thing. Wasn't
my righteousness, wasn't my service, wasn't anything within me? And
it's like the Lord said to me, now, look, I
want you to start loving me because I'm me, not
(07:40):
because what I have to give you. Isn't it strange
how we think we love God so much and our
love is conditioned upon his answered prayer, condition upon his provision,
with this, that and the other. We don't like to
admit that, but you see, when you stop and examine
(08:01):
the real feelings, what you're thinking and feeling down inside.
You might be surprised what motivates you to do whatever
you may do in the name of Jesus Christ. And
the Lord has just opened my heart and searched me
and stripped me and exposed me, analyzed me to myself.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Now he knew it all along.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
But you see, God's great purpose in our life is
not that we serve him. That's just part of what
he wants to do. But his purpose in our life
is that we worship him. Now, what is it that
God had in mind when he created the world. Well,
let me just share some things with it to night
that I believe give evidence to the fact that God's
(08:44):
ultimate purpose for our existence and everything he does for us,
is that we might worship him.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Let me ask you a question. Can you name anything
God needs nothing?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Can you name anything God cannot provide for himself?
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Nothing?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Can you name the one thing that God wants from us?
The one thing that he wants from us above everything
else that he would not do for himself. He wants
us to worship him. Listen, motivated by love and devotion
to him because of who he is, and not because
(09:30):
of what he's done. Now, because of what he's done
is the thing that grab their attension to begin with.
But what He wants to work into our life is
a higher purpose than serving him, a higher purpose than
winning souls, well that's a part of it. A higher
purpose than any kind of ministry we could ever have.
God isn't impressed with anybody's ministry who has not learned
(09:54):
to worship God.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
You see, he can do everything that you and I
can do, and do it better.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
But there's one thing God wants from you that nobody
else can do. For God in your place, There's one
thing that God wants from you that nobody else can
do but you, and that is for you to love Him,
praise him, adore him, worship him, and make that the
ultimate in your lane. He said, well, what about those
(10:22):
other ultimate goals? Well, all of these are tangible things
that you and I work out here. His vocation for
our life, his marriage partner for our life, all of
these things constantly being conformed to His likeness.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
But why did He create this world?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
And I believe one of the first things we need
to acknowledge is this that the only reasonable rational explanation
for the creation of this world and humanity itself, is
that God could create a host of living human beings
who would choose, by their own rightful choice, overcoming sin
and defeating Satan and choosing God above the other idols
(11:03):
of the earth, and choosing to love him, worship him,
praise him, and to live in adoration. Taught him that
doesn't mean that you and I just ought to walk
along in some ethereal religious act all the time, because
worship is not located in some particular place. Remember what
Jesus said to the woman at the well. And you know,
(11:24):
if you look at the woman at the well and
the Nicodemus, you would have thought that Jesus would have
switched those two sermons around. He would have talked about
a place of worship and all these things with the
wise man like Nicodemus, And for a woman who was
living in adulter, he would have talked about being born again.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
That's the wisdom of the Lord.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
He knew that nicodemus problem was self righteousness. He knew
that her problem was that she was lost, And he
said to her, if you knew who you were talking to,
you would ask of him and he would give you
a drink of water.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
And you would ever need but one drink.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Because I'd placed within your well of water springing up
everlasting life. And she tried to get him off the
subject by talking about worship. But in that conversation Jesus
gave some beautiful truths about worship that we'll get to
later on some other message. But the very purpose of
creation itself is the worship God. The second thing I
(12:18):
want you to notice is this, when you go back
to the Ten Commandments in the twentieth chapter of Exodus,
how did the.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Lord begin them?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
And I think this is evidence that one of his
great that his great purpose in life, is that you
and I would learn to worship God. In the twentieth
chapter of the Exodus, how does he begin, I am
the Lord, thy God, which hath brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Make under thee any graven image or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them. For rather, the Lord Thy God, God,
I'm a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children of the third and the fourth generations
of them that hate need of his ten commandments of
(13:08):
the love of God. How did he begin? He began
by giving instruction about worship, and Jesus said to Satan,
he says, as it is written, thou sure worship the
Lord Thy God, and him only shalt thou siren. You see,
he didn't start with things that you and I would
have started with.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
He started with the basis.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
That is, when a man learns to worship the Lord
God when he sees that is God's great purpose for
the nations, for example. And you see, God's purpose is
greater than oftentimes we think. And here's what happens to this.
And I see this going on all the time. We
get all wrapped up in our little church or our
big church or whatever size church you may go to,
(13:50):
and we see all the people that we love and
our friends and our fellowship. We think that's great, our
program and all these things that are happening. But listen,
what we need to see is that we are one
small part of God's vast, vast body of believers. And
when he puts all the believers together, what does he
have them to do for eternity? We are going to
(14:11):
worship him. He's saved as out of our sin, brought
us together.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
That teaches the truth of the scripture.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Why not that we simply serve him, though that's a
vital part of it, but that first of all we
learn to love him, unmotivated by anything, but just because
he's God. We learn to adore him and praise him
and reverence him, and honor him and bow down before
him because he's God. And you see, most worship today,
(14:41):
most sermons today are not sinned around God.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
They're sinning around man.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And secondly, they're not sending around what we can what
God is and who he is and our relationship to him.
Most sermons you here today are sinned around what can God.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Do for me?
Speaker 1 (14:59):
That's not what the scripture teach us it all. When
the Lord thinks about us, he's talking about our worshiping him,
our serving him, our loving him, our devotion to him,
our lawyer to to him. It's all to him. He says,
I'm a jealous God, and I'll.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Not share you with any other.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
And you see, that's the reason God has drawn a
line in this world. He says, don't step over that line.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Open. This side of the line is the world. The
world is full of idolatry.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
And the reason he says to the nation of Israel,
he said, you'd be a peculiar people, because he didn't
want his people getting all fouled up by mingling and
mixing with people who are living in idolatry. Which brings
me to the third reason. I think the evidence that
this is God's great purpose for mankind is the penalty
He warned the nation of Israel love if they violated
(15:48):
that commandment, and all through the Old Testament, for example,
he's talking about, well, how many times does he have
to come back to the nation of Israel, for example,
and warn them about the same old sin over and
over and over again, the same thing, and somehow they
never understood. You look at the Book of Judges. Do
(16:08):
you know why the Book of Judges is in there?
The Book of Judges, for example, are the dark days.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Of the people of Israel living in adultery.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
And here's what you've got to roller coast of life
for the nation of this from the Book of Judges.
What are they doing in idolatory repent, idolatary repent, adultery, repent,
Look if you will. In Deuteronomy chapter eleven, verse twenty six,
he says, behold, I sit before you this day, a
blessing and a curse. A blessing if you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you
(16:40):
this day, and a curse if you'll not obey the
commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out
of the way which I commanded you this day, to
go after other gods, which you have not known. Now, listen,
I want you to think about this. What is God's
great purpose for the nations? What's God's great purpose for us?
His purpose is that we honor him.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Listen.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
There is something about worship that releases and liberates.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
There's something about it that energizes.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
There's something about worshiping God, praising him, looking to him,
singing to him, wanting nothing in return, but just the
capacity to tell him how.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Great he is. Revelation chapter fifteen. Look at verse four.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Who shall not fear thee o Lord, and glorify thy name,
for thou only art holy for all nations shall come
and worship THEE for THEE. For Thy judgments are made manifest.
Every nation of the earth, he says, shall come before
THEE and worship THEE. Listen, watch this. It is God's
(17:47):
ultimate purpose that the people of God would worship him
and love him and be devoted to him. But listen,
what is his purpose?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Now? Watch? Here's what we do.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
We get all married up, an adult church, and all work,
no old fan oil of this, that, that and the
other and so forth, and what happens.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
We miss the big picture.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
And the big picture is that we are a part
of the vast kingdom of God. We're a part of
the vast glory of God.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
God is doing something.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And if you and I could back off out into
space and picture the world, and every single true believer
would stand up holding their arms straight up, praising the Lord.
I'll tell you I believe it would pass through the atmosphere.
When the people of God really begin to worship God,
there's something electrifying, something motivating, something powerful. There is a
(18:39):
releasing of the spirit when God's people bow their knee,
thy heart, their spirit before him, and they want nothing
in return but just to love him. We know more
about everything in the church than we do how to
worship God. But I just want you to get the
(19:00):
picture here that God's great purpose in your life is
not to go into the ministry. That may be his
will for your life, that may be his call for
your life, but is ultimate purpose for your life and mind.
And he says in Revelation chapter fifteen and fourth verse
for the nations of the world, when he says he
(19:21):
delivers up the kingdom, what is it going to be
for to worship and praise and adure the Lord, our
God forever? When you look in the book of the Revelation,
you see the martyred saints. What are they doing? They're
worshiping the Lord. And I want to ask you tonight,
why do you pray to get something or to give something?
(19:52):
And maybe you and I should check our praying out.
And after we've prayed, to ask Lord, now have I
given something?
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Or have I just been the RECIPI you by asking
the son.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
You kids are going to college, You're going to get
a degree, and you're going to be taught how to
do certain things. But you know what God's interested in.
He's not interested in plaques on the wall. He's not
interested in eloquence and all the rest. He's just interested
in whether you are willing to bow your spirit before
(20:25):
Him and to.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Walk daily in adoration and praise to the Lord.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
God.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Worship is not just a Sunday morning activity. Today on
in Touch, doctor Stanley's message challenge you to make it
your daily goal to live in a way that brings
praise and honor to Christ. If you would like to
know more about living to please the Lord, visit InTouch
dot org for access to free resources to encourage your
(20:59):
faith in Jesus. And if you'd like to renew this message,
click on the link to Today on Radio. To order
a copy of doctor Stanley's message, God's Great Purpose, visit
our online bookstore. It's also part of the complete teaching
set titled Worship of Biblical View. Again. That's in touch
dot org. To call or text, it's one eight hundred
(21:22):
in Touch. You can write to us at in Touch
Post Office Box seventy nine hundred, Atlanta, Georgia, three zero
three five seven. What do you do if you're in pain,
concerned or anxious about something practical? That vice is coming
up in today's moment with Charles Stanley, We're not.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
The first to seek a life of purpose. The Bible
tells of many who followed a specific path, step by step,
with courage, with surrender for a deeper purpose, a stronger passion.
A lasting piece introducing your path to purpose, passion and peace.
A new ninety day devotional inspired by the timeless teaching
(22:07):
of doctor Charles Stanley, available now at InTouch dot org
slash store.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Trusting God each day can be a challenge, but working
to grow that trust brings greater joy in peace than
we could ever find on our own. In trusting God.
With today the three hundred and sixty five day devotional
from the teachings of doctor Charles Stanley, we are encouraged
to believe in God's love and rest in his purpose
for us. Order today at in touch dot org slash store.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
You're listening to in Touch Praising the Lord isn't just
for the good times. Learn a practical way to respond
when things are not so good. Here's a moment with
Charles Stanley.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Whatever concerned you this morning, What you need to do
is the zero in on that thing, and I mean
every day you just cover that with praise. Now, he said,
what am I supposed to say? Praise the Lord. Praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord. No, I'll tell you what
to say. You get in the psalms and you just
start reading the psalms, read them out loud to it.
If you don't know how to praise God, just read
(23:18):
a psalm to it. Just say that Lord. I really
don't know what to say, So I'm gonna say this
to you. I praise the Lord with my whole heart.
I sing praise unto THEE I am worshiping you. You
just take one of those psalms and you find one
that fits what you're concerned about, and you just read
it to it. Whatever that concern may be, you will
(23:39):
watch God miraculously do something to it.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Visit us at InTouch dot org to learn more about
the power of praising the Lord in the midst of suffering,
and if today's program has prompted you to consider how
you could share Jesus Christ with others, please let us
know next week on in Touch. There are many aspects
to worshiping the Lord. Explore the variety of ways we
(24:04):
can bring our praise to God when the series continues
Monday on in Touch. The teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley.
This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries Atlanta,
Georgia and remains on this station through the grace of
God and your faithful prayers and gifts.
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