Ten Most Wanted

THE WORSHIPER

In this study we will set sail from common waters to some uncharted waters in the Christians life.
The waters will become deeper from ankle deep to neck deep.
I hope you will consider them and become familiar with these waters in your life time as soon as possible.
From studying the Scriptures it is evident that God’s best men are those with Biblical attributes; Christ-like character; Spirit filled men.
Last week we saw one of God’s Top Ten Men, The Faithful Man.
The “faithful man” may not have had an unblemished record as was the case with King David, Peter or John Mark.
Their youth may have been tainted with activities unbecoming to a believer like Jacob or Gideon.
But, they became faithful as they matured and remained faithful to the Lord till their last days. Become one of God’s “Top Ten.” be faithful.

A second great character trait found among God’s “Ten Most Wanted Men” is the man who knows how to worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth.


** If you are a baseball coach, you look for players with talent of the game. If you are a conductor of an orchestra you look for musicians with talent as well. God is looking for Christians with worshipful hearts.

When our Lord went to Samaria, He stopped by Jacob’s well and there He conversed with a woman.
He reveals to her what true worship is all about.
In John 4:23 we read, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

A Christian is a unique being. Whereas most people in the world are body and soul with a human spirit dormant to God or dead to spiritual worship; the Christian’s spirit has been awaken or made alive to spiritual things (Ephesians 2:1).

**True worship of God is not the activity of the flesh without but the adoration of the spirit from within as God’s child meditates on His Word or hears truth proclaimed and then participates in that worship time.

**That doesn’t mean your body and soul isn’t involved. They are very much involved. Your physical body gets you here every service.
Some folks have said, ‘I couldn’t make it Sunday preacher, but I was there in spirit.” I don’t want any spirits flying around the church.
I can’t hear a spirit sing or see a spirit smile. I would much rather have you here in the flesh. If the spirit is singing inside, your body is singing outside.
Your soul which is your mind will and emotions need to be stirred by God’s Spirit.
Your spirit is that part of you that is fed spiritual water, manna or meat from God’s word, which ever you can handle in a worship service.

In the introduction let me give you three thoughts to begin:
1 – If we worship God in spirit then our spirit must be cleansed and our sins confessed. Why? Because God is holy! That is ankle deep water. You cannot worship God with sin in your life. It is just impossible.
Psalms 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Understand something for interesting about true worship.
Worship doesn’t take place in a pew or a church, though you should be faithful to God’s church. Worship takes place in your heart.

I Corinthians 3: 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
2 – If we worship God in spirit, we will find the worship service very quite at time, for we are allowing God’s spirit to be just what He is.
He is a surgeon. Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
3 – True worship is a very intimate relationship a person has with Jesus Christ.
If under the preaching of God’s word, God’s Spirit speaks to you to make things right or to confess sin or to dedicate more of your time and self to God, that is between you and Jesus, not you and the preacher.

Worship is adoration, devotion and respect that we give to the Lord, but it is more.
Worship is witnessed by others by the love, joy and adulation seen in our face and it heard in our voice as we speak our Lord’s name.
Worship is witnessed by our family, our children and our friends as we honor the Lord’s house and imitate His person.
Worship is witnessed a man’s loyalty and commitment to Christ and His Church.
***Do you get more joy out of a ballgame than singing and praising the Lord? If you weigh out a little deeper into some uncharted waters, the things of God would bring you greater joy.

How does a believer in Christ become a worshiper of Christ.

To make worship as simple as possible let’s break it into three parts:
I - First, we must Behold Him
II - Second, we must Bow before Him
III - Third, we must Bless Him.

I - “Behold Him.”
Over 1300 times the word “Behold” is used in the Scriptures.
Look at three examples only:
1 - Look at John 1:29. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John the Baptist was touched by Jesus before he was born.
The very name of Christ caused John to get excited when he was in his mother’s womb.
When John became an adult, he was “the man!”
He was the one Israel looked to and revered as the prophet of God. But, when Jesus came along, John said, I must decrease and he must increase.
A true worshiper lifts up Christ while he becomes less and less. But as he becomes less and less, in God’s eyes he becomes more and more.
John told his followers to now follow Christ.

Notice the words, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.” Think about what Jesus did for you.
Behold Him. Take a deeper look at his life and read His Word.
**Worship comes from knowing Christ’s life in detail. “Behold Him!”

2 - Look at Mark 16:6. The angel appeared to the women at the tomb on resurrection morning. When the women saw the stone rolled away and the body of Christ gone, as read, “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
The angel was saying examine yourself and realize that He is risen.
He is alive. He lives forever like He was saying...
** Worship comes from understanding what the resurrection means.
It means to the believer, 1) Your sins are gone. 2) Your savior lives. 3) He is your intercessor today. 4) He loves you. 5) He is watching over you. 6) He will give you grace day by day. 7) One day he will take you home. 8) You’re divinely complete.

3) Look at Luke 24:39. Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead though all the disciples testified to Thomas that they had seen the Lord. A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas and said in Luke 24:39, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
True worship is hands on. It is not hearing from another what worship is about. It is you individually beholding Him.
It is you seeing Him for who he is and falling in love with Him.
It is you considering His words and deciding what to do as you worship Him in your heart.
**Worship comes from a personal relationship with the Lord.

The worship that makes a difference in our lives and others takes place during the week.
Then gathering at God’s Church becomes more precious.
Singing songs and giving praises to Jesus Christ becomes very enjoyable to a worshiper.

To those who Behold Him, their lives changed.
Then, their life will change those around him.
--Spending time alone with Jesus will make you a discoverer.
…He is the most awesome person in all the world.
... He loves you more than your very best friend.
…He wants the best for you in time and eternity for you.
…Drawing near to him will not hurt you but help you greatly.
…He is more striking than a falling star..
--You will discover:
…He is more radiant than a crimson sunrise…
…He is more serene than a gentle breeze blowing over a Kansas wheat field.
…He is more amazing than the snow capped peaks of Mt. Everest…
…He is more peaceful than the fragrance after the rain.
…He is more fragrant than a bouquet of roses.
…And He is more precious that a new born baby.
In I Chronicles 16:29 David was having a worship service and said, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

II – BOW BEFORE HIM. Psalms 95:1-10
95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
To “bow” before our Lord is to humble ourselves before Him.
It is when we yield our will to Him.
It is when we give to Him all of our rights to our lives.
Let me give you an illustration of Worship:
How many of you fish? When you go fishing, do you wait till the morning you are to leave at 5:00 to gather you tackle, your fishing poles, pack your bags, gas up your truck and prepare for the trip? No!
A good fisherman will be thinking about the trip for weeks.
He will think and plan and prepare for his trip so when he leaves the next morning everything is ready to go.
The same is true with a hunter, a boater or a musician.

In the same way there is planning and preparation and participation for the true worshipper.
If we don’t plan and prepare for Sunday worship there will be little participation on our part.
Just as a prepared fisherman enjoys a good day of fishing, the man that plans and prepares for worship will enjoy a day of worship with the Lord.

May I encourage you either Saturday night to spend time in the scriptures and praying for a good service on Sunday or else get up thirty minutes early on Sunday morning, which means go to bed earlier on Saturday night and give yourself to the worship of the Lord before you get to Gods’ house on Sunday morning.
What will happen?
In time as you behold Him and bow or yield your life to Him, Heaven will come down and glory will fill your soul.

III – BLESS THE LORD
In the Bible we see a picture of one who beheld the Lord and bowed before Him. Then he blessed the Lord.
At first, this man did not know God.
-He was on a road in life that would eventually end up in Hell.
-He lived in what is known today as modern day, Iraq.
-He may have worshiped the moon god Allah.

But, God revealed Himself to Him and this man beheld God and gave His life to God.

Today we would use the term in the New Testament, “God saved Him. That man was Abraham.” Genesis 12:1

God was very, very good to Abraham. Genesis 13:1-2
As Abraham walked God’s way – he made many mistakes.
But, God delivered Abraham time and time again.

One of the great desires of a Jewish man and woman was to have a Baby, but Sarah; Abraham’s wife was barren.

As Abraham walked with God, God told Abraham, I am going to give you a son. I am going to make you a great nation.
From that son, your people will cover the earth as the sand of the sea.

And Abraham walked with God. He was 75, Sarah 65…
24 years passed and Abraham and Sarah had no son together.
Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 89.

The angel of the Lord came to Abraham and told him. “This time next year you will have your son.”
Sarah heard the news and laugh. “How can I who am old and long pass child bearing have a son she thought.”

Hey folks, the God who saves our soul from an eternal hell because of his mercy and grace and the work of His Son on Calvary can work miracles any time he desires.

Guess what? A year lady there was a little baby crying in Abraham’s tent, born to his wife, Sarah.
She was 90 and Abraham was 100.

Let me tell you, Abraham loved that kid like a Father, a grandfather and a great grand father.

For seventeen years, Abraham loved Isaac and Isaac loved Dad.
They walked and talked and Abraham taught Isaac about God and His greatness. He taught Isaac God words and all God had done.

They hunted together. They worked together. They learned together. They worshipped together.

Then one day God tells Abraham He is going to show the world what true worship is all about.
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.


1 - This worship took Preparation. Genesis 22:3-4
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
Abraham made preparation for this worship service.
-So Abraham got up early in the morning, packed the food and water needed and saddled his ass, took two of his young men and Isaac.
-They traveled for three days before they saw Moriah.

2 - This worship took Plans.
Genesis 22: 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. What are they going to do? They are going to worship.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
Abraham stopped and told his young men to stay there, that he and his son were going to go and worship God and come back.
Abraham made plans how to fulfill this worship service.

Abraham took the wood and laid it on Isaac’s back and took the knife and fire and they headed towards Mt Moriah.
a. Wood was the altar. We need to bring our altar or worship of God with us if we are to worship God. What does that mean?
If your home was to be warm years ago, you had to go out and cut your own wood. If your worship is cold, you haven’t been splitting enough wood. You haven’t been putting your spiritual back into it.
If you are to worship God, cut your own wood.

b. The knife represents the word of God which is a two-edged sword.
God’s word will do surgery on you. Let me insure you that if you allow God to do the surgery needed on your heart at home, you would never get your toes stepped on at Church.

c. The fire is the Holy Spirit. He will burn away sin and He will purify your life. He will inspire you and fill you with enthusiasm. The very word “Inspiration” in the Bible means to be enthusiastic.

Abraham brought these item with him to the worship service.

3 – This worship took Participation.
They get to the mountain and Isaac speaks, 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Did Abraham forget something? No!
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
As they walked they talked and I am sure Abraham revealed to Isaac what must happen.
For Isaac a 17-year-old to hear, “Son you are God’s sacrifice. You must die,” must have been a blow to him, but he never flinched.
Now we see worship from Abraham and from Isaac.
--Abraham is willing to give God his greatest love, the very best thing in his life. He binds Isaac’s hands and Isaac willingly lets him
--Abraham raises his hands in the air to take his sons life and Isaac says not a word.
His worship and understanding of God is “I will die if that is what God wants.” I will give you my very life.
Then Suddenly the Lord called from heaven.
11 Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
What happened? One out of 10,000 times God may take a life only to give them greater rewards in the resurrection. But 99,999 times out of 1,000 to those who worship, God gives them back every thing they were willing to give and much, much more.

If you ever come to the place where you worship God and you are willing to bless God with your all, you will discover God will bless you the desires of your heart.
Abraham called the place Jehovahjireh.
Jehovahjireh means the “God who provides.”
For God had provided a sacrifice.
God not only gave Isaac back to Abraham but he provided a sacrifice in the place of his son and sent greater blessings.

Have you Beheld Jehovah Jireh?
When you do you will never forget the sacrifice He gave for you!


True Illustration: I read this in the paper a few years ago. A good man who had dated a woman for some time, loved her dearly and desired to marry her.
-He planned an extravagant evening.
-He planned a meal at a fancy restaurant.
-He had the waiter bring a special desert and in the whip cream was placed a beautiful diamond ring.
When she found the ring, the man gave to the woman he loved a precious note that said, I love you. I could spend the rest of my life with you. Will you spend your with me. Will you marry me?
The woman looked at him and said, “I told you, we were only friends.”

Wait! -- A lot of people in churches and out of churches have treated Jesus Christ the same way.
They want to be Jesus’ friend, but they don’t want to commit their lives to him in Salvation. True worship takes commitment.
David Brainerd was an American colonial missionary to the Indians who died at the age of twenty-nine reveals that worship humbles you.
His diary reveals a young man intensely committed to God. Brainerd once said to Jonathan Edwards: “I do not go to heaven to be advanced but to give honor to God.
It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, whether I have a high seat or a low seat there...My heaven is to please God and glorify Him, and give all to Him, and to be wholly devoted to His glory.”
Vance Havner reveals that worship makes you faithful. He said, A wife who is 85% faithful to her husband is not faithful at all. There is no such thing as part-time loyalty to Jesus Christ.
We worship God as we behold his worth or worthiness.
to look God-ward, and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see. The Bible calls this activity "glorifying God" or "giving glory to God," and views it as the ultimate end, and from one point of view, the whole duty of man (Ps. 29:2; 96:6; 1 Cor. 10:31).
Scripture views the glorifying of God as a six-fold activity:
1 - Praising God for all that he is and all his achievements;
2 - Thanking him for his gifts and his goodness to us;
3 - Asking him to meet our own and others' needs;
4 - Offering him our gifts, our service, and ourselves;
5 - Learning of him from his word, read, study, hear preaching, and obeying his voice;
6 - Telling others of his worth, both by public confession and testimony to what he has done for us.
Worship is the submission of all our nature to God.
It is when our conscience is quicken and made alive to His holiness.
It is the nourishment of mind with His truth.
It is the purifying of imagination by seeing His beauty.
It is the opening of our heart to His love.
It is the surrender of our will to His purpose.
Then God’s worshipers come together in adoration and selfless praise to our Lord and our God.

Ten Most Wanted

THE TEN MOST WANTED – THE WORSHIPER

In this study we will set sail from common waters to some unchartered waters in the Christians life.
The waters will become deeper from ankle deep to neck deep.
I hope you will consider them and become familiar with these waters in your life time as soon as possible.
From studying the Scriptures it is evident that God’s best men are those with Biblical attributes; Christ-like character; Spirit filled men.
Last week we saw one of God’s Top Ten Men, The Faithful Man.
The “faithful man” may not have had an unblemished record as was the case with King David, Peter or John Mark.
Their youth may have been tainted with activities unbecoming to a believer like Jacob or Gideon.
But, they became faithful as they matured and remained faithful to the Lord till their last days. Become one of God’s “Top Ten.” be faithful.

A second great character trait found among God’s “Ten Most Wanted Men” is the man who knows how to worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth.


** If you are a baseball coach, you look for players with talent of the game. If you are a conductor of an orchestra you look for musicians with talent as well. God is looking for Christians with worshipful hearts.

When our Lord went to Samaria, He stopped by Jacob’s well and there He conversed with a woman.
He reveals to her what true worship is all about.
In John 4:23 we read, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

A Christian is a unique being. Whereas most people in the world are body and soul with a human spirit dormant to God or dead to spiritual worship; the Christian’s spirit has been awaken or made alive to spiritual things (Ephesians 2:1).

**True worship of God is not the activity of the flesh without but the adoration of the spirit from within as God’s child meditates on His Word or hears truth proclaimed and then participates in that worship time.

**That doesn’t mean your body and soul isn’t involved. They are very much involved. Your physical body gets you here every service.
Some folks have said, ‘I couldn’t make it Sunday preacher, but I was there in spirit.” I don’t want any spirits flying around the church.
I can’t hear a spirit sing or see a spirit smile. I would much rather have you here in the flesh. If the spirit is singing inside, your body is singing outside.
Your soul which is your mind will and emotions need to be stirred by God’s Spirit.
Your spirit is that part of you that is fed spiritual water, manna or meat from God’s word, which ever you can handle in a worship service.

In the introduction let me give you three thoughts to begin:
1 – If we worship God in spirit then our spirit must be cleansed and our sins confessed. Why? Because God is holy! That is ankle deep water. You cannot worship God with sin in your life. It is just impossible.
Psalms 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Understand something for interesting about true worship.
Worship doesn’t take place in a pew or a church, though you should be faithful to God’s church. Worship takes place in your heart.

I Corinthians 3: 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
2 – If we worship God in spirit, we will find the worship service very quite at time, for we are allowing God’s spirit to be just what He is.
He is a surgeon. Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
3 – True worship is a very intimate relationship a person has with Jesus Christ.
If under the preaching of God’s word, God’s Spirit speaks to you to make things right or to confess sin or to dedicate more of your time and self to God, that is between you and Jesus, not you and the preacher.

Worship is adoration, devotion and respect that we give to the Lord, but it is more.
Worship is witnessed by others by the love, joy and adulation seen in our face and it heard in our voice as we speak our Lord’s name.
Worship is witnessed by our family, our children and our friends as we honor the Lord’s house and imitate His person.
Worship is witnessed a man’s loyalty and commitment to Christ and His Church.
***Do you get more joy out of a ballgame than singing and praising the Lord? If you weigh out a little deeper into some uncharted waters, the things of God would bring you greater joy.

How does a believer in Christ become a worshiper of Christ.

To make worship as simple as possible let’s break it into three parts:
I - First, we must Behold Him
II - Second, we must Bow before Him
III - Third, we must Bless Him.

I - “Behold Him.”
Over 1300 times the word “Behold” is used in the Scriptures.
Look at three examples only:
1 - Look at John 1:29. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John the Baptist was touched by Jesus before he was born.
The very name of Christ caused John to get excited when he was in his mother’s womb.
When John became an adult, he was “the man!”
He was the one Israel looked to and revered as the prophet of God. But, when Jesus came along, John said, I must decrease and he must increase.
A true worshiper lifts up Christ while he becomes less and less. But as he becomes less and less, in God’s eyes he becomes more and more.
John told his followers to now follow Christ.

Notice the words, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.” Think about what Jesus did for you.
Behold Him. Take a deeper look at his life and read His Word.
**Worship comes from knowing Christ’s life in detail. “Behold Him!”

2 - Look at Mark 16:6. The angel appeared to the women at the tomb on resurrection morning. When the women saw the stone rolled away and the body of Christ gone, as read, “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
The angel was saying examine yourself and realize that He is risen.
He is alive. He lives forever like He was saying...
** Worship comes from understanding what the resurrection means.
It means to the believer, 1) Your sins are gone. 2) Your savior lives. 3) He is your intercessor today. 4) He loves you. 5) He is watching over you. 6) He will give you grace day by day. 7) One day he will take you home. 8) You’re divinely complete.

3) Look at Luke 24:39. Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead though all the disciples testified to Thomas that they had seen the Lord. A week later Jesus appeared to Thomas and said in Luke 24:39, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
True worship is hands on. It is not hearing from another what worship is about. It is you individually beholding Him.
It is you seeing Him for who he is and falling in love with Him.
It is you considering His words and deciding what to do as you worship Him in your heart.
**Worship comes from a personal relationship with the Lord.

The worship that makes a difference in our lives and others takes place during the week.
Then gathering at God’s Church becomes more precious.
Singing songs and giving praises to Jesus Christ becomes very enjoyable to a worshiper.

To those who Behold Him, their lives changed.
Then, their life will change those around him.
--Spending time alone with Jesus will make you a discoverer.
…He is the most awesome person in all the world.
... He loves you more than your very best friend.
…He wants the best for you in time and eternity for you.
…Drawing near to him will not hurt you but help you greatly.
…He is more striking than a falling star..
--You will discover:
…He is more radiant than a crimson sunrise…
…He is more serene than a gentle breeze blowing over a Kansas wheat field.
…He is more amazing than the snow capped peaks of Mt. Everest…
…He is more peaceful than the fragrance after the rain.
…He is more fragrant than a bouquet of roses.
…And He is more precious that a new born baby.
In I Chronicles 16:29 David was having a worship service and said, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

II – BOW BEFORE HIM. Psalms 95:1-10
95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
To “bow” before our Lord is to humble ourselves before Him.
It is when we yield our will to Him.
It is when we give to Him all of our rights to our lives.
Let me give you an illustration of Worship:
How many of you fish? When you go fishing, do you wait till the morning you are to leave at 5:00 to gather you tackle, your fishing poles, pack your bags, gas up your truck and prepare for the trip? No!
A good fisherman will be thinking about the trip for weeks.
He will think and plan and prepare for his trip so when he leaves the next morning everything is ready to go.
The same is true with a hunter, a boater or a musician.

In the same way there is planning and preparation and participation for the true worshipper.
If we don’t plan and prepare for Sunday worship there will be little participation on our part.
Just as a prepared fisherman enjoys a good day of fishing, the man that plans and prepares for worship will enjoy a day of worship with the Lord.

May I encourage you either Saturday night to spend time in the scriptures and praying for a good service on Sunday or else get up thirty minutes early on Sunday morning, which means go to bed earlier on Saturday night and give yourself to the worship of the Lord before you get to Gods’ house on Sunday morning.
What will happen?
In time as you behold Him and bow or yield your life to Him, Heaven will come down and glory will fill your soul.

III – BLESS THE LORD
In the Bible we see a picture of one who beheld the Lord and bowed before Him. Then he blessed the Lord.
At first, this man did not know God.
-He was on a road in life that would eventually end up in Hell.
-He lived in what is known today as modern day, Iraq.
-He may have worshiped the moon god Allah.

But, God revealed Himself to Him and this man beheld God and gave His life to God.

Today we would use the term in the New Testament, “God saved Him. That man was Abraham.” Genesis 12:1

God was very, very good to Abraham. Genesis 13:1-2
As Abraham walked God’s way – he made many mistakes.
But, God delivered Abraham time and time again.

One of the great desires of a Jewish man and woman was to have a Baby, but Sarah; Abraham’s wife was barren.

As Abraham walked with God, God told Abraham, I am going to give you a son. I am going to make you a great nation.
From that son, your people will cover the earth as the sand of the sea.

And Abraham walked with God. He was 75, Sarah 65…
24 years passed and Abraham and Sarah had no son together.
Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 89.

The angel of the Lord came to Abraham and told him. “This time next year you will have your son.”
Sarah heard the news and laugh. “How can I who am old and long pass child bearing have a son she thought.”

Hey folks, the God who saves our soul from an eternal hell because of his mercy and grace and the work of His Son on Calvary can work miracles any time he desires.

Guess what? A year lady there was a little baby crying in Abraham’s tent, born to his wife, Sarah.
She was 90 and Abraham was 100.

Let me tell you, Abraham loved that kid like a Father, a grandfather and a great grand father.

For seventeen years, Abraham loved Isaac and Isaac loved Dad.
They walked and talked and Abraham taught Isaac about God and His greatness. He taught Isaac God words and all God had done.

They hunted together. They worked together. They learned together. They worshipped together.

Then one day God tells Abraham He is going to show the world what true worship is all about.
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.


1 - This worship took Preparation. Genesis 22:3-4
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
Abraham made preparation for this worship service.
-So Abraham got up early in the morning, packed the food and water needed and saddled his ass, took two of his young men and Isaac.
-They traveled for three days before they saw Moriah.

2 - This worship took Plans.
Genesis 22: 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. What are they going to do? They are going to worship.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
Abraham stopped and told his young men to stay there, that he and his son were going to go and worship God and come back.
Abraham made plans how to fulfill this worship service.

Abraham took the wood and laid it on Isaac’s back and took the knife and fire and they headed towards Mt Moriah.
a. Wood was the altar. We need to bring our altar or worship of God with us if we are to worship God. What does that mean?
If your home was to be warm years ago, you had to go out and cut your own wood. If your worship is cold, you haven’t been splitting enough wood. You haven’t been putting your spiritual back into it.
If you are to worship God, cut your own wood.

b. The knife represents the word of God which is a two-edged sword.
God’s word will do surgery on you. Let me insure you that if you allow God to do the surgery needed on your heart at home, you would never get your toes stepped on at Church.

c. The fire is the Holy Spirit. He will burn away sin and He will purify your life. He will inspire you and fill you with enthusiasm. The very word “Inspiration” in the Bible means to be enthusiastic.

Abraham brought these item with him to the worship service.

3 – This worship took Participation.
They get to the mountain and Isaac speaks, 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Did Abraham forget something? No!
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
As they walked they talked and I am sure Abraham revealed to Isaac what must happen.
For Isaac a 17-year-old to hear, “Son you are God’s sacrifice. You must die,” must have been a blow to him, but he never flinched.
Now we see worship from Abraham and from Isaac.
--Abraham is willing to give God his greatest love, the very best thing in his life. He binds Isaac’s hands and Isaac willingly lets him
--Abraham raises his hands in the air to take his sons life and Isaac says not a word.
His worship and understanding of God is “I will die if that is what God wants.” I will give you my very life.
Then Suddenly the Lord called from heaven.
11 Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
What happened? One out of 10,000 times God may take a life only to give them greater rewards in the resurrection. But 99,999 times out of 1,000 to those who worship, God gives them back every thing they were willing to give and much, much more.

If you ever come to the place where you worship God and you are willing to bless God with your all, you will discover God will bless you the desires of your heart.
Abraham called the place Jehovahjireh.
Jehovahjireh means the “God who provides.”
For God had provided a sacrifice.
God not only gave Isaac back to Abraham but he provided a sacrifice in the place of his son and sent greater blessings.

Have you Beheld Jehovah Jireh?
When you do you will never forget the sacrifice He gave for you!


True Illustration: I read this in the paper a few years ago. A good man who had dated a woman for some time, loved her dearly and desired to marry her.
-He planned an extravagant evening.
-He planned a meal at a fancy restaurant.
-He had the waiter bring a special desert and in the whip cream was placed a beautiful diamond ring.
When she found the ring, the man gave to the woman he loved a precious note that said, I love you. I could spend the rest of my life with you. Will you spend your with me. Will you marry me?
The woman looked at him and said, “I told you, we were only friends.”

Wait! -- A lot of people in churches and out of churches have treated Jesus Christ the same way.
They want to be Jesus’ friend, but they don’t want to commit their lives to him in Salvation. True worship takes commitment.
David Brainerd was an American colonial missionary to the Indians who died at the age of twenty-nine reveals that worship humbles you.
His diary reveals a young man intensely committed to God. Brainerd once said to Jonathan Edwards: “I do not go to heaven to be advanced but to give honor to God.
It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, whether I have a high seat or a low seat there...My heaven is to please God and glorify Him, and give all to Him, and to be wholly devoted to His glory.”
Vance Havner reveals that worship makes you faithful. He said, A wife who is 85% faithful to her husband is not faithful at all. There is no such thing as part-time loyalty to Jesus Christ.
We worship God as we behold his worth or worthiness.
to look God-ward, and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see. The Bible calls this activity "glorifying God" or "giving glory to God," and views it as the ultimate end, and from one point of view, the whole duty of man (Ps. 29:2; 96:6; 1 Cor. 10:31).
Scripture views the glorifying of God as a six-fold activity:
1 - Praising God for all that he is and all his achievements;
2 - Thanking him for his gifts and his goodness to us;
3 - Asking him to meet our own and others' needs;
4 - Offering him our gifts, our service, and ourselves;
5 - Learning of him from his word, read, study, hear preaching, and obeying his voice;
6 - Telling others of his worth, both by public confession and testimony to what he has done for us.
Worship is the submission of all our nature to God.
It is when our conscience is quicken and made alive to His holiness.
It is the nourishment of mind with His truth.
It is the purifying of imagination by seeing His beauty.
It is the opening of our heart to His love.
It is the surrender of our will to His purpose.
Then God’s worshipers come together in adoration and selfless praise to our Lord and our God.

Isaiah 21

THE MIRAGE IN THE DESERT

I – The Burden of the Babylon

A – Isaiah reveals the Mystery of Babylon
21:1 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
The phrase “the desert of the sea” again represents Babylon.
The significance of the phrase is to keep in mind that when Isaiah wrote this Babylon had not even become a world power.
They would not top the horizon of might and fame for 100 years.
When Babylon did come on the scene, they emerged swiftly and as powerfully as a mighty lion.
Fear struck in the hearts of every nation in the world as the roar of its military armies thundered across the known world.
If you recall Babylon existed many years before Nebuchadnezzar.
The seeds of Babylon were sown in the earth in Genesis 10 under the mighty Nimrod.
Isaiah sees that they will take root again and spring forth with mighty power.
They would conquer the ruthless and terrorizing Assyrians and then they would chasten Judah.

It is mystery that Isaiah would call them the “desert of the sea?”
The city of Babylon was built in such a way that channels of the Euphrates River flowed through the city.
There were over sixty miles of towers and walls towering into the air to protect it from invasion.
The fortress was so mighty that all in Babylon declared it to be impregnable, invincible and unconquerable.
This mighty river that flowed under certain sections of the walls provided more than enough water for all its residents.
Babylon was so luscious at one time that one of two of the Seven Wonders of the World which was the beautiful hanging gardens existed inside these walls.

This garden stood three to four stories tall with tiers stretching forth with trees from all over the world.
There were fruit trees and flowering trees. There were vines and vineyards. There were flowers, plants and shrubs of all colors and sizes that decked these gardens with beauty unrivaled to any other garden in the world.
And yet Isaiah calls this beautiful city “the desert of the sea.” Why?
God always sees beyond the surface of a nation and beyond the outward attractiveness of a person.

Babylon with all of its glitter and glamour was most attractive.
Babylon with its greatness and intellectual leaders were admirable.
Babylon with its military power and medical achievements were envied by the world.
Babylon was a place so beautiful that even after God had set his people free from Babylonian captivity to go home to Israel and build a life for themselves 90% of the Jewish people stayed in Babylon.
So why does Isaiah call it the desert of the sea?
Babylon was a mirage in the desert. As a thirsty pilgrim crossing the desert hallucinates from lack of water and sees an oasis and runs to it, fro refreshment and comfort and rest, only to awake to nothing but heat and worthless sand, so Isaiah paints a picture of prophecy to the whole world that those who live for this world will one day awake to realize it was all a mirage, a delusion, a fantasy that will never come true.
And they will sense the heat and thirst of hell for eternity.
Jesus said in Matthew 11, 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Jesus said in John 7: 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

If you remember the sermon from Isaiah 13 on Babylon, you will recall that 90% of the world today is living the Babylonian life.
constitution, creed and culture.
Its constitutional was a government that was governed without God.
Its creed was a religion that cried all roads lead to God.
Its culture was a lifestyle that said, “everything goes.”
There is no right or wrong, everything is relative. What might have been wrong in the past is alright today. It says if it feels good do it. But, faith is not part of reality. Well, hello America!

Then in verse two Isaiah has a vision. He sees a mighty bear rise up and with his mighty power; he slays the lion (Daniel 2:7 & 7:5). In about 180 years from the time Daniel wrote these words the Media – Persian Empire would conquer the mighty Babylon Empire in one night.
2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

B – Isaiah reveals the Mercy of God
Verse three is a beautiful verse revealing the holy mercy of Almighty God. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
The tears and the temperament of a prophet reveal the heart of God.
Example; When Moses came off the Mount after receiving the Ten Commandments from God, he was angry with Israel for their sins.
When Jeremiah preached to Judah of God’s judgment, he wept often.
Here, we see Isaiah filled with pain from with, representing the heart of God as He must inflict judgment on a rebellious nation.
The word p-a-i-n means grief and sorrow.
The word p-a-n-g means a cramp; a spasm a wrenching pain that sets in until the judgment is over and Isaiah give the example of a woman in labor.
God’s heart is broken. God does not want to judge you or a nation, but God is holy and holiness must judge sin.
Those who will not repent and receive God’s offer of mercy must ultimately meet God’s wrath.
. The choice of judgment is up to man.
Thought physical Babylon would be destroyed the seeds of its religion and commercial empire live on today in Russia, China, Europe, South America, North America and in every government in the world.
God reveals to us through John in Revelation 17 and 18 the final destruction of Babylon.
C – Isaiah reveals the Message of God.
Look in verse 5-6. God says watch, wait and watch. Prepare the table,
watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
Then Isaiah’s vision takes him farther in the future. He sees a hundred and eighty years into the future. Then he sees over 2700 years.
He sees “a couple of horsemen” coming in verse 7 & 9. They are bringing a message to the world. What is that message: It is the words of judgment, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground” (v 9).
See the word, “O my threshing and my corn in verse 10.” That means it was the time of the harvest. It was a time of judgment.
Only two books in the Bible record the words, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” Isaiah and Revelation.
In Revelation 14:8 we read, “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
Don’t get drunk on the pleasures of this world friend, it is only a mirage. It won’t satisfy you in time or for eternity.
We read again in Revelation 18:2, “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
The world a lost person lives in is a cage.
An unsaved person is in a cage, a prison with every wicked demon and hellish power on earth. They are not free. They are slaves to sin and Satan. They are a bird in prison.
Only Jesus can set a person free! If you have been washed in His blood, then you are free. You are outside that cage that one day will be loosed from this world and drop into eternal fires.

II – The Burden of Edom
There are but two verses given in this chapter revealing the judgment God is going to levy on Edom. Question: Why is God going to destroy Edom or Dumah?
A – The Disease of their Blindness.
11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
The Edomites were walking in darkness. It was like a disease that grew darker and darker with every generation.
God’s watchman cried “What of the night?”
He was getting their attention by saying, “Don’t you realize how dark the world is, you are walking in.
The country of Edom was founded by Jacob's brother twin brother Esau. The only thing they had in common was their mother’s womb and they even fought in there.
Esau was the firstborn and heir to the birthright which he despised. He sold his birthright for a mess of red bean stew.
Esau one day wanted that inheritance back but it was not to be and he held a grudge, a hate against his brother for over 1,000 years.
Their hate darken Esau’s eyes and with every generation that hate grew and the darkness became darker.
Jacob’s descendants, Israel, and Esau’s descendants, the Edomites never got along.
Esau’s descendants resided in Mount Sier.
Isaiah’s prophecy reveals they will soon face extermination..

God’s word teaches forgiveness.
A person without Christ has a very difficult time forgiving.
It is evidently clear that Esau’s family has never forgiven Jacob’s family as long as they lived.
God’s judgment fell on them because of their unforgiving spirit.
In Psalms 137:7 we read, "Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, "Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation!"
We saw God’s heart when he must judge a nation and it was a loving and compassionate heart. But Edom was cheering the Babylonians as they invaded, killed and conquered Judah.
Obadiah (10-15) tells us that Edom rejoiced at Judah’s fall and took the opportunity to raid the country of Israel and take the spoils and even help the Babylon collect the stragglers

In Ezekiel 35:3-9 we discover another truth. “What goes around comes around.” Sin has a boomerang affect on everyone.”
In delivering punishments to various nations, we learn that God often turns the sinner’s sin against the sinner.
Edom rejoiced at the pillaging of Israel and five years later, Nebuchadnezzar swept through again, destroying several nations and emptying their lands -- including Edom. Here is what God promised Edom.
Ezekiel 35:" 3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
7 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.
8 And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD..
God promised that travelers would no longer pass that way; the country would be so litter with slain that people would avoid the stench. It would literary become a grave yard.
But most importantly, God states that the country would never be rebuilt.

Just as Edom had perpetual hatred for Israel, the prophecy was that their country would remain perpetually empty.
The Edomites were invaded by Babylon in the sixth century and Mount Seir was completely destroyed around 200 years before Christ.
Many of the families of Edom would join with Rome. One such family of history we know as the Herod’s did so.
The Disease of their blindness was hate, unforgiveness, a grudge.

B – The Darkness of their Blindness
12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.

The Edmonites were so humbled that they finally began to accept the their Jewish brothers as friends. When the morning came which speaks of the day of Christ, they had opportunity to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.
But as quickly as the morning came, the night fell, so the Moabites like unto Israel as a whole rejected the Messiah.
They joined with Israel in 70 A.D. to fight against the Romans when Titus destroyed Jerusalem, burned to temple and conquered the land.
They finally found forgiveness but it was too little to late.
Unsaved men look at Babylon and realizes this world is a mirage. You are seeking for something you will never attain.
Saint or sinner, your sins will blind you. Your hate will drop you in a dark pit that will grow darker and darker till those sins are confessed.

III – The Burden of Arabia
13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.
In the last section of this chapter, Isaiah turns his attention to the area we would call today Saudi Arabia. They were once friends with Israel. They traded with Solomon in gold and textiles.
The three tribes, Dedanim, (Nomadic desert dwellers), were descendants of Cush who settled in Africa at first.
Tema and Kedar were descendants of Ishmael. That settled in Arabia and lived in Mesopotamia and Syria.
These tribes mixed in their marriages and worship. They were near of kin. They were supposedly friends and not enemies but when judgment fell a different story unfolded.
They could have given a cup of water; they could have given clothing to the naked; shelter to the stragglers; or food to the hungry but they fled with their swords turning their back on helping God’s people and Isaiah predicts there judgment.

There judgment will be the darkness of the Edomites.
History records that in 732 and 725 the Assyrians did indeed plunge into the deserts of Arabia and Babylon bring death.
-But, far worse than the darkness of war that settled in Arabian, a deeper spiritual darkness covers the land till today.
-Vicious tribes have waged war against each other down to our own century.
-To this day the ruler of Saudi Arabia must maintain two armies to watch each other in order to have peace.
-They on one hand claim to be the friends of America and on the other hand 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9-11 were from Saudi Arabia

The Muslim darkness is particularly grim across the world and in Arabia is the heart of that darkness. Proof is in the man Edi Amin.
Edi Amin was the Ugandan leader who wanted to be known for having the first Occultist country in our century.
-He expelled all the Indians and Pakistani in 1972 saying, “He wanted Uganda to be a “Black man’s country.”
-He promotes a campaign against rival tribes murdering between 100,000 and 500,000.
-He killed the judges, chief justices, diplomats, preachers, priest, bankers, journalist, tribal leaders and anyone he thought my be a threat.
-He was finally driven from power and no country would give him refuge but one, Saudi Arabia.
Jesus said, “You are either for me or against me.” You can’t straddle the fence. A compromiser walks in occult darkness.
Understand that a person doesn’t walk in complete darkness but a life of compromise slowly moves that person into that blinding darkness.
Question: Has Satan brought this compromising darkness to America?
Are people and churches straddling the fence?
Have we ceased to speak truth for fear of persecution?
Yes, friend the Arabian darkness is here.
In one university in Virginia, two new politically correct rules have been publicized.
1) It says, If you cringe when a known Sodomite grabs your arm, you may be expelled.
2) Further, if you avoid Sodomites and Lesbians on purpose, you can also be denied the experience of a University education.

The world says, “love everybody.” And God says we should love everybody.” But there is a different in loving a person for the purpose of presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ to them and being a friend to them and becoming like them.
I love my kids but I don’t want them running with guys that drink and cuss and chase women. Why? It might influence them to do so.
I don’t want them going to churches that are compromising churches that won’t preach the whole council of God.
And I don’t want them fellowshipping with Sodomites and Lesbians because you have the tendency to become like the people you hang around.

How do we treat a dark world?
1 – We must be a light like Jesus Christ.
2 – We must have love and compassion but not be like that world.
3 – We must be separate from the world. We must not straddle the fence. This world will never be your friend. It will poison you and it will blind you.
If you are a believer, compromising with this world will cause your children to walk in darkness and may damn their souls for eternity.
Christians, walk in the light. Stay in the Bible, Go to Church every times the doors are open. Pray, witness and just stand up for God.