You don't realize it, but sometimes I'm just,
I'm back there and I just laugh, saying,
Lord, I can't believe what, 25 years ago,
honestly, I would, I just laughed at you
guys.
My mom will tell you, she's here this
morning.
Why are you putting up your hand?
That's just weird.
You guys are so weak.
What is this sissy stuff?
This is for girls.
Mocking, mocking, mocking, until God broke my heart.
See, it was a heart issue.
Now when the scriptural truths come alive, I
have to worship.
I have to worship.
Tell the woman that Jesus freed from several
demons not to worship anymore.
She has to.
I have to.
It's like I have to get up in
the morning.
I have to drink water.
I have to eat breakfast.
I have to worship God.
It's not me.
It's not my flesh.
There's something in me crying, Abba, Father, because
the heart's been broken.
And I understand that I was one choice.
I don't even know why I'm here this
morning.
I should have been dead 20 times over
and buried in Lancaster 25 years ago.
Total, two different vehicles, lit a crazy, why
didn't God, why, why God?
Because through His grace and His mercy, He
reached down and He saved me.
So when I sing amazing grace, how sweet
the sound that saved a wretch like me,
it's like it jumps within my soul because
I've experienced it.
That's the difference.
That right there is the difference.
When you're falling as a follower of Christ,
you need to be a worshiper and a
worker.
But what can happen is sometimes we fall
in this worker camp only.
And this is dangerous because you can be
so busy and doing things for God and
being so tied up in the things of
God that you forget about being the worshiper.
You can focus on the external but not
the internal.
And that's why we encourage people when possible
to rotate ushering, rotate sound, rotate media, rotate
even worship because if it's all about working
and working and working, you forget the worshiper
aspect.
And let me remind you that worship is
what changes the heart.
Worship changes the heart.
And it kind of breaks my heart that
on nights when we do have worship nights,
there's not as many people.
And it's often it's the workers who are
not at the worship night.
Isn't that interesting?
Because we sometimes get caught in this, you
know, I've got to work for God when
God says the priority is seeking me and
getting your heart right.
Now the danger with the worshiper is the
famous saying all of you have heard, you're
too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.
That's what the worshiper is.
They're too heavenly minded sometimes.
So you have to work.
A worshiper has to work.
And that's kind of the difficulty sometimes.
They just want to worship God.
They don't want to work and serve in
any capacity.
But then the worker, the downside to just
worker is found in revelation.
And you know this verse as well.
I know your work, your labor, and all
that you do, but you have left your
first love.
You have left your first love.
And folks, just hear my heart on this
topic.
I think one danger that we're seeing is
we have a lot of workers, but not
a lot of worshipers.
One way you can discern is if some
of these songs are just too emotional for
you.
Saying, oh, Jesus, yeah, yeah, Jesus, you know,
it's happy.
I'm just, your hearts, there could be something
wrong with the heart.
Because if we just work, work, work, and
we don't worship, the heart doesn't change.
And we become cold and callous.
Here's a quick test.
Just don't raise your hand, but say, Lord,
is it I?
Are you known to be full of joy
and peace and love and gentleness and kindness,
longsuffering?
You're a worshiper.
God's changed your heart.
Or are you overbearing, dogmatic, hard, rigid, arrogant,
mean?
And that's what will happen to a worker.
Been there, done that, right?
And I can go back there real quick
if I'm not careful, if I don't jump
back on the worshiping side.
But that's what happens to a worker without
worshiping, without that broken heart, without that tender
heart.
They become very rigid and very hard to
work with.
Yeah, but I'm working for God.
Yeah, but you're hurting everybody else.
Let's read that verse if it's not convicting
enough.
I know your works, Revelation 2.2. I
know your works, your labor, your patience, and
you cannot bear those who are evil.
And you've tested those who say they are
apostles and are not, and have found them
liars.
And you have persevered and have patience and
have labored for my namesake and have not
become weary.
Now, to me, this is amazing because just
reading over it, people might say, well, Jesus,
you're being too hard.
Look at these people.
They had works.
They had labor.
They were patient.
They pointed out false teachers.
In other words, they were biblically sound.
They were biblically sound.
They knew their Bible.
They pointed out all error.
They were patient.
They were hardworking.
They were even tired from working so hard.
And Jesus gives a strong rebuke.
Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you
have left your first love.
And he goes on to say, remember from
where you have fallen.
This person, a worker, a worker who's not
a worshiper has fallen.
They have fallen.
They are drifted away from God because it's
all about rules and regulations and all these
things.
And God says, come back to the heart
of the matter.
Remember where you have fallen.
Repent.
To tell a worker they need to repent
is anathema.
They just be accursed.
They're like, you can't say that.
You can't say that.
But, yes, you can.
A worker needs to repent.
A worshiper needs to repent as well.
If all they're into is worshiping and worshiping
and they don't do any work.
And what can happen, I've seen this side
too, is we need you in children's ministry.
Oh, no, I'm not good with kids.
I'm just going to worship.
We need you helping usher.
Oh, I'm not good with people.
Okay, how about sound and media?
No, I don't know how to use a
computer.
I'm just going to worship.
But that can become lazy, actually.
If all we do, because work flows out
of our heart, being in a right relationship
with God.
So he tells the worker, remember from where
you have fallen.
Repent and do the first works or else
I will come to you quickly and remove
your lampstand from its place unless you repent.
Here's the sad thing that I see a
lot.
You have the worker here.
And God calls them to repent.
And a worker doesn't want to repent because
they think they are already humble.
They don't need to repent.
Everybody else needs to repent.
So they never, never feel the total filling
of the Holy Spirit.
They never have that love and peace and
joy of the Holy Spirit.
This brokenness that I talk about.
They can just sit and worship God for
an hour.
And I don't mean to keep belaboring the
point, but I really want to bring this
point home.
This is why it's hard for many people
to worship.
Because their heart is not right before God.
They don't want to worship because a worshiper.
Worshiping is a cry of the heart.
If you would have sang those songs 25
years ago, I would have laughed and called
you a bunch of sissies.
Big strong guy, right?
Bench pressing, a lot of weight, wanting to
beat people up.
What are you guys doing in there?
Come to Jesus, please.
He was just a carpenter.
Turned the other cheek guy.
He's not a man.
And then I came to read the Bible.
And oh boy, was I wrong.
I mean the Bible talks about.
You know all the different passages that said
he was led to the slaughter.
He opened not his mouth.
He's a lion from the tribe of Judah.
He's a conquering king.
He's a coming savior.
Even the devil must bow at the name
of Jesus Christ.
And I would read stories where Jesus would
walk out in legions of demons.
I mean if somebody said there's a legion
of demons in that room.
I mean most of us would be like
uh-oh.
What's going to happen even though we know
greater is he that's in me than he
that's in the world.
But Jesus would just walk out.
And they would tremble in his presence.
Jesus, don't throw us into the abyss.
He's a conquering king.
He's a lion from the tribe of Judah.
He died for us.
And you read in Revelation that a sword
goes out of his mouth that he strikes
the nation.
And rules the nation with a rod of
iron.
Treads a winepress.
And the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
So you see this image of Jesus is
not this weak, wimp person.
It's this magnificent savior full of grace and
mercy.
And when he changes your heart, when he
truly changes your heart.
I'm not talking about just playing church.
But when he breaks your heart to such
a degree that you say God I need
you.
Then you have to worship.
That's where worship comes from.
It comes from a heart that's been forgiven.
A hard heart can't worship God.
A hard, arrogant heart cannot worship God.
And that's my concern for workers.
And I've been on this camp.
And I can slip back in this camp
if I'm not careful.
Is we have a view of ourselves that's
really not healthy.
Because we think we're doing so much.
And God says it's but filthy rags in
my sight.
Unless you're a worshiper.
And then he says repent.
My favorite word as you know.
Repent.
And repent.
Please repent.
If this is convicting, I would encourage the
mother who's convicted to repent.
Your children need you broken.
The father who's convicted, repent.
Your family needs you broken.
How are we supposed to lead our families
in these dire times if we're not broken
and humble before God and worshiping him.
And I want to remind you too that
repentance is not good intentions.
Because what happens is people go yeah, that's
a good point.
I need to work on that.
That's not repentance.
Repentance actually works on that.
Repentance actually says God I've been wrong.
I've been a worker.
And I wonder why, let's just be honest.
As if we haven't already.
Why are so many people bored during worship?
Why do many people look like they're sitting
in a DMV?
Stepping on toes.
Yeah, it's time to step on toes.
Because unless you step on toes, you don't
move your foot.
But why is that?
I'm not talking about weirdness, folks.
And every time, sometimes people say well, you
know, we don't want to be charismatic and
weird.
No, neither do I.
But I want to be a worshiper.
So why do we look like we're, we
look at our phones, we text, we talk,
we're like we're in the DMV.
When it's a powerful worship, the reason is
there's something wrong with the heart.
Plain and simple.
I didn't come here to play church.
I came here to shoot you straight.
That's what's wrong.
Something is wrong with the heart.
I mean, if somebody on death row, you
know the saying dead man walking.
Where that comes from is somebody on death
row, they're walking to their death.
If the warden comes in and says, you
know what, you've been released, there's a door.
How do you think they would act?
Like they're in line at the DMV?
He'd probably fall on his knees as soon
as he got out of that place.
He'd say, I've been set free.
I can't believe it.
I've been set free.
Why?
Because the heart has been broken.
The heart's been, he experienced the grace and
forgiveness.
So we should experience grace and forgiveness.
People say, well, I like the old hymns.
Well, me too.
But do you know the old hymns used
to be new hymns?
150 years ago, 200 years ago, those old
hymns used to be new hymns.
And Martin Luther, when he wrote hymns in
the 1500s, people didn't like his hymns because
they were the new hymns.
They wanted to go back to the old
hymns and then the 1600s.
Why are we doing these new ones?
Let's go back to the 1400s, back to
the old hymns, and back to, and all
the, the old hymns used to be the
new hymns.
So we get caught up in all these
things and we say, well, I can't worship
God unless I have this and this going
on.
But that's, the heart's not right.
And yes, we need to bring back the
old hymns.
I love those, those, those old hymns.
But be very careful in this area.
And if you're a worshiper and not a
worker, you need to be both.
And if you're a worker and you're not
worshipping, you're not worshipping, then something's wrong.
And I would just encourage you this morning,
maybe the whole sermon is for that point.
Because this, this gauges everything.
Me being a worshipper changes how I treat
people, doesn't it?
It changes how I treat my wife.
It changes how I treat my kids.
I'll even submit to you that it, more
than you realize, being a worshipper changes how
you preach.
Because I could come up here, give you
a wonderful dissertation, quote from my hermeneutics and
homiletics books, and show you that I use
a deductive approach to my sermon preparation, and
the pneumatology and eschatology and theology and sotrology,
and impress you with all these wonderful things.
Work, work, work, work, work.
I spent 30 hours this week on my
sermon preparation.
Work, work, work, work, work.
But God prepares the messenger before they prepare
the message.
So a good message must come out of
work and diligent study, but also a heart
that's a worshipping heart.
Verse 26, And they were eating.
Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and
gave it to the disciples and said, Take,
eat, this is my body.
Then he took the cup and gave thanks
and gave it to them, saying, Drink from
it all of you, for this is my
blood of the new covenant, which is shed
for many for the remission of sin.
But I say to you, I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine from
now on until the day when I drink
it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
And when they had sung a hymn, they
went out to the Mount of Olives.
What is the new covenant?
He says, I will make a new covenant.
We find it in Jeremiah 31.
I will put my law in their minds
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God and they will
be my people.
And this morning I spent about an hour
just thinking about, I don't know, maybe it's
just me.
My mom said I have a tender heart
sometimes.
So I have a rough heart sometimes, I
have a tender heart sometimes.
But why was Jesus beat up?
That hurts too.
I mean, just shed the blood, that's what
the Bible says.
Just get over with.
But to go and be physically hit with
clubs, whipped with the cat of nine tails
where his skin was coming off, and seeing
his bone, crown of thorns placed on his
head, Roman soldiers mocking him for hours, carrying
your own crosses, your mother's watching.
Why?
And, of course, we know the Scriptures use
bruise for our transgressions and our iniquities and
the chastisement was on him for us all,
like a lamb led to the slaughter.
And we know all that, but I don't
understand the body being broken.
The Bible says that no bone was broken,
but that doesn't mean the body wasn't broken.
He was beyond recognition that our Savior allowed
his creation to basically mangle him.
So that's the point of communion.
When you come together and you break that
bread, remember the body that was broken for
you.
And this is just an idleman insight, so
don't come up and say, you know, I'm
making a theological point out of this.
But the blood was shed.
We know the blood was shed for without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission of
sin.
So life had to die in order for
life to live eternally.
The blood.
But I often wonder if the body being
broken and beat up was just absorbing the
wrath of God, what's deserved in the body,
the due penalty of our sin.
The wages of sin is death, obviously eternal
separation.
But the body being absorbing the wrath of
God and being punished by his creation, followed
by the shedding of blood.
And we're going to go into a time
of communion.
But I want to just throw this out
there.
Do you know who partakes in communion?
We want to be careful because we don't
want to just pass the plate and kids
take it because they're hungry.
What communion is, and we don't want people
who are not believers to partake, because communion
is special in that we are remembering what
Jesus did on the cross.
When you come together, remember the cross, remember
Golgotha, remember the place of the skull.
So if you're not a believer and you
don't know God and you've kind of just
been playing church and barely getting by, I
would encourage you to change that this morning.
All you have to say is, Lord, I
confess you.
As Savior and Lord, I repent of my
sin.
I acknowledge you.
I'm giving my life to you.
I'm repenting.
I'm believing on the only name that saves.
And then you can partake of communion.
Or it's also a time for self-examination.
I had time last night, I didn't have
time this morning, where Paul actually encourages believers
to examine your heart.
And what was happening is they were getting
drunk, and they were eating too much, and
they were just taking the Lord's Supper and
basically mocking it.
And Paul said, oh, examine yourself, because you're
bringing judgment on yourself.
Some are asleep and some are dead among
you because you're bringing judgment on yourself.
In other words, they're continuing in the sinful,
gluttonous lifestyle, like, yeah, I'll break the bread,
give me some of that wine.
And like, that's not a good thing.
There's no reverence there.
There's no respect for what's happening.
It should come from a heart that's broken
before God, and we go and we take
communion.
And that's what it's about.
But before I get to the taking of
the communion, I just wanted to paint the
scene really quick that we've been talking about.
You have Jesus here shortly that we're going
to read in the next few weeks.
He's going to be standing in Pilate's court,
and the gavel falls, and the condemnation of
death is set on Jesus.
And you know all of hell is celebrating.
All of hell is celebrating.
We've killed Him.
He's done.
He's gone.
He's brutally beat.
He's led up to the hill, up to
Calvary.
They see Him hanging on a cross.
Of course, for us, that's why we're here.
And you can just imagine hell celebrating the
religious leaders.
Caiaphas, the high priest, who's supposed to know
the Bible.
Pontius Pilate said, I wash my hands of
this innocent man.
Herod, King Herod, all these men.
We've won.
Look at this guy.
He's doomed.
He wasn't who he said he was.
But then they hear the cry, It is
finished.
And the Bible says, King James says, He
gave up his ghosts.
It's over.
I'm done.
It's finished.
And then the sky became dark.
The ground shook.
The temple, the veil in the temple was
just annihilated.
And a Roman soldier trained to kill, maybe
the same Roman soldier who struck Jesus, looked
up and said, surely this was the Son
of God.
And a few days later, all the celebration
was over.
In hell.
Folks, this isn't about our rights and doing
things.
If we fought for our rights, we'd be
in hell tonight.
And you think of all the men I
just mentioned.
Judas Iscariot, in hell.
Pilate, in hell.
Arrogant King Herod, in hell.
Caiaphas, the high priest who represents the people
of God, in hell.
The Sadducees, in hell.
The Pharisees, in hell.
The scribes, in hell.
The Roman soldiers who didn't believe, in hell.
The mocking crowd, in hell.
Folks, you cannot live your life with a
question mark here.
Our whole nation is just going crazy over
a gorilla that was killed innocently, of course.
But they say nothing about our Savior who
died on the cross.
Talk about an innocent death.
A death He didn't deserve.
So I don't know about you, but when
I think about the cross, and I think
about what He did for me, I could
be in this group of people, the laugher,
the scoffer, the mocking, the religious person, the
religious pious person.
Put things in perspective.
Remember the blood that was shed for you.
Every time I talk about this point, I
remembered of a church in Lancaster, a large
church.
The pastor actually told his worship team to
remove all the songs about the blood.
Remove all the songs about the blood.
Why?
We don't want to offend people.
That's an offense to God.
Nothing but the blood.
Will save me, will set me free.
Folks, we've got to get back to being
worshipers again.
We've got to worship God.
We're so in a hurry to get lunch,
or get out of here, or do this.
Your heart's got to break.
Your heart has to break.