Fully Devoted - 5

Subject - Fully Devoted To Worship

by Rick Welbourne

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) 

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

–So far we have looked at being fully devoted to the teaching of the Word of God, to the fellowship, to prayer, and to the breaking of bread.

–We have seen the blessing of being in fellowship with Christ and with each other. We have also looked at the benefit for missions when we are in fellowship together.

–Today we want to look at being fully devoted to worship. Let me clarify something.

–Worship is more than the 20 or 30 minutes we devote in a service to play and sing.

Worship is being fully devoted to God.

–True worship is the combination of all the points we have looked at in this series...Word, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.

–In a traditional church service we tend to separate the parts of the service...opening prayer, announcements, quests, worship, prayer for sick, sermon, and altar call. Communion.

–Can I strongly encourage you to look at all these as worship...prayer - inviting Holy Spirit, announcements - connecting in fellowship, quests - connecting people to us.

–Worship - singing, playing, and lifting of hands, prayer for the sick - touching the hurting, sermon (the Word) and the altar call...Communion...all parts but all worship.

Romans 12:1 (NIV) 

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

–OT worshipers brought their living sacrifice to the temple altar, it was killed, and worship was over...many of us do the same...we come and sing for 20 minutes and worship stops.

–We need to be living sacrifices and engaging in every part of the service...many parts but all together is worship. We need to do this with our lives...everything worship to Him.

1. We can fully devote ourselves to worship.

–Worship changes everything and in this case it ignited the church to be everything God intended for it to be.

–You see, we can hear a sermon, we can go to church together, we can even be systematic about communion, and we can have dry stale prayers...churches do it all the time.

–Unless there is an upward look...unless there is a magnification of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...we have missed the whole purpose of being together.

Acts 2:46 (NLT) 

46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day...

–Why church...why fellowship...why communion...why prayer? So we can worship the King Who can change everything! Worshiped each day: Listen to the Psalmist David explain it:

Psalm 5:7-12 (NLT) 

7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. 

8 Lead me in the right path, O LORD, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.

9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.

10 O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.

12 For you bless the godly, O LORD; you surround them with your shield of love.

–If I don’t come to Your house and worship, my enemies will conquer me. When I come and worship, You make Your way plain for me. I get direction.

–When I come to worship God drives my enemies away...remember we are the Temple...

Psalm 68:1-5 (NKJV) 

1 Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.

2 As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.

5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

–When I come to worship and when I worship until You come I can find refuge in you...I can find that hiding place from this nasty world.

Psalm 32:6-7 (NLT)

6 Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the flood waters of judgment.

7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.

–When we come to worship in God’s House He spreads His protection over us, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O LORD; you surround them with your shield of love.

2. We must be faithful in worship.

Hebrews 10:19-25 (NLT) 

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 

22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

–How can we have trouble worshiping God in His House when He has obtained access for us into God’s presence by the blood of Jesus.

–The curtain that kept us away has now been torn and we can go boldly into God’s throne room and worship Him with all our hearts.

–Since Jesus is the High Priest who rules over the House of God...let us come in and worship Him with everything within us...How many believe He is worthy?

–Now is not the time to throw in the towel and give up...it is time to hang on tight and to not quit. Why? Because God can be trusted.

–Since we are in the last days let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works...what better way than coming to God’s House and worshiping with all our hearts.

–Here is the key we have been looking at all these weeks with the Word, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer, and worship:

Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) 

25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

–Don’t neglect being fully devoted to God in the Word, fellowship, breaking of bread, in prayer, and in worship. This is where we find the blessings.

3. Let’s look at the benefits of being fully devoted to worship.

A. The first benefit to being fully devoted is everyone is filled with awe...everyone has an awesome awareness of God. Everyone has a healthy fear of the Lord!

Acts 2:43 (NIV) 

43 Everyone was filled with awe...

Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV) 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...

Proverbs 8:13 (NKJV) 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil...

Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV) 10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...

Proverbs 10:27 (NKJV) 27 The fear of the LORD prolongs days...

Proverbs 14:26 (NKJV) 26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence...

Proverbs 14:27 (NKJV) 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life...

Proverbs 15:33 (NKJV) 33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom...

Proverbs 19:23 (NKJV) 23 The fear of the LORD leads to life...

–Lord, renew our awe of you and our fear of you and let us be aware of your awesome presence.

B. The second benefit or blessing will be many wonders and miraculous signs will be done by the apostles (leadership).

–If you were faithful to Wednesday night you would realize that you are a leader too!

Acts 2:43 (NIV) 

43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

–When we devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...God begins to do miracles.

–When we love the Word, when we love the fellowship (the church), when we love Jesus and have communion with Him and each other, when we love to pray...miracles..wonders.

Ephesians 4:1-4 (NLT)

1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

–When we serve together as one, miracles take place.

C. The third benefit or blessing is that generosity flows from all we do as the church.

Acts 2:44-45 (NIV) 

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 

–Needs will be met and people will be feeling loved and cared for. Generosity flows from an environment of selflessness. It flows from us to the world...to Missions!

–One of the reasons that Life Church is so blessed is because we are generous to the poor and to the World thru Missions...I commend you for your kindness.

D. The fourth benefit or blessing is there will be amazing church growth.

Acts 2:47 (NIV) 

47....And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. 

–Did he say daily? He did! This is a church working at the highest level...studying God’s Word and obeying...dedicated to the fellowship (to one another).

A church that breaks bread in fellowship, and in communion, praying together with and for one another. Worshiping. No wonder the church will grow in this kind of atmosphere.

Summary: When you are fully devoted to all these things in this series...you are a worshiper!

–When you are devoted to worship...the benefits begin to flow!