He saw the sovereignty, the dignity, the authority, the mystery, the superiority, the preeminence, the piety and the majesty of God. And if you see all that and still think you're all that, then something's wrong with your worship.
Welcome to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James Ford, junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us today as we continue our study of Psalm 65 and a message called
The Privilege of Worship. Now, pastor, we've been talking about the fact that when we rightly see God for who he is and you just helped us do that a few moments ago, looking at his sovereignty, his dignity, his authority, mystery, superiority, all of that, then the natural outflow of that is to be worshiped. But how are we then, to look at ourselves? Because you just said, hey, you better not think you're still all that then.
Right?
How do we see ourselves?
Um. You are all that is a colloquialism that we use a lot in our community. And, you know, we say we used to have it extended. We say, you think you're all that and a bag of chips, you know? Yeah.
Now you know the dip as well. And sometimes we do think, as my momma used to say, we're so Suchy much, especially those of us who are now living the way God wants us to live most of the time and know the Word of God and and can see a society that's on its way to the proverbial hell in a handbasket kind of thing, and we can become pharisaical. Sure, we can really think that we deserve
to be able to worship. And of course, everybody's saying, I say nay, nay, you know, but sometimes that's reflected in the way we come and fold our arms and expect to be Be entertained, rather than to experience and express our worship to God. And so when you look in Scripture, everyone who saw him in all of the things we talked about in His Majesty, in his magnitude,
in his magnificence, what did they do? Isaiah saw him high and lifted up his train, filling the earth, and he said, woe is me, I am unclean and undone. And he said this, and you guys as well, because I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean. John said, I saw him. I fell down before him as though dead. Yeah. And I don't know whether I talked about this in this message, but I talk about
it sometimes when I talk about worship. There was a popular preacher on television and he said, the Lord Jesus came into my bathroom while I was shaving. And he said to me, and I said to him, and we had this, you know, I said, oh, this is why I don't watch this mess, right? You know, number one. Jesus appeared in the glorified Christ appeared in your bathroom, and you kept on shaving, right? The glorified Christ appeared in your bathroom and you didn't cut yourself. Come on, man. Yeah.
There's a dead monkey on the line somewhere.
Exactly.
Yeah. And when you sense the presence of God, like, sometime in our worship services, people will start, just start hollering, you know, and I'll say, quit looking at them. You don't know their story. So just let them praise God. You don't know what he just brought them through. Or somebody will run to the altar, throw themselves on the altar and people will be looking. Why are you looking at that person? Yeah. You know, focus on your worship
and let them worship. Yeah. Yeah. That's their expression of worship. Yeah.
Well, we're going to look at the privilege of worship today. So join us in Psalm 65 as we continue our message. Here is Pastor Ford.
We ought to understand Stand that worshiping God is a privilege. We can call on him in prayer. And the psalmist says worship is a privilege because I get to call on God in prayer. So let me go back to the oh, let me go back to the oh, look at the text. O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all flesh come. Now, last week, anybody want to stand up and tell us what O means? Exclamation point! Excitement, enthusiasm. So he says in verse one, praise Waiteth for thee.
I can't wait to praise God. Hey, listen, how many of you understand that worship is not a spectator sport? It's a participatory sport that all of us ought to be engaged in worship. So here he says, oh, I'm excited about you, God. I'm waiting to praise you. But listen, he's as excited about prayer as he is about praise. Raise right over your head. Say, what are you talking about?
That's what I see. He says we ought to be worshipping God for the privilege of being able to worship him, because we can come to him in prayer, and we ought to be consistent. Now, some of you, uh, are not, uh, see, think about this. Uh, some of you like some of the songs that we sing, but not all the songs. Some of you like some of the verses about Jesus, but not all of them. Some of you like some of the sermons that I preach, but not all of them.
Because right now some of you are saying, I'll be glad when this is over. Uh, he go on back to relationship or something, you know, it's like, okay, I, I get it, I get it, I get it. Some of you going to lose your enthusiasm at offering time. Here's what he's saying. We ought to seek for a consistent life that that that we are to love prayer as much as we love praise. I'm just excited about prayer as I am about praise. I know some of you are not excited about prayer. How do you know that?
Because you never come. You never come to prayer. I pray at home, but the Bible says we should pray together as a corporate church that that we need to come together because the effectual if the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, then how much more the effectual fervent prayer of righteous people. So we come together, because in the midst of it we give God an opportunity. Acts 242 and and believe it or not, I'm I'm
almost done. I'm getting ready to sit down because I'm tired. I ain't been this tired a long time. It says to continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. They were consistent in four areas in acts chapter two. 42 Apostles doctrine. What was that? That was the Bible, the word of God. Because they didn't have a completed canon. So they had the Word of God given to them directly by the apostles. Then fellowship, social and spiritual. In other words, they came
to church. They came, they, they, they gathered together house to house, every day in the breaking of bread. That's communion. Then it says, and prayers. And the church got together and prayed, and they prayed together, and there was power. You remember the power. Remember what happened? They beat them in acts four and five and said, don't say anything about Jesus. Anybody who's been beaten don't want to open their mouth again. And it says, and the church prayed,
and the Holy Ghost filled them. And they went back on the same corner where they had been beaten, Elder Green. And they began to preach the word of God. Peter went to prison. What happened? An angel fetched Peter from the prison. Well, what fetched the angel? Prayer? And maybe we don't see what we need to be seeing because, like the psalmist, we don't understand that we ought to have consistency in prayer as well as we do in everything else that we do. Come on, help me preach
and get you out of here. Look at your neighbor and say neighbor. Is your prayer fundamental or is it supplemental? Go ahead. Ask him again. Is he your first response or is it your last resort? See, the psalmist knows, and the church ought to know, that it's a privilege to worship God. Why? Because you can call on him in prayer. And the Christian that does not worship, fellowship and prayer is like a student who will not go
to school. A soldier who went AWOL from the army, a businessman on a deserted island, a seaman on a ship without a crew, an author without readers, a child without a family, a football player without a team, a politician who tells the truth and a bee without a hive. And so look at here. What's he talking about? He says the consistency. Oh, but then notice the communion of prayer. Thou he says, O thou talking to God, and thou that heareth prayer, and unto thee shall all flesh come. Notice,
notice what he's doing. He's trying to get us to understand something. He's talking to God. Well, that's what you do when you worship, right? Yeah. Well. Well, why now do you emphasize it in the context of a worship song that has to do with thanking God for the harvest? Why are you doing this? Because we need to understand. Most of us think that prayer is primarily communication with God. It is not. It is not. Prayer is primarily communion with God, because you can go into his presence in
an attitude of prayer and never open your mouth. You can be still before him and know that he's God, but prayer is just the privilege of coming. Okay, I know you get it. In other words, it's communion with God. I wonder if you remember the story of the empty chair. Uh, pastor was new and was visiting, and he went to the family's house and uh, they said, uh, said, yeah, I haven't been in church in a while because my dad is terminally ill and I want to be here.
I don't want to be gone when he when he goes home to be with the Lord. New pastor said, can I go and talk to him? Said, sure. So he goes in and grabs a chair, sits down and starts talking to him and he says, uh, yeah, I'm going to be with the Lord. I finally get to talk to him. He said, well, you talk to him every day, don't you know? He said, you know, this prayer thing is kind of rough for me. So I don't pray. You never pray. No, I've never prayed. Why? Uh,
I don't know, I just don't. I feel so far away. He said no, no, no, let me let me tell you something. Here's what you do. And he gets up off the chair. He puts the chair there. He said, imagine Jesus sitting on this chair and just talk to him. He said that easy. He said, yeah, just pull the chair up. Just talk to him. He said, okay, but don't tell my daughter. So a couple days later she called and said, pastor, my dad went home to be the Lord and. But I want you to do his homegoing.
But the strangest thing was that I found him. He was half in the bed and half off the bed, and he had his head in the chair. And the pastor said, let me tell you what happened. And he told her he understood. Before he left here, prayer was communion with Jesus. And he put his head in the lap of Jesus Christ and went home to be with him. Now notice notice the other two things. He he's confident about the prayer. He says he hears prayer and he
has a conviction about it. He tells us that everyone will eventually go to God in prayer.
You're listening to Treasure Truth, a message called the Privilege of Worship. And really drilling down a little bit today on the topic and the importance of prayer, how we move forward in worship. We're going to get back to this teaching in just a moment, but if you've missed any of the broadcasts in this short series, come to our website. You can always catch up online, or go back and listen again to something that really moved you
that God used in your life. Stop by. Treasure. Truth radio. Again. Treasure. Truth radio. Back to the message. Here's Pastor Ford.
Here's the last one. Here's the last one. Look at verse three. Why should we consider worship a privilege? Because we can come into his presence. Because we have confidence. We can call on him in prayer. Here's the third one, verse three. Because we can be cleansed by him for pardon. Notice the text iniquities prevail against me, and as for our transgressions, they shall purge them away. Now here's all I want you to see. You don't have to make a whole big deal about this. Notice what he says.
Iniquities prevail against me. What's he saying? He said, man, sometimes I do the things I don't want to do. So sin has a tendency to overwhelm me. Now, let me ask you a question. Is David a Christian? Yes. He's a struggling with sin. Yes, but what does he say? Thou shalt purge them away. Get this. He's saying, if I will admit them, God will acquit them. He said, God's going to pull a Johnnie Cochran. So, so, so the converse is true. If I don't admit them, God
won't acquit them. Psalm 6618 if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Okay, I see, I gotta come get you anyway. So he says, if I can face it, God will fix it. If I can confess it, God will conquer it. It's overcoming me. I admit that, but God overcame it. Now, I know you got your church look working this morning, but guess what? We're not any better than David. David said, man, you know, I took Bathsheba, had her husband killed, counted the people
of God. And I'm a man after God's own heart. I got issues, and this one says, listen, when we come to worship, aren't you glad you could come up in here and worship God and he ain't holding it against you where you were last night, and he ain't holding against you what you was drinking last night, what you was snorting last night, what you was smoking last night, who you was downing and dogging and backbiting last night. Who you was jealous over last. Y'all ain't going to
pray with me in here. I know, because y'all y'all got y'all holy working today. But all David says I'm saved. But I ain't all the way delivered. I'm saved. But I still have issues. And so are some of the people they saved. And they still mean that they saved and they still fornicating. They save and they still unforgiving. They're saved and they're still depressed. They're saved and they're they steal a gossiper. They save and they steal a suicidal.
They're saved. And they still get jealous at the drop of a hat. They save and they still shackled. And if I didn't get you, just come on and tell your stuff what it is, because you've got some issues too. He says when you come to worship, it's an opportunity to get clean. To get a new slate. To come together and say, God, thank you that you're not killing me for the things I fought, the things I did, the things I said, the people I hung with. Thank God you're a God of grace. Thank God you're a
God of mercy. David, how did you know that you were so bad off? Well, I knew it because of verse one. When I came into his presence. Well, what did you see? What did Isaiah see that made him say, woe is unto me. I am unclean and undone. Yes, and I dwell in the midst of an unclean. You know what? No. What? Isaiah, when he saw God, he said, I'm jacked up. And everybody jacked up, that as soon as you look at God and see him for who
he really. You really realize how jacked up you really are. Because, see, some of you don't think you jacked up because you wasn't in the club, right? There are sins of omission and sins of commission and disposition. But guess what? There are sins of the spirit and sins of the flesh. According to what Paul says in two Corinthians seven one and you know what that means? That means sins of the flesh. You can see them. Sins of the spirit.
You can't see them. because sins of the spirit, jealousy, envy, backbiting, maligning they're just as bad as drinking and drugging and fornicating. And you don't believe that. You don't believe that. You don't believe that. So what did he do when he came into his presence? He saw his person. So what was he? What was he? He was mesmerized by majesty. Get this, get this. Here's what he said. Now, now I'll show you. The more you see God, the more you ought to see yourself. In other words, you want
to see your own misery. Then you first gotta see God's majesty. And when you see His Majesty, you'll understand. Now, Isaiah say he's a prophet. So? So he's in the year that King Uzziah died, I also saw the Lord high and lifted up. We always talk about that. Here's what he said. Sitting on the throne. What did he see in worship? The sovereignty of God, high and lift it up. What did he see? The dignity of God and his train filled the temple. What did he see?
The authority of God and the seraphim and seraphim had two wings. They covered their face. What did he see? The mystery of God. They had two wings. They covered their feet. What did he see? The superiority of God. They had two wings that flew. What did they see? The preeminence of God. And they cry, Holy, holy, holy. What did he see? The piety of God. The whole earth is full of his glory, the majesty of God.
Do you see what Isaiah saw? He saw the sovereignty, the dignity, the authority, the mystery, the superiority, the preeminence, the piety and the majesty of God. And if you see all that and still think you're all that, then something's wrong with your worship. Yeah. Yeah. David says when I fess up, he cleans me up every time I mess up. That's good news. Yes. If we admit it, he will acquit it. And we don't admit to sin anymore. Adultery is called an affair. Abortion is called a choice.
Lying is called a spin. Sin is called a mistake or a weakness. And drunkenness is called a disease. And listen, I told you once before. But Imma say it again. Drunkenness. Okay, I understand all that. All the medical stuff I don't. I don't care what you say. The Bible calls it drunkenness. So that's what I'm going to call it. And like I told you before, I ain't never went and bought a fifth of measles. Amen. Amen. I never got me a pint of mumps. And so what's going on here?
And I'm going to stop right here. What's going on here? He's saying, listen, listen. When you have God and you come to worship, You ought to be thanking him and praising him because Jesus is president of the universe and he didn't get voted in. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. And because he's awesome, I stand in
awe and see you come and worship. And what David's trying to get us to see is this you lost your job, but you didn't lose your mind. You ought to praise him. You're at church and you're not in the hospital. You ought to praise him. You're sick in your body, but you ain't dead yet. You ought to praise him. You're not eating what you want to eat, but you're eating every day. You ought to praise him. Your kids are in college and not in jail. You ought to praise him. You owe. Your kids are in jail.
But they ain't dead yet. You ought to praise him. You're on the bus, but you ain't got a car note. You ought to praise him. Yeah. I'm not waiting for the undertaker. I'm waiting for the undertaker. I'm going to give him praise. I'm going to thank him. He let somebody that's raggedy as I am come into his presence. Lift up my hands, open up my mouth and say thank you, Jesus. I love you, I praise you, I magnify you, I glorify you. You are awesome. You are wonderful.
You and only you are the God of the universe. And I came today to worship you because that's the very least I can do. I can't pay you for my salvation. I can't pay you for my blessings. I can't pay you for my cleansings. Oh, but I can say thank you. Praise your name for all that you've done. Hallelujah.
Refreshing and biblical teaching for your day. That's Pastor James Ford Jr. The fifth part of a message called The Privilege of Worship. And if you've missed any of the previous segments, you can always access those audio files when you come to our website. Treasure Truth Radio. Well, maybe you've heard the saying marriage is like flies on a screen door. Those that are on the outside are trying to get in, while those that are on the inside
are trying to get out. You know, it's not a very flattering perspective, but it does give an insight into how our culture views the sacred bond between a husband and a wife. Well, maybe you've experienced some similar thoughts. The picture perfect relationship you thought you were agreeing to on your wedding day has turned into something that has just worn you out over the years. You're longing for
your marriage to be restored. Well, the first step towards a healthy marriage is an understanding of the biblical foundation, God's intention when he invented marriage. You know, that's the topic of a book by Pastor Ford called Seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage. We'd like you to have a copy, and we're going to send it with our thanks. When you give a gift of any amount to treasure truth. Call us at 888644 7660 or go online to Treasure
Truth Radio.com. Don't let your marriage go another day without placing it firmly on a biblical foundation. Give a donation and request seven reasons why God created marriage. Again, call us at 888644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio. I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. Join us again Thursday as we hear a new message called How to have an Effective Ministry that's here on Treasure truth.
Treasure truth with Pastor Ford is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.