This morning, were in our second part in our series, The Purpose Driven Life, talking about Planned for Gods Pleasure. Were going to talk today about worship and what that means. Have you ever done something like this? Hey, I cant find my sunglasses? Somebody says, Oh, you mean the ones that are on your forehead? Oh, oh yeah, sorry about that. Or youve said, I cant find my pen. Whered I put that? Theyll say, The one thats there on your ear? Oh, silly me. [Has] anybody done that before? [Were] just space-cadets out here. Sure, Ive done that; youve done that. Were looking really hard for whats obvious and whats evident. This morning, we saw in our video a young man desperately looking for his purpose, looking hard and trying to discover what hes here for and how he can worship God. I understand he will be back on a weekly basis as he continues his journey to find his purpose. God has revealed His purposes to us for our lives. There are things God has clearly said in His Word, Heres why Ive created you. Here is your purpose. Were going to be studying those purposes over the next five weeks together. In Colossians 1:16 (page 1165 of pew Bibles), Paul writes about the Lord Jesus, and it says, For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and… and what? For Him. Are you an all thing? Are you included in the all things that God made? Absolutely, you are. So who does God say you were made for? You were made for Him. Do you remember at the kick-off event we held at First Lutheran Church, if you were there when we watched this simulcast that Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in California. One of the most profound things he said was that the greatest thing you can do in life is to discover that God loves you. The greatest thing you can learn in life, rather, is to find out how much God loves you. The greatest thing you can do in this life is to love Him back. Remember that statement? I just thought that was a profound thing, and I wrote that down as I was taking notes. I think taking notes is important because you never know when something is going to be said or the Holy Spirit is going to give you an insight that can change your life. You want to seize that moment. You want to capture that moment. I never know when the Holy Spirit is going to give me some leading or direction through a Scripture or something that is said; so I always want to have, when Im listening to a sermon, a pen and paper in hand, so I can capture that moment and write it down. So, I wrote that down: the greatest thing in life I can do is to love Him back. When we love God back, when we offer ourselves back to Him, whats that called? Worship. Thats worship. When I love God back, when I offer myself back to Him, that is worship. What we have done, sadly, is we have confined worship to a category. When were singing music to the Lord, thats worship. Pastor Warren also talked about that. He said we even classify it as a style of music. Theres the praise music… By the way, were having our music at the end of the service this morning. Our praise team has this Sunday off, so Janet is going to be leading us in some music, but its going to be at the close when we receive communion-in case you were wondering where the music went. Its still to come. But…we confine worship as its this kind or music, this slow music. Thats worship. Worship is so much more than music. Music is one aspect of worship, but its certainly not worship in its totality. We might say worship is a posture. If Im doing this, some people say, Well, youre worshiping God. In some churches, everybody goes like this (raising your hands in the air), Now were worshipping. Thats one way to worship. [Theres nothing] wrong with that. The Scripture says lift up holy hands and praise the Lord. Thats fine. Some people think this is worship. If youre not doing this, youre not worshipping. Worship is not a posture. Worship is not a place. What did you do Sunday morning? Well, I went to go worship. So, now that youve left church, are you done? Its not a place. Its not an event. Scripture does not teach anywhere that worship is an event that you go to, spend some time, and leave. It is not an act. It is a lifestyle. In the Book of Romans 12:1 (page 1123 of pew Bibles), it says you and I are to offer our bodies up as a living sacrifice. Thats not talking about giving your body as a literal sacrifice, killing yourself for Him, for goodness sake. Thats not what it means. If thats not what it means, what does it mean? It means to lay your life down for Him. Offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy, set apart, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. When I offer my life to the Lord…how often do you sing? According to a viewer take, the minutes that you sing in a given week or the minutes that you pray in a given week, what percentage of that of that is your week? If you sing worship for 20 minutes a week, what percentage of that is your total week? Thats a pretty small percentage, isnt it? What percentage of your week do you spend going to church? If you count small groups, [is it a] couple hours? Thats a pretty small percentage of your week. Are we to say to God that .0005 percent of our week is about worship, and the rest of our week is about us? If thats how were going to define worship, thats what were saying. The Scripture says its life in its totality offered up to God. Ive heard some reports about some people [who are] very discouraged in your small groups. Some of your small groups are large, and theyre full, and you cant squeeze any more in. Others were just like, You know, I invited a lot of people. I prayed and I studied, and two people showed up or one person showed up. Youre all discouraged. I want to share with you a little bit this morning that you shouldnt be. When our church was relatively new-we were just weeks old-I remember a Sunday morning service. My wife was probably doing the Childrens Church or something [else], and there was a woman-Ill call her Sister Jones, okay? Its not her real name, but were going to call her that. Sister Jones would come to church and almost every Sunday, she would sleep during the sermon. Id put her out. When Sister Jones would sleep, she would sleep as unto the Lord and not unto men. She gave her whole heart into it. She would look something like this (Pastor imitates her sleeping with her head way back and her neck bent). I can even get my head back as far as she could get her head back. Her mouth would be wide open, and shed just be singing unto the Lord: kuuunngg, kuuunngg… Sometimes, during the service, she would just start snoring, so Id be competing with her. I would want to get an usher to just wake her up. Bless her heart; we loved her. She was a wonderful lady, but one Sunday morning, I got up to speak. When I started my message, I got up to speak. Sister Jones was the only person in the congregation as I began speaking. We started church, and she was looking around, and then it wasnt long before she was out. I thought to myself, This is a personal low for me. Theres nothing worse than being a pastor, youve studied hard all week, and you have this message thats going to change the world… I was 29 years old, and I was naïve, thinking I was going to change the world. I get in there, and I start preaching, and I have one person to preach to, and shes sleeping. I was so discouraged. In fact, there were a couple services that were very sparse in attendance. I would think, What am I doing? I need to go back to Rockford. Maybe this thing isnt going to go. Maybe I missed God in this thing. I remember talking to my pastor about it, Don Lyon, and saying, Im discouraged. Ill never forget what he said. He said, But you were there. You were there. You studied, you prayed, you prepared, you brought the message that God called you to bring. You were there. Worship took place because I had offered myself to the Lord. Friends, [if] you have a small group, you study and prepare, you pray, you read, and nobody shows up-worship took place because you offered yourself up to the Lord. You have to start thinking of worship in much bigger terms than the narrow-minded blinders we put on. Worship is offering yourself to God. Dont measure the success of worship or your ministry in terms of numbers. You measure it in terms of faithfulness. Were you faithful to God? Did you do what He called you to do? Did you faithfully bring the Word He called you to bring? Jesus addresses this subject in Mark 12. Hes asked a very poignant question. The question He has asked is what is the greatest commandment? Thats a pretty important question. The answer to that is going to be extremely important to know, isnt it? Hes saying, Whats the most important thing we can do? What is the most important purpose we can have? Jesus answer is found in Verse 30 of Mark 12 (page 1005). He says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Jesus knew that you and I would love somebody or someone supremely. He said, When its all said and done, make sure the one you love supremely is God. Thats why youre here. Were going to listen to a song right now by Point of Grace called I Choose You (Lyrics can be found at http://www.christianlyricsonline.com/artists/point-of-grace/i-choose-you.html) Lets talk about that verse 30 (of Mark 12, page 1005)) for a moment. It says were to love the Lord our God with our heart and our soul, to love Him with all our affection, as that song said. The person who says I love you first takes a risk in a relationship, dont they? There is a chance that someone could say or not say I love you back. When you say I love you to somebody, you make yourself vulnerable. God made Himself vulnerable. The Scripture says in Romans 5:8, While we were yet sinners, God demonstrated His love for us; and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God said I love you first. He could have chosen to make us in such a way that we were compelled to love Him, that we had no choice but to do so. He didnt do it that way. God, instead, chose to make a creation who could choose to not love Him back, and many dont. Years ago, my wife and I had one of our first arguments. I was probably 18 years old, and she was like 16 or 17. We went to a lake in the Dells, and she had forgotten her blow dryer. She said she couldnt swim, and I was really ticked off. I decided to paddle my raft out and just cool off. I heard a commotion. I turned to see what it was. At first I thought it was a man and his son at play, but as I watched longer and closer, I realized that something very serious was taking place. The man was taking the little boy, [who] was about 10 years old-and I dont know if he was the father, step-father, or boyfriend of the mom or whom he was-but he would hold the boy under the water and lift him back up. Then he would say this, Tell me you love me. The boy would say, No! I dont love you, and hed put him back under the water and hold him down longer. Hed pull him back up, and the boy would say, No! I dont love you! Hed hold him back down and pull him back up, saying, Tell me you love me! Finally the little boy was exasperated, and he said while gasping for air, I love you! I love you! Then the guy let him go and went back to shore. The little boy went and continued to play. I was furious as I watched that! I said, How in the world could that give you pleasure? How in the world could that kind of I love you that was coerced and bullied out of that little boy bring any kind of satisfaction to that man? What kind of a father holds his son under the water and forces him to say I love you? Thats not the kind of love that God wants us to have. God does not compel us or force us to love Him even though that is His desire. God wants us to love Him because we want to love Him. Think about it: God put Himself on a cross, put Himself in a position of weakness, and what did they say? Youre the Son of God, come down from the cross or Youre the Son of God, you can call legions of angels to help You. Youre the Son of God, deliver Yourself. Look at You, Youre weak. Are You just going to stay up there and bleed? I thought You were going to save the world! Thats exactly what He did. His only response from the cross was Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. Who needs a weak God like that? I do. You do. Hes not a God who comes down and says, Love Me or Ill punish you, but [Hes] a God who loves us first and then waits for us to love Him back. You say, Well, thats my problem, Pastor; I just dont love God as much as I should. I would say to that, No, thats not your problem. Your problem is not that you dont love God as much as you should. Your problem is you dont realize how much God loves you. If you were to realize how much God loves you, you would have no problem loving Him back. If you realize the attention that God gives to you… What does Matthew 10:30 say? It says, The very hairs on your head are numbered. God loves you so much, He knows how many hairs are on your head at a given time. Some of you have made His job very easy over the years. Im sure He appreciates it (congregation laughing). Thats incredible to think about. Jesus didnt say that in a metaphorical sense. He said it in a literal sense. Thats how well God knows you. Youre on His mind and His heart. When you fall in love with somebody, you think about them all the time. God loves you and He wants you to love Him back. The best way to love Him back is to realize how much He loves you. I want to share a story about a man whose name is Joe Morgan. Joe went to visit some missionaries in Eastern Europe. He thought, You know, before I go visit these missionaries, I better get some snacks because I heard they dont have snacks over there in Romania. So he went to the grocery store, and before he started shopping, he prayed. He said, Lord what would You have me get? He says, I think Ill get myself some Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, some tapioca, some malted milk, some hard candy, and Im going to get myself some fruit cocktail. That is what he got. He shows up, and they have a wonderful time at fellowship. He decides before he leaves that he remembers these items in his backpack. He says, Why not have Christmas in October? Why not? Lets give you a little something from home. He looked at the teenage girls of the missionary couple and said, What is it from home that if you had, it would make you really happy. The girls looked at each other, giggled and said, Candy! He said, What kind of candy? The mom chimed in and said, The girls really love Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, but they dont have them here. He couldnt believe it. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a king-size package of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, one of the things God told him to buy in the grocery store. The girls were ecstatic. He said, What about you, Mom? He said, What do you want? She says, You know, the thing I really miss the most is fruit, citrus fruit. He couldnt believe his ears. He reached in his pouch which must have seemed like magic to them, and he pulled out a can of fruit cocktail and a can of mandarin oranges. She began to cry. He thought, I better stop there. Two out of three miracles isnt bad, but something inside of him was telling him to go for it. Before he could say no to God, he said, John, what is it that you want from home? He said, You know, most people dont like this, but I love it. I miss Tapioca pudding. He said, I almost broke my arm reaching into the bag to grab my snack pack of Tapioca pudding that God had me buy seven days earlier, 4,000 miles away from home. He handed it to the man. He said, There we stood in that little home in Romania, and we cried, wept, laughed, worshipped, and gave thanks to a God who loves us enough to care about the little details of our life. The problem is not that you dont love God; the problem is you dont realize how much God loves you. Jesus said were to love Him with our heart, soul, and affection. Were also to love Him with our minds, with our attention. Weve done that. In these 40 days, were engaging our minds. Some religions empty their minds. In Christianity, we want to fill our minds with God. Weve read the Bible; were memorizing Scripture; were doing our purpose-driven life. Were doing ours as a family devotional everyday. Maybe some of you are too. Maybe youre coming to a small group, and youre reading that chapter and meditating on it, discussing it together. Youre coming to weekend services, and youre listening to it and studying it. Were trying to fill our minds with a greater understanding of Gods love, arent we? I have to race through these points. I apologize. Were called to love the Lord, our God, with all of our affection, all of our attention, and lastly, He says, our strength. That has to do with our abilities. When you walked into church, did you see a little display there? That is people from our church showing how they worship God in the things they make. There is a person who makes quilts for the elderly, so theyre worshipping God even through what they make…every aspect of our lives. Colossians 3:23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men… I bet you spend a lot of your time working, dont you, during the week? If you have a full-time job, you work 40, 50, sometimes 60 hours a week. Some of you work two jobs. God says, Dont confine worship to what happens at church, when you sing, or when you pray. See your job as an act of worship. Offer your job up to the Lord. Work as unto the Lord and not to men. Well, you dont know my boss. If you knew the boss I had, boy, I tell you, youd understand. Im just kind of making contact with all the staff, making sure theyre not nodding their heads in agreement with that one. So far, so good. If you just knew my boss, youd know he just makes my life so burdensome, my job so hard. You dont work for your boss ultimately; you work for the Lord. Thats what the Scripture says. I understand you work for your boss, and he tells you what to do, but most importantly, you work for God, whatever your job is. Well, if you just knew how much they paid me… They pay me a pittance, and Im worth much more that that, so I can fudge a little bit because of what they pay me. Im not paid what Im worth. Ill tell you that. First and foremost, you dont work for a wage. You work for Him, so you give it your best. You dont know the people I work with. Oh, Man, theyre busy bodies, nosey, and they cause me trouble. You work for the Lord. Every aspect of your life should be offered up to the Lord. It is amazing how it will change your work environment when you go in and say, Today, Im reporting and punching in for the Lord, and Im going to work for Him. Its amazing how that will revolutionize the way you do your job. Were going to watch a short clip right now from the movie, Chariots of Fire. It won an Academy Award for best picture years ago. It was about a runner by the name of Eric Liddell running for Scotland. God had called him into the mission field in China. Hes bringing the news to his sister that he is going to go to China and become a missionary. But before he does that, there is something he has to do. He said, He made me for a purpose. He made me for China, but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure. To win is to honor Him. Is that your mindset? Are you able to see that everything you do could be an act of worship, and that God made you for a purpose and had pleasure in making you, that you were made for Him? Thats the basic fundamental purpose that we want to begin our talk on this weekend. Im going to ask the ushers to come forward and get ready to distribute the communion elements. Lets pray: Father, we are so thankful that You have made us with a purpose. You have made us for Your pleasure. Its not about us-its about You. Lord, forgive us for the time we seem to confine worship to something we do as an act, a place, a moment or an event. We fail to see that worship is when we offer the totality of our life-whatever were doing-up to You. Worship is where we realize how much You love us and we love You back. Help us to be a people of worship today. As we prepare to receive communion, were reminded of a God who loved us first, a God who took a risk, a God who made Himself vulnerable and weak, and said I love you to a people who would turn their backs on Him. As we receive of the bread and the cup, we affirm our covenant, and we affirm our love with You, Father. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.