Pastor Fred Alcain & Pastor Jesse Tagura
May 2, 2021 - W2118

"Worship as a Divine Appointment"

Divine Appointments - God's Unfinished Work

Pastor Fred Alcain & Pastor Jesse Tagura 

May 2, 2021 

PASTOR FRED ALCAIN: Welcome and Aloha, New Hope Oahu, and those online! We are so glad that you decided to worship with us, today.  Mahalo, for that powerful song with an even more powerful message--"Even at my worst you love me!"  How do we handle the moments when things are at their worst?  Do we worry or do we worship?  Pastor Jesse and I will be talking about "Worship as a Divine Appointment with God," looking at the lives of two kings:  One chose to worship his own heart; the other was a man after God's own heart!  Usually, when we say "worship," we think of singing, but that's not the focus of our message today. 

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro says, "Each of us has an APPOINTMENT with God...when His Word comes alive and makes a difference."

The Bible has many examples of people worshiping God through song and dance; but my favorite scripture comes from Job 38:6b-7 NASB: "...who laid its cornerstone, ⁷ When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

God is reminding Job that from the beginning of time as He's creating the universe, there was worship--singing and praising!  At New Hope, we focus on the King of kings by using music, blowing of the shofar, and even the hula gives Him glory and beauty to His authority. 

Today, Pastor Jesse and I will be talking about Worship as our Divine Appointment with God; we'll see how two kings either entered this Divine Appointment or ignored it! One is a man after God's own heart, and the other is Saul. We may discover that we have more in common with Saul than we would like to think; he was humble in the beginning, but in the end, he took a huge downfall!

Saul comes to kingship after the people petitioned the prophet Samuel for a king, to replace the judges that were ruling them after Joshua and Moses died.  It's worth noting that Saul's campaign to be king was flawed from the beginning because instead of the people recognizing Yahweh as their king, they wanted an earthly king to worship.  Samuel warned them that a king would fail them, but they wanted a king anyway--and God eventually granted their request.  

1 Samuel 8:19-20 NIV says: "¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

The people were willing to pledge their allegiance to an earthly king rather than to pursue their Divine Appointmentwith the King of kings and worship Him! David worships God in...

 Psalm 63:1-5 ESV says: "¹O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. ³ Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. ⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips."

1. Saul's Self?Centric Worship Leads to Self?Destruction

When we put our hope in anything besides God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we put value in ourselves over the value on our Savior.  We'll be spending a little time in 1 Samuel 13 at a place called Gilgal:

1 Samuel 13:6-9 NIV says: "⁶ When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. "⁷...Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. ⁸ He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. ⁹ So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering."

When I take an honest account of my life, its actions and sometimes inactions, I see where I, too, can be like Saul.  For example, when my back is against the wall and the challenge is in front of me, I'm more inclined to control the situation rather than trust in my Savior.  

• Self?centric worship seeks to control rather than trust. 1 Samuel 13:13 NIV: "Samuel said. 'You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.'"

When we're challenged and worry and anxiety builds, our first response should be to worship God, but Saul disobeyed and started spiraling downward.  I, too, like to rush into battle sometimes and count the cost later! I watch my wife, Jana.  She's not perfect, although she's pretty close.  I watch her handle the stresses and anxieties of having to deal with me and a sassy 12?year?old!  I can be very selfish when my way is not the right way--but the only way! Instead of engaging in an argument with me, Jana gets up, smiles, walks away, pulls up her favorite worship playlist, and enters a Divine Appointment with her Savior, instead of arguing with me!

For our evangelism team, Pastor Justin Smith coined a phrase: "A posture of praise rights your perspective."  In other words, when we worship, we place our perspective on the right thing, as the Team sang earlier, "When I feel pressured, you reach out.  You pull me back together.  When I fall down, you pick me up.  When I feel small, you're big enough.  Even at my worst, you love me."

I don't think we intentionally neglect to acknowledge Christ as king; I believe it's just our nature to take matters into our own hands.  Instead of running to the Father, we are like Saul impatient and take control of the situation and rush into battle without the anointing of God!  

 In May 2020, the uncertainty of the global pandemic was a tumultuous time:  My kids were trying to finish school through a computer screen and Jana was one month from being unemployed! In those moments, I was anxious, worried, and wanted to take control, so I did that!  In looking back, I laugh because I didn't do anything--God did all of it!  It was His grace and the generosity of God's people that got us through!  I'm counting my blessings!  

Saul worried too much too.  At Gilgal he saw the people fleeing, and Samuel hadn't shown up yet, so he took matters into his own hands and offered the burnt offering, which was the priest's job--not his!  In his fear and worry, he failed to worship God and enter a Divine Appointment with the King of kings and...  

1 Samuel 13:13 NASB says: "But Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you."

• Self?Centric Worship Worries instead of Wait  

Saul's self?centric worship led him to value his opinions over God's; and fearing people over God, desiring the blessings of God without complete obedience to Him! But thanks be to God the story is not over yet--the job is not done!  We're moving forward--Imua!  

And thank God we have a shining example of a true worshiper.  Pastor Jesse Tagura is coming to talk about David, who is tending sheep.

PASTOR JESSE:  As we're continuing the theme of Worship, I quickly discovered that it has very little to do with the quality of our voice, but everything to do with our allegiance to God. Worship at its simplest is about a value system that we cultivate in our souls; it is so crucial that we must examine what we worship as it is in direct union with the health of our life and soul.  We all value something.  The only question is:  What do we value most?   

 Tim Keller says:  "Worship is the act of ascribing ultimate worth or value in such a way that transforms our entire living."

In looking at the life of King Saul, we see a man who sacrificed his ultimate value on the altar of reputation.  Everything was controlled by an image of maintaining his crown and title. It was all about Saul; his spiritual intimacy with God was decaying in front of his very eyes, his soul was filled with anxiety, empty of joy, and he became insane because the object of his worship was himself!  His entire life was rooted in self?centric worship--it was all about Saul!   

Our humanity was not designed to handle praise because it builds our ego, and we don't handle it well.  Saul is a perfect example of a man trying to exchange God's praise for his own and sees his life crumbling before him!  He is consumed by pride and self?centeredness, and a sense of rottenness is brewing within Saul's heart in trying to put himself in the spotlight. We must fight against it as we live in a culture of self?centric and disordered worship.  

We are left with the same generational malady, but God offers a new way of life, something truer and more beautiful as depicted in the life of David. David presents a new way to worship--one that replaces the heart of man for the heart of God. Saul valued reputation, wealth, and position; David valued holiness; Saul valued pride and personal gain, David valued integrity and faithfulness and was shaped by what he worshiped.  

In the 1900s, Jack Eckerd was famous for his 2,000 drugstores across the nation.  He was a very wealthy man, and his entire objective in life was to gain luxury, wealth, and profit and built a life of luxury.  One of the main sources of his profit was a wall of pornographic material that littered the store's wall that brought in a lot of profit. One day Jack realizing his need of a Savior gave his life to God and the gospel. He walked into the CEO's office and said, " I want you to take down that wall of pornographic magazines from all 2,000 stores."  

The CEO was disgruntled, angry, and frustrated and said, "Jack, why would you possibly do this?  You know the loss of money and the profit that would be thrown down the drain because of what you're doing!"  He scoffed at Jack, and said, "Is this because of your new Christian faith that you're dealing with?"  Jack picked up his head and smiled at his CEO and said, "Why else would I throw away $3 million worth of profit?"  I love Jack's response.  

In Jack's life there was a reordering of worship.  All of a sudden $3 million became absolute vomit to him because he realized that obedience to Christ is worth more than money, value, profit, and luxury--it's a reordering of worship! This kind of worship, changes everything in our life and brings meaning, purpose, and joy because God is placed where He was designed to be.  David understood rightful worship and brought him the fulfillment that his soul was looking for.  

2. David's God?Centric Worship Leads to True Satisfaction 

Psalm 107:6-9 NIV says: "⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. ⁷ He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. ⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, ⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty."

We chase after the most glorious goals and objectives, and when we finally reach them, we realize that we're emptier than when we began!  But a God?centered worship brings fulfillment that our souls have needed since the beginning. 

The enemy doesn't actually have to ruin our life; he just places something in our lives that isn't God, and we'll do the rest for him! As long as he can get our eyes fixated on an idol, we will bring destruction to ourselves! God says, "I have crafted you this way, that when you worship me truly and wonderfully, it will bring the fulfillment you always long for."

Abraham had placed all of his value in Isaac; he was Abraham's prized possession and more valuable than God Himself, and God asked Abraham to lay Isaac on the altar and sacrifice him. As Abraham's knife was about to strike Isaac, God stopped him and said, "I will provide a sacrifice." And 2000 years ago, God sent His only Son, as the final sacrifice!  Jesus resurrected from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God on His throne--and we worship Him today!  

Though darkness sits beside us; and suffering is inevitable, we echo the heart of Joshua and say, "As for me and my house, we will worship God!"

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1.     Pastor Wayne Cordeiro says, "Each of us has an ___________________ with God."

2.     How did Saul's Self?Centric Worship Leads to Self?Destruction?

3.     Explain what Self-Centric worship mean.

4.     Why is our humanity not designed to handle praise?