This message was delivered at Hillcrest Baptist Church on the evening of August 11, 2013. This message deals with the things to be expected from true worship, and the expected outcome of such worship. This post contains an audio recording of my sermon, plus the sermon notes. The sermon notes are not a full transcript of the sermon.
SERMON AUDIO:
AUDIO DOWNLOAD LINK:
SERMON NOTES:
Isaiah 6:1-8
1. A sense of God’s presence
Isaiah 6:1
We should be convinced that “surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”
Worship should neither be boring, or mere entertainment.
It should convey a deep respect for the Holiness, majesty and power of the almighty God who is in our midst.
2. A conviction of our sinfulness
Isaiah 6:5
“Woe to me!”
If there is no conviction, the Holy Spirit is not working in your life.
The closer we get to God, the more we realize our own sinfulness.
If the lips are unclean, so is the heart. This vision of God’s holiness vividly reminded the prophet of his own unworthiness, which deserved judgment.
Job (Job 42:6), Peter (Luke 5:8) an Paul (1 Timothy 1:15) came to the same realization about themselves when confronted with the presence of the Lord
The brighter the light the more the wrinkles show.
When a person brags about his own goodness, it’s a telltale sign that he hasn’t been near the purity of God lately.
When you are in the presence of God, you cannot help but recognize your sinfulness.
3. A joyful reminder of God’s grace
Isaiah 6:6-7
To serve God, Isaiah needed to be a clean instrument. We must be purified by God.
Therefore, we should receive a cleansing of sin and release from guilt.
A church service should motivate us to repent.
We should leave rejoicing in the knowledge of God’s grace.
1 John 1:9
4. The inspiration to serve
Isaiah 6:8
When we gather for worship, we should be inspired to serve.
Isaiah is not coerced into service; rather, his will makes its ready response as a grateful reaction to God’s forgiving grace.
Instead of an instinct to criticize others, the believer should leave with the desire to Share the truth with the lost, and minister to the hurting.
The church service should equip us to do just that.
Ephesians 4:11-12
We should have a vision for the work of the church.
Joel 2:28
Acts 2:17
What would be the end result of the vision?
Acts 2:21
We should leave different than when we came in.
God accepts us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.
You cannot truly worship God without serving Him.
“Here I am, send me”
In Defense: The Blog 
Posted on August 13, 2013
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