YLD (21/08/15) – We obey God by Worshipping God
Summary
YLD Worship: We obey God by Worshipping God
Scripture: Exodus 20:7-11
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:7-10a, 11)
It’s a long journey but we strive to be more like Jesus each day.
· “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
We talk about first two of the “Ten commandments” 1. God first. 2. No idol. For idol, it doesn’t necessary mean we go to the temple and worship the man-made idol. It could mean anything we replace God with is an idol.
Today we will take about the third and forth commandments.
· The third commandment is “you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Has anyone called you names?
How do you feel when people make fun of your names? I don’t think it’s a good feeling.
· God had revealed Himself to Israel through the covenant. He had revealed His name to them, “YHWH.” They understood that anytime they referred to their God, they were commanded to do so with reverence and respect. They especially were forbidden from using God’s name to give false testimony or swear an oath they would not fulfil.
The fourth commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath day holy, which means to set aside a day, like Sunday, for worship and rest.
Do you like to rest? We get grumpy when we are tired. Especially when there are so many fun things we want to do! But it’s so important to slow down and remember to spend time with God.
· Rest is good for our body and mind. It’s also making us new and refreshing. We need a break. It’s also important to refresh our relationship with God. God also says to keep this Sabbath day holy. Does that mean we are supposed to do nothing but pray and read the Bible all day?
· It means that when we worship God, we need to mean it.We can worship God in so many ways: by singing, dancing, hiking (enjoying the nature), praying, respecting God, reading the Bible, obeying what God says, and of course, taking a day to slow down, go to church, and rest. Aim at activities that could draw us closer to God and give us a good rest.
The Bible tells us what we should spend our time thinking about who God is.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:8-9)
If you look at the words from these verses, you might see them as words that describe God. Worship starts with recognizing just how amazing God is, and then living in a way that honors God. We obey God by worshiping God
