John 4:23–24 • Hebrews 13:15–16
Central truth: We are called to honor God with our praise and with the way we live. His worthiness gives us a reason to praise Him in every season.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
Opening
Have you ever picked up your phone to check one thing, and twenty minutes later you were still looking at it? You have read the headlines, checked the weather, looked at somebody’s vacation pictures, and found out what three people are upset about. You put the phone down, and somehow you feel worse than when you picked it up.
We live in a world that is constantly asking for our attention. And whatever holds our attention long enough begins to influence our attitude.
Then we come to church carrying all of that with us. The music begins, somebody says, “Let’s worship the Lord,” and we are still thinking about the conversation we had yesterday or the problem waiting for us tomorrow.
I want to bring us back to something simple this morning. God is worthy of our attention. He is worthy of our affection. And He is worthy of a life that honors Him.
As a pastor, I have often been asked, “What is my calling? What does God want me to do?” There are some answers that will be different for each of us. We have different gifts and different assignments. But every believer has been called to give God praise.
You may never hold a microphone. You may never preach a sermon. You can still live a life that tells somebody how good God is.
John 4:23–24
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Jesus spoke these words to a Samaritan woman at a well. Their conversation included a question about the proper place to worship. Jesus directed her attention to the Father and the kind of worship He receives.
Think about that phrase: “The Father seeketh such to worship him.” God is interested in the person offering the praise. He wants worship that comes from the heart and agrees with the truth of who He is.
Praise gives voice to our gratitude and declares the greatness of God. Worship includes that praise and the surrender of our lives to Him. So let’s consider what it means to live that way.
1 Praise begins with the worthiness of God
Psalm 100:4–5
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
The psalm gives us an invitation, and then it gives us a reason. Come with thanksgiving. Come with praise. Why? Because the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. His faithfulness continues from one generation to the next.
We ought to thank Him for what He has done. When He heals your body, thank Him. When He provides what you need, thank Him. When He brings someone alongside you who helps you keep going, thank Him. There is nothing selfish about being grateful for the goodness of God.
But what happens while you are still waiting? What happens when you have prayed, and the answer has not come in the way you hoped?
His worthiness has not changed. The situation may be difficult to understand, but the character of God remains trustworthy. We can bring Him our questions and still honor His name.
God is worthy before the answer comes.
Job helps us here. After devastating loss, he fell to the ground and worshipped. His grief was real. He tore his robe. He mourned. And in the middle of that grief, he turned toward God.
Job 1:21
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job’s story continues with painful questions. That one act of worship did not mean he had worked through everything he was feeling. It means that even in his anguish, he had someone to turn to.
Some of you know what it is to sing with a lump in your throat. You believe the words, but getting them out takes everything you have. The Lord knows what that praise costs you.
You can say, “Lord, I do not understand this season. I miss what I have lost. I need Your help today. And I still believe You are worthy.”
We do not have to pretend in His presence. We can praise Him honestly, right where we are.
This week, take time to name what God has done for you. Then spend a little time considering what those gifts reveal about Him. He has been merciful. He has been patient. He has been faithful. Let your gratitude draw your attention to the One who gave the gift.
2 Praise continues through a life of obedience
Hebrews 13:15–16
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Notice how closely these verses connect what we say and what we do. We offer praise through Jesus. We give thanks to His name. Then we are reminded to do good and to share with others. The word “communicate” here carries the sense of sharing what we have.
God receives the praise of our lips, and He is pleased when our lives express the same devotion.
I love expressive worship. There is a place for singing, clapping, lifting our hands, and rejoicing before the Lord. Scripture gives us room to respond to Him with our whole being. We should encourage one another to participate.
And when the music ends, we have more opportunities to honor Him. We can tell the truth when a lie would be convenient. We can be generous when somebody has a need. We can ask forgiveness when we have spoken carelessly.
James 3:9–10
“Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
That reaches right into the way we live today. It reaches into the family conversation, the group text, and the comment we are about to post online. We can say “Praise the Lord” on Sunday and then use the same mouth to tear somebody down on Monday. James says we need to deal with that.
Before we press “send,” it would help to ask, “Does this honor the Lord I have been praising?”
Samuel confronted Saul about disobedience that could not be covered over by religious sacrifice. His words still speak to us.
1 Samuel 15:22 excerpt
“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
We cannot use a worship service to excuse something God has already told us to address. If the Holy Spirit has been dealing with you about an attitude, a relationship, or a habit, responding to Him is part of a life that honors God.
That does not mean you must have everything right before you can praise Him. We come through Jesus. We need His grace, and His grace teaches us to respond when He corrects us. A sincere worshipper can pray, “Lord, forgive me. Help me change. I want my life to agree with what my mouth is saying.”
Let your life agree with your praise.
Some people are naturally expressive. Others are quieter. We can encourage biblical expressions of worship without making everybody’s response look exactly alike. The important question for each of us is whether we are responding sincerely to God and yielding to Him.
Is there a step of obedience you have been putting off? Take that step. Make the call. Tell the truth. Help the person God has put in front of you. Carry your praise into the way you live.
3 Praise helps us live with heaven in view
Revelation 5:12
“Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
When John gives us this glimpse of heaven, our attention is drawn to the Lamb. Jesus is at the center of the worship. Heaven declares His worthiness.
We need that perspective. So much of what fills our days tells us to be afraid, to be angry, or to compare our lives with somebody else’s. We can become so occupied with what is happening around us that we lose sight of the Lord who holds us.
Praise turns our attention toward Him again. We remember that Jesus gave Himself for us. We remember that He rose from the dead. We remember that our lives and our future are in His hands.
The concern may still need attention when we finish praying. The appointment may still be on the calendar. The empty place at the table may still hurt. But we face those things remembering who is with us.
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises in prison. Their feet were in the stocks, and the other prisoners were listening. God sent an earthquake, the doors opened, and the jailer’s household heard the gospel. It is a wonderful account of deliverance.
But notice when the praise began. They were singing while they were still in prison. They had no announced schedule for the doors to open. They turned toward God in the circumstances they were in.
We can ask God for deliverance. We can believe Him for miracles. And we can praise Him while we wait, trusting Him with the outcome. Praise is an expression of faith in the God who loves us. We do not control Him by singing the right words.
We can praise Him in the season we are in.
That is where this becomes practical. Begin the morning by acknowledging the Lord before you take in everything the world wants to tell you. Read a psalm. Give Him thanks for His mercy. Put on a song that helps you turn your heart toward Jesus.
When worry returns during the day, bring that concern to Him again. You may need to do that more than once. There is no shame in needing His help repeatedly.
And remember that other people are listening. Your family is learning something about faith from the way you walk through difficulty. A fellow believer may find courage when they hear you give God thanks. Your praise can help someone else turn toward Him.
You might put it this way: “I still need help. I still have questions. But the Lord has been faithful, and I am going to keep trusting Him.”
Closing invitation
It is easy to postpone our joy until something changes. We tell ourselves that we will breathe easier when the problem is settled, when the answer comes, or when life feels a little more secure. We can spend a great deal of our lives waiting for that moment.
There are blessings we are right to pray for and look forward to. But we also have an opportunity to honor God today. This breath. This moment. This gathering with His people.
Some of you have come with a testimony of answered prayer. Give Him thanks. Some have come weary from waiting. You are welcome to bring that weariness to Him. Some know there is a step of obedience you need to take. Let your response begin there.
And if you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, I want to invite you to trust Him today. The One heaven calls worthy is the One who died for our sins and rose again. He receives those who come to Him in faith. You can ask Him to forgive you and begin following Him right here.
Would you take a moment now and respond to the Lord? Lift your voice as you are able. Tell Him what you are thankful for. Ask Him for the help you need. Yield to what He is saying to you.
Church, let’s give Him praise that we intend to carry home with us.
Prayer
Father, You are worthy of our praise. Thank You for Your mercy and for the gift of Your Son. Forgive us for the times our lives have contradicted the words we sing. Help us respond to Your Spirit and obey Your Word. Draw near to those who are grieving and those who are weary from waiting. Give us grace to honor You in the season we are in. May our homes, our conversations, and the way we care for people bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.