John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20: Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22: Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23: 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. 24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Introduction

Dr. A.W. Tozer an American pastor and author, before his death in 1963, expressed his concern that "worship acceptable to God is the missing crown jewel in evangelical Christianity."

In his book "Whatever Happened to Worship?" A. W. Tozer wrote these words,

"Christian churches have come to the dangerous time predicted long ago. It is a time when we can pat one another on the back, congratulate ourselves and join in the glad refrain, We are rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing!"

"It certainly is true that hardly anything is missing from our churches these days—except the most important thing. We are missing the genuine and sacred offering of ourselves and our worship to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Acceptable worship, what is it and how may we render it? That is the topic God led me to focus on this year of 2019. The goal of this study is not that we should become expert theorists in the subject of worship. But that as we study this subject of worship, the result may be that we would all be the true worshipers that the Father is seeking. My prayer is, may God help us to increasingly render to Him acceptable worship which He desires and so deserves. 

This morning, I want to emphasize three basic things in our worship, namely, the Necessity of Scripture in Worship, the Sufficiency of Scripture in Worship, and the Centrality of Scripture in Worship.

I — The Necessity of Scripture in Worship

Where do we go to discover what acceptable worship is and how we may render it?

Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 

To the law and to the testimony, in other words, we go to the Scripture. If we are to know what acceptable worship is and how we may render it, we must consult the Scripture. Anything that has no light and truth in them must be rejected. If it does not speak according to this rule it is because there is no light. 

Is the Scripture really necessary for worship? Not according to many church leaders today. It is sad in many churches today, the sermons are about twelve minutes and then you have forty-five minutes of praise songs and drama and entertainment. One preacher observes, "Exposition is now being replaced with entertainment, preaching with performances; doctrine with drama, and theology with theatrics."

Our great enemy, Satan, attacks God's Word. He goes around like a roaring lion, seeking to deceive people. He is exceedingly deceitful, and his goal is to undermine the truth of Scripture. He works overtime to destroy and remove it from our homes and from our churches. Why? Because he knows the great importance of the Scripture. He knows how powerful the word of God is. 

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30: Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

The Word of God is like fire and hammer which refines and purifies. There is so much power in the Word of God that when it is declared faithfully, it saves and transforms lives. And Satan our adversary knows this. And so he works hard to undermine the Scripture. But we will not allow him to deceive us. 

We must understand the necessity of the Scripture in worship. We must take the words of our Lord seriously, when He said, true worshipers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth. If we are going to worship in truth, we must know the truth. What is truth?

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

This is the reason why we devote a great part of our worship service to preaching. We realize that if we are going to worship God in truth, we must know the truth and the truth must be present in every aspect of our services. Here at Grace & Truth, we read the Bible, we memorize the Bible, we preach the Bible, we pray the Bible, we sing the Bible, this is what we believe Biblical worship is. This is what worship the Father in truth means. 

May we all come to a clear understanding and deep conviction of the necessity of the Scripture in our worship. May we all come to understand that sincerity in worship is not enough, worship must be regulated by the truth found in the Scriptures. God does not accept worship, no matter how sincere it is, if it is void of the knowledge of the true and living God. He does not accept worship based upon superstition, tradition and the imagination of men. Worship must be based on a revelation from God. We need the Scripture.

II — The Sufficiency of Scripture in Worship

If we would worship the true and living God, we need to recognize not only the necessity of the Scripture but also the sufficiency of the Scripture. The sufficiency of Scripture means that we don’t need any more special revelation. We don’t need any more inspired, inerrant words form any other source. Contrary to what many are teaching today, there is no need for additional revelations, visions, and words of prophecy. Man-made traditions, personal preferences, pop culture, and pragmatism must not be our source and guide in our worship. These are not safe guide, only the Scripture must regulate our worship and our life. 

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Scripture is sufficient for doctrine and practice. It is sufficient for faith and life. God’s inspired Word, when properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry and that includes worship. 

The sufficiency of the Scripture means we are not to add anything to the Bible when it comes to how we approach God in worship. Scripture is enough for establishing the elements and emphases of our corporate worship. 

The Scripture is also sufficient to regulate the content of doctrine and sermons.

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

One preacher put it this way, "I am not free to stand up here and give out my opinions or to state my preferences or to give out my philosophical thoughts. My sole and exclusive duty is to preach the truth and to set forth the truth because if I am saying things that are not true then a part of our worship that involves preaching is not true worship."

The Scripture is also sufficient to regulate the content and the elements of our worship: the songs and hymns we sing, our prayers, the reading and preaching of God’s Word, the giving of tithes and offerings for the work of the church, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. 

James Montgomenry Boice once warned that the great issue of our day would not be the authority of Scripture, but its sufficiency. The alternative to the sufficiency of Scripture is the insufficiency of Scripture. Either you believe that Scripture is enough, or you will turn to other experiences and teachings to supplement it. 

The Holy Scripture alone contains all things necessary for believers. There is no need for anything to be added to them. Scripture alone must be our guide. They are sufficient. We need the Scripture and it's all that we need. 

III — The Centrality of Scripture in Worship

We do many things when we gather as the church on Sunday. But what should be central in our church services? What should be primary according to Scripture when we assemble on the Lord’s Day? 

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

True worship is worship in truth. Again, if we are to worship in truth, we must know the truth, this implies the Scripture must be central in our corporate worship. The preaching of the Word of God is to be given the primary or central place in our worship of God. 

The King James Bible translators understood this and we can discover that on their "Epistle Dedicatory.” In almost every King James Bible you will find this “Epistle Dedicatory." It’s basically a six paragraph presentation of the Bible to King James and it talks about the purposes of the King James Bible and it reveals their thoughts on the Word of God and preaching. 

Listen to the first two  paragraphs of this dedicatory. 

THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY

TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE JAMES,

BY THE GRACE OF GOD,

KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND,

DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, & c.

The Translators of the Bible wish Grace, Mercy, and Peace, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. 

"GREAT and manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereign, which Almighty God, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of England, when first he sent Your Majesty's Royal Person to rule and reign over us...

But among all our joys, there was no one that more filled our hearts, than the blessed continuance of the preaching of God’s sacred Word among us; which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth; because the fruit thereof extendeth itself, not only to the time spent in this transitory world, but directeth and disposeth men unto that eternal happiness which is above in heaven."

Here we get an idea that the King James Bible translators' have a high level of respect for the Word of God and they understand the great value of a preaching. It gives them great joy in the continuance of the peaching of God’s sacred Word. Oh, how different it is today when many church leaders and church goers minimize the preaching of the Word of God. For many church goers, it seems the most boring part of worship to them is when the preacher gets up to preach the Word. That's what Satan try to do in this age of electronic and entertainment society, our thought processes has been affected and has shorten our attention span. But for us who love the Lord and His Word, we know that the preaching of the Word of God is the best and the most important component of worship when we as God’s people gather on the Lord's Day.

Oh, how we need to go back to biblical worship where the preaching of God's word is central and the primary element of our worship.  This is what we strive to have here at Grace & Truth.  By the grace of God we will keep the main thing the main thing in our corporate worship. As James White puts it, "the first step toward making our worship more biblical is in giving the reading of God’s Word a central role in Christian worship on any occasion"

Closing Thoughts

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

If we are to worship in truth and the Word of God is truth, we must saturate our minds and hearts with truth of the Word of God. May we all come to realize the Necessity of the Scripture in worship, the Sufficiency of Scripture in worship, and the Centrality of Scripture in worship. Let us all be resolved to devote ourselves to establishing and maintaining the preaching of the Word of God. Let us not allow any other worship activity, as important as it may be, to take over the place of the preaching and teaching of the Word. Let us be remain steadfast. Let us to cry out earnestly that God would bless the preaching of the Word. Let us pray that God raise up more people hungering and thirsting for the Word and pressing to hear the Word of God. 

May the Lord be honored in all that we do when we gather in His name!

AMEN!