(185 Don’t You know its time to praise the Lord)
	In our young people’s meetings on Monday nights, we have been considering the topic of worship. We have been using the curriculum from Scripture Press as the basis for our reflections. I hope that the others have been as blessed as I have been in the deliberation of the worthiness of our God to be so fully worshipped, individually and corporately. I believe it would be of value to spend a few Sundays, together, in line with this contemplation. I do so, not with thoughts of instruction, but rather in terms of bringing to the forefront of our hearts the immeasurable value of God to be so fully and freely and faithfully worshipped. I pray that what we share together will be taken before the Holy Spirit for Him to have the freedom to make known what would best please the Lord in our worship. I would never place myself in terms of giving instructions of how to worship. That is best left to the Holy Spirit in His working power of grace and truth. 
	Rather, I am simply bringing before each of us, some of the scriptures and a consideration of those scriptures. This, hopefully, will serve as a reminder of that which we may hold so dearly in our hearts, and yet may forget to consciously bring forth in our minds as we dwell on our so wonderful God; Father, Son and Spirit. Too often, we tend to know the truth, but forget the full implication of the truth in our lives. We acknowledge God as our awesome God, and yet may forget to acknowledge the full scale of His awesomeness in our beings. With that in mind, let us consider several aspects of how our lives are to be a living worship unto God. This evening, we will lay a foundation for our further deliberations by considering why God is so worthy of our worship.
	Psalms 113:4-6 places us into the heart of everything before us as we consider our Lord God Almighty, The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! The place of worship rests in the “worth-ship” of the one considered. We give to God the praise and the adoration of which we think He is worthy to receive. This is a truth that we cannot argue nor negate. He receives only the value of our worship that we place upon Him. If He holds little value in our lives, we will offer little value in our worship unto Him. 
	Conversely, as our hearts abound unto Him because He is our everything, so our worship places Him as the One who alone is worthy of all worship, praise, adoration and glory. That is the song of the psalmist that we have before us in this passage. There is the declaration that God is above all else, that He is highly exalted and none compares with Him. The psalmist is amazed that God, so holy and august, would humble Himself to even consider the heaven and the earth and the things in the earth. There is awe in the fact that our God would even regard us, lowly and sinful beings that we are. Yet, He regarded us in His Love. God, the only true God, the highly exalted God of all creation, chose to love us unto Himself. That He even had us in His thoughts is inconceivable, and yet we are more than just a creature in His heart, we are made partakers of His very Being in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He loved us unto Himself, into a relationship that far exceeds that of Creator with Creation. For that fact alone, He deserves more worship than eternity will be able to hold. 
(147 In the Quiet of the Morning I will worship your name)
In the quiet of the morning
I will worship Your name
I will lift my voice with singing
To praise you again
For it fills my heart with gladness
That remains through the day
In the quiet of the morning
I will worship your name
Such love, pure as the whitest snow
Such love, given by grace I know
Such love, paying the debt I owe
O, Jesus, such love
Such love, springs from eternity
Such love, streaming through history
Such love, fountain of life to me
O, Jesus, such love.
	Psalms 139:7-10 contains another aspect of God which should serve to evoke the heartfelt response of the worthiness of God to receive all our worship, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. There are several elements of our most glorious God held in this passage. Initially, the obvious truth that God is everywhere. He is Omnipresent. There is no place that is not inhabited by our God. There is no place that can be excluded from His presence, because He indwells the entire universe. 
	A small part of the universe is our hearts. He indwells us with Himself when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Wherever our travels and our trials take us, we are in the presence of God because His Holy Spirit now has residence within us. That is worth more than we could ever express to God. To know that we can never be separated from Him, from the knowledge of Him in us, is tremendous. As the Psalmist states, even in the depth of Hell, we will find the comforting presence of God. There is no palace, nor any prison that can exclude Him, that can keep Him from making Himself known in our beings. We have His assurance that He is with us as we travel the course of this age.
	The other aspect is, that in our sojourn on this earth, He makes Himself known in our lives. We will never face anything alone. We are held in His right hand, secure in the great Love with which He so loved us. That is a glorious realization. It brings us into the depth of the Love of God to so consider us in the light of our adoption in Christ Jesus. He not only made every provision for us in His redemptive work, but He is with us through everything we are facing in this realm. We are not abandoned to the whims and wiles of this age, but rather held tightly in His everlasting hand of Grace and Truth. Praise Him that He is with us and guiding us moment by moment and day by day. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We have His Word on that, and are sealed by His Spirit in us. 
(77 - Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice)
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Let the earth hear His voice
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
Let the people rejoice
O come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
And give Him the glory
Great things He has done
	We continue to see the glory of God as instrumental to the Psalmist’s worship and to ours in Psalms 102:25-27, Of old hast thou laid the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Here we find comfort in the fact that God always was, is and ever will be. There is no end to the great Love with which He loves us. Our earthly relationships are all to soon removed from us by the death of the physical bodies, but the Love of God endures forever. We were in His thoughts before the foundation of the earth was laid. Before anything else existed, He knew us and formed us in His divine purpose. Even as we walk on this earth, His presence, His all encompassing presence manifests the fact that we are held securely in His Love forever. There will be no end, no separation from Him. We are brought into that place wherein eternal life is now ours because He is our very life. His eternal nature is now made part of the heritage that we so fully enjoy in Jesus Christ.
	The other aspect inherent in this passage is the fact that God is unchangeable. He is the only constant in the universe. His Love for us will never cease. His work of perfection in us will be completed. He does not give up on us, even when we give up on ourselves. His grace endures forever. His faithfulness is from generation to generation. We have an assurance that we will never be separated from the Love of God. There is no divorce from Him. Everything is proceeding according to His plan and purpose in Christ Jesus and He will see it, and us, through eternity. That is our assurance in Him. 
(144 When we look into your holiness, When we gaze into your loveliness)
When we look into your holiness
When we gaze into your loveliness
When all things that surround 
become shadows in the light of you
We worship you, we worship you
The reason we live is to worship you
We worship you, we worship you
The reason we live is to worship you
When we’ve found the joy of reaching your heart
When our will becomes enthroned in Your love
When all things that surround
Become shadows in the light of you.	
	Isn’t it wonderful to know that we cannot be removed from so great a salvation in Christ. Even if we refuse to acknowledge Him for a season, and Lord willing, we never will, but even if we do, His great Love for us abides in us and restrains us and covers us. We will never not know the love of God again in our hearts. That cannot be always be said of our human relationships. They are often fleeting as the wind and fickle, as our emotions play havoc with our minds. Today, we are in love. Tomorrow, we are bored or upset or just plain tired of one another. The latest survey on marriage found that more than 50% of marriages now end in divorce. That cannot happen with God. He is unchangeable in His Love to us. No matter what, we know that He Loves us and abides in us, and cares for us, through everything, because He is Love! 
(110 We are here to praise you)
We are here to praise You
Lift our hearts and sing
We are here to give
Glory to Your Name
And it is your love
Rising from our hearts
Everything within us cries,
We love You Lord
We are here to praise You
Lift our hearts and sin
We are here to give
Glory to Your name
And it is Your Love
Rising from our hearts
Everything within us cries,
Abba Father
Help us now to give You
Pleasure and delight
Heart and mind and will that say
We love you Lord
May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place
May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place
Rising from the sacrifice
Of lives laid down in adoration
May the beauty of Jesus fill our lives
May the beauty of Jesus fill our lives
Fill our thoughts, our words our deeds
Our all we give in adoration
Fill our thoughts, our words our deeds
Our all we give in adoration.
	The Lord is due all worship based on these two characteristics alone. Because He is the eternal Being of Love, He should be praised and loved for eternity. There should be no question of His worthiness to be worshipped by the entirety of creation, let alone by His Church. Our hearts should be singing forth His adoration from sun up through sunset and all through the night as we lay on our beds and contemplate our Most Holy God. 
(131 Come Bless the Lord)
Come bless the Lord
All ye servants of the Lord
Who stand by night
In the house of the Lord
Lift up your hands
In the Holy Place
And bless the Lord
And bless the Lord
	But we are not done yet! Actually we will never come to the end of the truth of just how worthy our God is to be worshipped. There are a few more reasons that I want to express, this evening, for giving God all glory, not just as we gather together as His church, but in the quietude of our hearts. Every moment of our lives, in every fabric of our being, He does deserve our constant thought and expression of love.
	 Psalms 33:13-15 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. This is yet the evidence of another characteristic of God, His Omniscience, or all-knowing. He knows all things, past, present, and future. There is nothing that can be hidden from the knowledge of Our Most Holy God. He alone knows the inner things of man, the things of which man about himself is unaware. The depth of the heart and soul are bare before the Holy gaze of God. Man does not comprehend all that is encompassed in this being that God has created. Only God knows, and only He is capable of bringing forth, from man, the love that He desires to express in Christ. Isn’t it glorious that God, even knowing every secret thing about us, chose to redeem us unto Himself in Christ. He set aside all the guilt, the depravity, the selfishness, and the evil that lurked in our beings, and brought forth the beauty of Christ alone, untarnished, and unblemished through our expression to all of creation. 
(247 He gave me beauty for ashes)
He gave me beauty for ashes
The oil of joy for mourning
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness
That we might be trees of righteousness
The planting of the Lord
That He might be glorified
	But, some say, that is not true of me today. Yes it is, because it is true of Christ, because God knows exactly how to deal with us, individually and corporately to show forth the majesty of Christ in all His splendor. This is not a vague hope for the future. It is a truth which we may not yet see of ourselves, but God sees it, now, because He knows us. He knows our spouses. He knows our children. He knows our friends, our enemies, our classmates, and above all, He knows our hearts. In every relationship and situation, He will manifest that knowledge in working exactly that which will bring forth Christ crucified and Christ glorified. 
(53 It is no longer I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me)
It is no longer I that liveth
But Christ that liveth in me
It is no longer I that liveth
But Christ that liveth in me
He lives! He lives!
Jesus is alive in me
It is no longer I that liveth
But Christ that liveth in me.
	It is a miracle of the ages that God chose us unto Himself, even when He knew what He was getting in us. He sees what glory Christ will receive in our beings, even though we are less than perfect in seeing ourselves. His Omniscient Grace is working and will work to completion, perfect completion, praise His Holy Name. 
	Galatians 1:3-5 Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. In a very direct statement, we have another wondrous characteristic of God before us. He so loved us that He came to earth, into the filth of this realm to bring us into a far greater relationship than we ever had known before. He made us fellow partakers with Himself in the Grace and the Love of God. This could only happen as He gave Himself up to death in order to pay the price that we deserved. Our death stench needed to be changed into fragrant prayers of adoration unto the throne of Heaven, and that could only be accomplished on the Cross. His death and resurrection, the selfless giving up of all unto the will of the Father, made the only provision by Whom we could ever have a righteous standing before God, the Father. In Christ, because of His sacrifice, we are now able to come into the very presence of God Almighty and live. Not only do we have life, we have every approach unto the throne of Grace in Jesus Christ. We are able to lay down our lives by the example of Christ for the sake of others. Through Him, we lift up the requests and the petitions of those who are not yet able to do so. More than this, God listens and responds, because we are there, before Him as His Beloved, covered in Christ Jesus. 
(193 The Lord is in His Holy Temple, The Lord is on His Heavenly throne)
The Lord is in His holy temple
The Lord is on His heavenly throne
We bring our praises unto Jesus
For all the love that He has shown
We sense the beauty of His presence
We hear the great triumphant shout
The Lamb for sinners slain is worthy
How can we keep from crying out
Singing Alleluia, Alleulia, Alleluia
Singing Alleluia, Alleulia, Alleluia
The Lord is in His holy temple
And we are in His presence now
The ones who’ve gone before have gathered
As one before the Lord we bow.
	All praise is due unto God for His so great plan of salvation, the wondrous deed of reconciliation and the magnificence of glorification in Jesus Christ. He is our very life, and our beings should be the living sacrifices for others, showing forth the expressed image of Christ, Who now indwells us and lives forth from us unto others. 
	The daily self-deaths we face are but continued expressions of the Love of God manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. We are daily experiencing the fulfillment of the resurrected life of Christ, Who now lives in us. We can expect no less from this world, than He received. Yet, we are also partakers of the Life, Who overcame all the fiery darts of this world age in triumphant resurrection power, praise be to His Name. He so loved us that He gave Himself for us. Can we do any less for others? For this wondrous reality, He is owed the homage of this age, and all the ages of the ages to come! 
(203 How Lovely is your dwelling place
How lovely is Your dwelling place
How beautiful your throne
Amazing love shines from your face
And there’s glory all around
There’s glory all around
Son of God, make in us Your home
Draw our hearts unto Your throne
Being built to a house of living stone
Where there’s glory all around
There’s glory all around.
Your temple’s filled with majesty
In Splendor You’re adorned
Your presence makes the blind to see
For there’s glory all around
There’s glory all around.
	Christ, Himself, tells us the next characteristic of God which deserves all praise and adoration in Matt. 19:26, But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. The Omnipotence, or all-powerfulness of God is completely beyond the comprehension of mankind. We are so limited in our abilities and our thinking. We consider ourselves so advanced in the scale of humanity and capability, yet we face so many walls that seem to be insurmountable. Here we can deal with any aspect of our humanity. Our circumstances, our knowledge, our illnesses, our death rates, the ills of society, the languishing of our youth. In every direction there is so much need of so much more than we can do. We have learned so much in terms of scientific discovery, and yet we are so lost in terms of dealing with the same problems of poverty, war, discrimination, hatred, and a myriad of other issues. We have machines that can now do so much of the drudgery that once exhausted our daylight, yet there are so many more other things that have a pull on our time, that we are even more lost in the morose of anguish than any other generation in history.
	We have no hope in the world order and in the betterment of society by human endeavors. The only hope is in the Lord God Almighty. He is able, and He will to do that which man alone finds impossible. He has already accomplished everything that is needed to establish the eternal quest of humanity: righteousness, peace, and joy. It is ours in Christ through the effective working of the Holy Spirit. There is contentment in Christ. There is nothing lacking, even far surpassing the scope of human imagination, in Christ Jesus. 
(228 Who is He? )
Who is He? Who’s the mightiest of all. 
Who is He? Creation trembles at His call
Who is He? The lowly sacrifice
Who paid the victim’s price
His name is Jesus.
Jesus, from the Father’s own right hand
Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man
Jesus, who died and rose again
Jesus, He’s the Lion and the Lamb
Who is He? With the power none can tame
Who is He? When every foe would fear His name.
Who is He? Who was humbly lead away
To glory on that day
His name is Jesus
Who is He? With the eyes that burn like fire.
Who is He? Oh the wonder He inspires
Who is He? The perfect Lamb of God
He is the risen Lord
His name is Jesus. 
	God is to be praised for the fact that He works mightily to bring forth the glory of Christ in all the lives of those who are called according to His purpose. He breaks down every wall of separation, every barrier that might exist, that could hinder the effective working of His Holy Spirit. There is nothing that can stand in His way. Nations have crumbled before Him. Mighty kings have been cast down in the dust of history, or they have been used of God to accomplish exactly what needed to be done in every last detail. 
	There is no explanation for any of us in our lives unto God except that He worked tremendously to make His way and His will to become our way and our will. Our very lives this evening are living testament to the effective working of God in dealing with what would be impossible before mankind. There is so very much that each of us could witness to, and it all comes back to giving glory to the One to Whom all Glory is due. 
(254 Be Still for the presence of the Lord, The Holy One is here)
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here
Come bow before Him now with reverence and fear
In Him no sin is found
We stand on holy ground
Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here.
Be still for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.
He burns with holy fire, with splendor He is crowned
How awesome is the sight,
Our radiant King of light,
Be still for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.
Be still for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.
He comes to cleanse and heal to minister His grace.
No work to hard for Him
In faith receive from Him
Be still for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.
	The last verse of our consideration this evening, is again sung by the psalmist in Chapter 18, verses 30-32, As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God, save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. It is only in God that perfection exists. There is no flaw in Him. There is no lack in Him. There is no failing in Him. There is no blemish in Him. He is the Essence and Being of Holiness and Perfection. His Word is Truth and Just, declaring to the ages the greatness of our God. He makes His ways perfect in us. He establishes us in His will and keeps us hid within the shelter of the clefs of His rock. Our hearts should respond with utmost joy at the thought of His loving way in our lives. Our souls should cry out to the Lord in the fact that we recognize, fully recognize that He is the only One who deserves complete adoration now and ever more.
	As we are established in the reality of these characteristics of our most Holy and Awesome God, there should be no hesitation to offer up unto Him the sacrifice of our praise and worship. Yes, it is a sacrifice in every sense of the word because it means that our focus is not on us, not on the words that we use and how others might perceive them. Our focus is on God and how fully we can honor Him for the worthiness that He is to receive the very essence of our beings in worship unto Him. (262 All Heavens declare the glory of the risen Lord)
All Heavens declare the glory of the risen Lord
Who can compare with the beauty of the Lord
Forever you will be
the Lamb upon the Throne
I’ll gladly bow my knee
and worship you alone.
I will proclaim the glory of the risen Lord,
Who once was slain
to reconcile man to God.
	Once again, we are at the point of stating that our worship is based on our perception of the worthiness of the one unto whom we are bringing our worship. It is easy to mouth appropriate words and sing beautiful songs, but it is the substance of our hearts that will bring forth true worship unto God. When we value Him above all else, when we know that He is our everything, and that without Him, we would surely die, then our spirits will join with the Holy Spirit in full and unadulterated adoration unto the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then will our complete beings bring forth that which will touch the heart of God in all His splendor and glory. This will be both corporately and individually because it will manifest the wondrous truth that God is truly worthy of all praise and honor and glory.
	Rev. 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
(100 Thou art worthy)
Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy
Thou art worthy O Lord
Thou art worthy to receive glory
Glory and honor and pow’r
For Thou hast created
Hast all thing created
For thou hast created all things.
And for Thy pleasure
They are created
Thou art worthy O Lord.

(162 In moments like these I sing out a song, I sing out a love song to Jesus)
In moments like these I sing out a song, 
I sing out a love song to Jesus
In moments like these I lift up my hands
I lift up my hands to the Lord
Singing I love you Lord
Singing I love you Lord
Singing I love you Lord, I love You.

(112 Be exalted O God, above the heavens)
Be exalted O God, above the heavens,
Let Thy glory be over all the earth.
Be exalted O God, above the heavens,
Let Thy glory be over all the earth.
Let Thy glory be over all the earth.
Majesty, worship His majesty
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise
Majesty, kingdom authority
Flows from His throne unto His own His anthem raise.
So exalt lift up on high the name of Jesus
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King
Majesty, worship His majesty
Jesus Who died, now glorified King of all kings
All hail King Jesus
All hail Emmanuel
King of kings and Lord of lords
Bright morning star
And throughout eternity I’m going to praise Him
And forever more I will reign with Him
So exalt lift up on high 
the name of Jesus
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King
Majesty, worship His majesty
Jesus Who died, now glorified
King of all kings

(115 You are the Mighty King, The Living Word)
You are the Mighty King, The Living Word
Master of everything, You are the Lord
And I praise Your name
And I praise Your name
You are Almighty God, Savior and Lord
Wonderful Counselor, You are the Lord.
And I praise Your name
And I praise Your name
And I praise Your name
And I praise Your name
You are the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel
Everlasting Father, You are the Lord
You are the Mighty King, The Living Word
Master of Everything, You are the Lord

(238	Emmanuel, Emmanuel)
Emmanuel, Emmanuel 
His name is called Emmanuel
God with us, revealed in us
His name is called Emmanuel

(263 Now unto Him Who is able to keep, able to keep you from falling)
Now unto Him Who is able to keep, able to keep you from falling
and present you faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy.
To the only wise God, our Savior, be Glory and Majesty
Dominion and Power, both now and forever. A-men