We now continue our contemplation of what is involved in coming together as a fellowship in worship unto the Lord God Almighty. As we go forward, let us ever take to heart and mind the question upon which we were so focused in our last deliberation. “Do I really know that I am meeting God, Face-to-face and Spirit-to-spirit?” This should be at the forefront of everything in us as we prepare and anticipate our coming together unto the throne of God’s grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. 
As this morning’s reading, please turn to 2 Corinthians Chapter 5. We want to read verse 14 through Chapter 6, verse 10. As you are turning to it, it would be good to remind ourselves that this was one complete letter written to the Church at Corinth. The chapter and verse designations were added later by publishers and theologians as a ready means of identifying where in the writings discussion, scholarly study, etc. could be easily referenced. We must never consider the human interaction with marking the text as definitive and infallible. The Word itself is the infallible Word of God, but the delineations are there merely for an easy means of locating those truths that we want to consider in greater depth as a body of believers. I, therefore, do no injustice to the Word by spreading our reading across these two chapters in order to maintain a clear thought and truth.  
2 Cor 5:14-6:10, For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — for He says, "At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you"; behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation" — giving no cause for offense in anything, in order that the ministry be not discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things. 
The reason for reading and highlighting this text is found in the reality that we are now a new creation in Jesus Christ. As we approach this entire matter of worship, we need to do so with the conscious thought and prayer that the Lord will make very evident in us His new life and His course of being everything in worship that will honor and bless and reverence Him. This is a key part of why we are spending this time together. 
Looking at this passage, consider these two realities. First, Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. On the basis of this foundational truth, we need to take to heart that we can be brought into the manner of that worship that will more fully and perfectly bless the heart of God. What this means is that we can absolutely make every adjustment as the Holy Spirit reveals what is now absolutely true of us in Jesus Christ as a completely new creation. This does away with that excuse to which some of us so desperately cling that we can’t change because we are just who we are. The plain and forthright reality is that we are now new in Jesus Christ. We are to reflect that newness of His life in accordance with our complete obedience to what the real nature of our lives now encompasses. 
    	I know that it is easy to be told that we should not give into our habitual patterns that so often rule the manner in which we conduct ourselves. These habits are often so engrained that they have become the basic operational truths and even anchors around which we conduct our lives. The reality, however, is that if our practices and customs keep our hearts and minds turned away from full reliance upon God, they need to be uprooted and replaced with the ever more secure and eternal anchor of the Lord Jesus, Himself. 
With regard to how we are to break those habits in which we so often find ourselves as less than honoring to the Lord, let us consider the events as recorded in Matt 14:25-33, if you would please turn to it in your Bibles. Matt 14:25-33. This is the familiar recounting of Jesus walking on the water and Peter’s attempt to do so. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!" 
Notice that Peter, who represented all the disciples, really wanted to walk with Jesus, even on the water. His initial expenditure of faith got him out of the boat and striding across the surface of the water. Then, as the wind began to blow, he took his eyes off Jesus and became frightened and began to sink. At that point, his only salvation and strength was established by the hand and the power of Christ as Jesus took hold of Peter and got him into the boat. 
This is the manner in which each of us needs to face the challenge of being more and more in line with the heart and mind of God. We take that first step of obedience in desiring to be with Jesus, walking with Him and communing with Him and fellowshipping with Him. Because we so love Him, we step forth as He instructs. 
However, our faith and our confidence and our reliance must never be focused anywhere else but in Him. As the wind begins to blow and the waves start to crest, we will find that we are prone to look at those circumstances rather than being entirely focused on the blessed Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As we struggle to break free from those habits and those things which are not pleasing to God, we must ever count on the Lord to be our rescue and our source of strength and sustenance and guidance. We walk, one step at a time, with our focal point being centered on the Lord. we count on His abiding faith holding us and comforting us and being the endurance to do only that which will give Him honor and glory and adoration. 
As well, please note what happened when Jesus and Peter were both in the boat with the other disciples. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!" There was a united worship of Jesus as the Son of God. They had been shown a little bit more of Who Jesus was and in that revelation, they worshipped Him. That is exactly what we desire as His fellowship in our being together unto Him. Even in the course of His working grace to cause us to be more pleasing to Him, there will be the requisite expression of worship that flows forth from us unto Him. 
The fact that we are a new creation in Jesus Christ brings our question to the immediacy of how and when we decide to come together to worship Him. “Do I really know that I am meeting God, Face-to-face and Spirit-to-spirit?” If we truly believed that we were, I would expect that we would want to be here together early and refreshed and ready to bring forth the very best that we have to offer. The reality is that we must each obey the Holy Spirit’s prompting and be open to those adjustments which show Him that we place the greatest value on the time that He has given us to be together. Consider this the next time we prepare to gather. We are coming into the presence of the One Who created you and me and every one of the members of our families and friends and associates. 
I know that there are things that are being brought to the forefront of some of us in this room and we do so without snobbery or judgment or criticism. You have it out with the Lord as I have to have it out with the Lord. All we need to do is to ask is the very same question, “Do I really know that I am meeting God, Face-to-face and Spirit-to-spirit?” 
The second aspect to this passage, in regard to our worship, is the fact that our entire essence is put on display before God and man in terms of how we consider this opportunity to worship. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — for He says, "At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you"; behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation" — giving no cause for offense in anything, in order that the ministry be not discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.
What is our view of worship? It makes all the difference in terms of how we approach this time together before Him. If we take it as described in this passage, we will see that we truly are working together not to receive the grace of God in vain. Our attitudes will be that of a servant, called before the Lord for all that we can do to minister to Him. We will set aside those behaviors and those mannerisms and habits and thought patterns and feelings and opinions and postures that are anything other than pleasing to Our Lord and Master. We are here to serve Him whatever the cost and whatever the means required on our part. The Apostle details, very specifically some of those things that were the direct result of being God’s servant. They manifested his greater appreciation for the privilege that God had given him in his service as a minister. He included every one of those to whom he ministered within the arena of what was involved to please God to the utmost. 
There is a cost to worship God in spirit and in truth. The above list makes it very clear that our hearts must be anchored in the reality that no matter what we undergo as servants, it is worth it in order to not take our salvation in vain. We must consider our time together as to not discredit the ministry of the Holy Spirit and to be the servants of God and of each other. We are here to work together with Him in all that He puts before us. Therefore we can not, in good conscience, do anything other than seek to declare His majesty and His splendor and His worthiness to be praised. Whatever it costs us will never measure up to what it cost Him to bring us unto Himself through the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son! We must never allow ourselves, especially in our stubbornness and selfishness to besmirch or diminish or bring discredit to His ministry of life and salvation!  
	I know this will grate against some of our conceptions and ideas. It is difficult to make adjustments and to do things in a better and different manner. We need to face the truth of who we are now in Jesus Christ. This means that we freely allow the Holy Spirit to bring before us those elements of our worship that do not please the Lord and to make us more and more honoring to Him. “Do I really know that I am meeting God, Face-to-face and Spirit-to-spirit?” 
	If we did, would we really get up in the middle of the message as if it is only a meeting in order to spend a few moments in socialization and spiritual exercise? Would we allow our minds and thoughts to languish in the cares and concerns and worries of the events of this age? Wouldn’t we rather be entirely and singly focused on celebrating the opportunity to lavish our every praise and adoration upon Our Lord and Savior? Wouldn’t it be more evident that the opportunity to hear from the Word of God would have us on the edge of our seats? That we would be hungering and longing for more of what the Lord is revealing of Himself to us in the precious gift of His Word by the working power of The Holy Spirit? Our entire conscious consideration of why we are here should be shaken at the very foundational reality of the cost that brings us to this place in service unto God and unto each other. 
There is nothing about being members of the very family of God in Jesus Christ that is to be taken for granted or in a carefree or lighthearted manner. We must always gather in the knowledge and awareness of what is at the very core of who we now are in Jesus Christ! Our every demeanor in the full celebration of the worthiness of Our Lord and Master is to be so reflected in the encouragement we read in 1 Thess 5:16-24, Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 
	We leave today with the following exhortation. Please take to heart who we are in Jesus Christ and what the cost to honor Him fully entails in every measure of our honorable service unto Him. This is no small thing in the plan and purpose of God’s glory and grace. He is never to be taken for granted or considered with anything less than the very best of our every sacrifice of worship and adoration. 
Phil 2:1-4, If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Amen. 

	This morning’s benediction is Ps 138:4+5. All the kings of the earth will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, When they have heard the words of Thy mouth. And they will sing of the ways of the Lord. For great is the glory of the Lord. Amen.