I like us this morning to head straight into the Scriptures, so, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Romans and chapter 11. It has been quite a journey, I think, we have gone through this for more than a year and we are right now at Romans 11 and the last portion of this chapter. If you think I am slow, I realized that in other churches they take about six years to come to Romans 11, so, no complaints, alright. We come to Romans 11 and let's look at verses 33-36 and herein will be the basis of our thinking, this morning.

The Bible says:

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

This is God's Word.

This morning, from these verses, I like to share with you on the subject of worship. We are going to look at what worship really means.

There is a little girl who went to a church building, an old church building and she looked upon the walls of the buildings and saw names inscribed upon plaques and so she asked mummy, "Mummy, what does these names mean, what do they represent?" And mummy says, "Well, these are the people who have died in the service for the Lord." And the little girl then scratched her head and said, "Mummy, when did they die, during the first service on the second service?" In our case, there are two services and sometimes, when we come to worship God, we think it is a lifeless, dull and deadening process. We come to worship, and we are prepared to be bored, we are prepared to be dull, we are prepared to be dying there. That's the idea of worship for many people.

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But this morning, I like us to look at worship for what it truly is and worship should be amazing and so the subject, the title of our sermon today would be, Wow Worship.

I like us today to put the Wow back into worship, because, worship should be awe inspiring, worship should be exhilarating to the soul, worship should be all invigorating because this is what worship is all about, it's about a wow, the wow of God, is what worship is.

You say, why should worship be so satisfying, fulfilling and invigorating? Let me tell you why; the reason is because you and I, we are made to worship, we are all created for God, we are created to worship. Sometime ago, in 2004, there was a cover page in Time magazine that looks like this, the God gene and the article within, says this or opens with this question, does our DNA compel us to seek a higher power. Believe it or not, some scientists says yes. Scientists, embark on a journey to look at our genomes, to look at our genes and see if there is any genetic basis to explain why man is always seeking a higher power. Scientists, say yes, some scientists also say no. Does the seeking of a higher power reside in our genes, that I cannot tell. But what I can tell is this, who you are and how God has made you today is to worship God because I don't get it from the scientists, I don't get it from scientific data, I get it from Scriptures.

This is what God Himself has to say:

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.

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So, man is also created for worship, to glorify God to magnify His name. Man is truly satisfied when he worships the true and living God.

So, this is why worship should be one of a wow. Worship should be enthralling, because that is what you are made for, you are made to worship God. I think worship is the wow of knowing God. Worship is not about the number of songs you sing, it's not about the instruments you have on stage, it's not about the place we are in. Worship, in its essence, is about the wow of knowing God. The songs we sing, the hands raised, the eyes closed, all these are mere expressions of the inward reality of being awed by the presence and the Person of God. So, what is worship again? Worship is the wow of knowing God.

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This is a picture of what it means to worship, this is a picture taken from the Old Testament times when the glory of the Lord filled the house and the people could not, but just bow before God's presence and to worship Him. This is taken from 2 Chronicles 7:1-3. Therein, the Bible says,

2Chr 7:1-3

Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.……

He goes on to say,:

And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

What is worship?, Worship is the wow of encountering God. The wow of encountering God. It is as they see God, they will praise God, it is as they know God that they would praise God. If I were to put it this way, it is the theology that results in the doxology. You say, what is theology? Theo is God, theology is knowing God. Theology leads us to doxology, which is the praise towards God. What is worship?, It is the doxology that flows from theology or if I put it in another simpler way, worship is the wow of knowing God. You see, this is the experience of apostle Paul. He comes to Romans 11 and verse 33 and he explains and proclaims,

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

And he goes on a praise which ends in these words

"to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

It's a picture of a man, who seems to pause at Romans 11, takes a deep breath, contemplates, and reviews all that he has written, all that he has been brought to think of by the Holy Spirit and he wonders at the greatness and the goodness of God and he exclaims,

"O the depth of the riches"

As I was reading commentaries sermons on this passage, I read about a pastor, oh, about 40 years ago, still alive today, but as he was teaching Romans 9 and 11, to a class of Greek students, he wrote out the major themes and major points, the major lessons in Romans 9 and 11 and he began to draw lines, connecting all that he has been teaching into a beautiful picture and as he did that, as he was teaching these glorious words, one of the brighter students in his class, stood up spontaneously and began to sing, he began to sing the doxology, he began to sing, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow." It was not orchestrated, it was not planned before time, but as the man looks into the Scriptures and sees the glory of God, he can't help but break out in doxology. So, as Paul reviews the theology, as he reviews who God is and His ways, he can't help but break out in praise unto God.

I suppose, it is like a man who goes on a mountaineering expedition, he goes right up to the top, the pinnacle, the peak of the mountain, he looks down and he surveys the beautiful terrain he has been allowed to go through, he looks at the beautiful waters, rivers, waterfall, he looks at the beautiful sky, he looks at the luscious green grass, he takes deep breath and with a burning within his heart, with tears in his eyes, he looks at the awesomeness at all that is around him and he breaks out, "Oh, how marvelous, this is".

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Paul, is like someone who has climbed Mount Everest and right at the peak, and at the pinnacle, at chapter 11, he marvels at the greatness and the goodness and the grandeur of God and breaks out in praise. You say, what is worship? Worship is the wow of knowing God. If there is nothing you remember today, remember this, "worship is the wow of knowing God", it should fill your souls, it should satisfy your deepest being, because, that's what we are made to do and because, the subject of our worship is God Himself.

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The question you may have is, how can we know God? If worship is the wow of knowing God, I need to know God and how can you and I today know God. If you ask this question to the world, I thing the typical answer would be this, that people would sit under a coconut tree and start to observe humanity, start to observe the world and see what man is like, see what the world is like and then, to gain from that observations to go into imagination. Ah!, If men is like this, God should be like this, if man is like that, then God should be like that and so we project our ideas about man and about self unto God. It is said, that when God made man in His own image, men like to now make God in our own image. Do you realize that? That's humanity. We like to make God like us, because, if you start with observations, and then imagination, you end up with the wrong idea of God and that is what God Himself said.

In Psalms 50:21, He says

These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; (Added by Pastor: you sin, I kept silent, why did you sin ? It's because you ) thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself:

In Psalms 50:21

These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself:

You sin, because you do not have the right idea, the right understanding of who I am. But these reveal, the failure of trying to know God, according to our own observations and our imaginations. It doesn't work and I will illustrate to you why.

Some time ago, there were six blind men, who was asked this question, what is an elephant? And the blind men say, we will find out what is an elephant and so, they went to an elephant and the six men began to feel, touch the elephant and each of them came out with a description of an elephant. One man says, the elephant is like a wall, it's big, it's flat, it's solid, an elephant is a wall. The second man says, no, that's not an elephant, and elephant is like a snake, it's thick, it's long, it's cold, it's like a snake and then someone else says, no, the elephant is like a fan, it's flat, a huge and it flaps. The fourth man says, no, the elephant is like a rope, it's thin, short. But, all these men, though they had attempted to explain and to review what an elephant is, they all got it wrong, why? Because they were all blind, all of them were feeling different parts of the elephant. Some of them felt the torso, some of them felt the trunk, some of them felt the leg, some of them felt the rope, some of them felt the tusk. What ever it is, they all had a little grasp of the elephant, but they did not have the understanding of the elephant, because they were blind.

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And if men is to know God, based on his own observations and imaginations, we will end up like this, why?, Because we are spiritually blinded. We can't, know God by ourselves. So, God cannot be known by observations, God got to be known by the revelation. It's not what we imagine of God, it's what God has told us about Himself. So, in worship, in worship, it is the wow of knowing God, then we've got to understand, the wow comes when we see God in the Scriptures. The Bible, that you have in your hands, is the revelation of God to us. The Bible is God revealing to us who He is. The wow of worship comes when we see God in His Word. You say, what is worship, the wow of knowing God, when you see Him in His Word.

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All that I have said so far, can be succinctly summarized by John Stott, he said:

“The worship of God is evoked, informed and inspired by the vision of God. Worship without theology is bound to degenerate into idolatry. (Added by Pastor: this is a good statement, a great statement, worship without theology is bound to degenerate into idolatry. You see, if you do not know God as He reveals Himself in the Bible, without theology, without proper knowledge of God, you don't worship God, you worship an idol, because he is not the true God, it's a God you imagine, but not the God of the Word, so, worship without theology is bound to degenerate into idolatry) Hence the indispensable place of Scripture in both public worship and private devotion. It is the Word of God which calls forth the worship of God.”

You say, why do we gather every Sunday to worship God and pastor Jason takes so long to preach? And why is it that we gather on Sunday, there must be the proclamation of the Word? This is the reason why. It is as we understand the revelation of God that our hearts are drawn out to the awesomeness and the wonders of who He is, that we truly can worship Him. The worship of God is evoked, informed and inspired by seeing God in its pages.

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And, so this is what worship really is. The central focus of worship is God and God is known in the Bible, is known in His Word. Can I say this, worship is not primarily about your emotions. Now, I said, worship is not primarily about your emotions. I believe, worship involves, and must involve emotions. It must, because God calls us, Jesus told us, this is the first commandment, that we will worship Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. Worship must involve emotions, but it is not primarily about emotions. Because, we can worship, or imagine we are worshiping with great feelings and emotions, but, really, we're not worshiping Him at all.

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Jesus said it best, they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, because, it is the revelation of God that reveals to us who God is.

A story, is told of a young lady, went to Kenya, to visit the missionary work there. She visited a medical clinic in Kenya, where there were large groups of people gathered and they were all singing, singing with passion, singing with joy, singing with emotions and she felt, it was a totally worshipful atmosphere and she began to tear, and she was soaked in into the emotions and feelings, and then she asked the lady beside her, this is such a great time of worship, can you tell me what they are singing about in this line and the lady said to her "If you boil your water before you drink it, you wouldn't have diarrhea." (Laughter in the congregation). They were not worshiping, but it certainly looked like they were worshiping and so often, we can gather, and we can sing with feelings and emotions and we were fervent in all that, but you know what, if it's not secondary to truth, it is not secondary to the contemplation of God, it is not an encountering or knowing of God, it is not worship.

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You can have great emotions in a football stadium, you can have great emotions, in a discotheque. Emotions come, but you see, worship is called for, and drawn out as we catch a vision of God in the Scriptures. Worship is not how we work out your emotions, it's not about the clever use of lightings and instruments and volume, it's not primarily about these things. You don't work up your emotions, worship is something that needs to come down, something of the character of God must come down, deep within our souls and that is what inspires worship, that in essence, is the core of worship, it is the wow of knowing God. Something must penetrate our souls.

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So, certainly worship must involve our emotions, but the primary thing is that it must be about God and we know God through the Word, His truth.

And may I say this, the study of God's Word must lead us to worship, the study of God's Word must lead us to worship, because, there can be people today who would read the Scriptures for mere academic knowledge. If you seek academic knowledge alone, you have stopped short of what is the ultimate goal for you in the Bible. God desires our worship and we are made to worship, the Scriptures are given that we may worship, so, if you have knowledge, instead of worship as your goal, really, you have committed in a sense, idolatry.

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The theology, must lead us to doxology.

Can I give you a mathematical equation, I know, it's Sunday morning and it's a warm lights, you may be sleepy, but can I give you a mathematical equation and you work it out in your mind, it looks like this:

Theology – Doxology = Idolatry.

Catch ball, or catch no ball.

Theology – Doxology = Idolatry.

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The study of God that does not lead us to the praise and the worship of God is actually, idolatry, because, you are just knowing, and you want to have the knowledge, you just wanted the facts and that is the aim and the goal in and of itself, you have missed the mark.

Theology, must lead us to doxology, doxology flows from theology, otherwise, it's an idolatry. I know this is complex, you just write down, and you go home in your toilet, you can sit there and think some more. (Laughter in the congregation). But worship, is the wow of knowing God and the purpose of the Scriptures is that we may see the wow of God.

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It is not for us to see the wow of my intelligence, or the wow of my knowledge but it's the wow of God that we pursue. So, in summary, what do we say to these things.

1. Be careful about un-doctrinal devotion.

There is a great danger today - people run on emotions that are not based on God's Word, alright. Be careful about un-doctrinal, un-biblical devotions. At the same time, be careful about un-devotional doctrines; you study the Bible, but it doesn't lead you to worship. These two are dangers to be avoided. Un-doctrinal devotions and un-devotional doctrines. We take them out, and what should you have, you take out un-doctrinal devotions, take away un-devotional doctrines and what you're left with, yeah, that's right, doctrinal devotions. It's very simple, our devotion to God must be in accordance to truth. And so, what is worship, it is when the Word of God, reveals to us, the wonders of who God is, that we come into the wow of worship.

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So, I come back to my opening statement, worship, is the wow of knowing God and you know God primarily through His Word. That's the exciting part of reading the Scriptures, that's the exciting part about worship, it's not about the hands, it's not about the songs, it's not about these things, it's primarily about our hearts and our being, enthralled with absolutely who God is.

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Now, all that, is to give you the sense of what Paul is writing in verses 33-36. I didn't go into the verses, because the placement of these verses and the emotions in this verse, teaches us so much about worship. Paul, as he reveals, chapters 1-11, he is totally enthralled with who God is, he breaks out in doxology because this is what real theology should do to your soul. And so now Paul begins to in a sense, summarize, in these verses. Why is he so wowed about God ? You know, we can't go back from chapters 1-11, we can't, we don't have the time for it. But, he in a sense, crystallizes it for us in these few words.

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He says, O, the word O is such an emotive word, he has no words for it, really and he says "O, the depths", the depths of it, he says, I plunged so far, but there is so much more to go, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. The word riches, generally when used by Paul, would most often refer to the grace, and the mercy and the love of God. You can look at it, in several verses in Romans and in Ephesians but when he uses the word riches, generally he would be referring to the love and the mercy of God. So, Paul, as he starts from chapter 1 to chapter 3, he looks at humanity, he looks at himself, he looks at the Roman readers that he would reach and he thinks about the whole of mankind and he says, we are so rotten and so helpless and so wicked and so sinful, we are totally unlovely and yet, and yet God loves us, O, the depth of the riches, of the grace and the mercy of God, it's astounding. That's why today, we sing Amazing Grace.

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That's why, Paul says, I pray for you, my church at Ephesus, that you may know, the height, the depths, the length, the breath of the love of God. It is so profound. It's the grace of God, it's the grace that it's out of this world, it is the grace that blows our minds. I can't even begin to tell, because there is so much to say as we have journeyed in the book of Romans. But Paul says, this is what I am wowed by, I am wowed by the grace of God, I am wowed by the love of God, I am wowed by His compassion. That's why, when we sing, we sing of His love, the wonder of it. What's the wonder of it all? The wonder of it all is that Jesus loves me, that's the wonder, that's the wow of worship. He goes on to say, the wisdom, the wisdom of God, to know what to do and to do what is right and good, it is I, the wisdom of God.

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You know, men and sin is in such a mess, that if I were to give you, or if you were to be given this problem, none of us would be able to solve it. The problem of sin cannot be solved in human wisdom. The Bible tells us, that the prophets of old, as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, to write the Old Testament, they didn't quite know what God is going to do, you know, they didn't quite fully understand. The Bible says, the prophets search and enquired, what is the grace that is to come, they didn't understand. The Bible even tells us in 1 Peter 1, that the angels craned their necks, looking into world history to figure out what is the wise plan of God in redemption. The angels didn't know.

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This plan of salvation can only be conceived by God that the total mess sin has brought about would be absolutely reversed and not only reverse, but it would ultimately course towards a greater glory of God, who would've thought of such a plan, who would have thought of such ways, the amazing wisdom of God, the knowledge of God. God knows everything!

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If there's something you need to know today, it's God knows everything. Sometimes, when we pray, we pray as if God doesn't know anything. God, yesterday, I went to the market and I bought this fish, and this fish was not very fresh, but I was cheated, I need to tell you I was cheated, because otherwise You may not realize, but, I felt very bad, and we start to tell God our stories, as if God doesn't know. Friends, God knows everything, He knows everything from the subatomic level, to everything from the galactic level, He knows everything. He knows all your thoughts, He knows what you are thinking off right now "Pastor, can you be faster?" (Laughter in the congregation). He knows your thoughts, He knows my thoughts and He knows, everything in the past, in the present and in the future. He knows what happens when one event is triggered off and how it impacts, billions of things thereafter. He knows how a billion things, a trillion things would interact one with another and all that doesn't strain His mind the least bit. That's what it means to be God, He has all knowledge.

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And Paul says, God knows the response of the Jews, God knows that they would reject, oh yes God is sovereign and that of course, but at the same time, the knowledge of God comes into the picture. The depths of the grace, the mercy, the riches, the wisdom and the knowledge of God and he says, how unsearchable are His ways.

This is a graphic picture, it is a picture of a hunter and he's trying to hunt down the rabbit also and so, he follows the footprints and up to a certain place, the footprints disappear, cannot find, how unsearchable, or rather how that's inscrutable, that is the word that is used there. But God's ways, and God's judgment are beyond finding out. Do you know, that the judgment of God is beyond our minds. When my son does something wrong, because I am fallen, there are times, I just let him go, failing to discipline him, as I should, I don't reveal to him that was wrong, I just let him go. You know something, God never lets a single sin go, never, every sin. God doesn't say, Ah, just let me let that go by, no, His judgment, His justice, His righteousness is unsearchable. That's why, every sin has to be on Jesus His Son.

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No sin goes unpunished, and it is all on Jesus and in order for God to forgive us, He cannot just say, Ah, I will just let all of you come in, I will just forgive you, just like that, He can't, He's got to be righteous and so He has got to pour His wrath on His only begotten Son, that's how righteous God is.

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And so, Paul, as he reveals Romans 1-11, he's extolling, he's marveling at all that God is. And, he goes on to say, "For who has known the mind of the Lord all who has been His counselor." Who can teach God, who can teach God? What a question, who can know the mind of God? We can't. Where were you, when there was only God, before creation, before the angels, before the world, before men, anyone of us there? With the Ancient of Days ? No, He was eternal in His counsel. Who can teach God anything or who has first given to him and it shall be recompense unto him again. Does God owe us anything? Does God owe you anything? No! Everything you have today, is purely out of His grace. The knowledge you have, the family you have, the country you are in, the spiritual privileges right now you're enjoying, all that is the grace of God. The moment God takes away that grace, you stop breathing, you die. He doesn't owe you anything, He doesn't.

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And Paul, ends by saying,

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things

You know, these three words, of, through and to, tell us, what life is all about. God is the source of everything, for of Him are all things, God is the sustainer of everything. You know, we talk about the law of gravity, the laws of life, they are mere descriptions of the sustaining Hand of God. That's all! It does not exist apart from God. God sustains us all and God is the significance of it all, to Him all things.

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So, Paul is lost in a wonder of who God is. Can we figure God out? No. Just like a worm, he would never figure out man, man would never figure out God, except that the distance between God and man is, far, far, far, greater than the worm and man. There is no way, there is no way, we can fully know God. And that's what Paul is amazed at: God, I know of Your riches, of mercy and grace, I know of Your wisdom and Your knowledge, I know of Your justice and Your righteousness, I know some of it, but I know there is so much more I don't and I am awed by you, and I wowed by You and now, I break out in praise and worship towards You.

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Augustine, the Bishop of times past, he was struggling with some realities about God in his mind, he can't understand some things about God, troubled, walking by the beach, one day he saw a little child, run to the beach, run to the waters, scoop up a bucket of water, run back to where he was and pour the water into a hole he had dug for himself. And as he pours the water into the hole, the water quickly seeps through and disappear. So, he finds it curious, he asked, son, what are you doing. The little boy says "Well, I'm trying to pour the ocean into the hole." Augustine, thought to himself, this is ridiculous, who would ever think of something like this. Let me tell you, you can never keep God in a box, you can never pour the infinitude, and the magnificence of God into a little box called your brain, you couldn't. God is just too great.

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And so, that in essence is what Paul is reflecting, he saying, I am wowed as I know God, as I climb the Mount Everest of the book of Romans. As I arrived at the peak there, I am awed and inspired by who He is and I break out in praise and worship, because, worship is the wow of knowing God.

You say, pastor, what's this got to do with me today. Let me say this, it has everything to do with you, it has everything, the worship of your life, has everything to do with your entire life. I want to share with you, an excerpt from a sermon I read and I think it applies, the worship and the splendour, and the awesomeness of God in our lives in a profound but very applicable way. So, let me read to you what he said.

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I don't think I can better, what is already written. He says this, "And let me pause here to say, that this sort of truth, this shocking vision of ultimate reality, of who God is, the greatness, the grandeur, the wow of who God is, it is really relevant to your daily life, if you will see and feel it for what it really is. Take sex for example, the assumption is this: One of the main reasons that the world and the church are awash in lust and pornography, fornication, adultery, masturbation, homosexuality and endless sexual innuendo in all media. One of the reasons we are awash in all this is that our lives are intellectually and emotionally disconnected from infinite, soul-staggering grandeur.

Inside and outside the church we are drowning in a sea of triviality, pettiness and silliness. Television is trivial. Radio is trivial. Conversation is trivial. Education is trivial. Christian books are trivial. Worship styles are trivial. It is inevitable that the human heart, which was made to be staggered with terrifyingly joyous dread and peace by an infinitely untouchable, embracing God. It is inevitable that such a heart, drowning in the all-pervasive, blurry boredom of banal entertainment, will reach for the best buzz that life can give: sex.

The deepest cure to our pitiful addictions is not any mental strategies and I believe in them and have my own. The deepest cure is to be intellectually and emotionally staggered by the infinite, everlasting, unchanging sovereignty, holiness, wrath, justice, wisdom, truth, and mercy of God. And sex is just one of the hundreds of day-to-day issues you face that will overwhelm you and debase your life without this kind of encounter with the living God.

That is why Romans 11 is relevant for you. I pray that God will give you the capacity to be spiritually jolted.

Why do men go for sin, sinful sexual escapade? why do men get stuck in drugs and substance abuse, why would men do these things, because they are finding satisfaction, although, short-term ones in these things and the reason they go for these things is because they have not been filled with the awesome, staggering grandeur of who God is.

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I hate to the use this illustration, but I think, for your sake, you can understand it. If you have tasted Mao Shan Wang (Mountain Cat durian grade), you wouldn't want other types of durians. Multiply it by a billion times, a trillion times, what ever you want and only, when you realized, how awesome God is, that you will not reach for the trivial, base and silly things of life. Worship, is everything, because, it is when you see and you behold the glory of God that you have the deepest cure to your sins, to your addictions and to the habits of life.

You see, it is when Isaiah saw the vision of God, it is when Isaiah saw the glory of God, that he will see the filthiness and unworthiness within. What did Isaiah say ? He says "Woe is me." And you know why he says, "Woe is me ?", because he says, "Wow is He". It is when we realize wow is He, that we will see, woe is me. Worship, gives you the deepest cure for sin. That's why, we must be looking at God in the Scriptures and as that fills our souls with Himself, God gives us the strength and the victory for this life.

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If I might say, secondly, the worship of God, the wow, the excitement, the thrill of knowing God, gives us, fills us in our ministry towards Him, in our service towards God. You know, it is very hard to motivate people to serve, do you realize that. As a pastor, I feel it. Can someone serve in this, it is very hard to get people to serve and you know what happens is that pastors, leaders, they go into that mindset where it says, I need to drive you to do it, I need to guilt you into doing it, I need to force you to do . But you see, we missed the point. That's not really the motivation of Scriptures.

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A pastor, was very upset with the giving of the church, the people are not giving money enough and so, the ministries are not doing well and so he thought of a brilliant way to get people to give. He got the pews wired up with electricity. He got the electrician, wired up all the chairs, imagine if I do it today, wired up all the chairs and he says, to the church, who will give a thousand dollars today, and as he asked this question, he says, whoever stands, who will stand up and say, I will give $1000, today and as he asked that question, he pressed the button, zzzzz, electricity, went through the entire chairs and pews throughout the church and half of the people stood up. Wah, thank God for all of you giving. Who will give $2000 today, and he pressed the button and some more stood up and he went to 3000, 4000, 5000 and at the end of the gathering, the pastor and church leaders were absolutely delighted, they went to the counting room and said this was a successful, tithing campaign, this was a successful fundraising campaign, we should do it more and as they were rejoicing and celebrating, a knock came to the door and they opened the door and the deacon very solemn came and said, "Pastor, I've got news to tell you, four men died, because no matter how much we raised it, they will not get off the bench." (Laughter in the congregation).

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Let me tell you, there will be people who were never get off their bench to serve; if you guilt them, if you drive them, if you intimidate them, if you threaten them. But you see, that's not how Paul motivates, that's not how God motivates. We are so focused, on working for God that we totally missed out, it must begin in the worship of God. Why do I say this is so? Look at Romans 11. People have been asking, pastor, why do you take so long to preach Romans 1 to 11 and, and the worst part is every time, after the sermon, it feels like there is nothing for me to do, there is no applications. I mean, as you honestly look through the chapters, there's nothing, that Paul tells the Romans to do. I say, that's great, that's exactly what it should be, God is not telling His people to do anything in Romans 1-11. What Paul is doing and what God is saying in Romans 1-11 is, is not so much what you do for Me; I want you to know what I have done for you. I want you to be full of that recognition. The preaching of God's Word is not always to drive people to do things, the preaching of God's Word is to reveal God for who He is and that people see God, and as they see God they are wowed by Him, they are worshiping Him from the heart and you know what, you will turn a gear, when you come to Romans 12. You say, you really want to serve God, you really are full of His grace and His goodness and you are awed by His presence, if you really are doing that, go to Romans 12 and the demand is this, present yourself a living sacrifice, God doesn't want us to be guilt here a little, fearful there a little, threatened there a little and give a little bit of whatever we can give to God. That's what fear and guilt us, just a little bit here and there. But you see, it is as we soaked in, the goodness, the mercy, the greatness of God that we say, we will give our lives to Jesus.

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Why would any man says, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Why would a man say this? Because, Jesus gave Himself for you. You can't go to Romans 12, without going to Romans 1 to 11. Worship, the worship of God, leads us to the work for God. It is only when we become like Marys, that we can then begin to serve with Martha's hands. But too many of us would not be willing to sit like Mary, too many of us would like to rush through Romans 1 to 11, we want to rush through and tell me what I need to do. No, let me tell you what God has done. Then, in the appropriate time, as the love of God fills our hearts, we express that as an overflow, presenting ourselves a living sacrifice.

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My friends, the worship of God, gives you the deepest cure for your sins, the worship of God, gives you the deepest motivation for your consecration, the worship of God gives you the greatest contentment and joy. Some of you today, are going through the roughest of rides, I know some of you personally, gone through a loss, catastrophe has struck, your child has been diagnosed with something that is beyond human help and you are tempted to worry, you are tempted to fear and you are tempted to question God, why. You are tempted to become like, that question, the person asked the question, or Paul asked the question, "Who hath known the mind of God?, God, why is this happening to me?" And you are assaulted with fears and anxieties. My friends, what you need to look at is not so much why this has happened, who has known the mind of God? But to ask who do you trust. Our God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. It sounds so profound, but it is true, it is mysterious. Tracks past finding out, inscrutable ways, but you can be sure, His wonders to perform, it's always good and right.

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My friends, your deepest joy is not found in anything else but God. This is the world that wants to find joy in things. Oh, if I have this car, I will be happy. Oh, if I have this apartment, I will be happy. Oh, if I had this position in my company, I will be happy. Oh, if I have this woman, I will be happy. Or, if I have this drug, I will be, you know, we go to drugs, alcohol, you call it ecstasy, ice. Ai Ta Sze, (Laughter in the congregation), it's really a good name, Ai Ta Sze. The English name tells you, that you feel that this is the pill that will give you joy. Ecstasy, take it, you will be happy. But the pill, the alcohol, the women, the money will not give you joy. You know why? Because, you are not created for the pill, you are not created for alcohol, you are not created for women, you are not created for cars, you're not created for these trivial, petty things, ah women not petty, but the rest of it (Loud laughter in the congregation), trivial, petty things of life.

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You are created for God. You know something about happiness, happiness does not come by searching, chasing, pursuing these things. Happiness also doesn't come with you chasing happiness. The Bible doesn't say, blessed are those who chase after happiness, blessed are those who are looking for joy, no, happiness is never given when you are pursuing it, because happiness and joy, is a byproduct of knowing God. My friends, you, I hope this morning, would be called to the worship of God and the worship of God is the wow of knowing Him. From this day, henceforth, can I encourage you, look for God in the Scriptures. Theology, without doxology is idolatry. But when you have doctrinal devotions, it gives you the wow of life, it gives you the strength to overcome sin, it gives you the deepest, most sustained, joyous motivation to serve Jesus. Come, this morning, be like a man, regularly, whether in public, or private worship, come, and behold your King, His splendid, His glorious, His marvelous. May God inspire your soul.

Let's bow, for a word of prayer. Father we thank you today for Your Word and we realized that man, the words of men, could never do justice to the deep and profound truths that You want for us. But Lord today, we are looking for Your Spirit, looking to Your Spirit to teach us and to penetrate into the deepest recesses within our souls and revealed Yourself, afresh and anew. I pray for the church, not just full of people, but the church full of God. May we be a people of worship, true worship as we encounter You in the Scriptures, give us the wow and the wonder that it should bring forth. Father, be merciful, do that which man cannot do, we submit ourselves into Your Hands, we thank you and pray all this in Jesus Name, amen.