This year we have dedicated as "The Year of Fulfillment" or "Year of Realization" when we feel that the Lord is going to bring our church to a place of fulfillment in our ministry purpose. A year in which many of the visions we have had will begin to be realized.

It is appropriate therefore, right at the beginning, over the next few weeks to speak about what our purpose really is as a body of believers at Windcrest Baptist Church I believe we have a twofold purpose, born out of the two greatest statements that Christ gave to his church.

1. The Greatest Commandment. 2. The Great Commission.

The great Commandment preceded the Great commission, of necessity, because it is out of a true love for God that we gain a compassion for man. In the light of this, it may be good to begin by way of answering a question that some have asked and some of you may have in your minds. "Why do we spend so much time doing what we call Praise & Worship?" On any given Sunday we spend to 30 - 45 minutes singing, reading responsive Scripture, and praying, before we hear a sermon. Well, the answer to that is very simple. This is the most fundamental way in which we can physically carry out the first purpose of God's people and that is, to love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength. It is our ministry to the Lord.

"Ministry to the Lord? What do you mean by that?"

Ministry to the Lord is simply another very biblical way of describing "service" to the Lord. It is known in the Hebrew as sharath, and in the Greek, dikoneo

There are several ways described in the Bible to minister. By ministering to those whom He loves, through the giving of our material gifts, tithes & offerings etc, and through our praise & worship. The later is the foundation of each of the others. The ministry of praise and worship.

There is tremendous support for this in the Old Testament. In Deut. 10:8 we read, "At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today." Again in 2 Chron. 5:11-14 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.

12All the Levites who were musicians--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives--stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 1 3The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, 14and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

In the Old Testament, God's purpose was for all His people to minister to Him. They failed, and so He set aside a special group. The Levites. They were made priests unto the Lord, for the purpose of ministering to Him. Now there is an interesting turn of events. There is a new covenant, and a new priesthood. 1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

And so we may say with confidence that under the New Covenant, the new arrangement that God has with His people, the Church in the world today that ministering to the Lord through worship is:
I. Our Primary Purpose for Being.

The priority

The Beginning and the end of God's revelation to man reveals that the purpose for which we were created was to be for His pleasure. In Genesis 1: 26 we see that the creation of man was God's crowning glory. Created in His image and likeness suggests that man was created to share a relationship with God, to be His representative over all of His creation and to carry out distinct responsibilities. All of this was for the purpose of bringing pleasure to Him. Then at the end of His revelation to us in the book of Revelations 4:10-11. In John's vision of the future eternal age the 24 elders represent the believers throughout all the ages doing what God had originally purposed us to do. Ministering to Him. And then again, Rev. 5:11-14 "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. We were born to worship God. The sad thing is, if we do not focus our worship towards God, we will worship other things instead.

Other passages that emphasizes our worship of God as a primary purpose for being is Ephesians 1:4-5. Isaiah 43:7,21 One of the reasons we are powerless as a church in the 20th century is because we have lost touch with our original purpose - to minister unto the Lord. As we have seen now that it is a priority, lets turn our attention to the manner in which that function ought to be carried out.

The practice

1 Chron. 16:29 ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Ps 116:12-19 Psalm 116:12-19 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? [13] I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. [14] I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. [15] Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. [16] O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. [17] I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. [18] I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, [19] in the courts of the house of the LORD-- in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD. Ministering to God is loving Him for who He is as well as what He had done. It is not simply for what we can get from Him. It is the ultimate love. It is demonstrated in maturity. Religion is the coin we feel that we have to offer God to purchase His love or even to gain an audience so that we may love Him. God longs for uncovered love.

A story is told that while President Lincoln was in office, a Lady entered His study. "How may I be of service to you, madam?" "Mr. President," she replied, "I know you are a busy man. I have not come to ask you for anything. I have simply come to bring you this box of cookies. I heard you liked them so much." Silence followed and a tear could be seen in Lincoln's eye. "Madam, I am greatly moved by your gift and the thoughtfulness of it. Since I have been in this office I have seen thousands of people come into this office asking for favors and demanding things of me. You are the first person who has ever come to me asking nothing, yet bringing a token of gratitude."

So often we make the mistake of telling new Christians, "We are saved to serve." To serve is important. But when service is anything other than the outcome of the priority to love God and minister to Him through our praise and our worship of Him, we are in serious trouble. God primarily saves us because He wants us for Himself.

We have church rolls full of burned out, served out, "committeed" out Christians who were never taught the priority of the service of praise and worship over soulish effort.

We live in a society that is consumed with a "what's in it for me" mentality. Even our best intentions trip us up. We're always looking at stuff that we can benefit from. We look to praise tapes. Teaching series, seminars, books and conferences. All of these things are broken cisterns. None of them can be as fresh as the river that flows from the fountain of God. And you know where to find that river? In His presence, ministering to Him.

There is a beautiful example of this in Luke 10. It is the well known story of Mary and Martha at the home of Lazarus. Luke 10:38-42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

There are three observable characteristics in this brief, meaningful encounter.

1. Presence - she was before Jesus. In his presence. She sat at His feet. She made the choice to be in His presence.

2. Humility - she displayed humility - she humbled herself before Him. Unconscious of her surroundings.

3. Communication - through her unrecorded sharing with Him as well as through the body language that is recorded.

God has not called us to a religion; He has called us to a relationship which has as its activity intimacy with God. Intimacy is characterized by these three activities. Presence, humility, communication. This is what we are called to as Christians: intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ. So, ministering to the Lord is in the first instance, Our primary purpose according to God's plan.

In the second place, ministering to the Lord results in,

II. Our Power Through His Presence.

We marvel at the faith of some of the spiritual giants of our time. George Mueller. Established Orphanages in London and took care of thousands of homeless children while never once having had to ask for help of anyone but God. It seemed that he had a direct line to God, who always heard his cry for help and supplied their needs in a miraculous way. Corrie Tenboom's testimony of miracle after miracle leave us with our mouths hanging open in dismay. When we hear of the late Pastor Duma in Africa raising to life a young girl who had died of heat stroke in the sugar cane fields of Natal, we are amazed to the point of skepticism. Why is it that these people had such supernatural power at work in there lives? Where does this come from? Why don't we see the same workings of God's power more often, even in the mundane things of life? I believe these saints experienced God's power first hand was because of the hours they spent in the presence of God. Seeking intimacy with Him. Settling for nothing less then the throne room.

There is a sense in which ministering to the Lord brings us into His presence and brings His presence to us. Not in the physical sense, or in the reality of it, for we know that He is always with us, but in the experience of it.

This is illustrated in 2 Chron. 5:13-14 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, [14] and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God. Here, the glory of the Lord is akin to His presence. His presence came in a manifest way as a result of their praise. Yet His presence as they knew it then was already there represented by the Ark of the Covenant. As true as this was, it was only when they "ministered" to Him that they knew it by experience. It was not when they built the tabernacle. It was not when they offered the sacrifices. It was when they began to praise and worship Him. Ministry to the Lord must always come before ministry to man.

This is how the love relationship works. It is like our human relationships. No amount of service, in or outside the home can replace the need for the intimacy of a love relationship. When we first got married I must admit that my entire motive behind my relationship with Janice was faulty to say the least. I was unsaved at the time, and Janice was more of a "trophy" that an object of my love for her. Consequently, I tried to satisfy her need for my love by buying her all kinds of stuff. I gave her everything she wanted to try and keep her happy. I was also at her service as much as was possible. I thought she had it made. But the one thing that she needed most she was not getting. The things I was doing for her had no substance whatsoever to keep the relationship alive. It was only after Father gave me grace to realize that her needs (anyone's needs) for relationship go far beyond mere service, that I was able to nurture that relationship through presence, humility, commitment and communication that things began to change. Our spiritual relationship with Father is no different.

There is tremendous power given to us through the intimacy of His presence. There are many areas of our life, both in and out of the Church that are impacted by this. We look briefly at just a few. Paul knew the power that Paul realized the importance when he wrote of his desire for the Ephesian church which is a type of the church universal.

Ephes. 3:14-19 For this reason I kneel before the Father, [15] from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. [16] I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Paul knew the source of power was being in the presence of the Father. So what does it mean for us. What can we expect as a result of ministering to the Lord, of being in His presence? We can expect everything and more that the prophets and apostles of old experiences.

Turn with me to Zech. 3:1-5 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" 3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes. "Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you." 5Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.

The word "stand" is the same Hebrew word and used in the same context as Deut. 10:8 where the Levites stood before the lord "ministering" to Him. One of the greatest evidences of power resulting from our "standing" or "ministering" before the Lord is that:

1. Ministry to the Lord Produces Remedy for Evil.

For Christians today, the battle against our enemies, satan and the flesh is perpetual. It was apparently the same for Joshua. Here we see that when Joshua stood ministering before the Lord, he experienced victory over both of these primary areas of attack.

He experienced victory over the power of satan. Vs 1-2 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"

When we dwell in the presence of Father, the power of satan is rendered useless as God rebukes him. Darkness cannot prevail in the midst of light. Evil cannot prevail in the midst of supreme good.

He also experienced victory over the flesh. He received cleansing from unrighteousness. Vs. 3- 5. 3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes. "Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you." 5Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.

Here is a picture of victory over our unrighteous acts as we come before the Lord in an attitude of worship. Through praise and worship which come from the heart we recognize His awesomeness, realize our awfulness and our inability to do anything about it. He responds to that act of humility and surrender and removes unrighteousness resulting from our enemy, the flesh, and replaces it with His rich garments of righteousness. This is the same picture we see in that incredible exposition on the power of His presence found in Isaiah 6 and dealt with in another lesson.

The accuser loses all of his power when we are ministering to the Lord. Ministry to the Lord produces the remedy for evil. It also:
2. Produces Resurgence of Power.

There are several examples of a pouring out of spiritual power resulting from entering into His presence through worship. One of these examples is the:
Power for proclamation.

Acts 2:1-3 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
Peter was a coward until Pentecost. What was the secret of Pentecost. The pouring out of the Spirit? It happened before that. They were all together, having church and ministering to the Lord. How do I know that? Because that was their custom. It was the normal thing to do. See Luke 24:50-53 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. [51] While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. [52] Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. [53] And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. Later, when they witnessed to the rulers and the elders we see the same principal. Acts 4:12-13 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." [13] When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. In vs. 12 and previous we see the bold proclamation, and in vs. 13 the reason for it. They had been in the presence of Jesus. His power in their lives was a direct result of being in His presence. Taking the time to enter His presence, ministering to Him through praise and worship will produce power for proclamation. It will also produce:

Power for mobilization

Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." [3] So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. It is most interesting that Paul's first missionary journey did not result out of a planning session but our of a worship service. We can learn something from that. Sometimes our planning meetings are such a far cry from an attitude of worship, or ministering to the Lord, that it is no wonder that so many of our so called "ministry" or "mission" ventures fail for one reason or another. It is because this mobilization is more often than not produced by man's plans as opposed to God's purpose (as Proverbs 19:21). It may be that the next time our missions committee meets to approve or present some new missions venture, that they should take the time worshipping and fasting before the Lord. The results could be quite profound. We see power for proclamation, power for mobilization and thirdly,

Power for Revelation.

When we minister to the Lord, His Word becomes alive in us. When the Lord says, "Give me your testimony!", we will respond, "Today, I am delighting in your Word. Today, Your Word spoke to my need as it did many years ago when I was saved." This is the basis of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse's comment about the place of the Word of God in His life; he said: "Personally, I can testify that my Bible has long ceased being a book to me and has become the Lord God Almighty speaking to my soul. From one end of the Bible to the other there are verses that now stand before as bushes which burn, but which are not consumed, where once I put my shoes from off my feet and stood on Holy ground. I can read these verses today and remember how the Lord spoke to me there in a time of need, how He drew me away from myself to follow Him, how He weaned me from earthly things to feed me with the Living Bread of Christ, how He cleansed me from sin, how He maintained me in Christ in a time of difficulty and how He gave me the power to walk before Him in a way that was well pleasing to Him. And the presence of all these verses which remind me of past blessings has built in me an attitude toward the Book that expects the Lord to light fires in verses today, and to make them stand out for my ever recurring needs." (Romans 3:3-4, Barnhouse)

When Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, affirming that man cannot live by bread alone but by every Word which proceeds out of the mouth of God, He referred to the personal, particular, private Word which God speaks to His people from the universal, eternal, inerrant Word of God. This is the Rhema word of God. It is totally dependent upon and subservient to the Logos word. It is as the Logos becomes alive in and to the believer that it becomes the Rhema word.

H. A. Ironsides in his book entitled "In The Heavenlies" tells this story of a man of God from the North of Ireland. He was dying of consumption and had come to Southern California hoping that the climate would do him some good. He lived, by his own desire, in a small tent out under the olive trees a short distance from Dr.Ironside's house. He recalls how one afternoon he went to visit this old man who could barely speak above a whisper. "young man, you are trying to preach the gospel are you not?" "Yes I am," he said, Then the old man invited him to sit down with him and study the Bible for a while.

He opened his well worn bible, and with the little strength he had left he began to sweetly, simply and earnestly open up truth after truth as he turned from one passage to another, in a way that young Ironside had never heard them before. Before he realized it, the tears began running down his face and he asked the old man where he had learned these things. He asked what book he could buy to get these truths. What seminary could he attend to learn those same truths. He was stunned by the old mans answer. "My dear young man, I learned these things on my knees on the mud floor of a little sod cottage in the North of Ireland." There I would kneel for hours at a time and ask the Spirit of God to reveal Christ to my soul as I lingered in His presence, worshipping Him. And He taught me more on my knees on that mud floor than I could have learned in all the seminaries or colleges in the world."

This power to know God's revelation to us through His Word cannot develop out of an indifferent, cool relationship towards Him. It will come only out of complete and utter intimacy with Him. Dwelling in His presence. Feasting at His table. Oh, may this be our desire so that His Word would be honey on our lips, a lamp that guides our paths and a shield that protects our hearts. The power for proclamation, the power for mobilization, the power for revelation.

Last but not least, our ministry God ward will urge us manward with awesome vitality and power. Ministry to the Lord will produce:

Power for Evangelism. (See also sermon on Isaiah 6)

Many Christians have been ignorant of the essential connection between our "upreach" and our "outreach." Rather than being separate and distinct activities, worship should be the goal of evangelism and evangelism should be an outgrowth of worship. Evangelism stems from worship in the Old Testament and the New. One most Striking example is found in Isaiah 6:1-9 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4At the sound of their voices the door posts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9He said, "Go and tell this people:

Isaiah was not commissioned to preach until he had had a worship encounter with the living God. In the early days of the church, evangelization was a given because believers walked in a daily consciousness of the presence of God. The reason worship has an evangelistic effect is that in God's presence His power is displayed, conviction of sin is felt, His purposes are revealed, and His enemies are scattered. So "worship evangelism" is "wholehearted worshipers calling the whole world to the wholehearted worship of God." In a world so polluted with empty, foolish, and hurtful words, let's fill our hearts and homes, our work places and worship houses with a cleansing current of praise.

Solomon, the wisest of all human men writes a fitting conclusion.

But about going further [than words given by one shepherd], my son, be warned. Of making many books there is no end [so do not believe everything you read], and much study is a weariness of the flesh. All has been heard. The end of the matter is, Fear God -- know that He is, revere and worship Him -- and keep His commandments; for this is the whole of man [the full original purpose of His creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun], and the whole duty for every man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil. [Matthew 12:36; Acts 17:30, 31; Romans 2:16; I Cor. 4:5] (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14, Amplified Bible)

Amos 8:11-12 states: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it."

Man may not only not seek God in every place which he will choose (Deut. 12:13-14), Man may not choose the time in which to seek the Lord either: Today is the day that we must seek God.