In this sermon we begin to understand what is worship.

Andrew Barber: 00:00 Well, here's what I want you all to do this morning. I want you to look to your neighbor. I want you to tell them how thankful you are that they're here this morning. Say, I am so glad you're here today. Now, I want you to look to your other neighbor and say, I'm not as happy, but I'm also happy you're here today. Awesome. Now everybody's smiling. We're ready to go. We're in a good mood to hear a little bit about some worship this morning. Amen? Hey man. Hey, so here's what I want to do first. One of the first things, Pastor James, where they incredible opportunity to come up here and to preach this morning. It's always an honor when he's entrusted me with the platform that the Lord and trust him with. It is an honor. It's a privilege. Very thankful that I'm here this morning. Uh, for those of you who do not know me, my name is Andrew Barber.

Andrew Barber: 00:45 I'm the student pastor here at Journey Church and I believe in three things. I believe in the power of the cross, power in the blood of Jesus, and the power of taking notes. Okay, so this morning everybody got a bulletin, correct? You walked in, we had some lovely people that are smiling handed to you these things. Hey, take some notes this morning, take it with some of the pens that are in front of you, right? Some of this stuff down. Listen, you lose like 80% of the things that you don't write down. So hey, don't walk out of here missing anything. Okay? All right, we ready to go? We good? Everybody say I'm good? I'm good. All right, let's pray guys. Father, God, we love you so much. Thank you so much for this opportunity to be here this morning to preach your word. Lord, I pray that you guard our focus. You guard our hearts. And do what only you can do in this time. Hide me behind the cross, Lord. That you are glorified in everything that I say this morning. It's your name? I pray. Amen.

Andrew Barber: 01:54 For those who do not know, we are continuing our wired for worship series. To introduce that, what we're talking about. I want to tell you a story. So, back in my day, back in my youth days, you know, long time ago, that was like, like six, seven years ago. But let's say when I first started being in youth group. It was back in back when I was like an eighth grader and I started going around Christmas time and like a third time I was there. We did this thing called secret Santa. Raise your hand if you've ever played secret Santa. Oh yeah, that is like youth group tradition. So you play secret Santa and everybody had a $10 limit. And so for me, I would just like $10 duh, I'm going to go get me an iTunes gift card. iTunes used to be really big back then. Now, that's what the days before Spotify, Apple music, all that. You use to pay for your music. But you know, whatever. Anyways, so I got the iTunes gift card and um, you know, everybody's talking about it, but there's like another gift that everybody's talking about more than mine. And there was this shoe box. I'm like, it's just a shoe box, right? But here, here's what people would do. They said, look, I'm going to go pick it up and see what it is. And we picked it up and it was heavy. And eighth grade me was like, Oh, it's heavy. It's got to be good.

Andrew Barber: 03:07 So all night, you know, we, we draw numbers and we were waiting our turn and my eyes are locked on the shoe box. I am going to walk out of here with the shoe box. So I got my iTunes gift card at hand, you know, come to my turn. I said, I am going to get the shoe box. I get the shoe box. They say, don't open the gifts yet. Okay. So I'm, I'm losing my mind, I'm holding it. I'm freaking out. If you want to get, if you want to know a way to bug me, give me something that has an unknown behind it. Like if you tell me something and you're like, you know what? Never mind. Taylor does that to me all the time. She'd be like, Hey guess what? Never mind. I will lose my mind. I'm like, what? What is it?

Andrew Barber: 03:48 So, I'm sitting there losing it and I opened the box and I kid you not this kid put a brick in the box. It was a box with a brick. Oh my. I saw my iTunes gift card walk out the door and I'm sitting there with a brick and I'm thinking about ways that I could throw it at this kid, right? I'm just playing. I'm just playing, but here's the thing. Here's the thing. Added to all the excitement that I had. The gift fell flat. It didn't meet my expectations. Once the brick was gone, the box, my friends was hollow and empty. Everybody can see there's nothing in there. Hollow and it was empty. I'll tell you that story to ask you this. What are the songs that we sing? The sermons that we preach, the acts of service that we do, are often empty gifts to God.

Andrew Barber: 04:48 What if, what if our lives are wrapped up with a spiritual image on the outside, but sometimes on the inside, because our hearts aren't where they need to be, we're actually offering empty gifts to God? This morning we're going to talk about empty worship. Everybody say empty worship. Oh, you all got a little bit more quiet right there. Let's say it with little confidence. I get a little lonely up here. I've got to know you're out there. So, empty Compton. Not empty Compton, empty worship. There we go. So, let's flip over to the scriptures and see what Jesus has to say about the subject of worship.

Andrew Barber: 05:39 We're going to be in Matthew 15 starting in verse one and it says this, then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat. Okay? First off, I know immediately, some of us like had a panic attack. That's okay. They had good hygiene. I'm going to explain what that means. See something we need to realize that for the Jews, the Pharisees, they were obsessed with something called ceremonial cleanliness, okay? For all my young men in this room, that is way different than physical hygiene. Okay, so you physical hygiene is a must. But these guys were a little compulsive about it. So devout Jews believed in two categories, clean and unclean. And that went for everything from animals to food. Things were, some things were, considered clean and some things were considered not. Like things like pork were considered unclean, which means all my bacon fans, we would've had a hard time back in the day. Okay.

Andrew Barber: 06:36 So, the thing is that if you touch something that was unclean, then you became unclean. And being unclean was highly contagious. Okay. So I want to go ahead and tell you that this was the biblical version of cooties, right? Raise your hand if you've ever had cooties back in the day. All the ladies raise your hand cause girls have cooties. Am I right? So, all the young men, yes they do they have cooties. And girls, guys have cooties to. Listen. Hey, the biblical version of cooties, right? So if you are unclean, there's only one way that you could be clean again. They would dump water on you. So, like they would get like an egg shell, it would be like an egg shell and a half worth of water, and they would dump it on you to make you clean again. It's all you had to do. And they would do this however, in between each course of their meal. So, you would eat your burger and then you would become clean again.

Andrew Barber: 07:29 You'd eat your fries and then you become clean again. You would a drink your triple, chocolate fudge deluxe blizzard, and then you'd become clean again. And then you would drink your diet Coke, right? Right, my peoples like that. And then you become clean again. They would do it in between each thing, and it's a little bit excessive, am I right? That's like that. People who like to floss in between each section of their meal, it's a little bit excessive. So listen, the Pharisees are asking, yo Jesus, how come your guys don't do this? So Jesus therefore unleashes on them. And this is what he says in Matthew 15 verse seven says, you hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. These people honor me with their lips.

Andrew Barber: 08:26 This is the part right here, but their hearts are far from me. They worship in vain. He says they worship in vain, meaning their worship isn't pleasing to God. On the outside it may look like worship, but because the inside of these Pharisees isn't right, it's simply an empty gift. They are missing it. Many of us experiences every week as believers on the outside, we're worshiping, we're singing, we're raising our hands. We're doing all the things that we think are right, but the inside we're missing it. We have a show on the outside, a hypocritical expression, a pretend faith. A, Hey everybody, look at me. I'm kind of a Christian. When on the inside. Our hearts are very, very, very far away from truly worshiping God. So what is worship? Pastor Andrew? If if I feel like I'm not truly doing it, how can I do it if I don't know what it is? So what is worship?

Andrew Barber: 09:33 So, what is worship? So when I talk about worship, we immediately start to think about music. Maybe the style of music, maybe the environment, maybe the song selection. It needs to be upbeat. It needs to be laid back. Needs to be reverend, needs to be hymns. Needs to be Hillsong, young and free. So for those of you who don't know, this is actually my first time getting to preach as a married man. I'm really excited about that. And I married this beautiful red-head named Taylor. She's over there. Nobody look at her, she gets really embarrassed. So here's the thing about me and Taylor, me and Taylor have different worship styles. Taylor likes hymns. She likes the old school, the choir, the, you know we, you know, just kind of sit there and maybe occasionally raise a hand, you know, that's just, that's just how she is. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Me, however, Oh, I get pretty expressive with my worship. I'm somebody who, if I had it my way, I would have a big bubble and I could lay there on the ground in the middle of worship and just like cry, and all these things. I'm just, I'm a very passionate worshiper. Okay. See, I like to get all up in my feelings and I to get expressive. That's just how I am.

Andrew Barber: 10:33 So, which of us is right? Well, both of us are right and well, neither of us is right. Okay, so how is it? Listen, both of us are right, and neither of us are right. And neither of us are right, if our hearts aren't right before the Lord. Let me say it again. Neither is correct if your heart's not right before the Lord. See, worship honors God when our heart is connected to who he is. Worship honors God. When our hearts are connected to who he is, not if our hearts are connected to what I want, what I prefer, it's to who he is. What I'm getting at is this. Worship is not about this style of music. It is about the condition of your heart. If you take notes, this is probably one of those things to take notes to worship is not about the style of music, but it is about the condition of your heart. So let me expound upon this idea for a moment.

Andrew Barber: 11:31 So, let me expound upon this idea for a moment. Okay? If worship were only music, then can be categorize into styles. It can be categorized into volume. It could be packaged, produced, marketed. And then it would be consumed by human audience. If worship is only music, if worship were only music, then we could be the judge on if it's pleasing, inappropriate, or if it's displeasing or inappropriate. We can decide whether or not we will engage in worship based on our preference and based on our moods. So here's the thing. Let me say that again. If a song isn't my preferred style or expresses my current mood, then I don't have to like it and I don't have to participate in it. If worship is only music, if worship is only music. Do you guys see the problem with this? Are you with me this morning? Say I'm with you. I'm with you. See, if worship is only music, then we can market it to man, and man becomes the consumer of worship. In other words, worship becomes a thing for man and not for God. If worship is only music, then it becomes about me and it doesn't worship the Lord. Worship is only about God, not myself, not sometimes myself. Worship is only about God.

Andrew Barber: 13:27 Worship is not only through music, we can absolutely express it through music. Okay, so I just told you worship wasn't music, but worship is, yeah, worship is music, but music is definitely an avenue for us to show our music, our worship. You're going to work with me with these words. Mark 12:30 says this, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let me say it again. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. When we worship, that means this. When we worship, we must worship with every piece of us. If one part is disengaged, then we're not truly worshiping. If my mouth is singing worship, but my heart is not engaged, Nope, not worship. If I'm singing God a song of love, but my spirit is dead and unbelief, nope, not worship.

Andrew Barber: 14:31 When we worship him, we have the opportunity to truly love him with every part of us. That means we have the opportunity to love him with all of our hearts, souls, mind, and strength. See, music plays a part in our worship, but it isn't our worship. However, music still moves our soul. Let me, let me ask you this. Have you ever listened to a song that makes you want to weep, makes you sad, get you all up in your feelings, you know? Right. What about a song that makes you, makes your heart glad? What about song that makes you mad? You know, some workout music, my people that like to work out, you're lifting weights and you listen to some music and it makes you mad, and you're like, ah, yeah, right? Maybe that's just me anyways. Uh, of course we have, because music affects our souls.

Andrew Barber: 15:33 Let me, you know, if you don't believe me, listen to this. All right? Raise your hand if you've ever seen Jaws. Okay. Raise your hand if you've ever heard of Jaws. Okay, so now the youth are now involved. Listen, listen, it's bad you all. If you don't believe me, go watch Jaws. Listen to the music. It creates tension and it creates fear, right? There ain't nothing like being out in the open and all of a sudden you hear dun na, dun na, dun na na na, na na, na na, na na. And then it starts building up and then all of a sudden Jaws attacks, right? Right? Listen, without the music, jaws is just a big, flubbery fish. But with the music, he's a predator. He's coming to get you, right? He gets you antsy. Gets you all worked up. See our spirits respond to music. What an amazing tool that worship, I mean that music is. What an amazing vehicle for worship that music is. But is music worship in itself. No, it's not.

Andrew Barber: 16:34 So, what does worship? See the word worship comes from an old English word, and it literally, the word is literally this, worth ship, worth ship. Everybody say, worth ship, worth ship. It's weird. And it literally means to give something worth for us. And everybody wants, I want everybody to write this down for us. Worship is sacrifice. Worship is sacrifice. How do I know that? Well, the first mention of worship and the entire Bible is in Genesis 22:5. And right around that, when you started getting that Genesis, you know, 15 and beyond all that area, guess what? That's Abrams area. Who later becomes Abraham. Uh, you all know the infamous story about Abraham and Isaac? Correct? Well, guess what? We're going to talk about it a little bit right here. Uh, so listen, you all, I find it interesting, the things that the Bible puts in scripture, but I also find it very interesting in the things they leave out.

Andrew Barber: 17:45 And here's what I mean. So, let's look at our boy Abraham and Isaac. Abraham was promised that he was going to be the father of many nations. See, there's only one problem with that, is that by the age of like 80, Abraham hadn't even, Oh, Abram at the time, hadn't even had a kid. So how is it going to be the father of many nations? He's not even the father of many kids. So here's the thing. The Lord says, look, you're going to just have to trust me here. Well, he doesn't trust. He waits and he ends up doing some dumb things. I was very, very, uh, what is the word? I'm paraphrasing this. Okay. So we, so we can keep going. So he does these things and listen. Uh, he ends up having Isaac. He ends up having Isaac like 20 years later, right? And he is, he's celebrating his son and he's excited about his son. This is the promised one. This is the start of God's promise.

Andrew Barber: 18:56 This is the start of God coming through for me until, until, uh, this time where the Lord says, all right, Abraham, you're going to have to go ahead and sacrifice your son. I'm sorry, what? You said sacrifice my son, right? Like I just want to make sure we're clear here, right? Well, Abraham, he listens to the Lord and he says, though I don't like it. I'm going to do it. And so he goes up there and he's about to sacrifice his son. And then the Lord provides a sacrifice in the last second. It says, it says, don't kill the boy, now I know that I can trust you with this. Now I know that you're willing to sacrifice it all for me.

Andrew Barber: 19:09 And here, and so this is the part that I find funny. The Bible doesn't talk anything about the awkward walk home, right? Talk about wanting to be a fly on the wall for a conversation, right? Walking back and all, I can just imagine a little Isaac just, so we're not going to talk about it? We're not going to talk about the fact that you just tried to kill me?

Andrew Barber: 19:51 But listen, the verse that I'm going to say, in verse, 22:5 happens before all this, right before he's about to give his son to the Lord and sacrifice his son to the Lord. It says this, the verse says, stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there, we will worship. Everybody say worship. We will worship. Then we will come back. What he means when you're really means is this, I will offer God the greatest sacrifice that I have to offer, the most valuable thing in the world to me, my son, because God is worth even more to me than that.

Andrew Barber: 20:49 That is what the word worthy means. Abraham knew what worship was. He was willing to sacrifice the thing he wanted more than anything in this world for a hundred years, because he knew that his God was worth it. That's what the word worthy means. And my friends, God is worth it. Worship is sacrifice because it always, always involves giving. We offer God our time, our money, our songs of praise, when our circumstances don't look praise worthy and attitude of gratitude. When we feel like grumbling, a sacrifice is often uncomfortable and it always has a price. We worth ship a lot of things in this life. If you don't know what worship, you don't know what you worship. Pastor says it like this. He says, show me where you spend your time, and show me what you spend your money on and I will show you what you worship.

Andrew Barber: 21:55 That is what pastor James says. And I'm telling you, that is the most convicting thing that he says. Every time he says it, and I'm just like, Oh Lord, and had to go look at my checkbook and be like, man, I worship food, you all. Just saying, fast food, Taco Bell, $5 box. Ooh, can't beat the deal. But listen, see, if worship is attributing worth to God, then the price of our worship shows God and the world, how much we value him. See, women typically understand that point better than men. I'm going to say it again before I show you my analogy. If worship is attributing worth to God and the price of our worship shows God and the world how much we value him. The price of our worship. See, women understand this more than men. So I got in my pocket here. Uh, something that's very, very valuable to me.

Andrew Barber: 22:47 Okay. I don't know if you can see it, may not be that sparkly. This is an engagement ring. Okay. The one and only Taylor Rider Barber. Yeah, there it is. Taylor Rider Barer, over there owns. Okay. So, just because you don't have the ring on doesn't mean she's single men. Okay, that's mine. Anyways, listen, take an engagement ring for example, see, girls announce their engagement by doing what? By showing off the ring. Am I right? When someone gets engaged, what's the pose they do? Oh, all my youth did it. They just went, right. See I'm, I'm rocking this $34 ring from Walmart, you all. Hey, all I know is that I'm married. It's all that matters, right? But girls it's a little bit different. Okay. The girl's show off the ring. That's what everyone wants to see. It's the main event, the head hancho, the ring.

Andrew Barber: 23:58 But, what I'm sort of noticing is this, no one truly asks about the man. You all ready? Listen, what's he like? Does he have a job? Does he live with his mother? Does he have a hunchback in the third eye? Nope. Nope. Nobody cares about that. It doesn't matter. It comes down to the ring. What it comes down to, see, how could they care so much about the ring? This little piece of a, I don't even know how, I don't even try to explain that little diamond here. How do we care so much about the ring and so little about the guy that she is about to spend the rest of her life with? See it's not that they don't care. It's not that girls don't care about that. It's that the ring will show them everything that they need to know. It shows how valuable their friend is to the guy. See, this little thing right here shows Taylor how valuable she is to me.

Andrew Barber: 24:53 Is she worth eating ramen noodles everyday for six months? Because, you had to dish out, a pretty penny for this thing. Is she worth skimping and saving every penny, just to show how empty your life would be without her, without the woman that you love? How valuable is she? How worth it is she?, So she shows them the ring. She flaunts the ring. It's in her Instagram. And I promise you, she picked out the picture that had the sparkliest color there. I promise. I promise. Wherever the ring glitters the most, that's the picture that's on there. Now listen, let's switch gears. Here we are the church, the bride of Christ. We're unlovable. We're unfaithful, we're adulterous, we're fickle. How can anyone love such a woman, such a bride as us? How could the perfect prince of peace, glorious, Holy, faithful, powerful and righteous choose such a bride? How could he?

Andrew Barber: 26:08 The angels are puzzled. Hell cannot comprehend it. The laws cannot believe it. How could one love a people like the church? Only one thing will silence their doubt. All the humanities doubt, and that is to show them the ring. What is the what? What does that mean Pastor? Romans 5:8 says this, God demonstrates his own love for us in this while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. What is the cross? What is that glorious thing up there? What is the cross? The cross is the engagement ring of Christ. Christ proves his love for us, by dying on the cross for all of our sins. I love how it says God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while, while we're still sinners, not while we're trying to get our life together. Not while I was being a perfect human being. While I'm in the midst of the dirtiest sin that I can be in, the lowest of lows, the worst possible version of myself that I could ever be.

Andrew Barber: 27:24 Christ died for us. Mm. Side note. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you're not worth it, because to Christ you are worth it all. Come on now. Don't let anyone ever lie to you like that. Don't let the enemy lie to you like that. You are worth it all. Not at your best, not at your okayest, at your worst Christ died for you. See, the gospel is our engagement ring and it says everything that the world needs to know about the God pursuing us. The gospel says everything we need to know and listen you all, here's the big point tonight. I mean this morning, my bad, I'm used to talking to youth. Listen, if the cross proves how much we are worth to God, then our worship proves how much God is worth to us. Let's say it one more time. If God proves how much we are, the cross proves how much we are worth to God. Our worship proves how much God is worth to us. So this morning as we begin to wrap up, I want to challenge you to do one thing, one thing only to worship. Our worship shows us, our worship shows the world, that we have a savior worth loving and it's easy to do that part. It's easy to do that part, and a savior worth living for. Umm, that's the hard part.

Andrew Barber: 29:00 Our worship shows that we have a savior worth loving and living for. So how do we worship this morning? Very simple, very quickly. Singing, man singing everything with everything in you. You lift up a shout of praise and it's not just with your words that you worship the Lord, it's with your heart, it's with your strength, it's with your mind. And everything in you is focused on one thing, only glorifying and loving him. You don't worship because it's something you can get out of it? You worship because you love him and you want to glorify him. Number two, this is actually my favorite way to worship, is praying this morning. Some of us need to really spend some talking to the Lord. Look, I love Taylor. Beautiful, beautiful girl. She's so pretty. Anyways, if I said that I love her and I never spoke to her, then you would call me a liar.

Andrew Barber: 29:59 This morning, here's what I want to challenge you with. Don't say that you love the Lord without speaking to the Lord. Spending time with the Lord. Spend some time in prayer this morning. One of the other ways we can is giving, whether that's giving your resources or very simply giving your life to the Lord. Giving your life to God. The gospel is wrapped up in this little statement here. God sent his sinless, sinless, and perfect son Jesus, who was obedient even to the point of death on a cross, who suffered, bled, and died so that our sins are forgiven. Jesus defeated death and the grave and rose from the dead, so that we may have a relationship with the father, with God the father. You have an opportunity this morning not to just be a believer. Many of us in here are just believers today, but you have an opportunity this morning to become a worshiper. I don't just believe in God. I worship God by what I say, what I do, what I give, what I sing, how I interact with others. I worship God. This morning you have an opportunity to worship, to become a worshiper. And my prayer, my heart cries out for this that you don't miss it. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to pray and whatever the Lord is leading you to do, I want to challenge you to do it. Don't miss it. Don't miss it.

Andrew Barber: 30:57 Father God, we love you. We thank you so much for this opportunity, to be here together to worship as a community, as a, as a family. Lord, I pray right now in this, in these next coming minutes or that we are focused only on you. Focus on only glorifying you and showing you the worth that you deserve, that we worth ship you. Lord, we love you. It's in your name. I pray. Amen.



Recorded in Pineville, Louisiana.