Heart For Worship | Pastor Adam Peterson

and we're going to continue in a series that we have been in our church and every week of get caught up unless you want to. You can go to our website and go to our app. God has a heart for our lives and he has a heart for our church and we want to come into the world today, shout yeah. We're going to rock and roll because we got work to do. Today we're talking about a heart for worship. All right. And this is why you're my favorite service because I said this as the title for the other services and they didn't give me much. But you did. That's why I like you the most. We're going to talk about a heart for worship and we're going to get excited doing it. And let me just kind of lay the foundation. Worship isn't just singing. Okay. Singing is a form of worship. It's one of the ways we worship God. It's actually one of the ways that man all throughout scripture people have worship God. And so there is power in music. There's power in song and we're going to be singing in heaven for all eternity. But there's more to worship than just singing. And we're going to look at that today. If I could really define worship for you, it's a response. A response for who God is and for what he has done. And I want us to look at a story just to kind of get things rolling this morning that's found in Luke chapter seven. If you got your Bible, you can turn to Luke chapter seven. If you don't have your Bible with you, everything will be up here on the screen. If you don't own a Bible, we would love to give you one. Our gift to you provided by the generous people of rise church. And I would say this. If you own a Bible, bring it with you to church. We want to be people that love God's Word. So one more time, if you love God's Word, shout yeah? Luke chapter seven is where we're going to be. It says this that one of the Pharisees. Now let me just stop just in case you don't know what a Pharisee is. A Pharisee is a super religious person who knows about God up here but doesn't know him here. Who has much of the Bible memorized in the Old Testament. But here's Jesus standing right in front of him and they don't recognize him as the son of God. They've got religion but they don't have a relationship. Pharisees. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him. So Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman, a phrase like that, or I highlighted that phrase because what this is saying is, "Hey, I'm not going to give you her name but I'm just going to tell you who she is." She's a certain immoral woman, meaning what? She got a past. And her past is kind of messy, like a lot of you women in here today. You got a past. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand. We already know who you are. But if you're sitting by him right now, just wink at me, okay?

Yeah, yeah, I got you. I got you. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard that Jesus was there, he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Now, I'm not going to go into a lot of detail. We've got some young people in the house right now, but I'm going to tell you right now, that expensive jar of perfume, she's got it because of the past life she was living. That's how she was able to afford it. Let's read on. Then she knelt behind him at his feet. She began weeping. Her tears fell on his feet and she wiped them with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. Er, time out, hold up. Can we just establish in 2026 this type of behavior is a little awkward. My wife and I have been married for 20 years. That woman has never knelt down at my feet, kissed them, wiped her hair on them. She hadn't done this for me, okay? But in this culture, in this day and this time, this still would have been a little bit different, but it would not have been like crazy because, one, she's washing his feet because in Jesus's day, feet were always dirty. They didn't have paved roads and have sidewalks. They didn't have nikes everywhere. They're walking. They're getting dirty. They're getting dusty and so that feet washing was a regular thing. But I want to go back and I want to look at these highlighted words because what she did was she knelt at his feet. Why was she kneel at Jesus's feet? She's responding to him because of something that's happened because of, because probably an interaction that took place between her and Jesus, she's kneeling before him. Why do you kneel? You kneel before greatness. And so she's kneeling and she is acknowledging, I'm not And I'm in your presence and I wanna lower myself to magnify you more. Can I ask you something, rise church? When is the last time you knelt before him? I'm serious. When is the last time in your bedroom, in your living room somewhere, you just got on your knees and you just magnified him and said, I'm nothing without you,

but because of who you are, my life is different, my life is changed. When's the last time you just said, you're great, you alone. And I would encourage you, don't try to manufacture it and don't try to hype it up, but from time to time, hit your knees and just let God know how wonderful he is. She's kneeling, she's weeping, she's emoting, her emotions are taking over. Now, emotions are fickle. You can't always trust your emotions, but God created us to have emotions. And sometimes we express those emotions and these tears, man, these are tears of joy, I believe. Her tears are now on his feet and now she's wiping them with her hair and she's kissing his feet and she's putting that perfume on him. She is saying, I have had an encounter with this man and every other man has actually treated me like garbage. Every other man has taken advantage of me, but not this guy. This guy has had a different interaction with me. This guy has showed me a love that no other man has shown me and now I just need to express my gratitude and my thanks to him.

And so I'm gonna take the most expensive thing I own and I'm just gonna pour it out on him. Why? 'Cause he's worthy. That's worship. Worship is saying, here's everything I have. I'm giving it all to you. When you've encountered Jesus like this woman has, you wanna express yourself to him. Now, let's read on in the story 'cause it gets good. It says, when that Pharisee, when he and the one who invited him saw this, he said to himself, he didn't even say it out loud. He just was thinking it. If this man were a prophet, like if he really knew what was going on, he would know, woo, what kind of woman this is. He would know her past. He would know where she's been. He would know who is touching him. Woo, she is a center. What this Pharisee has forgotten is that he is also a center. And what he has done is he has looked at her sin and compared it with his sin, and now he thinks he's better than this woman. May we never do that. We do that in the world today as a society. We'll say, well, my life's not that bad. You got this sin, but I got this sin, but I'm not as bad as you.

Listen, in the eyes of God, all sin separates us from him. That's why Jesus came to die on the cross. For all sin. So she's a center, Pharisee's a center. We're all sinners, let's read on. Then Jesus, oh, this is so good, answered his thoughts. Jesus like, you think I'm not a prophet, bro, I know what you're thinking. You can't hide it from me. Don't try to hide from Jesus, it doesn't work. Jesus answered his thoughts. Hey, Simon, he said to the Pharisee, I got some things I wanna say to you, bro. Go ahead, teacher, Simon replied. Then Jesus said, let me tell you a story. And the story goes like this, a man loaned money to two people, 500 pieces of silver to one, 50 pieces to the other, but neither of them could repay him. So he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that? They both got a debt, they both can't pay it. And in this story, we're the ones who owe the debt. In this story, we owe the debt, and Jesus is the one who kindly forgives us. Jesus is the one who cancels the debt. Your sin had to be paid for.

I'll say it like this, your sin had a bill that had to be paid for. You ever been out to dinner with somebody or lunch with somebody and they paid the bill? Oh, that's a good, nobody has that ever. None of y'all like, none of y'all, you either got broke friends or bad friends, all right? I've been to a couple meals where somebody has paid for me. There ain't no better meal than a free meal. Come on, somebody. And they might look at you either before the meal or when the check comes or they might say to the waitress, some of the best words are here, put it all in one check in life. Praise the Lord, brother. When somebody else pays the bill for you, you're, it's not on you. You don't have to be all, well, I'll pay it also. No, no, no, no, Jesus goes, I'm paying the bill, you don't have to do it. And in reality, some of us are the 500 pieces, man. We got a jacked up past. Others of us are like, not 50 pieces. That's why I love reading the stories. they have to submit their story. A lot of people were like, man, my life was dark, my life was far from God, and then they'll lay it all out, and I'm like, "Choo, man!" (audience laughs)

I didn't know you were at our church, I should have known better, I should have had some safety people watching you. (audience laughs) Then other people would be like, man, I kind of grew up in church, I had great parents, they love the Lord, blah, blah, but I also saw my need for God. Both stories say I needed God. Doesn't matter what the past is, but in the eyes, it's like, well, one's kind of like that 500, like you've got a lot more stuff, and then others like, both needed, both couldn't pay the debt. That's all of us, doesn't matter what your past is, none of us can pay the debt, so let's read on. Simon answered, I suppose the one who, I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt. That's right, Jesus said, I tell you, her sins, this woman, woo, and they're a bunch. They are many, they've been forgiven. This is why she has shown me much love, but a person who has forgiven little shows only a little love. Now here's the reality, I want you to understand something. None of us are forgiven little. That's not what Jesus is like, hey, you know, some people just got a little bit of sins, you forgive. No, all of our sins nailed Jesus to the cross, so they're all a big deal, okay? And as a people of God, the moment we forget where he has brought us, we will stop worshiping him

the way that he deserves. So I don't know how you drive your car, but there's some bad drivers in Jacksonville, Florida, okay? Let me tell you how not to drive, you ready? You do not drive your car looking in the rear view mirror. You need to glance at the rear view mirror from time to time, but you don't drive constantly looking at it. You also don't live your Christianity that way. You cannot live constantly looking in the past, 'cause if you do, the devil will take your past and he will use it to shame you, to keep you stuck in there, to think I'm a failure. God could never use anybody like me. God could never love me. No, no, no, that's your past. And Jesus loved you so much he never gave up on you. He pursued you down, rescued and redeemed you, pulled you out of darkness, brought you into life, pulled you out of death, gave you life. But every once in a while, it's good to glance back and go, "Oh, I remember where he's brought me." Because when I remember, it causes me to respond. That's this woman. She is going, "I've encountered Jesus. "He has loved me in spite of me, "and my life will never be the same again. "And I have to express my gratitude to him." And can I tell you something, 1130? Gratitude is not silent.

I grew up in church. How many of you grew up in church? How many of you grew up in church? And in your church, they would use this phrase from time to time, make sure you have your quiet time. Anybody know anything about the quiet time? Hey, and a few of y'all know about the quiet time. The quiet time was you spending time with God. And you could read your Bible, you could pray, put on a song, how quiet do you need to be? I'm not sure, but it's quiet time. It's just you're kind of getting rid of the noise of everything else and just you and God. It's a great phrase. I was having my quiet time with the Lord the other day. It's got up before the kids, got to get my morning started, I want to put God first. I would encourage you to do that if you don't. And I'm reading through the book of Hebrews. If you love God's Word one more time, shout yeah. Reading through the book of Hebrews. And if you're like, man, I'm trying to read the Bible, but it doesn't make sense. Like starting Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, just read the life of Jesus and then just keep going there until you figured it out, all right? And we can help you with that. When I'm reading Hebrews, Hebrews chapter eight, and I get to verse 12, this is God talking. I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.

And my quiet time became a not so quiet time because I know this verse, I preach this verse, I've read this verse, but I read it one more time and I go, that's me. I was wicked, man. My life was dark. I was stuck in addiction before God and he rescued me out of that, set me free. And then he doesn't hold it against me. There's not a laundry list that God's going, I remember that one, I remember that one because Jesus stepped in. And Jesus goes, oh, I paid the bill. God goes, oh, you paid for all of that? He goes, yeah, I took care of all of it. They couldn't pay it, so I paid it for him. They asked me to do it for him, so I did it for him. And God goes, oh, okay, then we're gonna wipe that clean. And he remembers it no more because of Jesus. That's what baptism is, guys. We've got people coming from different walks of life, so let me just walk us all through what baptism is just so we're on the same page, okay? This water right here, nothing special, all right? This water doesn't save people. This is West Side, Duval Water. Okay, honestly. Honestly, you probably got dirtier getting in this water than, like, you need to go home and take a shower is what you need to do, okay?

Just normal water, okay? And you were the last ones to get baptized for three services, so. Somebody's like, I am never getting baptized at this church again. This water does nothing for you. You're gonna get into heaven one day and you're gonna look at God and be like, I got baptized at rise church and the angels are gonna be like, ooh, you know what I'm saying? (congregation laughing) This water doesn't save you. Jesus does. Okay, what these people did today, they're just proclaiming what Jesus has already done for them. Okay, this is what Jesus does. The moment we say, I'm a sinner and I need a savior. That's when Jesus goes, oh, you got it. 'Cause we're sinners, but he's a better savior. And he comes into our life and he forgives our sin, he washes it clean and then he buries it. And he goes, that sin is done. Now you still sin and you still don't get it right all the time, but the sin is forgiven. We don't keep sinning just 'cause we're forgiven. We ask for the forgiveness and we say, God, change me. But the sin is buried and we come up a new person. That's what the water represents. This was my life before Jesus.

Here I am, I'm going under the water. He's cleaning me and I'm coming up a new person and now I'm on a brand new path following after him. Okay? But it's not the water, it's Jesus. And to remember the wickedness of what your life was before Jesus. And to remember, this is what he did for me and this is who I am now. Like there should only be one response. You're amazing. I can't thank you enough. You're wonderful. Oh God, you're so good. It's responding to him. That's worship, it's a response. So the most basic definition I can give you, this is biblical. It's a response to God's worth. Meaning you're so worthy. Here's all of my life. Last week we talked about having a heart for holiness. And I read this verse out of the book of Revelation. Revelation is just a guy named John that wrote down everything he saw in heaven, everything he heard in heaven. And one of the things he writes down is this Revelation 4a where he said these creatures were flying around heaven, flying around the throne of Jesus.

And they just kept saying the same phrase over and over and over. John's like, here's what they said. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. Why would they just keep saying this over and over and over? Because something they saw, something they experienced caused them to respond by going, we don't know what else to say. We're just gonna say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, who is and who is to come. Like, it's the same thing as the woman. She's like, I don't know what else to do. Perfume, psh, hair, psh, tears. She's like, I don't know what else to do. I just gotta tell him, thank you. It's our response. You're worthy. So what's our response? God, you're worthy of all my life. Every part of me, you're worthy of it. And sometimes when we worship, it should get a little loud. Sometimes it can be quiet. Sometimes it can be reflective, but sometimes it can get a little loud. I had somebody come up to me. I don't know if you guys ever wear your

rise church shirts out. If you do, please be on your best behavior. Like, be kind, be loving. Like, please don't wear a ride. We will literally take it from you if I see you acting a fool in public. Give me that shirt. No, you know, if somebody stops you and they ask, oh, you go to a rise church or I'm driven by her. Maybe they'll say, I go to a rush church. I don't know if you've ever been wearing your rise church shirt. And somebody gives you like a funny look. Like, oh, you go to that church, you know kind of thing. I've had a couple of those. Every once in a while, I'll have somebody come up to me and they'll be like, oh, you go to a rush church. And I'm like, yeah, I go. Like, I don't tell them I'm the pastor. I just say, yeah. 'Cause you know, you don't know what they're bringing. You know, they might be having some, ready to fire some shots at you. And I remember this woman, this was years ago. She was like, oh, you go, you go to that church. I heard that church is a happy loud church. And I thought, I thought, yeah, we're kind of happy.

And she's like, yeah, yeah, I see y'all out on the street corner waving and I heard things, I gotta go to that sad quiet church. How'd you go to that sad quiet church? Everybody looks like they're dead, you know? I've been to that church, come on, somebody. Again, again, here, listen to me. We're not trying to manufacture hype in here. We're just responding. I'm just coming in this room with other brothers and sisters going, God has been better to me than I deserve. And because of that fact alone, he is worthy of my song, he is worthy of me kneeling before him, he is worthy of my lifted hand, he is worthy of everything. And I don't ever wanna be a person who God has given me all of his life and I won't, I refuse to give him all of me. Worship is a full surrendered life. It's looking and going, here's what it is, you ready? It's going, you're so worthy, I'm willing to turn from everything the world has to offer to follow you. You're so worthy, I will live a life surrendered completely to you and I'll do everything you call me to do, God. I'll leave everything behind to follow after you. You're worthy, God, you're so worthy. I'll forgive that person. They're not worth me for giving them,

but because you're worthy, I'll do it. Yeah, yeah, you're worthy, God, this won't get a big reply. You're worthy, God, of being first in my finances. Oh, that was not bad, not bad, okay. (audience applauding) That I'm gonna actually put you first and not just give you my leftovers 'cause you're not a left over God, you're worthy. And so I want all of my life to live in a manner that is worth, like, you're so worthy, God. So I'm gonna close with this. Pastor Jonathan, you can join me up on the stage. I wanna close with one of my favorite portions of scripture. I don't know if you're allowed to have favorites, but I got a couple of favorites and this is one of them. And before I put it up on the screen, I wanna tell you the context of it. It's in John chapter six and Jesus is teaching to a large group of people and he's kind of good nattle. Like he's kind of going all in on him and he's like, "Listen guys, if you're not all in with me, "you can't be my follower. "If you're not willing to go all in "and give me everything, if you're not willing to do this, "then you're not gonna be able to follow me." And this is what John six would say that a lot of those people were like, "Then we're outta here." I said, "No, we're not all in.

"We're not willing to do this. "We're out." It says, "A lot of them stopped following him. "They turned and they left. "We're gonna pick up John six, verse 67. "It says, "Then Jesus turned to the 12. "The 12 were his disciples. "The 12 were his closest followers." And he asked him, "Hey, are you also gonna leave? "Like all of these people just left, "like probably thousands of people. "You guys leaving too?" To which Simon Peter replies, "Lord, to whom would we go?" And he's phrased it another way. He's like, "Jesus, where else are we going?" And Jesus doesn't say this in this moment, but I like to think he was like, "Winter, winter, chicken, dinner, Peter, you nailed it, okay?" Because Peter didn't get it right all the time, but in this one, whoo, he was on point. Peter goes on to say, "Where are we going?" Like you have the words that give eternal life. We believe and we know you are the holy one of God. Peter's like, "Jesus, where else would we go?" We've went down those other paths. They left us empty. We tried everything else the world had to offer. It didn't fulfill us. "Jesus, we found you, better yet, you found us."

And we have experienced something with you that nobody else has been able to give us. We're in. And we know, like Peter himself, like he goes on to actually even deny Jesus at some point. He didn't get it right all the time, but he realized, "Oh man, I blew it. "God, would you forgive me? "Jesus loves him, forgives him. "Of course he does, just like he does with us. "Praise God." Peter gets back on the right path, and I don't know where you are right now. Maybe you're like, "Man, I've blown it. "I know Jesus is the only one, "but I've been pursuing other things. "And I would just say to you today, come home. "Stop settling for something less." Years ago, I had somebody that was taking me out to dinner. So I just want to treat you pastor. I want to take you to a nice dinner. But I had forgotten that it was on my calendar for that day. And so I'm working, working, working. Didn't eat lunch that day. I'm starving. I'm so hungry, leaving work. And I'm like, man, I'm going to pull into McDonald's. And I'm about to go into the drive-through. And it just dawns on me, boom. You don't need to eat here.

You're about to go to a steakhouse. You have somebody that's actually about to take you out to dinner, that's about to pay for your meal. And it was that moment of like, oh, my gosh, I was about to settle for a double cheeseburger. That they probably were going to screw the order up anyways. That's why we go to McDonald's. It's for the mystery. I know I ordered this, but just give me whatever you want. It's fine. I was going to settle for this when something better was over here. That's what we do in life when we settle for anything less than Jesus. We know He's the best. We know what He have His life. And when we pursue anything else, it's like, oh, man, I actually knew that wasn't going to fulfill me. I just lost sight. And when it comes to the worship in our lives, when we lose sight, we stop worshiping God for the way He deserves. Listen, I can't worship God if I'm not thinking about Him. So what do I need to get out of my life in order to think more of Him? And I would just challenge you. Wake up early. I was talking to some friends of mine that passed her an amazing church in another state. I said, tell me the good stuff that God's doing in your church. They said, well, in our student ministry right now, we have students that are getting up. And at six o'clock in the morning, they're getting on a Zoom call with other students.

This is middle school and high schoolers. And they're just praying for one another, encouraging each other before the day even starts. [APPLAUSE] And I'm just here to say, like, woo. But I like my sleep, OK? And I'm with you. I love my sleep. But there's got to become a part of our lives where we go, God. You're actually worth me getting up a little bit early. Not just for me, but maybe there's somebody else that I need to be a blessing to. Maybe I need to put the phone down and just go for a prayer walk. Maybe I need to turn out everything else the world has to offer so that I can set my mind more on you. I don't know what you need to do, but I'm telling you, you can't worship God properly if you are not engaging in your relationship with Him.