Power Of Worship Stories Series

Power of Worship

Theme: Overcoming power of worship

Text:

Introduction

Last Sunday we talked about the “4 Principles of Worship” God showed us in His word what are the basic principles of worship.

We learn that the #1 reason to worship is to make God bigger than our problem and us.

This morning I want to take you through the scripture as we look at the “Power of Worship”. As I was meditating on scripture and worship it is as if God began to reveal me some stories in scripture that reflect what happens when we begin to worship.

Worship will bring in the Presence of God – 2 Samuel 6

2Sa 6:11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

2Sa 6:12 Now it was told King David, saying, "The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

David reminds us that when we worship we usher in the presence of the Lord. David had gotten jealous for the blessings of the Lord. He was not jealous of Obed-Edom he was jealous for the presence of the Lord. His first plan of bring back the ark (which represented the presence of the Lord) failed. It failed because there was no worship. When there is not worship there is no recognition of God.

Yet this time it was all about God. No ceremonies. No rituals. No superstitions. He would sacrifice a oxen and a sheep and dance before the Lord.

Worship will help us Break through the Prison - Acts 16

Act 16:25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

The second passage is found in Acts 16. This is one of my favorite when it comes to the power of worship. This is what helps me overcome. When Heb 13:15 says, “let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” I understand that that is what Paul in Silas did.

They offered up a sacrifice of praise in the midst of their pain. In the midst of their persecution. In the midst of their problems.

Notice what happened 1) the prison was shaken, 2) the doors were opened 3) the chains were loosed.

Worship will help us to Go through the Unknown - Joshua 3

Joshua 3:1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 "Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before." 5 And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."

Joshua 3:13 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap."

The whole idea here was to “keep your eyes on the ark”. We talked about this last week. When we worship we make God big. We keep focused on Him.

Heb 12:2 “ looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”

Worship will give us the ability to overcoming the Wilderness – Psalms 63