The 10 Aspects of Worship
Psalm 95:1-7
By Jessica McCall - Daddy’s Girl
Introduction: Today is the day in which many people all across the world is coming to a church to "worship" the Lord. But many people have the wrong idea of what worship really is.
The dictionary defines worship as adoration, homage to be given to God. I feel like this definition does nothing for what its true meaning is. Dr. W. M. Temple, a British preacher, defines worship like this: For to worship is to quicken the conscience by the Holiness of God; to feed the mind with the truth of God; to purge the imagination by the beauty of God; to open the heart to the love of God; to devote the will to the purpose of God.
I. THE DESIRE FOR WORSHIP:
Psa. 27:4
The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.
David wanted to worship. You can see the reflections of his worship
throughout the Book of Psalms. We have got to desire and have a complete passion for the presence of God in our lives. It has got to be something that we desire more than anything else. We can’t find fulfillment in anything else but when we are completely consumed with the presence of God.
II. REMEMBER GOD’S BLESSINGS and THANK HIM FOR THEM:
A. His Everyday Blessings
1 Thess. 5:18
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Happiness, sadness, etc.
B. God’s Blessings give us contentment.
1 Tim. 6:6-10
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
I mean if people would just enjoy lives with what they have then life would be so much simpler. But instead everyone is trying to keep up with what everyone else has got they always have to be better then the person next to them. But I can tell you that that doesn’t bring you happiness at all. And in the end when it’s all over, you will be more miserable then the people who never did have money. Because all good things come to an end. So, stay focused on God and you’ll have all you can ever stand. And so much more.
III. SEARCH YOUR HEART—The Lord’s Table is where we do this.
1 Cor. 11:28
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
These are the steps when we are preparing to take communion with the Father. This is taken very seriously and is not to be played with. But yet it is something that we are not doing a lot of. It seems that a lot of people have gotten away from it being apart of their lives.
A. Search your heart for sin.
Gen. 3:1-8
Satan deceived Eve but Adam sinned willingly. His deliberate sin against the Lord severed that communication that each true believer desires to have with him.
So, we have to repent of everything that is not of God in our lives. We have to come to him holy and acceptable in his sight.
B. Rest in the fact that God has forgiven all your sins.
Eph. 4:30-32
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
So, just as God has forgiven you of everything that you’ve ever done if you’ve asked him too. You also have to forgive anyone who has ever wronged you. Because you may think it’s hard but imagine God you have completely rejected him time after time and yet he forgives you every time when you ask. So, he wouldn’t ask you to do something that he knew you couldn’t do.
C. Ask God to help you to be Obedient to Christ and the Word of God.
1 Sam. 15:22.
But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams
So, God really don’t care what you offer to Him or what you do for people. He cares if your following His word and living a life that glorifies him. I mean doing good things for people is awesome and great but, its not really what pleases God.
IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORKS THROUGH WORSHIP.
Rev. 1:10
It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit.
Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.
If John had not been Worshiping God that day, he would not have been prepared to receive the Book of Revelation. See any time that you get distracted from worship with God then you need to think about what you’re being robbed of. All of the greatest things that God gives you is when your in his presence and are worshiping and honoring him.
V. WORSHIP PUTS GOD’S WORDS IN YOUR HEART
A. The more you hear God’s Words, the more they become a part of your life.
Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer
Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
See just like mom was saying Sunday that if we don’t have the word in us then how are we suppose to make it when everything we have is stripped away except for the word we have inside of us? I mean how are you to run off the devil if you have no scripture to defeat him. How are you to proclaim healing in body when you don’t even know what God says about it. How can you take any of the promises that God has given us if you can’t even remember what they are? So, this is one of the important things we have got to start doing more of. Is not just reading it but getting it inside of us.
B. God’s word always will change your thinking
Isa. 55:8-9
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
God don’t think in the flesh like we do. He don’t have the challenges that we face daily. But if we get up everyday and put on the armor that he has given us that dads been talking about for the past couple of weeks. Then, we can survive the battle that we face everyday. That is why God provided us with it. He knew that Satan wasn’t going to sit back and watch us change the world. And some of us that is the only way that Satan can really get us is in our thought lives. So, we have got to stay pure and in the full armor of God.
VI. PRAISE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WORSHIP.
Psa. 107:8, 15, 21, 31
Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
The word "praise" or a form of the word is found in the Book of Psalms 139 times and in the whole Bible 216 times.
See people get focused on what isn’t right or how bad everything is, but we have got to get some joy coming in. And we’re only going to get that from spending time in the "river" as we say. We have got to get into the mode of worship and praise and just get lost in it that way we don’t see all the negative rising up all around us. Because if we have more praise going out then negative coming in then we have already beat it.
A. One day try to write down all of your blessings, it will probably take you all day to do it.
B. Then, I just want you to begin to thank God for all he has given you.
VII. WORSHIP REQUIRES REVERENCE:
Leviticus 26:2
"…have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord."
The dictionary says that reverence means a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. We should always enter into worship with a feeling of awe because there is nothing like God. So, it should be something that we have a feeling of deep respect for.
VIII. WORSHIP HELPS US TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE:
1. We were sinners.
Rom. 3:23-26
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
2. We are Christians.
Eph. 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago
IX. Worship implies Christian Service:
Worship means service. The word for Worship and the word for Service are the same.
Philip. 3:3
For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,
The word "Worship" here is the Greek word for "Service" (Latreuo).
X. Let us grow in worship day by day!
