2 Samuel 6:13
I. GET OUT OF THE ROUTINE
If you haven’t noticed were doing things a little different this morning. It’s easy for us to get to the point where we’re just going through the routine of things. It’s easy because we’re creature of habit. We end up going through the motions and we miss the heart of what it’s all about.
Isaiah 1:10-17
Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me, says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats. At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet? Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings. Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them. And when your hands are stretched out to me, my eyes will be turned away from you: even though you go on making prayers, I will not give ear: your hands are full of blood. Be washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning; Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.
God’s not talking to Sodom and Gomorrah. He’s talking to Israel. He’s being sarcastic because that is how their acting. But wait, aren’t those the things God has told them to do. YES!!! And they have done them so long they can do them with their eyes closed. It has become a routine. There is no heart in what there doing.
In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit broke up the routine. He must have gotten lost. He usually He only appeared to people on a mountain or in the temple. But in Acts 2 the day of Pentecost he made a wrong turn and ended up in the upper room. And from that point on he went from appearing in a holy place to appearing in a HOLY PEOPLE!!!
I believe that routine is one of the killers of worship. We do the same thing so long it becomes a lip service.
What if in your marriage your husband had a check list ladies that he went off of every morning.
1. Wake up. check
2. Get dressed. check
3. Brush teeth check
4. Say I love you. check
You get my point, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s only lip service. But we are creatures of habit and falling into that trap is easy to do.
1. Every Sunday you get up out of the same old bed.
2. Take a shower in the same old shower.
3. Put on the same old clothes.
4. You might watch the same old television before…
5. You walk out the same old door.
6. To get in the same old car.
7. To drive down the same old road.
8. Try to park in the same old spot.
9. Go into the same old Building to.
10. Sit in the same old pew.
11. Hear the same old songs.
12. Listen to the same old crazy preacher.
13. Leave the same old way.
14. Go to the same old restaurant.
15. And live the same old way the rest of the week.
I am not saying that having a routine is bad but when it gets in the way of us worshiping and causing others to stumble then it is bad. For example: When sitting it the same pew is so important to you that you would ask a visitor to move, THAT’S WRONG! When we sing songs that YOU don’t like whether hymns or choruses and you complain. THAT’S WRONG! Remember I said last week that we are not the audience, God is the audience. It doesn’t matter what song we sing all that matters is, are you singing it to Him.
At my last church there was this elderly man that had passed away and he wanted our worship band to play at his funeral some of his favorite worship songs. It just so happened that a couple of his favorite songs happened to be choruses. There were two ladies from church that came that only liked hymns they didn’t like choruses so when the band would play the choruses these two ladies would put their fingers in their eyes as a sign of protest.
Philippians 2:21 “For everyone looks out for his own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus said for us to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to Him. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Eph 5:19-20
II. PREPARE YOUR HEARTS FOR WORSHIP
I think that we need to approach God with an attitude of repentance and humility. One way that we do that is to come to church prepared.
If you were going to run a big race, you would prepare by stretching and warming up.
If you were going to take a big test, you would prepare by studying.
If you were given the honor to meet a king or a president to discuss your ideas on certain issues, you would prepare by making an outline and writing your ideas down so that you would have all you ducks in a row.
If you have ever been in a skit or had to do something up in front of people you prepare so what you’re doing will be pleasing to the audience. Whose our audience?
I think we need to take 30-45 minutes every Sunday to prepare our hearts for worship before we get here. I get here 2hrs before anyone else to prepare my heart. But I’m a mess.
What would happen if next week we get up early, didn’t turn the TV on, got ready and sat down as an individual or as a couple or as a family and through bible reading and prayer you prepared your hearts to come before the Lord?
III. GET EXCITED ABOUT WORSHIP
Clap your hands, get on your knees, shout to the Lord, raise your hands.
Now Joe your not turning this into a Charismatic church are you? I didn’t even say the C word.
In our culture we have related certain expressions of worship, certain forms of worship, with certain people, instead of realizing it’s biblical.
Shout to the Lord with a voice of triumph!!! Some churches would never consider that. Why not? It’s biblical. Yeah, yeah, but stuff like that is not for me. NOW you’re getting it. It’s not for you, it’s for Him.
ILL: I’ve taken my youth to stuff like NYR and CIY (Christ In Youth) conferences and the worship is amazing. Youth are clapping, raising their hands, on their knees and jumping up and down during some songs and my youth just stand their. In their thinking they don’t want to do that because they think they will stand out or look silly. What they don’t realize is, their the only ones not getting into it, there by standing out. But by the third day their totally into and loving it. Then we would come back from the event and into a congregation where that kind of behavior is forbidden.
King David had a wife named Michal who didn’t think it was appropriate to do that kind of stuff.
2 Sam 6:13-23
David modeled what was in his heart. King David knew how to worship!
He worshiped with his whole being—he poured out the deep, passionate love he had for God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.
Is this how we worship God?
David was so caught up in worshiping God that he didn’t notice his revealing ephod.
And [Mee-call] was so caught up in watching David and his revealing ephod that she forgot to worship.
David worshiped with his whole heart, mind, soul, strength, and body!
[Mee-Call] seems not to have worshiped at all.
Oh, what she missed out on!
Instead, she cuts David down!
She despises him!
But David refuses to worry about [Mee-Call’s] critique.
2 Chronicles 6:13
Solomon knelt down and opened his arms toward heaven in front of everyone WHY? Maybe he thought he would be closer to the Lord if he got up on the platform? NO.
He did it because he wanted the people see him submit to God. He wanted to be that demonstration for the people to see. One thing we need to realize is when people come to Christ they don’t know what worship looks like. Their going to be looking around to see what you’re doing. I know, because I was that person looking around, at one point in my life. I didn’t know how to worship, or pray so I looked around.
Some people remind me of the man whose wife asked her husband who always had a sour look on his face in church if he was thankful that God made him and Jesus died for him? He said, “Well, of course I am!” So, the wife said, “Well, you should notify your face!” Listen, just because you may be more reserved then raising hands or clapping doesn’t mean you can’t smile, it doesn’t mean you can’t show enthusiasm to those around you, are you excited that Jesus paid the price fore your sins so that you don’t have to go to hell?
I know for a fact that one of the things people are looking for when they come looking for God, is to see if being a Christian is boring, morbid or irrelevant. Ask yourself: “What would someone conclude about my relationship to God if they watch me sing, listen, pray and interact with others?”
One of the things I love about little children and I pretty sure Jesus did too was the fact that kids love to express themselves.
Exercise: “your ever lasting love is reaching out to me.” Have some of the kids get up and lead it.
I heard a story about a young man.
He had received a Bible from his grandfather.
He hatefully tossed it aside, resentful and disappointed at not being given cash.
Years passed.
One day he casually flipped through the pages of the Bible while sorting through his belongings.
To his amazement and horror, a check for a large sum of money—enough to buy a new car—fell out of the crisp pages of the never-opened book.
His grandfather had died a long time back; the bank account on which the check was written was long closed.
Tears stung the man’s eyes as he realized how ugly and foolish his behavior had been.
He had not been appreciative of a devoted grandfather.
He had missed out on many opportunities, not only for the new car but, more important, he missed out on expressing to his grandfather how much he loved him.
How many of us are like the ungrateful man in this story?
SKIT
How often do we do that with God?
God blesses us with all we could ever want or need.
But we stumble around, either complacent or self-centered…
…And what a wonderful inheritance we miss!!!
All people everywhere worship one of four ways:
… the wrong God, the wrong way
… the wrong God, the right way.
… the right God, the wrong way.
… the right God, the right way.
If we truly worship God, then our lives, like David’s will be seen by others as we leap and dance before the Lord!
Are we dancing before the Lord with all our might?
There is no greater freedom than in knowing Christ as your Lord and Savior!!!
