Worship Is A Verb Part 6
Scripture: John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20; Revelations 21:3-4, 6-7
Introduction:
Last week my message focused on the periods of worship in the Old Testament and how they developed based on the Israelites’ understanding of God. As they experienced God first hand, they worshiped Him more intensely because they had reasons based on their own experience. As I told you last week, God wants us to “feel” Him, not just know about Him with our intellect. So when you think about God, ask yourself “Do I feel Him?” “Feeling” God transcends our knowledge of Him because when we feel Him we know Him in the core of who we are. As we look at worship in the New Testament, you will find that they “felt” God in a very personal way after Jesus arrived on the scene.
I. Worship In The New Testament
Worship in the New Testament focused on God’s presence among His people. With the announcement in John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” came a shift in emphasis from the building, the temple, to the person of Jesus Christ. Remember, in the Old Testament worship, it was about the place, the building, where God’s Spirit dwelt and you had to go there to interact with Him. With the arrival of Jesus, God chose to dwell with His people in a new covenant that was purchased by the blood of Christ. So they moved from focusing on the temple as the place to be for worship to focusing on the heart where worship begins. If you read the New Testament you will find that most of Jesus ministry took place outside of the “formal” places dedicated for worship. He taught in homes, in the fields, on the beach, on the water, wherever He had an opportunity. He did this because He understood that God would now begin to dwell within the person versus within a building through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. Consider 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 which says “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” Notice closely that through the Spirit of God, God now dwells within us and can communicate with us on a personal level. We do not have to come to Church to “seek God” as some say. We come to Church so that we can worship Him with other believers; be strengthened during our times of need by those whom we fellowship with; and to learn more of God’s word through studying with others. Do not fall into a the trap that just because you have accepted Christ and He dwells within you that you do not need to be in Church somewhere. What I am saying is that you do not need to be in Church to have God dwell within you, but you do need to be in Church if you are going to carry out the mission that we all have as Christians. These two are not inseparable. So if you are a Christian who does not feel the need to be in Church you is probably not carrying out the mission that God has called you to. Let me make this clear. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” Because we belong to God and His Spirit dwells within us, we cannot separate the fact that our lives are His and we have work to do.
In the New Testament, Jesus is the fulfillment of true worship. Remember a few weeks ago when I gave you the diagram of the temple? Remember the place where God’s Spirit dwelt in the temple? His Spirit dwelt within the Holy of Holies which could only be entered once a year by the High Priest for that year. That changed with Jesus Christ. Through Christ, God’s dwelling place is now in the hearts of His people. As you read the New Testament, you begin to see this shift in thinking that God only dwelled in the Holy of Holies to the belief that God would now dwell in the hearts of His people and it became very evident in the public and private worship practices in the New Testament. During this time, praise took on a deeply personal dimension of outward and often spontaneous expressions of a relationship with God. What is so interesting is that this started before Christ was born. Remember in Luke 1:46-55 when Mary spontaneously began to praise God at the announcement of the birth of Christ and Elizabeth’s husband Zacharias’s blessing the Lord and prophesying when John the Baptist was born? Both of these were centered on Christ even though His redemptive work had not yet begun. Other examples of public proclamation of worship include the angels singing at the birth of Christ in Luke chapter 2 and the disciples singing a hymn before going to the Mount of Olives after the Last supper in Mark chapter 14.
Worship in the early New Testament church serves the role of expressing admiration to God, teaching, and admonishing fellow believers. Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs served instructional purposes in public worship and form the basis for singing and making melody to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19-20). In 1 Corinthians 14:15 believers are encouraged to sing and pray in the spirit which emphasis placed on praising the Lord intellectually and emotionally. Worship in the New Testament includes preaching, Scripture readings, house meetings, confessions, fellowship, prayer, breaking of bread, singing and communion (Acts 2:42; 20:7; Col. 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:1-2, 4:11-16; Heb. 13:15; James 5:16). Although all of these different activities were part of the total worship experience, it was understood that worship was still personal and there was a need to take time out to personally worship and praise God – with the focus being on Him and not on the individual.
When you read the book of Revelations you will find that singing, praising, praying and adoration of the Lord is characterized in this book. Worship in heaven includes the singing of saints and angels, music of instruments, shouts of praise, clapping, and outward expressions of love and devotion. Praise in heaven, like that on earth, is a spontaneous response to the nature and character of God. It is the natural response of the heart to applaud and lift up joyous praise when confronted with the majesty, wonder and full realization of who God is. In Revelation chapters 4 and 5 for example, the entire host of heaven joins the angels, elders, a heavenly choir, and ten thousand times ten thousand in singing and playing songs to the Lord. Can you imagine this praise service going on in heaven with this many participants? I mean you’re talking about a minimum of 100 million participants in the same worship service giving praise to God – and that estimate is on the low end. And one more point I want to remind you of. Last week I asked you about whether or not man can create anything. I told you that to create something you must start with nothing. Everything that we have started with something so therefore it was not truly created. Now here is where I am going. The Bible makes it clear that there are musical instruments in heaven – where did they come from? Did God wait for the musician who “created” the harp to get to heaven to tell Him how to make one for the angels? Absolutely not! So if musical instruments already exist in heaven, then what man “created” is a fabrication of what is in heaven and the idea for it came from God. (That was just an FYI for those who were present last week.)
I often think about my loved ones who are already in heaven wondering what they are doing and what it is like to be in God’s presence after a life on this earth. I have a hard time imagining a life with absolutely no worries and total peace. I have never experienced “total peace” where I did not have a need and nothing was bothering me. I am sure I had moments of total piece as a baby and it probably happened right after I was fed or changed or while I was sleep. But as an adult, I do not experience moments of “total” piece because there is always something going on. The closest moments I have to this type of peace is when I am praising God. During my times of praise, my spirit is encouraged and the things that are weighing me down seem lighter. On a lighter note, I get very close to this when I am praising God in conjunction to being out on the golf course on a beautiful day with no wind, temperature in the 70s, no bugs and every shot I hit is a great shot. (That has not happen yet but one can hope.) This is the New Testament worship. It is about our hearts and not the place. Yes we should worship someone with other Christians, but it not about how big the building is or if you have a building at all – it is about what you carry on the inside of you. So, in this 21st century, how do we apply the worship in the Old and New Testament to our worship today? Let me tell you.
II. Applying Old and New Testament Worship Today
Expressions of worship as we found in the Old and New Testament are already a part of our services, but let me be more specific.
Old Testament
• Lifting up hands to symbolize praise, prayer and meditation. Psalm 28:2 says “Hear the voice of my supplication when I cry to You for help, when I lift my hands towards your Holy sanctuary.” I woke up this morning with a song on my heart and it has been there all day. I am not sure if I dreamed about it or not, but the words say “We lift our hands in the sanctuary, we lift our hands to give Him the glory, We lift our hands to give Him the praise, and we will praise Him for the rest of our days.”
• Playing of instruments. Psalm 150:3-5 says “Praise Him with trumpet sounds; praise Him with harps and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals.” We may not have all of these instruments present yet, but one day we will have a full orchestra.
• Bowing in repentance and worship. Psalm 38:6 says “I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long.” What do our youth say when they are preparing for prayer? They tell us to close our eyes and bow our heads.
• Giving tithes and offerings. Proverbs 3:9 says “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce.”
• Shouts of joy to the Lord. Psalm 66:1 says “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.”
These are just a few examples of things we do in the 21st Century worship that was also done in the Old Testament. When we look at the New Testament, there are nine expressions of worship that we also do and they are: spontaneous expressions of praise; preaching; Scripture readings; singing and making melody; confessions of faith; fellowship; prayer; breaking of bread; and communion. Although not all of these are considered worship of God directly, we do them as part of our overall worship of Him.
God still yearns for a dwelling place with His people. He desires for us to know Him in His fullness; to seek Him with all our hearts; and to develop a deep and personal relationship with Him. He wants us to “feel” Him. He is still making provisions for us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Revelations 21:3-4 and 6-7 says:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away’….Then He said to me, ‘It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be His God and he will be My son.”
I will take a one week break from this series so that I can refresh myself. I will return in two weeks and continue with this series. May God bless and keep you.
Reference for this sermon series is taken from the book "the Dynamics of Corporate Worship" by Vernon M. Walley.
