Title: The Features of worship
This sermon is part 3 of our series on worship and was preached by Tony Hamilton worship leader at Calvary Assembly of God.
This morning we are going to be looking at the features of worship or another way to say it, the facets of our Sunday morning worship time.
C.S. Lewis once wrote that "Praise is our inner health made audible." How we outwardly worship God demonstrates how our heart inside feels about God.
So this morning we are going to look at what some of the features of our Worship should be.
Then we will look at why we don't do these things. And finally we will look at why we should be doing these things during worship.
Even though we are going to look today at the actions of worship, we need to start at a base level. Behind every action is an attitude. Worship is more attitude than action. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from a pure heart!
So our worship is to glorify and exalt God; to show our loyalty and admiration to our Heavenly Father! It should not be about how we feel or if we want to or not. It is all about God. Our focus is on God, our Foundation is found in God. The features of our worship should also be about God as well. We need to remember that our worship is a sacrifice. In Hebrews 13:15 it says "...let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise..."
It is a sacrifice. We give up ourselves and what we want. We make it a sacrifice to what God wants.
1. What are some of the acceptable features or facets of worship
For this, we will look into the psalms
Here are some of the dynamic (expressive) features of our worship
Lets read psalm 150
Psalm 150
Let All Things Praise the LORD
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
We see in this psalm, singing, playing musical instruments and dancing. All wonderful expressive ways to worship God.
Now, lets read Psalm 47 verse 1 and Psalm 20 5-7
Psalm 47
1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
Psalm 20
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know:
The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
In all of these verses we see outward ways to worship God. We see shouting, clapping and waving banners. Before we saw singing, playing instruments and dancing. These are all wonderful expressive ways that we can worship God during our song service. These are not my ways, these are not Pastor's ways, these are God's ways. He is telling us the proper and acceptable ways to worship Him. So, I will let the scriptures here speak for themselves. There is no better teacher then God.
Ok, so there are quiet times during the music and altar time too. We shouldn't be disruptive and act all crazy during these quiet times. So you ask, Tony.. what do we do then. Do we just stand there. Do we just sit back and dig the music. No. You can always sing, and here are some other Biblical more quiet and introspective ways to worship.
Psalm 141
1 I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me;
hear me when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 95
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Psalm 77
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
Psalm 43
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
In these psalms we see so many beautiful and quiet ways to worship God. we see raising our hands, praying, kneeling, bowing, meditating and coming forward to the altar. Once again, we will let the Holy Scriptures speak for themselves. Its pretty clear that we have many options. God is so creative and wonderful. He created us to be worshippers. He created us all to worship Him. He knows how we are created and he wants us all to worship him in spirit and in truth. True to ourselves and true to Him.
There is a time and a place for all of the features of worship. So, lets not get stuck in a rut. If we always raise our hands, we should try waving a flag. Hopefully we are always singing, but we should try clapping, try saying Amen when we agree with whats being sung. Worship is all about participating. What are we doing to worship God. Its not a show or performance. Its between us worshipping our maker. So how did we worship God today?
2. Why we don't do these things Sunday morning or during the week.
a. Fear
People are afraid what people will think of them
People are afraid of doing something new
People are afraid of what will happen if they really let loose and worship
b. Pride
I am too cool for that
Thats sissy stuff, real men don't do those things
What will people think of me
c. We think these things are not for today
Those things are Old Testament. People don't do that stuff today.. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and wants to be worshipped the same way. If it was right back then, then its right now.
d.We are not tuned into the Spirit and are focused on other things
We are not praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit Monday thru Saturday
We need to be in the Word and praying. How will you know if the Spirit is telling you something?
When the Spirit tells you to do something, you say no. You are afraid the Spirit will take over your body.
3. Why we should do these things
We should worship God for who he is
We praise God for all the wonderful things he has done for us and will continue to do for us.
Illustration : What we get excited over
a. Favorite sports team wins a game (bring in football hat)
b. something you want to buy goes on sale.. huge savings (news paper ad flyer)
c. I tell you you just won a million dollars (fake check for a million bux)
God does so much more then any of those things.
So whats better then a Patriots victory in the Super Bowl
Jesus' victory over Satan in the final battle
Revelation 20
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earthGog and Magogand to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Whats better then huge savings at the store
Jesus saving our lives
In Acts 16:30-31 the prison guard asks Paul and Silas "...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
What's better then winning 1 million dollars
The blessings of God.. which we don't deserve
Eternal life, every need provided for, victory, freedom, an every loving Father, forgiveness, peace, love and all the fruits of the spirit, healing, jobs, nature, family, friends, our church, our pastor, and so on and so on.. no one can out give God.
I want to finish today by reading two psalms.. This is the God we worship. if you ever have trouble worshipping God, read these psalms.
Psalm 138
1 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me;
you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
6 Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will vindicate me;
your love, LORD, endures forever
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Psalm 145
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.[c]
14 The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Lets pray. with every head bowed and eyes closed. If you have never received this God. This loving giving caring God, I pray that today you would choose to. The only way to receive this God. This God that we worship is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The only reason we are allowed to come before the throne of God and worship Him is because of Jesus. We are not worthy to enter his throne room, but thru Jesus and by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are allowed to come before his throne and worship Him. Worship Him the way he wants us to. If you would like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, raise your hand. receive the amazing blessing fo God, the Victory of God, the Saving power of God today.
For the church. If you struggle with worship. The physical aspects of worship. I pray that you raise your hand.
- If you struggle with Fear about worship. what to do, when to do it, what people will think, raise your hand.
- If you are prideful about worship. If deep down, you say I will never do that. No matter what the Bible says. I don't want to. Its time to put God before yourself. Put God in His right position. He is the one worthy of your worship. Its the day to become humble. If you struggle in this area, raise your hand.
- If you believe these things we talked about today were for only for biblical times and not for today.. don't let the devil keep lying to you. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and deserves to worshipped in the ways he describes in His Word. God lays it out pretty plain how He wants to be worshipped.
- If you have trouble knowing if the Holy Spirit is talking to you. If you don't want to do what the Holy Spirit is telling you please raise your hand. God sent us the Holy Spirit to help us, lead us, show us. Ask for more of the Holy Spirit in your life.
You are proclaiming by raising your hand that you want to change. That you want to grow. As we finish today. Pray and ask God for help in these areas. Help me Holy Spirit to worship and honor God with everything that I have.. my whole mind, my whole soul and my whole body. To offer to Him the worship He deserves. Amen.
