Worship
- means to fall /bow down before Him.
Ps 95:6
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Ps 66:4
4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
John 4:23-24
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Today the devil has counterfeited what we call worship.
If you would ask the average Christian today what does worship mean, they would tell you that they go to church.
To many going to church is worship.
Others would say praying is a form of worship.
Still others would tell you that sing is worship.
Today Christians have no idea what worship really is.
I remember back when I was a little boy, church did not have a set finishing time. The had a set time to start, and they finished when the people finished worshiping.
You may be sitting their this morning asking, “Preacher, What are you trying to say?”
I am say we put God in a box, a time frame, and we tell Him that He has one hour, and that’s it.
In my life time, back when Gayla and I were much younger, we were in a Baptist church, and we had a visiting evangalist preached one Sunday night and the Lord came down to visit the services. The services started at 7 pm and the service officially closed at 8:30 but at midnight the pastor sat down on the steps of the platform and beg the people to go home. Before anyone would leave, one of the deacons asked it the evangelist had any where to be the next day. He said no and agreed to stay a couple days on till Wednesday evening. We had in attendance that evening about 40-45 people. A Revival broke out and 3 ½ weeks later, it ended with the results of over 75 people being saved, and the service were running 150 -200 people per night.
You say preacher, why are you telling us this.
Why,.. Because the revival was a direct result of people getting right with God and worshiping the Lord.
No,.. Going to church is not worship
Ps 132:7
7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
This verse makes it clear that going to church is not worship.
Notice it says that they went to the tabernacles,….
… then it says the fall down at his footstool.
I used the term fall down because that is what worship is.
It did not say, "we will go worship in his tabernacle, ..."
Years ago while the preacher was preaching people would come forward to the alters and get on their knees before the Lord.
When the invitation was given, people would fill the alter and the front of the church on the knees before the Lord.
Over the pass 40 years, we have notices that the devil has came in and counterfeited the whole reason of the alter in the church.
In fact, most churches have taken out the alters, because they are no long used. Why? People are not at church to worship.
Here is another example of the difference between church and worship.
Rev 4:10-11
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
This is a scene from heaven after the Rapture of the church.
The 24 elders are representative of the church.
….They are in heaven.
….. They fall down and worship the Lord.
When we get to heaven their will be many Baptist standing around and feel like their out of place because they don’t know how to worship.
In the Bible God gives us three things about worship.
The Bible talks about lifting up of hands.
1. What does raised hands mean?
If a policeman tells you freeze don’t move, you put your hands up as a sign that you surrender.
The same is true with worshipping God.
It’s a sign to God that you surrender to His Will.
Ps 28:2
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Ps 63:3-4
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Ps 88:9
9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Ps 134:2
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD
Ps 141:2
2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Heb 12:12
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
One reason today why save people are not seeing the power of God on and in their life is due to the lack of surrender.
We like to think we know what’s best,… but in reality, we don’t know anything.
2. Why bow or kneel before the Lord?
Bowing / kneeling shows the humbleness of our heart unto the Lord.
Many of us today have a haughty spirit, and a attitude that God can not and will not use.
In order for us to be used we must humble ourselves before the Lord.
James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
James 4:6
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
1 Peter 5:5-7
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Prov 29:23
23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Jesus Said;
Matt 23:12
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
3. Why Shout to the Lord?
Ps 35:27
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
If you are prosperous then you need to magnify His Name
Ps 47:1
O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
What do we shout?
Praise the Lord
Amen
Hallelujah
Today we need to get back to worshipping the Living God.
To do that we must surrender and humble ourselves to him.
Satan has counterfeited so many things inside the church that now the real living church, the body of Christ has became weak and anemic. The church of today is like God said about the church of Laodiceans and we make God sick.
Church it time to take a stand in out lives and get back to having the power of God in our churches.
