WHAT IS WORSHIP?
SCRIPTURE READING:
Judges 1:1-5 "After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
INTRODUCTION:
Today, we are going to talk about worship.
What is worship?
Let me start with a story.
There was a story of a member of the British Parliament named Neil Marten.
He was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament.
During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office.
Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, "Neil! Neil"
Not daring to question or disobey the "command", the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees!
They misinterpreted the name of Neil to "kneel".
I took this from "Today in the Word, " July 30, 1993.
Well, they knew how to kneel in respond to a command but they did not know that it was not the intention at that time.
There are many Christians who are like that.
They are ready to kneel and bow down to anything and anyone that excites them even when it is inappropriate.
They desire to worship but they don't know why they worship and who to worship.
They have no clear understanding of what real worship is all about.
You might be listening to me right now and say, "That's me."
"I desire to worship God every Sunday but in reality, I am at a loss whether I have given my all to God.
"I don't fully know whether there is something lacking in my worship.
"I want to give full reverence to God but I have no idea whether this is the way He wants me to worship Him."
If you feel that way, you are not alone.
There are a lot of Christians who are feeling the same way.
And so, it is time for us to re-investigate our worship and learn from God's Word.
You see, God might require worship differently than we think.
Sometimes, we think that worship is merely attending a Sunday morning worship service.
But God looks at our hearts and He knows that we still fall short of His desire.
And so, we had to be honest with God and with our selves if we are serious in our worship to God.
If there is a need for us to improve in the way we worship God, we had to make those necessary changes even if it is uncomfortable at first.
Why? Because ultimately in heaven, we will be worshiping God for all eternity.
When I say, for all eternity, it means forever.
And our worship on this earth is only a foretaste of things to come.
While on earth, we better study about true and sincere worship or we will not be ready for heaven.
In our message for today, I want us to analyze three elements of worship that are significant to our Christian growth.
What does worship include or associated with and why are these important to our lives?
Here in this first chapter and the very first verse of the book of Judges, we find Israel inquiring of the Lord regarding their future direction as a nation.
Judges 1:1 "After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
Remember that last week, we said that Joshua has just died and the work of claiming the Promised Land has not yet been completed.
There are still a lot of things to do and a lot of lands still to be conquered.
But at this time, Israel has no leader and they been subdivided into twelve tribes each occupying a specific territory.
They have grown comfortable in dwelling in their respective lands that it was very difficult for them to unite together to claim more lands.
At the same time, the previous occupants were active in reclaiming their lands.
Something or somebody must bring them together to accomplish their purposes as God's people.
And so, they have no where to turn to but God.
They did just that, they turned to God to worship Him in the first verses of the Book of Judges to ask for direction.
Seeking God for direction is prayer, it is part of worship.
Prayer includes adoration to God Almighty and intercession for others.
And whenever they prayed and worship God, Israel always succeeded in fighting against their enemies.
But as time went by, they were not able to keep up with their prayer and devotion to God.
They failed to seek further direction from God and their worship suffered and so was their moral integrity.
Sin entered their hearts without any resistance and worship to God degenerated.
Whenever these things happened, they were overpowered by their enemies and they experienced great defeat and bondage.
We can learn a lot of spiritual lessons from this Book of Judges.
In the same manner, God wants us to pray and worship God.
This is spiritual warfare and we are taking God's banner over us as we advance.
But whenever we disobey God and we allow sin to enter, we will be overpowered by the enemy.
We had to understand therefore that true worship is closely connected with our moral and spiritual integrity.
The more we worship God, the more our moral and spiritual character is strengthened.
The less time we spend in worship, the greater the pressure for sin to come in and invade our beings.
Worship therefore is extremely important for our Christian lives.
When we worship God, He gives us the courage to face our enemies and claim lost territories for Christ.
No wonder, the Psalmist David declared: Psalms 89:1 NIV "I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations."
Because David discovered the value of worship, he wants to make God's faithfulness known through all generations.
Therefore, we had to evaluate ourselves and keep on improving in our worship to God.
There are three things in this first chapter of the book of Judges:
1. Worship is asking direction from the Lord.
2. Worship is overcoming the enemy under God's banner.
3. Worship is surrendering our hearts to Christ.
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
1. WORSHIP IS ASKING DIRECTION FROM THE LORD.
Judges 1:After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
The first thing we need to remember is that when we worship God, the Lord can guide us more clearly.
Here in this first verse of chapter 1, we note that their leader Joshua is dead.
As we said last week, life on earth is short.
Everyone will die at their own time.
And after many years of leading Israel, their great leader Joshua finally fade away.
Now, they are on their own and they will be tested as to the spiritual frame they have learned from Joshua.
What should they do when their leader is gone and their enemies are surrounding them?
Who will guide them?
Well, the verse said that they asked or inquired of the Lord.
They asked God for advice and guidance.
How about you?
What do you do when you have nowhere to turn to and you need an urgent decision as to what to do next?
What do you do when you are in great financial needs?
What do you do when you are contemplating to marry that person?
What do you do when you are looking for a job?
What do you do when you are planning to relocate your family?
You had to do what Israel did.
You had to turn to the Lord.
Ask God for advice, for direction, for instruction.
That is what worship is all about.
You clear your mind so that you could hear His voice guiding you.
You listen with humility and submission to His leading.
And you do not allow your own prejudice or bias to have a stronger pull on your decision.
When you worship God, you lay your plans on the table and you wait on God to give you clear direction in life.
He might change your plans because he has a better plan for you.
Or He might want you to stick to your plans with minor changes.
In both cases, it is important to seek God's counsel so that He can direct our paths and shed light on our way.
Here are some important Scriptures about HOW DOES GOD GUIDE OUR STEPS IN OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY?
1. BY SHOWING US THE RIGHT PATH TO TRAVEL. Psalms 32:8 (NIV) " I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."
Surely, you want to be in the right path not in the wrong path.
And so, through good counsel from His Word, and as you worship Him, He will show you which is the right path to take.
2. BY HELPING US MAINTAIN THAT STRAIGHT PATH AT ALL COST. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) " Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Many times, we wander away from the path that God has give to us.
Many times, we lost our way and turn to other crooked way that leads to destruction, but again, through wise counsel from His Word, He will put us back on the straight and narrow path that leads to life.
3. BY PUTTING MORE LIGHT ON OUR PATH WHEN THE WAY SEEMS DARK. Psalms 119:105 (NIV) " Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
Many times, we walk along a path that is so dark, foggy and gloomy.
Then, when fear is about to enter our minds, God is there to put more light on our path.
And God's light will be there as you begin to worship Him.
4. BY UPHOLDING US WITH HIS HANDS SO THAT WE WILL NOT STUMBLE ALONG THE WAY. Psalms 37:23-24 (NIV) " The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand."
Many times, we slip, fall down and stumble because the way has been rough and rugged.
But through proper guidance from God, his hand is always there to protect us from falling or sliding.
Here then is the truth.
The more we spend quality time in worshiping God, the more God can speak to our hearts to guide our paths so that we will always be in the right way.
But the opposite is also true.
The more we refrain or distance ourselves from from worshiping God, the further we are from God's direction and so, we stumble and fall along the rugged pathway.
Brothers and sisters, life is rough and hard.
Only worship will make our path smooth and bring us closer to God's purposes.
But notice now what Israel have asked from God.
"Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
Of the twelve tribes of Israel, they want to know whose tribe is the strongest and the most equipped for battle.
It is not the question of "Can we go against the Canaanites?"
They already knew that God wanted them to go against their enemies.
But it was the question of WHO among them can lead them first into battle.
Because of their worship to God, they recognized that it is God who appoints people for the task of service in accordance to their qualifications.
They asked God for direction regarding the people God has prepared for such work at hand.
That is exactly what we need to learn as we worship God.
We must realize that God knows the strength and the weaknesses of every single person in this room.
He knows your capabilities, your skills, your character and your great potential for the task He has prepared just for you.
And so, as you worship God, you can receive that call for the ministry.
As you worship God, He assures you that you are the man or the woman for the job.
Worship can put that confidence and courage in your heart.
In this case, the Lord answered them: “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.” vs. 2.
That tribe of Judah has a special place in the heart of God.
In fact, when Jacob was about to die to bless his twelve sons, the blessing for Judah was so special: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet." (Genesis 49:12).
That means from the line of Judah will be born the one who would be king.
And that kingship will be passed on from one generation to another.
That is why many years later, from the tribe of Judah came King David and after many years, came the Messiah - Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
No wonder, he told them that Judah should lead them into battle because the enemy has already been handed to them.
There was this story of the director of the George Muller Foundation telling of God’s perfect timing in the provision of guidance and resources.
The Foundation had been requested to commence a new child-care project which would require a great commitment in time and resources.
The trustees decided that they couldn’t go ahead unless they received clear direction from the Lord, and so they committed the need to God in prayer.
The day came for a decision to be made, but no definite leading had been received.
Then on the day of their meeting a substantial sum was received from a donor earmarked for such a project - and what was more remarkable was that the gift had been designated over 20 years before but because of legal problems over the estate it had just become available.
The answer has been there all along.
God only requires us to ask, pray and seek His will and we will then receive it.
And so, let us remember that part of worship is asking God for direction in our lives.
2. WORSHIP IS OVERCOMING THE ENEMY UNDER GOD'S BANNER
Judges 1: 4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites.
The second thing we need to learn is that whenever we worship God, we are raising God's banner over us.
And as we fight the enemy under the banner of God, we experience victory, triumph and success over all our enemies.
Here in these verses, Judah attacked the enemy and the Lord gave them victory.
It is said further that the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands.
They even struck down ten thousand men of the enemies at Bezek.
That was after they have prayed and asked guidance from God.
They have just experienced the power of worship.
In the same manner, we need to experience the power of worship over our spiritual enemies.
The Bible says: " For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:12 (NIV).
Many Christians are not aware of it but there is an ongoing battle happening around us that we often ignore.
That word "struggle" is translated "wrestle" in the King James Version also means to fight or to do battle as to inform us that we are in great spiritual conflict.
Look at how many times he used the word: "against" - 5 times in one verse alone.
He is saying, "Don't you get it? The struggle is not against your brothers and sisters in the Lord."
Sure, once in a while, we come in conflict with them over opposing view points.
But that is normal and we should learn to humble ourselves to each other because they are our co-laborers or co-workers in the Lord.
We do not fight against them.
We lift them up and we help them so that they could stand with us in the ongoing spiritual battle.
The spiritual forces at work wants to divided us so that he could destroy us.
But we will not allow this to happen.
Also, that conflict is not against the unbelievers who try to discredit our faith.
Even if they laugh at us and scorn our faith, it does not matter.
The unbelievers are those we must win for the faith of the Gospel.
We must love them and be patient with them because their minds are blinded from the truth.
How can we win them over for the Lord if we give up on them?
We must be armed for battle.
We must put on the SHIELD of faith.
Put on the SWORD of the spirit.
Put on the HELMET of salvation.
Put on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Put on the SHOES in preaching the Gospel.
And after you have done that, to stand firm.
Because this ongoing spiritual conflict is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world.
Are you ready for battle?
Our conflict is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Our enemies therefore are the unseen evil forces that try to take away the truth of God's Word from our minds.
Our enemies are those evil forces who put fears, doubts, anger, depression and hopelessness in our hearts.
Our enemies are those who would tempt us into committing sin of envy, greed, jealousy, adultery, and hatred.
Our enemies are those spiritual forces who would remind us of our sins and would rehearse in our midst our past failures and mistakes in order to make us hopeless in pursuing our dreams.
Our spiritual enemies are real.
They can attack our hearts, our minds and our consciences 24 hours a day, seven days a week without rest.
Here is the truth. You will never outgrow spiritual warfare.
It will just go more intense each day.
And sad to say that many Christians who have not discovered the power of praise and worship have succumbed to the attack of the enemies.
No wonder, they go about defeated in their spirits, crushed in their emotions and beaten in fulfilling their dreams.
No wonder, they go about spreading gossips, building distrusts and bitterness among our brothers and sisters.
No wonder, they have deep seated fears and hopelessness in their hearts and minds.
You might be experiencing this situation right at this moment.
If you do, you must re-invigorate your worship, restore your enthusiasm and resuscitate your prayer life.
For only worship to God can help you overcome the onslaught of the enemy.
Worship is the secret of victory to spiritual warfare.
That is why it is time to believe on what the Bible says about the power of worship.
1. WORSHIP WILL DELIVER US FROM THE HANDS OF OUR ENEMIES. 2 Kings 17:38-39 " 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
As you worship God, the enemy will flee from you because the devil cannot stand as single second as you worship God.
2. WORSHIP WILL GIVE US SPIRITUAL STRENGTH WE NEED. Psalms 29:11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace."
As you worship God, new strength, new vigor, new vitality, new stamina, new courage, new energy, new power and new stability will come upon you.
3. WORSHIP WILL DRAW PEOPLE TO CHRIST. John 12:32 (NIV) " 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
As you worship God, the chains of slavery of sin will be cut off and destroyed and people will be drawn to Christ.
There is power in worship.
What we need to learn is authentic worship at all times.
What does that mean?
You see, when we worship God sincerely and from our hearts, we enter into the very presence of God.
When we worship God seriously, we become a mighty warrior fit for battle.
When we worship God wholeheartedly, the spiritual forces of evil are destroyed and disintegrate.
When we worship God earnestly, the evil forces of depression and hopelessness are subdued and overpowered.
When we worship God deeply, the thoughts of anger, doubts and fears are vanquished in the name of Jesus.
When we worship God truthfully, the thoughts of courage, of spiritual strength, firmness and audacity dominate our thinking.
My brothers and sisters, I say it again just in case you did not get it.
There is tremendous power in praise and worship.
Through worship, we are being changed from a helpless victim to a courageous warrior.
I pray to God that you will discover such power yourself personally each time we worship God.
No wonder, we can be over comer when we worship God.
3. WORSHIP IS SURRENDERING OUR HEARTS TO CHRIST.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Here in this verse, the apostle Paul urges the Christians in Rome to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God.
This word "urge" implies a very strong desire, a longing or a compulsion to do something significant with our lives.
The reason behind that is that God has been merciful to us all these years.
In spite of our unfaithfulness, our selfishness and our disobedience to God's Word, yet, He has not destroyed us but has been compassionate and forgiving.
And so, he urges or yearns for us to surrender our bodies in worship.
To offer our bodies to God means to surrender, to abandon, to submit to God fully and totally.
When we surrender our bodies to God in worship, it means we give up complete control and abandon our self-centeredness.
That means as we worship God, we are not easily disturbed by the things going on around us.
When we worship God, we are not agitated or disrupted by any commotion or noises that we hear.
When we worship God, we do not care even if other people are looking at us while we raise our hands up.
When we worship God, we do not think abut our next appointment because for us, this is the most important thing to do at the moment.
Let us then improve in our worship.
Here are more Scriptures on what it means to surrender our hearts to God as we worship Him:
WHAT DOES SURRENDER TO GOD MEAN?
1. IT MEANS TO DENY OURSELVES AND TAKE UP OUR CROSS DAILY. Matthew 16:24 (NIV) "
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
To deny ourselves means to disagree with the evil forces.
To deny ourselves means to renounce and decline the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
To deny ourselves means to oppose and reject any juicy gossip, hearsay and slander.
2. IT MEANS TO PRESENT OURSELVES TO GOD AS INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Romans 6:13 (NIV) " 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness."
3. IT MEANS ALLOWING NO EVIL TO DWELL IN OUR HEARTS. Job 11:13-15(NIV)
13 “Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;
you will stand firm and without fear.
I will end with these quotes on worship:
1. "Worship changes the image of the worshiper in the image of the One worshiped."
That is so true. The more you worship God, the more you become like Him.
2. "Turn your worry into worship and watch God turn your battles into blessings."
That is so true. We can turn those battles into blessings by worship.
3. "We have to pray with our eyes on God not on our difficulties." by Oswald Chambers
4. "Prayer is the most powerful weapon against trials.
The most effective medicine against sickness.
And the most valuable gift to someone you love."
5. "Fight all your battles on your knees."
May the Lord bless us as we worship the Lord together.
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