Experiencing Worship
Introduction-
For the past couple weeks, we have looked at practical ways to experience God; and have God evident in our life.
We had Looked into being a Barnabas church and a Barnabas giver. A Barnabas person or church is one that shows generosity and kindness to those they come in contact with.
A Barnabas person would be a giving person that not only thinks of himself /herself but would be one looking for ways that they could help someone else.
Last week we looked at prayer, Peter in prison with an attitude that God has things under control and (sleeping) the newly formed church was praying for Peter to be set free. When he was set free, they could not believe it. They were praying, but not really believing that God answers prayer.(doubt)
What would a praying church look like?
This morning, I want to take a minute and look at worship.
Worship is singing loud, singing quietly, arms raised, arms down, head down, standing, sitting, traditional music, contemporary, chorus, hymns, a lot, a little, instrument, no instruments, many people, by yourself. If you are strictly looking at the outward signs of worship, it becomes complicated.
Worship usually gets a bum wrap because people want to say that it is personal and forget that God tells us that we must also worship corporately. They say things like…worship is between me and the big guy upstairs; well, if you are calling him the big guy upstairs, you have already lost a little in who you are worshiping because God is not “The guy upstairs”
Psalms 96:9-
“Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.”
So if you are to worship the way God intended it to be it is the worship of God, not putting anything or anyone in that spot that belongs to God alone.
I have read of one definition of worship this way… “Worship is not the slow song that the choir sings. Worship is not the amount that we put in the offering plate. Worship is not volunteering in the children’s ministry. These are acts of worship, but they do not define worship.
According to Webster-Worship is extravagant love and extreme submission.
We worship God because He is God. That is a good enough reason. Everything else hangs on that fact.
He is a God that saves.
He is a God that cares and gets involved in our lives.
He is God that wants and desires and makes Himself available to us if we draw near to Him.
True worship is defined by what we place our priority too.
True worship is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth.
True worship is motivated by love to God and to God’s people.
True worship is a deep respect for God. Reverence.
So how could that play out in our lives?
What does it look like?
Can we have worship in a structured service? Could we experience worship alone in our bedroom and corporately together in a worship service? Yes we can.
It plays out when God is first before anything else.
Let’s think about that a minute.
True worship is attitude and priorities.
It is worshiping in Spirit and truth, which can only be done if the Holy Spirit of God is active in your life or it would be impossible to worship in the Spirit.
Worship is motivated by God’s love toward us that we love Him and we love God’s people. You forgive because you have been forgiven, you love because He first loved you.
You must look at God being God and not think that you can place God at an equal level with you. He cannot be your savior until you make Him your savior. Until you admit and live out that you need a savior.
We would have to agree that if we are to worship God, then God has to be involved. Right ?
Yet some people say that they love God and spend no time with Him. They wonder why they have a hard time worshiping or giving praise to God.
Let’s break this down- priority in our life.
To submit is considered a bad thing in society today.
Marriages do not use the word submit in ceremonies.
Contracts are drawn up before weddings so they will have a way to divide assets when the marriage falls apart. Doomed before it starts.
The word commit is taken out of most sentences because “everything has a season” and the ability to walk away at any time is the only option people want.
That is not how God looks at priority. He is to be first in everything and every part of our lives.
No submit issues
No escape clauses.
No broken contracts
Commitment is a given.
Now get this! Not because we have too, all kinds of rules…..but because we want too. (Repeat )
We say with our mouths that worship is hard.
What about people who faint when a movie star is in their presence.
What about the act of worship they perform when they are so in to their music that they get out lighters and start waving their arms from side to side.
What about wanting an autograph and they are willing to stand in a line for hours to get it.
Attitude is everything.
Acts 16- Paul and Silas were in jail. For doing what they were suppose to do. Love God and put Him first. They cast out a demon in a fortune teller and the people got mad and threw them in jail for disturbing the peace and financial loss.
Acts 16:22-
“The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown in prison. (25) About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
They were beaten and praising God. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.
They were not looking at their situation; they were looking at their savior.
You know why most cannot worship?
Because they look at their situation and determine that it is bigger than their God. Repeat! Their attitude is determined by if they are having a good day or not. These disciples would not let their day or their situation dictate how they were to view their God.
Don’t believe me.
You know which is the hardest day to worship God? Sunday.
Do you realize how much spiritual activity happens on Sunday.
Hardest day to get up.
The most apt for couples to get in an argument before they head of f to church.
The day that the kids decide that they are going to fight you or their siblings.
Tired, depressed, anger. That is not by accident. If you decide wither you love God and are going to the house of God each Sunday, there will be many obstacles in your way each week.
Attitude is everything- I will, we will, be in the house of God on a regular basis. We will not make that decision every week. Not being here will be the exception not the rule. I will not let my circumstances dictate my worship to my Lord.
If it is a bad day- I will make it a good day by coming into the house of the Lord. If it is already a good day, I will all the more come into the house and thank my God for this day.
If we want to see God do more in our services, stop looking at the preacher to pull a miracle out of his/her hat. Make sure that before you even step foot in the church that you have already been praying that God would do something amazing that would both affect you and your family and those that are a part of the congregation.
Worship is correct attitude with feet.
I know that I have lost some. Because they don’t feel worship is that important.
Illustration-
Remember that first time you met so and so and you did not like them- you spent your time trying to find things that you did not like about them and you built a case against them. It was because you did not want to see good in them, Predetermined dislike. How about the opposite scenario, your first impression of a person, you like them, everyone else tried to warn you but all you saw was that you like them and you saw no bad in them.
How you view worship and what you get out of worship will be of your own choice. I will tell you this, that if things are not going that well for you, I would suggest you at least try it, you might get something out of it.
Worshiping is taking our eyes off of our circumstances and focusing on God. (Repeat)
We stop focusing on what’s wrong with us or our circumstances and we start focusing on what is right with God.
Worship, true worship of God will allow us to see the big picture of what God is doing instead of just what is in front of us.
Nothing is more difficult than worshiping God when things are going wrong.
The purest form of worship is praying and praising when you don’t feel like it. That is the hardest but will be the most rewarding because you focus on God. The circumstance, situation has to take a back seat and God comes to the forefront.
Albert Einstein
“ You can’t solve a problem on the level that it was created.” I am not a big fan of Einstein but he had it right concerning worship and making God a priority. Super natural problems cannot be handled by human means, you need God to intervene.
Mark Batterson who wrote several great books on prayer and God being in our lives said “You can’t plan Pentecost, but if you pray for 10 days, Pentecost might just happen.”
From last week, Peter could not plan his jail break, it was a God moment.
God showed up and Peter reacted and recognized it. Paul and Silas singing and praising God after being beat and thrown in jail, only God can give us that kind of worship. It is a God moment and by God’s power. We have to put ourselves in a position to receive what God has for us.
Closing,
Lastly, there are things that can prevent you from experiencing worship
Distractions- Luke 10:40-42 Read from Bible
Keep focused and keep God as your priority.
Unforgiveness- Matthew 5:23-24
Make sure that relationship with the Lord is not severed by things that you have not confessed to Him.
Fear- John 12:42-43
Do not fear what others think when it comes to the things of God.
Feelings- Matthew 16:41
You can’t always go by feelings, that is why they call it a sacrifice of praise.
Psalm 150:6- Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Psalm 63:1
“You are my God, earnestly I will seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
Amen.
