Priorities In Worship, Part 6
Hebrews 10, 24–25
It’s Gods desire to be glorified in all that we do and say. If our lives are to count for something then we are to glorify Jesus through speak and actions of love. P.H
Hebrews 10:24-25NKJV Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:24-25MSG So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, 25 not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
Last week we established that the threefold goal of worship is to, honor God, strengthen the church, and impact the world.
If these three adjectives are to be accomplished in our worship, then we must follow the biblical pattern for worship.
There are seven essential components of an effective worship service.
1. Powerful prayer.
2. Meaningful music.
3. Passionate praise
4. Tithing and giving.
5. Preaching the word.
6. Teaching the word.
7. Personal testimonies.
Let’s look at each one of these:
Last week we studied and taught/preached, number 1, Powerful Prayer.
Powerful Prayer. -Prayer was a priority in the Old Testament temple. When king Solomon dedicated the new temple, the Lord responded by filling the house with his glory.
Then the Lord spoke to Solomon and the people, saying, 2 Chronicles 7:15-16NKJV “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”
The Lord’s promise demonstrates that he was not interested so much in the burnt offerings, sacrifices, and the rituals. -Instead, the Lord spoke of his house, as a chosen and sanctified place where prayer would be answered.
-It is common today for the church to be called- A house of worship, a house of preaching, a house of fellowship, a house of service, or a house of music.
However, Jesus insisted that the church should be called, a house of prayer for all nations.
So this week we begin, #2. Meaningful Music.
In late 1990's in Watford, England, Matt Redman's church had a high caliber praise band and worship team, yet the pastor knew that the congregation had lost its way in worship. So the Pastor asked "When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?" Matt Redman says the question led initially to some embarrassing silence. Eventually, heartfelt prayers and heart-driven songs were sung as they experienced God in a fresh way.
Through that experience, Matt wrote this: -When the music fades, all is stripped away, and simply come longing just to bring something That's of worth that will bless your heart. I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You, Jesus. I'm sorry, Lord, for the things I've made it. When it's all about You All about You, Jesus.
The first biblical reference to music is found in the book of, Genesis 4:21 Jubal, one of the sons of Lamech, is said to be the father, of all those who play the harp and flute.
In the final book of the Bible, we read about the people of God in heaven.
-Revelation 15:2-3NLT I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them. 3 And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.
Between Genesis and Revelation, we find hundreds of examples of men, women, and children, who worship God through one form of music or another.
The Holy spirit and music.
The apostle Paul makes a direct connection between being filled with the spirit and worshiping God through music and singing.
Ephesians 5:18TPT “And don’t get drunk with wine, which is rebellion; instead be filled continually with the Holy Spirit.”
The definitions of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs suggest that God is pleased with worship music to Him.
Commands to sing to the Lord.
Music and singing are not optional. The Lord takes pleasure in our worship, and he instructs us to sing unto him.
1 Chronicles 16:23NKJV Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Psalm 95:1NKJV Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Personal testimony- I love to sing unto the Lord. It produces laughter and joy. It makes me feel better. Sometimes I get carried away. Other times, I stop and write down what I just heard. I’ve been cutting grass, and the Lord gave me a song. Ive learned to get off my mower, go inside and sing it to my phone.
Music in heavenly worship.
Revelation 5:9NKJV And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll,?And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
John explains that only the redeemed are able to sing this new song.
Revelation 14:3NKJV They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
2. Meaningful music.
The Psalms may be read, recited, or chanted, but they were originally meant to be sung.
-This is a fact that testifies to the value of music and worship
The Hebrew word, ‘mizmor’ translated Psalm, is a song sung to an instrumental accompaniment.
Passionate praise. -Our praise should always be passionate, for nothing more than our salvation.
Thanksgiving and praise.
“Worship is the expression of our love, relationship and consecration to God.”
Think about this. Our expressions of Thanksgiving, praise, and worship are the only things we can give to God that he did not create.
1 Thessalonians 5:18NKJV...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Praise. -Praise is not based on our feelings or our moods. Praise is a choice of our will.
The psalmist wrote in, Psalm 22:3 that God is enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Psalm 150:6NKJV Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Exuberant praise.
-Such as, shouting, leaping, dancing, clapping, lifting the hands, and the use of musical instruments like the tambourine.
Expressions of praise. The lifting of our hands.
Nehemiah 8:6NKJV And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Clapping our hands. -Our hands and fingers have many nerves, therefore, when we clap it triggers much within our human body.
Psalm 47,1NKJV Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
Shouting.
Psalm 32:11NKJV Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Dancing.
2 Samuel 6:14NKJV Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.
Standing. In the Old Testament temple, there were no chairs and no pews. The priest stood continually before the Lord as they ministered to God.
2 Chronicles 5:12NLT And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets.
Kneeling, Bowing.
In the Old Testament, the psalmist invites us, Psalm 95:6NLT Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
Personally for me, bowing is an act of humility and or, submission. It’s an action I feel way deep within.
Speaking in tongues. -Acts 2:11NKJV Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
3. Passionate praise.
Worship is the expression of our love, relationship and consecration to God. -Although worship is a lifestyle, there are also special moments of worship when we direct our thoughts, our praises, and our Thanksgiving to God.
The Bible presents to primary categories or types of praise, expressed by to Hebrew terms, hallal and yadah.
Yadah, translated, give thanks. Signifying to praising God for what he has done. Answered prayers, Salvation, healing...Thanksgiving is an expression gratitude for God's mighty works.
hallal translated, praise, signifies, praising God for his character and attributes. Praise, then, is a statement Direct knowledges and celebrates God's character and attributes.
Psalm 150 is a good for instance. Psalm 150:1-6KJV Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 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 psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
Therefore, thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude to God for all that he has done, and for all that he has promised in his word.
Praise, is acknowledging and celebrating the person of God. We praise him for who he is. Praise is not based on our feelings or our moods.
In Psalm 22:3, I believe TPT has the correct translation. 3 Yet I know that you are most holy. You are God-Enthroned, the praise of Israel.
Praise is a natural part of human life. When we listen to a profound vocalist, or the musical abilities of a stringed instrument, or the wind instruments. -The beauty is to behold!
When we praise God, we are focusing our energy and attention on the true one. Rather than on ourselves. And when left alone, will only produces misery.
Exuberant praise. We are told to shout to God with the voice of triumph, Psalm 47:1, and to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, Psalm 100:1.
As Pentecostals, or should I say, As people of God, you might witness someone dancing, shouting, or spinning. This is also exuberant praise.
Here are some expressions of praise. Lifting our hands, clapping our hands, shouting, dancing.
Just one scripture reference for, shouting.
Psalm 32:11NKJV Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
4. Tithing and giving.
Worship is our gift to God. One element of worship is to give. When we give, we give back a portion of 100% of what belongs to God.
All things belong unto God. Psalm 50:10-12NKJV For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
Tithing results in God's blessings. Malachi 3:8–11NKJV “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say,‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me,?Even this whole nation.10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts;
The lord spoke this truth in my heart. -If you can’t trust trust Him with the temporal, how can you trust Him with the eternal.
Jesus encouraged tithing.
Luke 11:42NKJV “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Giving to God is a privilege.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8NKJV But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Paul's word to the church at Korean teaches us at least three important lessons.
We are blessed in proportion to how much we give.
We should give freely and not because we feel forced to give.
God is able to supply all of our needs abundantly.
5. Preaching the word.
Worship should include hearing God's word. -The affection for the word of God is the key to worship.
Jeremiah 15:16NKJV Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
Old Testament worship always included scripture.
Nehemiah 8:5-6NKJV And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Preaching is just as important in the NT. 2 Timothy 4, Paul commands Timothy, “Preach the word!” Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.
Preaching should be a work of the spirit.
Luke 4:14NKJV Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
Luke 4:18NKJV “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
6. Teaching the word.
Worship should always include teaching the scriptures.
Acts 2:42NKJV And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Isaiah 2:3NKJV Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob;?He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Many churches, face crisis in discipleship.
The value of Sunday school.
For over 100 years, the most reliable method for learning the Bible has been the Sunday school.
There is no substitute for the systematic study of the Bible. The prophet Amos 8:11 warned of a day when there would come a great famine, not of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
7. Personal testimonies.
Revelation 12:11NKJV And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
A Testimony is one aspect of congregational involvement.
1 Corinthians 14:26NKJV How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
Testimonies are a valuable part of worship. They build up faith.
Benediction.
