Awakened Worship
Psalm 95:6–7
John 4:23–24
February 22, 2026
Let me ask this question . . . if you were to assess your own personal wake up meter, kind of like a spiritual wake up thermometer . . . . what would it be?
I mean, are you here physically, but that’s it? If you’re worshiping online, are you distracted? Are we thinking about lunch?
Another way to ask it would be - - - - are you totally invested in worship today? Are you focused, with your heart, soul, mind and body?
We’ve been looking at what it means to be one united body of believers, growing strong in Christ so we can be the message and change the world.
To do that, we’ve been talking about awakening — awakening our hearts, awakening our faith, awakening together as the people of God.
One of the things, I’ve realized is that awakening is not the final step. There’s always something that comes after an awakening. And what we do with that next step matters.
Think about it . . . the alarm goes off in the morning and the first thing we do is hit snooze . . . again and again. We wake up groggy, not ready for the day. We drive to work or go to school . . . still half asleep. We haven’t woken up. And we may go through those motions until we go back to sleep, and then do it all again.
Awakening is never the final step. Awakening always leads to a response.
When you wake up in the morning, the goal isn’t simply to open your eyes. The goal is to engage with the day. To be fully alive. This thought occurred to me and it’s going to sound like a strange word pairing, but it’s to wake up and live awake.
That’s a strange phrase . . . . I think I invented. You know what I mean? We live life, but are we really alive? Are we embracing the words of Jesus in John 10:10 - - - -
10 I came to give you life and give it to you more abundantly. - John 10:10
The phrase more abundantly comes from a Greek root word which means — — superabundant, exceeding abundantly or beyond measure.
That’s the life we’re supposed to be living. It’s a life given to us by God. We all want this, don’t we? I mean, who wouldn’t want to live the super abundant life offered by Jesus, Himself?
And at the same time, I know that we go through tough seasons of life. Times when feeling the super abundant life seems to be an oxymoron. There’s nothing overwhelmingly great about it. Life is blah, depressing and disheartening. So, yes, I get it. We’ve all been there. Yet, the goal isn’t to get stuck there.
And how do we get out of the rut and live that fully alive life? I’ve been pondering that question. Because it’s not easy on our own. It takes trust, faith, and belief in God.
And if we want to be individually alive in Christ and alive as a church, then one of the ingredients to help us attain that vision is worship!!
Awakening should lead us to worship. Not louder worship. Not trendier or more hip worship. Not more emotional worship. But true worship. Worship which is rooted in the power and presence of Jesus.
In John 4, Jesus had and interaction with a women at a well. As he challenged her, He told the women - - - -
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:23-24
I’m not going to get into a huge exposition of this passage, that would be an entire sermon in itself. Jesus was telling this woman, and telling us that we worship with our spirits the truth of who Jesus is.
Jesus’ declaration that God is Spirit is important because we come to understand that God cannot be confined. He is more! He is Spirit and it’s about to be revelatory later in John when Jesus tells the disciples that the Spirit will come to be with them.
You see, spirit and truth are inseparable. Our worship is empowered by the Spirit of God in our spirits because we believe in the revelation of Jesus as the Way and the Truth and the Life.
And the true worshiper will be able to more than acknowledge this. As a true worshiper, we believe in Jesus as the Truth and live our lives accordingly. And this is the build up to the culmination of this story when Jesus declares to the woman in verse 26 - - - -
26 “I who speak to you am He.” That is, I AM the Christ, the Messiah!
Worship is spiritual, rather than just physical, such as going though the physical motions of worship.
In the end, it’s quite possible for us to gather on Sunday -- or in our daily devotions, or Bible reading -- and just go through the motions of worship, with our heart, spirit and mind elsewhere, maybe even half-asleep.
To be a true worshiper that the Father seeks, we must enter into worship by the Holy Spirit, with our spirits and hearts intently focused on God. He’s seeking authentic, genuine worship.
That’s the basis. It’s easy to walk in here or to worship online and just do what we always do. We come half way. We’re really not prepared. We haven’t prayed and prepared to seek God’s presence and grace.
So with that in mind, what should our posture or attitude be as we come to worship? I believe Psalm 95 gives an amazing description among many possible scriptures - - - -
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
When we look at this Psalm, there’s a number of things that jump out at me. This Psalm as an invitation to worship. It’s those first words, “OH COME, LET US SING . . .” It’s an invitation from believers to believers. Come, let’s do it together, let’s sing together. Let’s celebrate God together.
Worship requires movement. It requires intention. It requires leaving distraction behind and stepping toward God. And for many of us — that’s where the struggle begins. We’re holding onto our distractions, not letting go.
And the psalmist commands us to sing! UGH! But, I don’t like to sing! I can’t carry a tune and I don’t know that song, and I’m tired and on we go . . .
And sometimes, we need to start singing. I certainly get it, my mic is muted during singing and I can’t carry a tune. But singing isn’t about me being pleased that George selected a good song . . . it’s more about my spiritual formation. It’s giving myself to God and being intentional, which then moves my heart.
And the Psalm tells us why we sing. Verses 3-5 remind us the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. He’s the creator of everything.
Have you ever gone somewhere, and you stood there, and it was magnificent. Debbie and I did that last year when we went to Italy and Greece. The history was unreal. It would be like going to these landmarks and not being moved.
It would be like standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon at sunrise, and you look out over the vastness of creation and you’re awestruck.
PICTURES of Grand Canyon
I don’t think you can stand there, and shrug your shoulders and say, ‘eh, that’s fine, no biggie.’
And yet, maybe that’s part of the problem for us. Worship is not boring. But our view of God has shrunk.
If God is only a consultant, or a genie, or a distant advisor, we won’t come into worship with awe and wonder. It’ll be the same old thing.
But if we recognize that God holds the oceans in His hands, He formed the depths of the earth and the mountains and He’s knit us together in our mother’s wombs . . . and He came into this world and died so we could have life . . .
. . . . then we come to worship and want to worship and want to loudly sing and praise God. Because that’s our only possible response.
The bigger God is in our hearts and spirits, the deeper worship becomes in our life. So, how big is your God?
As the Psalm tells us, it’s the privilege of worshiping the LORD, the great God, the great King above all gods. God is King over creation: it’s His, He made it, and He rules over it all. We are His people, we are His sheep and He is our Shepherd. And Jesus reminds us who He is in John 10, by telling us I AM THE GREAT SHEPHERD! He goes out for the lost and He protects those who are already in the fold.
With that in our spirits, hearts and minds, our worship should be exuberant as we worship with astonished wonder and humility as we bow down and kneel before His majestic throne. The whole person, heart, spirit, mind and body must engage in worship.
What I love about this Psalm is that it focuses on the inward and outward parts of our humanity. The first part was the outward manifestation of our worship. Now we turn inward and examine our heart and spirit.
Then the Psalm shifts. The psalmist tells us - - - -
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
It’s another call to worship, but we’re moving from celebration to surrender. Worship isn’t just about a few songs and a sermon, it’s about submission, surrendering to God.
And we struggle mightily with surrender. It’s easy to sing, “God, You reign.” It’s harder to pray, “God, You take over. Worship is about giving God control.
Maybe worship isn’t hitting us because it’s a control issue. We claim, we’re not singing the right songs, the message isn’t what I want. We want our worship, yet, that’s not the point of worship. It’s proclaiming who God is and submitting to Him.
Can we ask ourselves, “Lord, where am I resisting You? What am I holding tighter than You?” Worship deepens when control loosens.
I want to do something a bit different today. I want us to practice Psalm 95. In the middle of the sermon, we’re going to do a responsive reading.
I’ll read the first line. You respond with the words on the screen.
Leader:
Come, let us sing to the Lord.
People:
Even when we do not feel like singing.
Leader:
Let us make a joyful noise.
People:
Even when our week was heavy.
Leader:
For the Lord is a great God—
People:
Greater than our doubts and distractions.
Leader:
Let us bow down before our Maker.
People:
Help us surrender what we’ve been gripping.
Leader:
When you hear God’s voice —
People:
We will not harden our hearts.
Leader:
What do we bring to Him?
People:
Our praise.
Our surrender.
Our listening hearts.
Amen.
Thanks!
Then the Psalm ends with a warning.
7 Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts . . . 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
OOH, how true is that? We’ve seen God’s works and His glory, yet we still put Him to the test as we harden our hearts.
Have we rejected God’s covenant of grace and mercy? Have we turned aside from loving Him and our neighbors? In tough times we can block out God’s voice because life becomes overwhelming. When we’re hurting and struggling, we can turn from God.
We’re angry and questioning God, we feel abandoned and alone. We don’t understand or like His plan. We’re not unique to moving through these times. It’s common!! When we look back at the prophets and disciples, we see it again and again. They struggled too. We’re not alone.
So, if we hear His voice, don’t harden your heart. And the word to harden in Hebrew comes from a root word which means to stiffen, to be fierce and cruel. So, don’t get stiff, or get closed off or turn your heart to stone, even after hearing the word of God.
Think about it, wet cement can be shaped, but hardened concrete resists everything.
Sometimes we struggle to worship because something inside has stiffened. Disappointment. Bitterness. Unconfessed sin. Cynicism. Fatigue.
So how do we soften it?
Confess quickly. Forgive intentionally. Practice gratitude daily. Limit cynicism. Imagine what would happen if we didn’t complain for a week. Only gratitude is allowed.
Psalm 95 is not about music preference.
It’s about posture. I want to say not if you hear His voice, but when you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart . . . instead be drawn in . . . COME . . . Come to Him and worship, worship with your whole being, give God your body, your heart, your spirit and your mind. Don’t rate the worship, engage in worship.
Worship God, the King of kings and Lord of lords - - - - with your whole being.
Come with high expectations, because you are fully prepared to worship. You’re ready! You’re excited, in fact maybe a bit nervous and anxious, not in a bad way, but you’re wanting and waiting to be in the presence of believers, in her and online. We can all do that. Worship is a matter of the heart.
So, let’s do as the psalmist commands us . . . come, let us worship the Lord our Maker!
PRAYER
Father,
You are the great God, King of kings, the Lord of lords.
The mountains belong to You. The seas obey You.
And yet You call us Your people.
Forgive us for the times we have shown up with our bodies but withheld our hearts.
Forgive us for singing without surrender,
for listening without obeying,
for coming near, yet staying distant.
Today we come again.
May we praise you — even when we feel weak.
Bring you our surrender — even when we want control.
Bring You our entire being.
Where we have grown hard, soften us.
Where we have grown cynical, renew us.
Where we are gripping tightly, teach us to release.
You are our Maker. Our Shepherd.
And we are your people.
As we hear Your voice, we will not harden our hearts.
We will draw near as you lead us.
Awaken us. And let our worship not end in this room, as we go into the world in your name.
In the strong and steady name of Jesus we pray, Amen
