Dr. Tony V Lewis
Intro; Keys are usually used to help us gain access into something, without keys if it’s locked the only way we can get in is to break in, and that’s what some of us are trying to do, break into God’s presence. We are trying to use shortcuts to gain illegal access into what appears to us to be His presence. We exist to celebrate his presence, Deu 6:4 says we are to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and might, that’s worship. Worship is defined as recognizing the worth of the one you worship. Here are three keys to effective worship.
The Purpose Key - (Why We Worship)
a) He says to: 1 Chron 16:29 says to worship the lord in the beauty of holiness. Also read Matt 4:10 Jesus tells satan that we are to worship God only.
b) He seeks: John 4:23-24 says that He seeks sincere worshippers
c) He sacrificed His son: John 3:16 says He gave us His only son, and what’s so amazing about that is that He did it while we were still sinners ( Rom 5:8)
d) Our reasonable service: Rom 12:2 is a picture of spiritual worship; He says that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service, which means give yourself to me.
The Preparation Key - (Before We Worship)
a) Comprehending the one we worship: 2 Tim 2:15 (Reading the word)
b) Communicating with God:1 Thess 5:17,18 (Prayer)
c) Confessing your sins: 1 John 1:9 (Repentance)
The Participation Key- (How We Worship)
1) Praise -How we worship can be defined in one word, and that word is praise which means to complement or commend .Praise is the prelude to worship the word of God says in Psalms 100:4 enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
a) Singing is a form of praise in which we serenade God, for the Word of God declares in Psalms 100:2 that we should come before His presence with singing.
b) Music is a form of praising God, Psalms 150 tell us to praise God using instruments.
c) Dancing is a form of praising God, Psalms 149:3 says to praise God in the dance.
d) The fruit of your lips, which means He wants to hear you verbally, praise him with your mouth. (Heb 13:15)
2) Giving- Prov 3:9 says to honour God through our giving with the first fruits of our substance and all of our increase.
3) Witnessing- John 15:18 says God is glorified when we bear much fruit. We worship through bringing others to Christ.
4) Baptism- through baptism we indentify with His death, burial and resurrection. (Rom 6: 3-5)
