If you use any or all of this message--would you be willing to fire off a quick email to:pastorjerryvargo@juno.com? I would like to have an idea of how often my sermons are actually being preached to strengthen the Body of Christ. Thanks!
Moving to New Levels of Worship
Pastor Jerry C. Vargo
I. Introduction.
A. The Lord has been laying on my heart to talk with you about the subject of worship.
B. I know I said I was going to talk about correction...but things change.
C. Let me share opening comments from my heart...
1. I believe that God is calling us to move to new levels in our passion for worship.
2. I believe that God wants to help us find a new freedom in our worship.
3. Five reasons...
1) He created us to worship Him.
2) It will deepen our prayer.
3) Free worship causes burdens to be lifted.
4) Personal reason: I preach better.
5) Lastly, it is a part of our witness.
II. Body.
1. General Comments about Worship!
Definition
A. I love what A.W. Tozer says about worship:
"We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God!"
B. He defines worship like this...
A throne-ward gaze of the soul upon a holy God!
There is a Battle Going on Over Who gets Worshiped
A. If you study your Bible, you will find that in heaven the central focus is what is happening at the throne of God.
B. All who enter heaven…worship! It is natural…it is spontaneous.
C. Why? Because God is the only one worthy of worship. Angels refuse worship. Satan wants it but can’t have it!
D. There is a line being drawn between those who "worship the beast and his image" and those who worship God.
Worship Should Be a Lifestyle
A. Francis Frangipane makes it clear that worship is a life style. There must be a willingness to worship even in the midst of great battles...
"True worship must emerge now in the context of our daily lives, for no man will worship through the great battles of tomorrow who complains in the mere skirmishes of today."
"The enemy has easy access to the soul that is not protected by true worship of God."
"The Lord knows that the heart that will worship Him in the wilderness of affliction will continue to worship in the promised land of plenty."
We must ask the question: Am I REALLY Worshipping?
A. Worship takes on many forms (which I will discuss in a moment), but the focus is not form…it is internal…it is vertical.
B. It is possible to "look" like we are worshipping, but inwardly we are just going thru the motions.
C. Turn with me to Matthew 15:8-9:
“This people honors (values) Me with their lips, But their heart is far (distant) away from Me. But in vain (unsuccessful search, to no purpose) do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”
Illustration
When I kiss my wife…what am I doing? I am communicating my love for her. My outward man responds to my inner love for her. My inner attitude of love reveals itself in my actions. But what if I never kissed her? She may not feel too loved.
This is why I believe that true worship from the heart reveals itself in its actions. If we never sing…never shout…never smile…fold our arms…THEN we must ask ourselves if Jesus is really the object of our affections!
Transition: So, worship isn’t just inward or outward. It involves the whole person.
D. Worship involves the whole person
a. Turn with me to Mark 12:28-30:
“And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, ’Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all our heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
b. True worship involves the whole person…heart, soul, strength, and mind.
1. Heart = Emotions (Feelings/Passions)
2. Soul = Existence (Life/Way of Life)
3. Strength = Vigor (All your might, force, or power)
4. Mind = Intellect (Decisions/Brainpower/Mentality)
c. When we get a revelation of true worship...we will worship with abandon and lack of inhibition.
E. What forms of worship are acceptable to God?
a. This is a hotly debated topic throughout the church world. And can I say that I don’t want that to be the case here!
b. We have an awesome God who is worthy of our worship. Whatever we do to express our worship...this is acceptable. We must not judge.
c. Some of us are going to pay a heavy price when we see Jesus and he asks us why we were so judgmental toward others who are expressing their love for him.
Illustration
Mike Adkins tells a great story of a woman who got up to sing right before he was supposed to preach...."I’m hearing every word that she is singing."
d. You see style or form isn’t what is really important. The true question is whether or not our worship is Biblical and a true response of our heart to God.
e. Remember, no single culture has cornered the market on acceptable forms of worship.
f. Turn with me to John 4:20-24:
"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. "You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
g. Jesus corrected the Samaritan woman who tried to argue about the “correct” forms and locations of worship.
h. Jesus challenged her thinking. He basically said: “It doesn’t matter where you worship…as long as it is in the Spirit and True worship.
i. So how we worship is secondary to whether or not our worship is Biblical and focused on God.
j. I like what Jack Deere says: "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with just knowledge."
M. The Bible is our source book for what is acceptable before God in worship.
N. Let me close by quickly mentioning Biblical descriptions of true worship that is acceptable:
Standing
1 Kings 8:22
“Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.”
Kneeling
Psalms 95:6
“Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
Bowing Down
2 Chronicles 20:18
“And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.”
Dancing
1 Chronicles 15:29
“And it happened when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and making merry; and she despised him in her heart.”
Laughing
Psalms 126:2
“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with joyful shouting;”
Shouting
Psalms 32:11
“Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones, and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”
Loud Noise
Luke 17:15-16
“Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.”
Singing
Psalms 40:3
“And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;”
Instruments
Psalms 150:3-5
“Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Lifting of Hands
Psalms 63:4
“So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name.”
Clapping of Hands
Psalms 47:1
“O Clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.”
Reverence
Psalm 2:11
"Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling."
Falling on our Face
1 Corinthians 14:24-25
"...if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you."
F. Conclusion.
a. May God help us to lay down our pride and worship Him acceptably. He is worthy of our complete loyalty in worship!
b. I know some people who find the slightest reason to NOT worship. I don’t like that song. It’s too fast music...it’s too slow. I don’t like the drums. I’m not used to guitar. The music is too loud. It is too quiet. I don’t like sopranos. I don’t like listening to altos. I think tenors sound terrible. Her voice irritates me. His voice is too raspy.
c. May God help us repent of finding reasons NOT to worship. I close with two really powerful quotes:
Quotes
"God is looking for worshippers. And if the religious elite are too proud or too busy to learn to worship him, he seeks the worship of those whose lives are trapped in moral ruin."
Erwin W. Lutzer
"I can safely say, on the authority of the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored or turned off by worship, is not ready for heaven."
A. W. Tozer
