THEOLOGY ON FIRE PART 12
The Theology of Worship – The Worship Wars, AND The Weapon of Worship
MAJORITY OF OUR TIME HERE: The Theology of Worship based on the Bible.
Why do we often associate it with music?
Psalm 33:1-3 – “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
MORE SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT:
WORSHIP INVOLVES EXPRESSION – 1 Chron. 16:29-31 (NIV) Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name . . . Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
Is WORSHIP a priority [“due” His name]?
Prayer gets His attention, but worship gets His presence.
Tremble can mean excitement / expectation.
If you don’t expect GOD to move, He may not.
Worship is the opposite of a CEMETERY [there’s life, health, and strength].
WORSHIP MUST BE TRUE – John 4:2-24 (NIV) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Worship in not external, it’s first internal – CHRIST-CENTERED
“In Spirit”/“In Truth”– Do you have a relationship with the one, true, and living God? Are you worshiping the “right” God?
Isaiah 29:13 (NIV) The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
WORSHIP IS AN OFFERING – We still bring an offering today.
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Sacrifice: burn up self-centeredness, personal agendas; consume my sin.
“The sweet smelling aroma of the flesh burning.”
Lay our mind on the altar – renew our thinking to what is God honoring.
Worship leads to knowing God’s will – a changed heart leads to a changed mind.
IT’S NOT A CIRCUS – “Come – let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
“Those who have been forgiven much worship much.”
The prodigal vs the older son. The women at the well; the women caught in adultery were ALL worshipers.
EMOTIONS – When God is moving you’re moved! When God is stirring you’re stirred. When God is cutting you’re cut to the heart.
A Worshipper is not the Rock of Gibraltar – they need to let the ROCK break them.
1 Tim. I want men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands… Psalm 63:4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. [5x’s.]
OBEDIENCE is WORSHIP – 1 Sam. 15:22 (NIV) But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
How many millions are worshiping in this state? “God, why don’t you answer?”
Why don’t I feel Your presence like I use to? / Sin must be kept on a small leash.
Puritan author, John Owen, writes, “Secret lusts lie lurking in your own heart which will never give up until they are either destroyed or satisfied.”
J.C. Ryle, “The true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it.”
Why is this so important – our spiritual health depends on it! WED. PM and SUN. AM
Do you cut down your spouse? Are you constantly irritated? Is your heart hard, cold, and callous? Has your passion faded? Are you rarely talking about Jesus? Is besetting sin depressing you? Is pride hindering worship? {Some very prideful people can still go thru the motions}. THEY SAY – “I love worship”, but they are hard, pride-filled, and demanding.
Are stoic and unmoved.
A message to WORKERS – you need to be WORSHIPERS first!
What are you filled with? How can we love Taylor Swift but not Hillsong? Rap but not worship? …Rodney Atkins singing Caught Up In The Country, but when were you caught up in God’s presence?
Why do we avoid worship services? How can we bored in God’s presence?
HOLY SPIRIT IMAGE ON SCREEN – The worship thermometer.
God – make me a worshipper!
The Weapon of Worship – bring light into darkness; bring praise into depression; bring hope into despair, AND joy into chaos.
Who am I that the Highest King would welcome me?
Who am I that the innocent would give His life for the guilty.
Who am I that God would love me unconditionally.
