What is Worship?
Psalm 95
Intro: Two young boys are walking down the street in downtown Indy. Out from an alley runs a Rottweiler and attacks one of the boys. The other boy grabs a 2x4 lying near the alley and beats the dog to death and saves his friend’s life. A reporter from the Indy Star gets wind of the story and requests an interview from the first boy. He runs the story on the front page and the headline reads: “Colts Fan Bravely Saves Friend’s Life From A Rabid Rottweiler.” The boy calls the reporter and says, “I’m not a Colts fan.” The reporter says, “Well, I just thought that since you are from Indy that you would be a Colts fan. I’ll correct the mistake in tomorrow’s paper.” The next day the front page reads: “Pacers Fan Bravely Saves Friend’s Life From Rabid Rottweiler.” The boy calls the reporter and says, “I’m not a Pacers fan either!” The reporter says, “Are you a fan of sports at all?” The boy says, “Yes. In fact, I am a die-hard Tennessee Titans fan.” The reporter agrees to note the change in the next day’s newspaper. The next day the front page reads: “Redneck Idiot Kills Faithful Family Pet!” That was his VIEWPOINT.
Everyone’s take on worship is different. Ask a Pentecostal; an Anglican; an Episcopalian; a Catholic; a Wesleyan/Methodist; ask young people; or older saints… However you define it; or whatever your take or viewpoint is; one thing is I think we would all agree on: we need to rediscover the dynamics of worship in our services once again. You can’t find deadness in worship anywhere in the Scriptures. We need a transforming experience from t/Lord; t/kind of spiritual visitation that will help heal our broken homes & heal our split churches; that will strip away our religious veneer & get us back to reality; that will restore true spiritual values & replace the cheap counterfeits we’ve created to take the place of God; and most of all, we need that which will bring glory to God that the world will sit up & take notice & confess that “God is truly among you” 1 Cor. 14:25.
A.W. Tozer said, "Worship is the missing jewel of the church." I believe that one of the problems in our church is that people do not have a biblical understanding of worship. As someone has well said of American Christians, "We have become a generation of people who worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship." When our worship grows stale, so does our passion for God. Worship is the furnace of the spiritual life.
I’m afraid too many come to church because it’s Sunday, rather than coming on Sunday to worship. Far too many of us come to get blessed, rather than to bless.
I. The What of Worship.
A. What Worship Is Not.
· Worship is not AN EVENT.
We call the AM service “Worship Service" but calling it that doesn’t ensure that we will worship. You can attend a worship service without worshipping. Jesus echoed the words of Isaiah when He said of the Jews of His day, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me" (Mt.15:8).
· Worship is not MUSIC.
Churches may have a "worship leader" and a "praise team," we may sing hymns of worship, we may sing praise and worship choruses but having the music does not guarantee our worship. Music is a VEHICLE to take us to the place of worship.
· Worship is not A PERFORMANCE.
In a performance saturated society if we are not careful, we will see worship as a performance to be graded rather than something we give to God. We may see ourselves as an audience and the people on the platform as performers.
None of us should be spectators. All of us should be participants in the worship of God.
· Worship is not A FEELING.
Some people think that unless they get a tear in their eye, a shiver down their spine or work themselves up into an emotional turmoil that they have not truly experienced worship. Worship is emotional but being emotional does not guarantee genuine worship.
· Worship is not something that’s CONFINED to one day a week.
ILL- A mother gave a party for her baby after he had been christened at church. She invited friends & family over…the baby was on the bed asleep in the parents bedroom…as the guests arrived they placed their coats on t/bed…Amid the activities the mother forgot about the baby…she went in the bedroom…coats were on the baby…baby died.
APPLICATION: I can’t imagine anything more tragic for a family. And I can’t imagine anything more tragic for the family of God than to smother true worship underneath all the other stuff we do all week long. If we would live in an attitude of worship, wonder, & praise the other 6 days a week it would revolutionize our Sunday services!
B. What Worship Is.
· Worship is A RESPONSE TO GOD. When we worship God, we are responding to Him. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love Him because He first loved us." Because God has loved us and called us and saved us and provided for us, we respond to His love and mercy & saving power by declaring His worth in worship.
· Worship is HEART-FELT. In John 4:23, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." Worship involves digesting precious truths deep into our hearts. Genuine worship is not an emotion, but is always emotional. God’s grace always touches our emotions.
· Worship is THAT WHICH VALUES HIM ABOVE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING. Worship is declaring worth and value. There are people in this room that I highly value. They have great worth to me personally. Yet, I do not worship them. I worship God because He is absolutely worthy and supremely valuable. When asked what was the greatest of all the Old Testament commandments, Jesus said in Mark 12:30, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first [foremost] commandment."
No one or no thing should be of higher value to us than God. As much as we love our families, we must love God even more.
· Worship is a CHOICE.
I WILL bless the Lord at all times. Isa 12:6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion (WHY) for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
· Worship is GIVING, not GETTING.
II. The Why of Worship.
A. We Worship Because of Who God Is.
Praise is a response to what God does. Worship is a response to who God is. I praise God; I thank Him for His mercy when He answers my prayers. I praise Him in response to His works, but I worship Him for who He is, simply because He is God.
I am not worshipping Him because of what He will do for me, but because of what He is to me. When worship becomes commercial, it ceases to be worship.
In Psalm 95, we have a number of statements that tell us who God is. In vs. 1, He is called, "the Lord" and "the Rock of our salvation." In vs. 3, He is called, "the great God" and "the great King above all gods." In vs. 4-5 He is praised for His work as the CREATOR of all things. In vs. 6, He is "our maker." In vs. 7, He is not just some transcendent deity, but He is "our God," He is personal. He is our great and gentle Shepherd. In vs. 8-11, He is the God of history who called and delivered the nation of Israel.
As we move to the New Testament, God revealed Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Immanuel, "God with us." We worship Jesus because Jesus is the Savior. He is "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person" (Heb.1:3).
B. We Worship Because of Who We Are. Vs. 7, "We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand."
He is the Shepherd; we are the sheep. He is the Creator; we are the creatures. He is the King; we are the subjects.
He is the Master; we are the servants. He is the Vine; we are the branches. He is the Owner; we are the possessions.
There is not a hair that falls from your head that escapes His attention. Therefore, the most natural response in the world is for you to worship Him.
III. The How of Worship.
A. We are to Worship Corporately.
Notice the use of plural pronouns in this song. It says "Let us." In fact, it uses that phrase six times. It says, "Let us sing;" "Let us shout;" "Let us come before His presence;" "Let us worship and bow down" and "Let us kneel."
Though we can worship anytime and anyplace, there is a special dynamic of God’s presence in corporate worship. That’s why Hebrews 10:25 commands us not to "...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."
As someone has well said, "Jesus came to change our vocabulary from I, me, mine to we, us, and our."
B. We are to Worship Verbally.
Vs. 1 tells us to "sing" and to "shout" to the Lord. You can’t sing or shout without opening your mouth!
Hebrews 13:15, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
C. We are to Worship Physically.
In vs. 6 we are told to "bow down" and to "kneel" before the Lord. Psalm 47:1, "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!" Psalm 63:4, "Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name." Psalm 134:2, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD."
Worship involves both attitudes (awe, wonder, reverence, respect adoration) & actions (bowing, clapping, praising, giving, serving.) Worship is our response of ALL we are—mind, emotions, will, & body. Worship is much more than a few songs on Sunday mornings. Worship is a lifestyle. Worship is constantly putting God first in what we say, what we think and what we do. When we gather together to sing songs of worship, we are merely putting music to the song that is already in our hearts.
D. We are to Worship Obediently.
Worship is a matter of obedience. Some people put on a show of worship but then don’t obey the Lord all week long. Someone said, "It is not how high you jump, but how straight you walk when you hit the ground!" Bishop Ryle said, “The best public worship, is that which produces the best private Christianity.”
Conclusion:
A high school girl wrote the following letter to a friend:
I attended your church yesterday. Although you had invited me, you were not there. I looked for you, hoping to sit with you. I sat alone. A stranger, I wanted to sit near the back of the church but those rows were all packed with regular attenders. An usher took me to the front. I felt as though I was on parade.
During the singing of the hymns I was surprised to note that some of the church people weren’t singing. Between their sighs and yawns, they just stared into space. Three of the kids that I had respected on campus were whispering to one another throughout the whole service. Another girl was giggling. I really didn’t expect that in your church. The pastor’s sermon was very interesting, although some members of the choir didn’t seem to think so. They looked bored and restless. One kept smiling at someone in the congregation. There were several people who left and then came back during the sermon. I thought, "How rude!" I could hear the constant shuffling of feet and doors opening and closing.
The pastor spoke about the reality of faith. The message got to me and I made up my mind to speak to someone about it after the service. But utter chaos reigned after the benediction. I said good morning to one couple, but their response was less than cordial. I looked for some teens with whom I could discuss the sermon, but they were all huddled in a corner talking about the newest music group.
My parents don’t go to church. I came alone yesterday hoping to find a place to truly worship and feel some love. I’m sorry, but I didn’t find it in your church. I won’t be back.
