Summary: Why we need to worship

IT IS WORSHIP THAT BRINGS GOD INTO OUR LIFE AS A REALITY Heb 11:1-6

What would the difference in your life would it be if you began to make worship as your way of life and not

just an hour event on Sunday morning? What would be the benefits of one who worships in spirit as

Jesus tells us in JN 4:23? Do you approach God in worship with the question, “What am I going to

get out of this?” Worship is for God’s glory not ours. God is deserving of our worship whether we get

any thing out of it or not.

The Number one benefit is for you to have A CLOSENESS WITH GOD. PS 22:3 says something like this,

“You are enthroned in the praises of Your people.” If you desire to get God attention, WORSHIP. If you

desire to hear from heaven WORSHIP. If you desire to get God involved in your life WORSHIP. It might be

of interest to you that men in the OT built altars and took time to worship God. Moses built an altar in the

middle of the wilderness. He did not wait to go to the church of his day. If you have a mess up on Monday if

will not help to know well next Sunday I can seek God’s help in church. It is a long time from Monday until

Sunday. We need to be able to worship on Monday because when we worship God shows up. Your worship

could be singing, reading the Bible and praying what your heart desires now. The Bible is very clear that

God inhabits the people that praise Him. When we get down to worship Him as our main business, He

comes to enthrone us. When He is in our life everything changes. In Worship we bring our God who

sometimes seems where out there into our very lives. You see if God seems afar way off could it be that

you have not be worshiping Him? A long time that we let our worship periods be spread out the more we

have along distance relationship with God. Let us look at Heb. 10:19-22 “Come close to God. It is because

of the blood of Jesus that you have no reason to be at a distance from God anymore. You might be saying

today “I have a need. Things are not as they should be” Let me urge you to draw near to God in worship

and you will find One who will give us mercy and grace for our help. We can draw close to Jesus as we can

no one else. This does not mean that every problem and every hurt will disappear but His grace will give us

the comfort we need. When we come to God in worship we are coming to the “Holy One” who is on a higher

level than anything in this world has to offer. So come to God on His terms and on His turf. When you come

to Him with a sincere heart His word to us is, “Come up close to me, my child. Snuggle up to me and

worship.

The second benefit of worship is A RECONDITIONED FAITH. It may seem sometimes that when you are

trying to serve God to the best you can you are getting no where. So the tempter comes to you and says,

“Why do you continue to do good when those doing wrong are getting ahead in this world?” It is in worship

that you will be reminded that what you see is not all there is. Worship restores your faith. We see this in

PS 73. It is written that “God is good..to those who are pure in heart.” But he looked at the wicked and saw

their bank accounts, cars, houses and pleasures. It seemed that they had no pains, their bodies were

strong and their troubles were few if any. They also were proud of their wicked ways. So he remarks

something like this, “Why should I spend time keeping myself pure for all I see is trouble in my life.” Then it

was in vs 16,17 that he came to the house of God to worship and it was revealed to him the ending of those

who do evil. By worship he saw that he did not have to worry about slipping up because God was holding

him by the hand. He took time to confess that God was all that he needed and his faith was renewed. It is in

worship that god lets us see things that are only seen through spiritual eyes. I have had times in my life and

I am sure you have when things were not well in my life and I was a little confused about what was

happening, but then I took time to worship and God renewed my faith and I arose ready to continue with

renewed life in my spirit. Worship changes one’s perspective. Daniel 3, Shad, Mesh, Abed was caught in a

life threatening circumstance. The king had made an order to bow to an image he had made and they

refused. They were brought before the king and told the situation. They did not escape the furnace. You

might be facing a furnace right now but be brave. It says they were not saved from the furnace but God

showed up with them in the fire and made them fire proof. When they came out the ropes were gone but

there was not even the smell of smoke on them. They knew how to worship and God came. Worship gives

you a pick up. So often we turn to other things hoping to be lifted up. Medicine, TV, a good book or a close

friend but finds that they leave a void in our lives. They can only give us a distortion or illusion not a new

perspective.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-

building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family. He would miss

the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker

go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time

it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior

materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the

builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your

house," he said, "my gift to you." What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his

own house, he would have done it so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than

the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the

situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized it,

we would have done it differently. Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day

you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It’s the only life you will ever build. Even if

you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on

the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of

your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices

you make today.

Gen 22. Abraham told to offer his only son. “All I know is that I am going to worship Him and when we are

finished, I and the lad will return.” Abraham’s willing to worship God changed his perspective. Abraham had

the knife raised and was bringing it down when God said, “Stop!” God had a ram caught in the bushes

ready to be the sacrifice that God wanted. Worship does that, God has a ram in the thicket that has to obey

what is to be done. The relation ship with God makes all else of little importance because it is God and Him

alone that we need. Can you imagine how successful Abraham would have been in trying to find a ram on

that MT.? God had the ram tied up in that bush and he could not get away for God was in control because

Abraham worshiped Him. If it is or desire to worship God He knows where the thicket is. He is there to

restore your faith. If you feel like quitting------ Worship God.

The third benefit from worship is DEFEATED ENEMIES. God takes care of the enemies that beset us.

Worship takes care of the enemies when we worship. Now let me ask you have you done everything you

can to fix the problems of your enemies? Here we see if we go to worship, God will fix the problem in a

better way than all our words or actions against them. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” Rm 12:19. The

issue here is to get God involved in fighting your battles rather than us trying to win on our strength. Here is

prayer that perhaps would be good for us to say: ”Dear Lord, Please grant that I shall never waste

my pain for... To fail without learning, To fall without getting up, To sin without overcoming, To be hurt

without forgiving, To be discontent without improving, To be crushed without becoming more caring, To

suffer without growing more sensitive, Makes of suffering a senseless, futile exercise, A tragic loss, And of

pain-- The greatest waste of all.

2 Chr. 20 Jehoshaphat was afraid for the armies of Moab and Ammon were coming to destroy him and his

people. He did not muster up his army and prepare them to get ready for the fight. He called the people to a

fast and worship service. He offered a powerful prayer vs. 5-12. A man named Jahaziel came and told Jeh

that they would win the battle without firing one arrow or lifting a sword. The people really got into that

worship service. They fell on their faces and they sang praises to God. This is the day before the big battle.

So the next morning as they went out to face the enemy it was a continuation of the worship service. Jeh

put the singers out in front of the army. While they were singing God came to the enemies and caused them

to turn on themselves. So as the army of Israel came to the battle lines they only found a dead and

defeated enemy. They picked up the spoils and headed back to the house of worship. Jeh saw his enemy

defeated while he was worshiping God. Worship saves time. Worship saves lives. The Bible says that

“Jesus appeared to destroy the works of the devil” 1 JN 3:8 Worship takes care of the enemies we face.

WHAT YOU THINK If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not, you don’t; If you’d like to

win, but think you’ll lose, already you have lost. For out in the world we find success begins with a person’s

faith; It’s all in the state of mind. Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster hand; They go to the

one who trusts in God and always thinks [with God’s help] "I can." Worship benefits you.