Worship is My Weapon - Lesson 1: Defining Worship

Introduction

In the weeks to come, Brother Jeffery and I will be teaching. I will be focusing specifically about how worship is our weapon when it comes to spiritual warfare. Often we try to fight off devils directly with authority, while missing out on the power of genuine worship. A worshipper will have authority with God for several reasons we will cover throughout this mini-series.

The Bible identifies that we are made to worship God, but what do we actually mean when we say “worship” in the church?

Merriam Webster:

1: to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power

2: to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion 〈a celebrity worshipped by her fans〉 verb intransitive: to perform or take part in worship or an act of worship synonym see REVERE—wor•ship•per or wor•ship•er noun

Consider talking about Swifties… or sports

Further, worship can be seen in the preached Word of God, taking communion, serving one another as Christ first served us, and loving they neighbor as thyself. Observing the law and obeying it would be considered a form of worship.

For the sake of spiritual warfare, we will begin to categorize our definition of worship more so into praise. A praising church is a victorious church!

Worship (From Lexham Theological Wordbook)

Worship is the awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God.

Concept Summary

Worship is the reverential response of creation to the all-encompassing magnificence of God (Isa 6:1–6; Exod 15:11; Psa 148:1–14). In the ot, worship encompassed a variety of activities. Bringing forward an offering to God was an act of worship (קָרַב, qārab). Bowing down in the presence of God was an outward display of an inner attitude of reverence before the Creator (חָוָה, ḥāwâ). The verb רוּם (rûm) could indicate that a person was “lifting up” or “exalting” God with praise. Together, these last two terms provide a rich image of worship: People both bow before God and lift him up in praise and wonder. The verb הָלַל (hālal) could be used to designate the act of celebrating God. The word “hallelujah” is derived from the Hebrew phrase הַלְלוּ־יָהּ (halĕlû-yāh), meaning “praise Yahweh.” This praise could involve זָמַר (zāmar, “singing”). Worship could also be described as “serving” (עָבַד, ʿābad) God. The ritual life of devotion was emblematic of a whole life given over to God.

The nt carries over many of the actions described as worship in the ot. The verb προσκυνέω (proskyneō) means to bow down as an act of worship, while κάμπτω (kamptō) signifies bending the knee or bowing in reverence to God. Other words for praising God include δοξάζω (doxazō), for the act of giving God glory, and εὐλογέω (eulogeō), for praising or blessing God.

Emphasize this point!

Praise is the outward expression of God’s creation unto Him. Praise typically comes before worship because worship is where the love and adoration from God pours from. Praise gets us to the place for genuine worship.

Worship involves having a pure and uncovered heart before the Lord. It is a place where God can speak to us, change us, and develop us as his people. This may even involve correction or reproof.

This is not to undercut the importance of praise. One never gets to worship if they can’t profess the goodness of God. Secondly, praise changes the spiritual atmosphere first and the physical atmosphere second.

Practically Defining Worship through Praise

When we talk about Worship Service, we are talking specifically of taking a moment out of eternity to give God praise. In the past, I’ve taught on seven specific forms of praise; however, that will not be the focus of this lesson. I would like to list a few ways in which you can praise the Lord in a worship service:

Speaking of how good God has been to you - publically admitting to the goodness of God - this is Towdah praise, which we will get into later in this lesson.

Singing unto the Lord

Psalm 96:1–2 “O sing unto the Lord a new song: Sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; Shew forth his salvation from day to day.”

Psalm 149:1–2 “Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, And his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.”

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Refer back to this in Ps 150 reference to “everything that hath breath”

Playing an instrument

Psalm 98:5–6 “Sing unto the Lord with the harp; With the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet Make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.”

Psalm 150:3–6 “Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”

Dancing before the Lord

Psalm 149:3“Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.”

Lifting one’s hands

Psalm 134:2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.” (barak)

1 Timothy 2:8 “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

Clapping

Psalm 47:1 “O clap your hands, all ye people; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.”

And then if you’re feeling really drunk in the spirit - there have been many other means people have worshipped God:

Summersaults, rolling, falling out

Warning: These things must come out of a genuine desire to Worship God and not a means to mock people. Further, I would warn you against mocking other people’s worship. God shut up Michal’s - Saul’s daughter - womb for mocking the King when he got undignified in his worship.

“Barren and dead things come from those who mock other people’s praise given to God”

We are Commanded to Worship:

Our worship must be singular to God and God alone:

Exodus 20:3–4 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:”

In those days, people resurrected idols that resembled their gods - seeing how no one had seen the face of God and lived to tell about it, Yahweh made it very clear not to make statues to worship.

John 1:18 states that “no man has seen God” - it is Christ who allows us to see God. Jesus, however, did not show all of God’s glory at once. He is the New Testament Tabernacle of God. While all of God’s glory resided in Jesus, not all of God’s glory could immediately be seen unless one entered into the Tabernacle.

The only way we can experience God’s glory is by entering into deep covenantal relationship with Christ through the death, burial, and resurrection.

We are commanded to make a joyful noise unto the Lord:

Psalm 100

1 A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.

When entering into God’s presence, we are to enter with thanksgiving and praise. Psalm 100 is a form of Towdah praise. This means to worship by the means of a confession of thankfulness or to speak works of personal praise.

For instance, the song Amazing Grace is all about God’s redemptive act on calvary and how it protects and transforms the individual’s heart.

This is an act of Towdah praise - thanking God for his marvelous works in one’s life

Let us also note that David said to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Psalm 47:1 states,

“O clap your hands, all ye people; Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.”

Here we see biblical reference to the clapping of hands - as we often do during preaching and shouting with a voice of triumph - amen, glory, hallelujah.

These are all forms of praise that continue beyond the worship part of the service - they should continue into the preaching - as we should give God Towdah praise when we receive His Word.

When the preacher preaches - there’s something for you. If you say there isn’t, you’ve most likely closed your spiritual eyes. It’s time to wake up.

It should also be noted that Towdah praise can be given by our testimony in public. Revelation 12:11 identifies that we are overcomers by the blood of the lamb and the Word of our Testimony.

By giving your testimony, you are actually enacting a form of praise - Towdah praise.

Our Lifestyle should continually show worship unto God

Colossians 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Let me say this, if you are able to worship in church and sit there what does that say to visitors who come into the church?

Let the congregation answer

We will be studying out how praise brings about spiritual and physical victory in the next lesson. With that in mind, what do people see spiritually when they see a church that doesn’t worship?

People with a Luke warm relationships with God; people about to lose the battle

Conclusion

In the next lesson we will look at the life of King Abijah, Jehosaphat, Joshua, and Paul. All of these men used praise as their weapon. God first transformed the spiritual and then the physical circumstances around them. We can also look at Moses for example. One could make the conclusion that Caleb and Joshua’s job was simply assist Moses in praising God when his hands were up unto the Lord. There’s a message in that biblical narrative - when the praise of God’s people stops, so does their victory.