When We Sing
Abiding in Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Worth-ship —> Worship
Worth-ship —> Worship
The word “Worship” comes from the old English word “Wurthscripe”, which is made up of the two words “wurth”, meaning worth and “scripe”, meaning “the state or conditions of being.
Together the words mean “The state or condition of being worthy.”
It was an adjective.
Over the years, it started to be used as a verb for “ascribing worth to God”.
So to worship is to express the worthiness of God.
Magnifying and lifting up God’s worthiness in all that we do.
John Piper says it is “Making much of God.”
Psalm 95 is a Psalm of worship.
1 Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song. 3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his. 5 The sea is his; he made it. His hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.
David tells us to shout to the Lord, to shout the triumph of our salvation with thanksgiving in our hearts, and to do all this with a song.
And all of this worship is because He is big, He is powerful, He is mighty, and He is WORTHY.
The word Worship isn’t exclusively talking about music.
Worship is something we do with all of our lives and all of ourselves.
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
But worship is very much music.
David tells us over and over again to “Sing a song to the Lord”
Paul tells us in Eph 5 to sing “Pslams, Hymns, and Spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart...”
So I am going to give us 5 reasons singing songs of worship should be a regular rhythm of our lives.
1) Worship is our RESPONSE.
1) Worship is our RESPONSE.
1 My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits. 3 He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. 4 He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion. 5 He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.
We worship what we love.
What are the things in your life that you lift up, make much of, and magnify?
Family, jobs, sports teams, hobbies, ourselves...
These are the things we talk about, think about, and even sing about (especially in country music).
I am not saying we should talk about or sing about things other than God, but more so challenging us to consider how many of our words and how much of our attention is given to making much of God?
Jesus says to the woman at the well in John 4 that we are to worship “in Spirit and in Truth...”
The “Spirit” Jesus is likely talking about the Holy Spirit, but He is also referring to the deepest part of who we are, our emotional core.
Jesus is saying, “True worship is both truthful and emotional.”
It is motivated by our love for God and gratitude for all he is and has done.
True worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.—John Piper
Worship is our proper response to God as we learn more and more of His character, His power, and His worth.
And those truths ought to lead to a deep, growing, and ABIDING affection (love) for God that is expressed in worship.
Do the songs we sing move your heart to an emotional response?
2) Worship is our REMINDER.
2) Worship is our REMINDER.
In Deuteronomy 32, Moses records a long, emotional song that tells the story of God’s faithfulness to His people even in their disobedience and idolatry.
Moses also wrote Psalm 90, another song of remembrance.
There are examples throughout the Bible of songs written to help God’s people to remember who He is and what He has done.
There are certain songs, that when you hear them, bring back memories from a season or moment in your life when you listened to that song.
Music has the power to connect us and to remind us in ways that nothing else really does.
“Corporate worship is a regular gracious reminder that it's not about you. You've been born into a life that is a celebration of another.”— Paul David Tripp
Take the song we sang just last week “The Goodness of God”
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
In moments when we are getting beat up by life and feel overwhelmed by trials, we need to be reminded that God is faith, that He is good, that He hasn’t left us, but is “Leading us through the fire” as we sang in verse 2.
When we gather on Sundays, we hear the Word of God read, we join together in prayer that is guided by the truths of the Word of God, and we sing songs that point us to and remind us of the Words of God.
It is the pleasing of God that is at the heart of worship. Therefore, our worship must be informed at every point by the Word of God as we seek God’s own instructions for worship that is pleasing to Him.”—R.C. Sproul
Whether it is on Sunday morning, in your car on the way to work, or in the shower, sings songs to the Lord that remind you of who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised.
3) Worship is our WITNESS.
3) Worship is our WITNESS.
If you have ever been to a Kentucky Wildcats basketball game or a Titians game (when they were good), there is an energy that can’t be matched in a living room.
Thousands of people, cheering, celebrating, complaining about calls, and waiting to jump and yell at the next huge dunk, awesome catch, or clutch three-pointer.
I have become a fan of teams just because I got to see the team play live at their home field or arena because I felt a part of something bigger and exciting.
That same thing is, or ought to be, true of what we do as a church on Sunday mornings.
Not that we need to create an entertaining environment, or somehow manipulate people’s emotions.
Rather the songs that we sing, the emotion that flows out of us from the truths of what we are singing, and how we respond to the messages we hear are a witness to the watching world.
“God directs his people not simply to worship but to sing his praises ‘before the nations.’ We are called not simply to communicate the gospel to nonbelievers; we must also intentionally celebrate the gospel before them.”—Timothy J. Keller
23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
This passage isn’t a guilt trip about not missing church on Sundays, it is a reminder of our deep need to be a part of what happens here every Sunday.
We need the encouragement, the strengthening, and the conviction that comes from the gathered Church.
But the world around us needs it too.
Your neighbors, friends, coworkers, and family members need to see and hear the church worship in song and preaching.
I love this quote from Jared Wilson:
When you back the family car out of the driveway on Sunday morning, you are telling your neighbors that you need Jesus and no amount of Sunday leisure can satisfy you like Him, that no rest is better than that which is found in Jesus, and that when the thin veneer of worldly frivolities starts to show a few cracks, you might be the kind of person they could talk to about the “alternative lifestyle” of following Jesus. —Jared C. Wilson
4) Worship is our WEAPON.
4) Worship is our WEAPON.
Hannah and I recently finished a book series by one of my favorite musician, Andrew Peterson.
It is a fantasy-adventure following 3 kids who find out they are the royal family of the ancient Kingdom of Anniera.
In the last book, a huge war breaks out and the evil army is overtaking an important city.
It seems like all hope is lost, until Leeli, the youngest of the 3 kids, begins to play her Whistleharp (not a real instrument).
Her songs begin to drive back the enemy soldiers and strengthen and inspire the good guys.
As I was listening to this scene as I was working on my deck, I had the thought, “This is what we do every Sunday!” “This is what we do when we turn on worship music in our cars, sing songs together as a family, and belt out a song of praise in the shower.”
We are pushing back our enemy, fighting against his lies and temptations, and strengthening ourselves for the battle over doubt, sin, and hopelessness.
In 2 Chronicles 20 there is a powerful example of the power of worship as a weapon.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah was facing a massive invasion from Moab, Ammon, and Meunites.
Jehoshaphat is overwhelmed and desperate, so he turns to God in prayer.
God sends a prophet, and now listen what happens.
14 In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants), 15 and he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, go down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.
17 You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.’ ” 18 Then Jehoshaphat knelt low with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship him.
19 Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting loudly. 20 In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
21 Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of his holiness. When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing: Give thanks to the Lord, for his faithful love endures forever. 22 The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated.
Often times our greatest weapon against our enemies is a passion session of praise and worship.
Worship is our weapon.
5) Worship will be our ETERNITY.
5) Worship will be our ETERNITY.
The Apostle John is imprisoned on an island at the end of his life because he would not stop preaching and teaching about Jesus.
While there, God gives him vision of the end of time.
One such vision is recorded in Revelation 7.
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb! 11 All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
Close your eyes and imagine the scene.
People from every tribe, nation, race, and language group gathered together around the throne, with angels bowing before Jesus.
And everyone is singing.
You might be overwhelmed at the thought of so many people, but don’t let your social anxiety rob you of the wonder of this image.
There is nothing coming between the people present.
No power struggles, no wars or conflicts, no imbalance of justice or wealth, no one is looking at each other in comparison or in envy.
They are all looking at the one that gave them the gift that none of them deserved.
They are looking at the one who loved them so much that He left His place in heaven to become like them, to live a life that none of them could live, to die a death that all of them deserved to die, and was then raised so that all of them could be present that very moment in His presence...forgiven, restore, and redeemed.
And what is their response? SINGING
Our eternity isn’t a never-ending church service, it is an eternity of living out a song of praise to a God who is worthy of all of us.
So when we come together on Sunday mornings to sing, we are really having a practice session for our futures in glory.
When we strangers and aliens gather as brothers and sisters under the banner of the gospel, we are rehearsing that glorious day when we will know as we are known, when our sin is vanquished and our Christian fellowship is fully enjoyed. As such, going to church is perhaps the most heavenly thing you can do. Attending corporate worship can whet your appetite for the fulfillment that is coming soon.—Jared C. Wilson
So let’s get some practice in.
We are going to sing out to the Lord.
The lights will be low, the music will be loud, so sing like He is worthy.
