God’s Design: Worship

We are looking at God’s Design for the church. Last week we discussed having compassion for ALL people. We talked about the importance of compassion when it comes to reach our community. Hopefully, you are starting to pray about needs of the surrounding communities and what God is asking you to do. This week, we are discussing the second purpose: Worship. Worship is throughout all scripture and we are going to look at many verses. Our main focus will be Psalm 84.

Prayer

Looking at the genuine artifact. Can you find the fake?

An important aspect of worship is that it must be genuine. Instead of using our time talking about theshall and false worship practices, we are going to look at Scripture to see what true worship looks like. This process is similar to how a banker learns to tell the difference between real and counterfeit cash. Let’s start with defining the word.

Worship is the act of recognizing God's worthiness and responding to His self-revelation through both personal devotion and corporate gatherings. It reflects the relationship between divine action and human response. Ultimately, Christian worship celebrates God's reconciliation through Jesus Christ, expressing gratitude and hope.

Wayne Grudem’s book, Systematic Theology, defines worship as the activity of glorifying God in His presence with our voices and hearts. Let’s look at Psalm 84 and see how we should enter God’s presence.

Psalm 84

There are three attitudes we should have in response to God’s presence.

Longing for God’s presence

We should desire to be in God’s presence all the time. Our hearts should long to be with Him?

Do you desire to be in God’s presence?

Find strength in God

Our time with God should lead us to be stronger in our life. Many times people want to feel good about themselves, but we should feel stronger.

Know God’s presence is the best place to be

“I would rather be on the outskirts of God’s temple than dine with the wicked.”

Through this scripture we can see a need for genuine worship in our personal lives. It is important that we have a personal lifestyle of worship. Also, we should have genuine worship within our church. The purpose of having genuine worship in the church is to give glory to God and make others aware of His presence.

MAIN POINT-GOD DESIGNED HIS CHURCH TO HAVE GENUINE WORSHIP

How can we have genuine worship?

Prayerful preparation

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Personal Reconciliation

Matthew 5:24 “leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

1 John 4:20 “If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

Pursue Holiness

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.”

Worshipful Atmosphere

Private- Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Free from distractions

1 Corinthians 14:33 “since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,” ,1 Corinthians 14:40 “But everything is to be done decently and in order.”

Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,”

In a corporate worship setting, it is vital to create an atmosphere free of distractions to assist in people’s worship.

Worship cannot be an event we attend once a week. It needs to be a lifestyle we have throughout our life. When we have this lifestyle, we will see some changes in our lives.

Results of Genuine Worship

God’s enemies flee

When genuine worship occurs, Satan cannot be in the same place. If we live a life a worship, it will cause God’s enemies to run away.

In the Old Testament, worship happened in times of battles.

2 Chronicles 20:21–22 “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. 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.”

Gideon’s battle, the men shouted

Walls of Jericho

We draw near to God, and He draws near to us

Hebrews 10:19–25 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 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.”

As we genuinely worship God has a lifestyle, we will consistently grow closer to God.

Our personal lives should be filled with worship within our heart ad mouth. At the same time, we should be excited to worship with other, so they can come closer to God.

Unbelievers will be aware of God’s presence

We should be considerate of nonbelievers when we are all together

If they are able to see and experience the presence of God, it can change their lives.

Worship must be part of our lives outside and inside the church building. What parts of a Sunday service does worship influence? ALL!! From the announcements to the closing song, every aspect of the service should have an element of worship. A constant question that is asked when we discuss worship within the church walls is: what type of music should we have? Some churches focus too much on new people and have songs that are not entirely from scripture. Some refuse to have newer music because, “we have always sang these types of songs.” Neither way is solely the right one. The best answer to the question about music styles is to use the style that edify the body of Christ and reach out to the community. Worship should be our response to what God has done for us, so we should have an environment that reflects Him. If we only worship Him on Sunday, we are missing the mark. Worship must be a lifestyle we live.