Worship Part 3 - Our Body and our Mood in worship
Notes
Transcript
WORSHIP
David and the Psalmest
2 Sam 6:13-15, Psalm 95:1-7b, Psalm 149:1-6a, Psalm 150:
(1 Tim 2:8 – Ps 63:4)
OUR MOOD and BODY in WORSHIP
OPENING Prayer–
Father we come to you this morning worshiping Jesus. Father this morning we ask for your mercy on us as our worship has grown so self centered. We have made worship about what you do for us instead of ascribing to you your majesty, the awe and wonder you deserve. Father Restore to us the Awe of who you are. Bring our hearts to worship every moment of every day. Lead us to live lives that are a blessing to you as you have already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Reform our hearts and minds to worship you with the worship you desire and you are worthy of.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight today Father. I pray all of this In the mighty and holy and abundant Name of Jesus. AMEN
If I have not had a chance to meet you;
My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.
If you have a copy of the Bible in either electronic version or the actual book kind -
Open it to 2 Sam 6:13-16 today as we continue in our WORSHIP series! Our prayer over this series had been that we would be drawn by the word and Character and Nature of God into a deeper life of worship on a corporate and personal level. That we would rediscover the lost KEYS to worship and that we would STOP living a life of half hearted, self centered worship and that we would be brought into a full ness of worship that is transformative for us and those around us who are far away from God.
Engagement –
When I was growing up, I was VERY tall for my age. So tall in fact that I was 6 foot tall as a 6th grader. Yes that is right at 12-13 years old I was 6 ft tall. Head and Shoulders over the other kids. I didn’t grow all that much for the rest of my growing time, I don’t know why, they actually thought that I was going to be nearly 7ft tall. When I entered into the 7th grade, I began to play. organized basket ball in school. I had played a little Boys club ball but in the 7th grade is when Basket ball became something I did every year.
Early in my illustrious ball career Coach reeves had gathered us all up and placed us on a line facing the gym wall about 8 feet from the wall and He wanted to see our shot form.
We were to look at a spot on the wall and shoot the ball to the spot as High as we could get it on the wall.
When he saw the way that I was shooting the Ball he Said “That’s not how you do that” and he asked me to give Him the ball and He taught me how to shoot the ball properly. Here is what the problem was. I was shooting the ball form my palm and not from my fingers. Shooting from the palm, no back spin. From the fingers, Back spin. I was also shooting from by shoulders and not from my elbows. From the shoulders no height and from the elbows height. Back spin and height on a basket ball shot make more baskets.
Over and Over in that 1st season I was reminded the proper way to get my body to work so that the ball could be shot at the basket properly.
TENSION
Here is another area where I was told to “do things properly” except this one I found out later wasn't all that true. See I grew up going to the catholic church. Talk about from and function. In the catholic church there is one way to do things and you go to Catechism school to learn what they are.
I often wondered why there are so many “proper forms” when it came to worship. I also wondered if it was true?
About the age of 17, I was working at a fast food restaurant and a young lady named Michelle came to eat there over and over. She appears like she had a thing for me and I soon developed a thing for her. I wanted to date her really bad and so we went out for a little bit. She insisted that I, this young catholic boy go to church with her. So I went -
The only other church that I had ever been to what my fathers conservative Methodist church and my neighbors southern baptist church. When it came to worship, these people were a lot like us Catholics. Hymn books in hand and organ playing and all good.
So Michelle takes me to her church and when I pick her up she begins to tell me that her church might be a little different than my church and different than the other churches I had been to before. Reality I had NO idea what she was talking about.
So when we got there there was electric guitars, a full drum set, multiple singers a full horn section and litterally hundreds of people. When the Music SAtarted, there were banners that camme out, and dancing girld that were bare foot and with these woddeen circles in their hair that were ordained with flowers.
And then there was AMEN Charlie. She warned me about Amen Charley. Amen Charley was a guy that looked like he was well in his 90s and walked in with a walker. HE sat in HIs chair and when the music Got to a certain point and the Spirit took over charley He began litterly running up and down each isle with NO walker shouting at the top of his lungs, You guest it AMEN over and over and over.
Well let me tell ya one thing, this catholic boy who sang in the choir and didn't know there were songs that existed outside the Hymnal. I was completely overwhelmed by this one and when Michelle asked me what I thought. I think my response was “y'all are crazy”
Funny thing, years later when I went to the Baptist Church, they had their way of doing things as well especially when it came to worship as well.
So As an young adult who left the catholic church it seemed like the different churches that I visited, when I asked about certain things I had seen in worship… I was told. “Oh we don't do that here” or “That’s not how God would have us worship”
Today I want us to attempt to throw off all tradition and the voices from our past that say “we don't do that” or “that's not proper worship” and all ow us all to get out of our own comfort range and lets look at what The Bible says about the Environment or the MOOD of worship and WHAT does God say is OK about what we do with our Bodies and our hands and legs as we worship.
NOW let me say this before anyone's imagination starts running, There are some things that happen today in the area of Worship that common sense would say “um I don't think so” but were not talking about that. I'm not taking us down the road of Banners and Dancing Tambourine girls with flowers in their hair or asking if there is an amen Charley in the room. Were I want us to hear is what is God talking about... what Did God say and what do we see His people worshiping do in worship. What we will find in the Bible is that God wants more of a physical response to worship than holding a hymnal and Standing orderly and singing the 1st 3rd and 5th stanzas.
Let me also say that this that I am not in ANY way going to try to give us an EXAUSTIVE message and cover all the aspects of worship that are in the Bible. We actually could spend several Sundays and possibly months on that Subject. and So this in NO was will be an attempt to cover all Moods and physical postures of worship that the Bible will talk about.
My hope is to have the words of God will set us all free when It comes to worshiping the king of kings and lord of lords. and we will all experience worship that manifests itself in our physical bodies because we are worshiping Him with every part of the inner man, we are worshiping Him in Spirit.
Lets look at our Text
TRUTH
13 And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
14 And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
16 Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
BACKGROUND
There is some incredibly interesting back story going on with this Story. 1st and 2nd Samuel contain some of the best stories in the Bible. If you have never read them - Man do so they have great Stories.
Part of this Story is the Story of the War between the Philistines and the Israelites. One of the most important things to remember when you talk about the Israelites in the Old Testament is we are not talking about a geographical country we are talking about a people, A specific people.
These people, these decedents of A guy named “Eber” and were chosen by God to be set aside for His specific purpose and that was to bring into this world the Son of God Jesus who would the Chosen one of Isreal who would reconcile all things back to God.
Along the way, through the History, These people wanted a King and they Got what they wanted and King number 2 was this young man named David. Yes the same David that killed the giant Goliath.
One of the things that this chosen people of God had recieved was a big golden box, that contained the essence of God that God would exist among His people. Along with some other important artifacts of the History of God and his chosen people. This box was called the Ark of God or the Ark of the Covenant.
Well on the ongoing Saga of the war between the philistines and the Israelite the Ark gets captured by the Philistines and because of the problems they have because they have something divine that is not theirs they voluntarily returned it to the Israelite people and for 20 years it stays away from the King and out of the capitol city, because the King was afraid of the power it had. You see when they were moving it they were miss handling it and it began to fall and some one named Uzzah one of the Sons of ABINIDAB in a farmers house named Abinidab.
UNPACKING
This Story picks up when David was and His men were moving the Ark into the City of David. Back in Chapter 6 , the Bible Says that David and All of the house of Israel were celbrating before the Lord. Celbrating all that God has done and Celebrating the fact that the Glory of the Lord in the Ark was on its way back.
Here is how they were celebrating God - “with ALL kind of instruments made of Fir Wood, and with Lyres and Harps and with tambourines and and Castanets and Cymbols.
The Ark Get to Jerusalem, the City of David and the center if Isralite life and verse 13 -
The bearers of the Ark went 6 paces - when these guys who were carring it properly took the first 6 steps in the city David Sacrafised to God.
The Bible Says that David, the King of Israel was so excited as to all God was doing that He Danced before the Lord with ALL HIS MIGHT.
VSD 15 David and ALL of israel were Shouting and the Sound of trumpets were going off. This was A HUGE Celbration.
VS 16 Davids wife Michael, dispised David for Dancing and here attitude was “we dont do that”
and the results for her were disastrous. She had no children for the rest of her life.
SO HERE WE SEE THAT THE WASY KING DAVID PRAISED THE LORD FOR ALL THAT HE HAD DONE WAS WITH DANCING AND MUSIC AND LOUDNESS. DANCING WITH ALL HIS MIGHT - SOUNDS LIKE DAVID WAS EXPERIANCING ALL IN WORSHIP/
Tunrn with me to Psalm 95 - Psalm 95 is a worship Psalm and it is an instuction to People who read it. It is not addressed to God or to a particular person but to all who read it.
1 O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice,
Psalm 95 is both Descriptive and PRescriptive for ys and supports Davids Style of Worship but add some Heart issues to the exuberance.
Here is what it mean when the Bible is Prescriptive and Descriptive. It not only describes something to us it instructs us.
Vs 1 it is corporate - “LEt US” there is a coprtate aspect to this worship. IT is Musically based “Let uys SING for Joy -!
VS 1 the Mood is Joyfull
Shout Joyfully to the Lord.
VS 2- In his presence - In Sprit with the Spirit of Man and It also sets the Mood for Thanksk Giving.
Shout joyfully to him in Psalms. Whan it saus Shout Joyfully witha Psalm - It just means Sing loudly to Him.
Then this is what I love about the Psalms that instuct they always gove us the WHY -
WHY do we come together and Sing for Joy and Shout Joyfully in His presence with Thanksgiving and Sing loudly to Him Songs -
because He is great, He is King, In His had is the Depth of the Earth,
He owns the peaks of the mountains and the Sea and made them both. He formed the dry land with His hands
VS6 - Then Brings into view, what seems to be a completely contracting picture than all the shouting and singing loudly. VS says Let us worship and Bow down and Kneel before the Lord our maker. Again WHY? because HE IS OUR GOD AND WE ARE HIS PEOPLE.
Psalm 28 Talks about Lifting Hands to the Lord when we call on His name and
Psalm 134 Talks about Lifting Hands to Bless the Lord in the place of Worship.
Psalm 63 Talks about Lifting up hands in HIS name to Bless the Lord.
Paul Tells Timothy that He wants men and women to pray, Lifting up Holy Hands with out Anger or Disagreement.
This Brings us to Psalm 149 and 150 -
1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
5 Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
In these Psalms and as witnessed in the New Testament - Worship is Joy full, Worship is musical, Worship involves instruments, worship involves dancing, worship involves kneeling, worship involves bowing, worship is active, worship is movement, worship is loud., worship is singing, worship is raised hands and in prayer, worship is with all our might. Worship is full and worship is varied.
APPLICATION
When David Danced before the Lord, before YHWY - He was doing so with all His might and with total commitment. His wife looked at him and judged him as in appropriate in the way He worshipped.
Where in your life of worship does this Text need to move you into a different way of worshiping God. What restrictions do you need to let loose of because of what others might think?
When worship happens We raise our hands as if to Say God “We need you God” We are helpless without you God” Do you need to experience the freedom of letting your hands be raised to God.
Are there times when you feel the heaviness of life and you simply need to kneel before the Lord in Worship?
When we worship are there time when you need to simply bow before the King of Kings and Lrd of Lords?
Are there things that Others do that make you uncomfortable about them where you need to let the Spirit of God set you free from judgement of in appropriateness?
IMAGINE and INSPIRATION
Imagine with me what worship would look like, feel like and what a blessing to God if we would let the words of the text this morning bring us to the place of the Psalmest where we cried out.
Let us live a life in our public and private where we worship whit all our might the greatness of God and bless Him because He has blessed us with Every Spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.
The GOSPEL