Block Party: Everyone's Invited
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Subject
What does worship helps us see more clearly.
Worship helps us see the limitations of religion (1 Chro 25:1).
The Law never prescribed worship.
The Worship of God transcended the Law of God and fulfilled the Law of God.
Worship helps us see the limitless plans and beauty of God (1 Chro 25:2-5).
Worship inspires prophetic words from God.
Worship illuminates the Word of God.
Worship opens spiritual eyes to see the beauty of God
Worship helps us see the lines in our most important relationships (2 Chro 25:6-8)
Respect the lines of authority.
Respect the lines of mutual submission.
Idea: Worship helps us to see more clearly.
God wants to release new, powerful worship at this congregation and in your life.
Introduction: Around the globe, Jews and non-Jews will begin to celebrate the High Holy Days.
We are starting a new series of messages called: Block Party: Everyone’s Invited
While the High Holy Days were given specifically to Israel as a means of orienting their calendar around worship of God instead of worship of work or season their invitation is to all who want to come and celebrate.
What are the High Holy Days:
Rosh HaShannah
Yom Kippur
Why are they called High Holy Days?
The Start of the New Year
The Spiritual Bar is Raised High
The Love of God is Brought Low
The High Holy Days Start with Rosh HaShannah
Lev 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1
God said to Moses: “Tell the People of Israel, On the first day of the seventh month, set aside a day of rest, a sacred assembly—mark it with loud blasts on the ram’s horn. Don’t do any ordinary work. Offer a Fire-Gift to God.”
“On the first day of the seventh month, gather in holy worship and do no regular work. This is your Day-of-Trumpet-Blasts.
Do: Take a Day Off from Work
Do: Gather Together as a Worshiping Community
Do: Sound the Shofar - an instrument usually for warfare.
What does it all mean: Every year remind yourself and the world around you that this is how you fight your battles.
But why is this so important?
Tension: Without powerful worship you are prone to injury.
Illustration: How I got injured running.
Introduce it: Let me first give you an illustration of this from every day life.
Give it: The running of hills showed I had a weakness and it led to injury.
Point: I was a great runner who got injured because I neglected to train one part of my body that in reality is the biggest muscle a runner can use. It is easy for us Western Christians to spend time on Reading the Bible, Listening to Sermons, Books, Prayer, Fasting but Worship is different from all of these and if you don’t strengthen it you will become prone to injury.
A.W. Tozer said it even more boldly:
If there is anything in you that doesn’t worship God, then there isn’t anything in you that does worship God very well. The average church service is empty and meaningless today. Oh yeah, they all sing songs and read their Bibles but there is one ominous weakness…the absence of the Spirit’s power in worship. - A.W. Tozer.
Without powerful worship you are prone to injury but powerful worship helps us to see more clearly.
Jesus knew this in the wilderness and so did the Devil, do you realize the one thing that you and I can do that the devil will not do is worship. This is always what causes the devil to flee (Matthew 4:10-11)
Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.” Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him.
Worship always helps you to see God and his plans more clearly. When you give up on worship you stop seeing clearly.
When the American hostages came home from Iran on January 20, 1981, the first thing they did when they got off the plane was kiss the ground. No matter what star or achievement they had earned in the armed services, when they hit the ground from Iran, they bowed down. Home sweet home. Putting their clean lips on that dirty tarp, they kissed it. They went down. Because they knew where they had been and they knew where they were now. You know why folks stop bowing, stop worshiping? Because they forget where they’ve come from. They forget that they have been hostages in Satan’s territory, and now they have been made free.
In the Bible, no one before David and no one until the greater Son of David, Jesus, understood just how powerful worship is. One of the greatest innovations that ever happened in the coarse of Israel’s history was what David did with worship. We take it for granted that we today are the heirs of David’s worship. That there is even such a thing as “worship music” did not start with Bethel or Hillsong but with King David. It was because David had experienced the eye-opening power of worship long before he sat on a throne that when he came to his throne he made worship his first priority.
We are going to be in 1 Chronicles 25. Most people usually fall into a deep sleep long before they reach chapter 25 of this book. After all, it is long lists of names, arrangements of encampments, instructions for people who lived thousands of years ago in a country half-way on the other side of the globe with a bloody religion in a temple once made of cloth now made of of stone but it is here that we find some of the most important moments in biblical history, in our history.
Let me read the passage to you and then I want to tease out a couple of points.
Moreover, David and the commanders of the army, set apart for avodah the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun who prophesied with lyres, harps and cymbals. The list of those who performed this work according to their service was:
from the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the hand of the king.
As for Jeduthun, from Jeduthun’s sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah and Mattithiah—six, under the charge of their father Jeduthun—who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to Adonai.
As for Heman, from Heman’s sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth.
All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer according to the promise of God to lift up a horn. God gave Heman 14 sons and three daughters.
All these were under the direction of their father for singing in the House of Adonai with cymbals, harps and lyres for the avodah of the House of God under the hand of the king. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman along with
Worship helps us see the limitations of religion (1 Chronicles 25:1 ).
David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy accompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men who performed their service:
The Law never prescribed worship.
The King appointed three mighty men.
Asaph - Sons of the Song
Heman - Sons of the Dance
Jeduthun - Sons of the Praise of God
The Worship helps us see the limitations of religion.
Worship helps us see the limitless plans and beauty of God (1 Chronicles 25:2-5).
from the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the hand of the king. As for Jeduthun, from Jeduthun’s sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah and Mattithiah—six, under the charge of their father Jeduthun—who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to Adonai. As for Heman, from Heman’s sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer according to the promise of God to lift up a horn. God gave Heman 14 sons and three daughters.
Worship helps us see the limitless plans and beauty of God
See God’s plans for your life more clearly.
See God’s word apply to your life with more certainty.
See God’s limitless beauty.
Worship made the difference between a cold and stoic religion or a hot and living faith.
Wait a minute are you saying we are going to start swinging from the rafters and having lines of people giving person prophecy?
I don’t feel comfortable wearing my emotions on my sleeves if that is what you are suggesting.
Jesus followers should be like burning bushes.
We are not called to be great, to be important, to be entertainers.
We are called to be the kind of people whom the beautifying fire of God dwells, people who have met with their purifying, thrice holy God Almighty.
I should never have to tell somebody I just went to church, they should see church all over me because they see fire in me. I should never have to tell somebody I just prayed, it should be glowing like hot embers in my eyes.
The Story of the girl who practiced witchcraft getting set free and people seeing a whole new glow, they saw a fire on her.
Hard-line theologians and religious people will call you a mystic.
Many times over the years some of my friends who are hard line theologians are rigid religionist have despairingly called me a “mystic”
Mystic - someone who believes they can commune with God right here and now through Jesus in the power of God’s Spirit and have a sense of the Kingdom, God’s presence all around them no matter where they are.
This sounds like a chaotic mess in the Temple and for us! it is not
Worship helps us see the lines in our most important relationships (1 Chronicles 25:6-8)
All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the Lord’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority. They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the Lord. They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.
Worship creates respect for boundaries in our most important relationships (1 Chronicles 25:6-8)
Respect the boundaries of authority.
There are many forms of worship that can become unacceptable forms of worship.
Worship that is just entertainment.
Worship that is just outward but not inward.
Worship that is in rebellion to authority.
Respect the boundaries of God’s Will for myself and others.
Application: God want to starts a new wave of powerful worship here at BES and in your life.
Seven Day High Holy Day Worship Challenge
30 minutes of private, undistracted worship each day.
As a descendant of Asaph - Worship with Song.
As a descendant of Heman - Worship with Dance.
As a descendant of Jeduthun - Worship with Declarative Praise