Rhythym of Life - Worship

What rhythm is

Alternates/opposites, sounds and silences put together to form a pattern, regulated succession of opposite elements

Showing on drums and congas rhythms that work and ones that clash

Children naturally dance…but not everyone is a good dancer

We move to rhythms…and if those rhythms are clashing, then it makes dancing even harder

Our bodies work on certain rhythms…and when those rhythms are interrupted, it can even be dangerous. If your heart is out of rhythm, then you may very well end up in the hospital.

Rhythm is incredibly important to movement, our health, and our well-being.

When God finished creation, it was good....everything was in rhythm…then sin entered and brought clashes into the rhythms of life God had created….so now we have to listen more closely to be in step with the music of life that God desires for us

There are hundreds of components of our lives…thousands of things that we do and that can fight for our attention. But there are really just a few that sort of categorize most of our experience. We’re going to focus on five of those elements in the series of messages.

Work – Play – Rest – Fellowship - Worship

We’re going to begin with worship this morning because I believe it’s the single most important piece of this discussion

Why….because the first commandment God said I’m first – Exodus 20:3

The New King James Version Chapter 20

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

ESSENCE OF WORSHIP

Priority List Approach – (2 slides)

New approach…. Make God the center…not the top of the list

Compare the two approaches

EFFECTS OF WORSHIP FOR YOU

The practice of expressing praise, thanksgiving, adoration,

Acts 16:20–26 NKJV

And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. This is Paul and Silas and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Zoom Out….see the big picture

Worshiping is taking our eyes off our external circumstances and focusing on God. We stop focusing on what’s wrong with us or with our circumstances. We start focus on what’s right with God.

Here’s what worship does. It restores spiritual equilibrium. It helps you regain your perspective. It enables you to find something right to praise God about even when everything seems to be going wrong.

Worship is zooming out and refocusing on the big picture. It’s refocusing on the fact that two thousand years ago, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. It’s refocusing on the fact that God loves me when I least expect it and least deserve it. It’s refocusing on the fact that God is going to get me where God wants me to go. It’s refocusing on the fact that I have eternity with God to look forward to in a place where there is no mourning or sorrow or pain.

Worship is refocusing on the fundamentals of our faith. And here is what happens: God restores the joy of our salvation. We regain our spiritual equilibrium.

· Is it easy? Absolutely not. Nothing is more difficult than praising God when everything seems to be going wrong. But one of the purest form of worship is praising God even when you don’t feel like it because it shows God that your worship isn’t based on circumstances. Worship is based on the character of God.

An Audio Track I’d like to hear…Must have been incredible…and if they sang with chains on their feet, and with backs bleeding, in the deepest part of a prison…we ought to be able to sing with equal measure here every Sunday morning….but I digress…

They set off a chain reaction

When we worship God, it changes the spiritual atmosphere….it CHARGES the spiritual atmosphere.

You can’t plan Pentecost….but if you pray for ten days, Pentecost might just happen

You can’t plan miracles, but when you worship God in every circumstance, you never know what is going to happen. Worship can set the stage for miracles. Worship can cause spiritual earthquakes that can change your life…it may not change your circumstances, but it will change you.

EFFECTS OF WORSHIP FOR OTHERS

Acts 16:27–34 NKJV

And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

· It gets their attention

· It can lead to their salvation