Who Are We? Week 2 - Worshipers

A devout old shepherd lost his favorite Bible while he was out looking for a wayward lamb. Three weeks later, a sheep walked up to him carrying the Bible in its mouth. The shepherd couldn’t believe his eyes. He took the precious book out of the sheep’s mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!”

“Not really,” said the sheep. “Your name is written inside the cover.”

This is week two of our new series asking the question: Who Are we?

Last week I talked about Who we are in our Vision and Mission. Our vision is to broadcast the good news of the Gospel in our community and the world. Our Mission is to be grounded in the word of God. We will not be swayed by any other thought or view. As a church we will only fulfill our vision if we are grounded in the Word.

This week and the weeks moving forward will be focused on our Values because this is what makes up the culture of our church. It really answers the “Who are we?” question in a practical way. Keep in mind that I am talking about our church which means I am talking about INDIVIDUALS. Because WE as people are who make up the church.

Our values will could be split into many different categories, but for the sake of this series I want to break them down into the following topics:

Worship, Service, Connection, Growing, and Going.

For today: Who are we? We are a church of Worshipers!

I have a sign up sheet after service for everyone to take a turn leading songs....Just kidding.

When we think of worship our minds have a tendency to go to music. Well, when the early church started meeting there really wasn’t a big emphasis on singing.

In fact, Luke had very little to say about music and singing in worship, but he had a whole bunch to say about how the believers lived a LIFESTYLE of worship.

Acts 2:46–47 NLT

46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

They worshiped together at the temple daily, ans as they went about the everyday lives they worshiped God. The result was that they grew! Spiritually and Physically the church was growing.

For us, we need to understand worship if we are going to grow spiritually and as a group of believers. One of our core values is that we will be known as a church of worshipers.

Worship is priority number one in church culture. We are here to glorify God. Everything we do will need to center around worship. Not just singing, but attitude, prayer, generosity, and lifestyle.

The word worship actually comes from the old English word “worthship.” For us, it means living in a way that shows we value God above all else. He is worthy of our love, our loyalty, our efforts, and our courage—of everything we do each day, not just for an hour on Sunday morning.

Worship is not an event. It is a lifestyle.

The many things we do to honor God—from singing meaningful songs, to praying, to giving, to serving—are merely expressions of worship, leaving us to ask what worship really is at its most basic.

The old Webster’s dictionary provides, perhaps, one of the best definitions I have seen by stating that worship is “to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission.”

Worship is less about the expressions we use and more about the heart of the one expressing them and the One to whom we give our extravagant love and extreme submission.

Our anchor scripture for today is:

John 4:23–24 NLT

23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

With that in mind let’s get into our main points today:

Who are we?

We are a church with a Heart of Worship

First off a heart of worship is more than EMOTIONS or what we DO, it’s WHO we ARE.

Listen to these words written by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah:

O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your loving kindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

Thus I will bless You while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. (Psalm 63:1–5, NKJV)

As I read the words of David I can hear his heart crying out in praise to God. He said, your loving kindness is better than life! I will bless you while I live.

His heart was full of praise and worship which in turn affected the rest of his life. He couldn’t help it even if he wanted too!

Worship is the expression of our heart as we give glory to a holy God.

If you get the idea that worship is the music and singing that takes place in church then you are missing true worship in your life.

Worship is connecting with God. Understanding who He is and in reverence coming into His presence.

If this is true then your prayer life is a form of worship! That’s right, it’s doesn’t have to be the 15 minutes of singing that we do each Sunday. anytime you glorify God in your life you are worshipping.

I read about a Pastor who had a man in his congregation that could not and would not sing. Well, it bothered the Pastor that he couldn’t take part of worship with the rest of the congregation. So one Sunday the pastor stopped the song service in the middle and said, “ Finish this sentence: ‘I am so glad that God is __________.’”

He asked the congregation for verbal responses, and like popcorn, people began saying things out loud.

One person said they were glad that God is forgiving, another that He is merciful, and so on. The pastor then said, “Let us take just a minute to grab on to one of these things and tell God we are glad for that. Just talk to God about it.”

The man who was never singing was actually talking to God in a deep and meaningful way. He was connecting to God with his heart!

Now, I do love a good worship song. I can get a song in my head and just can’t get it out until I have completely let all the air out of it…you know what I mean, it’s your favorite song until one day you can’t listen to it one more time!

There is one verse in the bible though that always hits my heart. It always brings me back to worship God. It’s Psalm 27:8

Psalm 27:8 NLT

8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

My hearts desire is to know God. When He calls, I say here I am. You are worthy of my life. You can have all of me. God you are high and lifted up.

As a church, when God calls to us we must be sensitive to His voice. We must respond with immediate worship.

Now, our hearts might understand this thing called worship. We might want to sit in God’s presence and just thing on how great He is but there’s a problem for some of us…our minds get in the way.

We are a church that must have a heart for worship and...

We are a church with a Mind of Worship

Our hearts are set on God, but out minds might still struggle with our daily reality.

Doesn’t it seem easy to praise God when everything is going right in your life? Isn’t your heart full of praise when the gas tank is full, the bills are paid, your kids are being so sweet?

How easy is it to worship God when your car runs out of gas, the tires are bald, the bank just called, and your kids just smeared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the wall?

Not so easy right? Well, I have good and bad news for you today. In life we are going to have our ups and downs. Through it all we must be dedicated to a lifestyle of worship. It’s the only way to get through.

I am reminded of Paul and Silas who were preaching the Gospel in Philippi and they were upsetting the city officials so they were thrown into jail. This is what the word tell us happened:

Acts 16:22–26 NLT

22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

Let’s make believe that in our City that if you go out and start preaching in the park, casting out demons, and healing the sick that people would get upset with you and throw you in jail. What frame of mind would you have?

Say because you shared your faith that officials stripped off your clothes in public for all to see, beat you with wooden rods and then taken to the inner dungeon were they bound your hands and feet. What would be going through your mind?

Would it be good thoughts about puppies and bunnies? Probably not.

Paul and Silas starting praying: worship

Paul and Silas starting singing: worship

Listen to me today, our hearts need to seek God above everything else. We must desire to worship Him with our very soul, but our mind is also very important. Because your mind can focus on the reality of the situation and you might be tempted to question God instead of worship Him.

Worship happens no matter the situation you find yourself in. Good times, bad times, good mood, bad mood. You have to be firm in your resolve that no matter what happens you are going to focus on the TRUTH.

Our worship is not just from our hearts. It comes from a logical place in our mind too that is grounded in truth and knowledge of Him that transcends our current physical condition.

What is the truth we focus on in difficult circumstances that will lead us to worship God in our heart and mind?

Joshua 1:8 NLT

8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

We must put down deep roots in the word of God.

Psalm 1:1–3 NLT

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Listen to me folks, the people that make it through adversity and hard times do it because they have a mind focused on who God is and what He has done. They have deep roots in the word.

Remember that we are a new creation once we come to Christ. We can’t stay the same as the world. We must be set apart. We must have a renewed mind.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

We have a new life in Christ. We can even have His mind.

1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT

16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

We have the mind of Christ when we Worship Him. We pray, read, meditate on the truth that is found in the Word of God.

The only way out sometimes is through our worship of God. Recognizing that without His divine intervention that we are sunk. We need His help. We need His mercy.

We are a church of worshipers. No matter what happens we will NEVER stop worshipping God in our hearts, our minds and

We are a church who will worship in our Actions

God has a purpose for your life. How many times have you heard that statement? Well, it’s true.

Paul and Silas had a purpose too. I wonder if they questioned God’s purpose when they were chained in a dungeon because they were doing what God directed them to do?

Maybe, but because of their heart and mind for worship they chose to trust God and His perfect will. In their situation God intervened in a miraculous way.

Acts 16:25–26 NLT

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

True worshipers don’t sit back, they press forward. They ACT no matter the consequence because they know that God is faithful.

You could say Paul and Silas “fought” back by worshiping God. Oh, they didn’t swing any punches, but they sure did win the battle that day. When they went to battle they went with a song and with a prayer. The weapons of their battle seemed useless, but with God the prison was shaken to the foundation!

Church, I hope you see what is happening here. If we are going to have a heart and mind for worship then we must start to take action knowing that God will fight our battles!

2 Timothy 1:8–9 NLT

8 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

What else can we do if we are worshipers? God has SAVED us. We didn’t deserve it, but by grace He gave us a new life.

No prison.

No person.

No situation.

NOTHING is going to stop us from serving the Lord and offering our life as a living sacrifice. This is how we worship! Romans 12:1 tell us that!

You know how we can tell if we have the heart and mind of worship? Not by how good we sing on Sunday, but by what we do the second we leave this building today. Worship is found in our actions. It proves whether we have a heart and mind focused on the Lord.

I think we need to get to the place that we trust God to fight for us as we live our life full of worship for Him.

I like the picture in 2 Chronicles 20:22

2 Chronicles 20:22 NLT

22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.

Our first reaction in battle should be to focus our attention on the Lord. He is the only one who can fight the battles we can’t win on our own.

The thing is... we need to get out of the way. We need to lay aside things that try to get our attention off of God. Things that turn our worship from God to ourselves.

Hebrews 12:1 NLT

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Who are we? We are a church who has a much bigger purpose than coming in here on Sunday morning to sing a few songs, and hear an inspiring message. No, we are a church that is going to worship God in all areas of our lives. We are going to lay down things that aren’t pleasing to Him and then we are going to stand up and be counted in the glorious work we call the Kingdom of God.

John 4:23 NLT

23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.

The father is looking for those who WORSHIP. We are a church of worshipers.

This week find new ways to worship in heart, mind and action.

1) Heart - are you living a life for God? Do you need a new heart

2) Mind - do you need to get some knowledge? Recommit to Deep roots

3) Actions - what are you doing? Are you living in your purpose? Choose to Fight your battles in worship.