What Worshipping God Does For Us

We saw last week what illustrated SW and what it looked like. It looks like when we’re playing that children’s game DRAGON’S DEN - where the sleeping dragon hordes the treasure and the knight has to swipe it unscathed. But instead, in SW we are the knight and the dragon is trying to steal our stuff!

I was saying that we are mostly sitting/even sleeping, blinded or without sight and are in possession of something so valuable that someone in particular is bent on taking it away from us. And that thing is our Spirit, our heart, our life, our faith. It’s shiny, it’s God-made, it’s has infinite value and eternal significance.

We can’t see that every day though. All we see is our face, and not our spirit, nor the spiritual battle that is waged every day of our lives for our lives!

InterVarsity, a Christian Books Publisher says this:

“Spiritual Warfare is the taking advantage of everything that God promises against everything that opposes God’s purposes. God is a God of purposes and promises. Purposes to redeem the world and promises to judge wickedness. Purposes to grow his children into maturity and promises to unfailingly steward that process. Purposes to save us and glorify his name, and promises about our lives and about his holy character.

Satan and his spiritual forces oppose all of that. They oppose all of God’s purposes for salvation and redemption, as well as his every promise for accomplishing it.

In non-Christians the enemy and his forces will attempt to thwart salvation (Luke 8:11-12) and encourage sin (Ephesians 2:1-3).

In Christians they will attempt to sever our connection with God, prey on our natural inclination to sin, and deceive us into believing untruths that might hinder our discipleship or cause us to lose our effectiveness for God’s kingdom.

Their primary tools for this opposition are lies (Genesis 3:1; John 8:44) and temptations (Matthew 4:1-11).”

But as Christians, my friends, our best weapon in order to defeat the enemy is our Worship of God in response to the Word of God.

What does worshipping God do for us?

The Same Thing Flowers Do For Mums

I won some flowers for my mum on mothers day once. We were in the cafe and I entered the competition to say why my mum deserved those flowers. She won the flowers but won the battle of her mind. Me being thankful won the war on my mum feeling unhelpful, unappreciated and undervalued - which are the enemies words.

So Pastor Jordan do I have to come to church and engage in worship so that sin, satan and his demons will leave me alone?

Spiritual Worship

Romans 12:1 NLT

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

John Piper says this about worship: “The reason I make the distinction between the inner essence of worship and the external expression of it is because I think Jesus did in Matthew 15:8–9: “This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me.”

For Jesus, this worship amounts to zero. That is what “vain” means. “In vain do they worship me.” Zero. It is not worship. This is a zero worship. It is zero if there is no heart dimension to it. So, you can do as many deeds as you want and go to as many church services as you want and never be worshiping if it is all external and nothing is happening in your heart toward God. All true worship is in essence a matter of the heart. It is more, but it is not less.

Worship depends on a right spiritual or emotional or affectional heart-grasp of God’s supreme value. Of course, his worth is infinite. Thus, true worship is a valuing or a treasuring of God above all things.”

The invisible War

Joshua 6:15-21

Joshua 6:15–21 (NLT)

15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times.

16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town!

17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.

18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel.

19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”

20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

Gear Up!

1 Samuel 17:45–48 (NLT)

45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!

47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.

Defensive Stand

Offensive Attack

2 Chronicles 20:20–24 (NLT)

20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”

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.

23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other.

24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

The Christian life is a battle, and it's not physical, it's supernatural.

David was young.

Joshua was young.

And they won!

They worshipped in response God’s Word/promises that He would be all they need to win the fight!