CHRISTIAN FAITH - WORSHIP - WHAT IS IT?

I struggled with this next sermon on what to do – there was a lot to research and talk on but I kept going to Worship – and as I read and researched and prepared, one sermon became 6 – I was driven to help us answer what is worship, how we worship and why we worship.

What we give our time to, our money to what we worship. What we worship enthrone in and on our hearts. In America we worship sports teams (talk about Broncos and Raiders), hunger for technology (there is actually a diagnosis that describes loss of technology - screen dependency disorder and IAD – internet addiction disorder) and desire to be entertained – Hollywood an over 500 billon dollar industry. While we may never admit we worship the Colorado Rockies or the NFL, technology being our god , how does the time and attention given to other things compare to the amount of time we spend with God. Here in America, I believe we have also twisted the word worship into something it is not.

Scripturally speaking, worship is an attitude of the heart, it is a lifestyle and not an activity we participate in nor is it limited to what we do in church. Worship is the human response to God’s divinity, it calls us to remembrance who God is, what God did, why God did it and the thankfulness for all of it.

John Piper states that the essence of worship is the inner experience of treasuring the true beauty and worth of God. Worship first begins and ultimately is a private action between you and God – the form of worship varies and even if it is around others, involves others, it is the inward expression of our love for God, our awe of Him and our response to His Voice and Calling.

We will examine 8 Forms of Worship – 4 this week and 4 next week – I do not want to impose or have you assume that this is an all-inclusive list just what I was led to and revealed in preparation for this mini-sermon series within a series.

Yes, worship is a personal connection with our Heavenly Father and requires your heart to be focused on God.

But Worship is not always done in private

Praying, Serving, Giving, Singing while can be done in private, we are also called to corporately worship in these forms

As we get ready to examine these 4 forms of Worship - Let us pray!

I. Praying – including thanksgiving and praise

It's a heart matter – when you pray are you focused on God or is your mind on other things?

You can say the most eloquent prayer but if your heart is not focused on God then it is not received and not a part of worship.

Paul places prayer right smack dab in the center of worship – it is how we maintain a continuous spirit of worship.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

a. Prayer Guides into the presence of God

Psalm 27:8 – David says, You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Psalm 37:7a – Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

Jonah 2:7 – When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Psalm 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

b. Prayer forces us to focus us on God

Romans 8:5 – For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Psalm 112:7 – He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Matthew 4:4 – But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

James 4:8a – Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

c. Prayer aligns our heart with the Heart of God

Jeremiah 24:7 – I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 139:23-24 David Prays for his heart to be aligned with God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Philippians 2:1-5 – So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

God is not concerned with the arithmetic, rhetoric, or methodical-ness of our prayers – He does not desire a certain number of prayers, He is not concerned with the length of the prayers nor the whimsicalness but the divinity of our prayers, the heart driven focus, springing forth from the heart – that is the prayer He desires

II. Giving

Giving/Tithing is a heart issue – always has been and always will be – it can only be a form of worship when your heart is right and not giving out of compulsions or a desire to give in order to be blessed

a. Give to the church, the body of Christ to do God’s Work

Malachi 3:7 – Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

1 Chronicles 29:9 – Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

Tithing/Giving is not just OT nor Old Covenant – Paul talks about it quite often

1 Corinthians 16:2 – On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

And Galatians 6:6 – One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.

b. Give to those in need – take care of the needs of others being the hands of Christ

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 – The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

v11 – 12 – You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

Matthew 6:1-4 – “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

v.19-21 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Hebrews 13:15-16 – Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

III. Singing

You can have an angelic voice and lead others in song, dance, clapping, jumping but if you are not focused on God – it is like a clanging gong

If you are thinking of your day, what others are doing, how your singing compares to others, if they are watching you when raise your hands then your “Worship” your song will never reach heaven – it is a heart issue.

2 Samuel 6:21-22a – David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.

a. Sing in Church

Psalm 147:1 – Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

Psalm 150 – Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 100 – Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

b. Sing outside of Church

Isaiah 12:5 – “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.

Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

1 Corinthians 14:15 – What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

IV. Service

You can help the homeless, adopt the orphans, feed the hungry, clothe the naked but if your heart is not in the right place, if you are doing for the wrong reasons, it is meaningless.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

a. Serve God through the Church

1 Peter 4:10-11 – As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Galatians 6:2 – Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:10 – So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 5:3 – For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

b. Serve God outside the Church

1 Samuel 12:24 – Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Colossians 3:23-24 – Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:17 – And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Isaiah 58:10 – If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

Romans 12:8 – The one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

v.11 – Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

What is worship? Worship is a personal connection with our Heavenly Father and requires your heart to be focused on God.

And while worship is individual and private, Worship is not always done in private

Praying, Serving, Giving, Singing while can be done in private, we are also called to corporately worship in these forms –

When you gave today – was it out of compulsion, ritual, habit or was it to give back to God and bless His heart? Was your offering today worship?

Your prayer today – will it be worship or will you remain silent during the praise and sharing – no blessing is too small to praise God – don’t worry what others will think – pray and worship God.

Your singing – was it worship or were you going through the motions? Did you personalize the words and make it your worship, your prayer to God or were you focused on other things?

How is God calling you to worship through service through the church and outside the church this week?

No matter how you express worship, no matter the form of worship, remember Colossians 3:17, 23 and 1 Peter1:13.

Colossians 3:17 – And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

v23 – Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

1 Peter 1:13 – Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.