Acknowledgement of the creation of this video goes to Floodgate Productions. You can purchase the video here.
Our past few posts have been about different physical expressions of worship. We can all worship in different ways. The important thing is to dive in and bring ALL of you! Check out this video which beautifully sums up the heart of what we've been sharing. Acknowledgement of the creation of this video goes to Floodgate Productions. You can purchase the video here.
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Our conclusion to physical worship. Keep in mind that God has commanded us to worship him with all our strength!
Bowing & Kneeling War was coming. What did King Johoshaphat do? He didn't prepare his army with training or weapons. He prepared with worship. Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. As they worshiped with face to the ground, God defeated the enemy. Worship won the day. What helped Job through hard times? He fell to the ground in worship. Come! Let us worship and bow down. And remember this: one day EVERY knee will bow at the name of JESUS. Start practicing now. (2 Chronicles 20:18, Job 1:20, Psalm 95:6, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10) Laying Prostrate Johoshaphat and Job were already mentioned above. There are a other challenges in scripture for us to fall flat before our God in reverence and worship. The most notable are found in Revelation. Every living creature, the twenty-four elders, and all the angels fall down and lay flat on their face before the Holy God. The elders of the church universal! If they can, surely we can. Have you ever done this in worship? You will. If your bones are up to it, get used to the position! (Revelation 4:10, Revelation 7:11) Standing in Awe Scripture says that God set apart the tribe of Levi as priests to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name. According to the New Testament, we are now the priests. Let's stand before the Lord! Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the world stand in awe of him. When a judge enters the court, everyone rises. There is no mightier judge than the great JUDGE. Stand for him. (Deuteronomy 10:8, 1 Peter 2, Psalm 33:8) Reverence & Silence Serve the Lord with reverence. Be still and know that He is God. Have you ever been in a worship setting where you have been so moved by the Holy Spirit you were struck speechless? Let it be part of your worship. (Psalm 2:11, Psalm 46:10) I'll conclude with a reminder of how this series started. God commands us to worship him with ALL we have: heart, soul, mind, strength (Mark 12:30). You cannot worship God in strength without giving him your very own body. God also demands that we worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). If the Spirit moves you to shout, shout! If the spirit moves you to dance, dance! If the spirit calls you to stand in awe with arms lifted in surrender, then stand in awe and raise them high! Use your body, all your strength, in worship to our great God. worship Him 24/7... Scott Continued... more biblical examples and commands for our worship.
Lifting Arms Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. Do you? I will praise you as long as I live and in your name, God, in YOUR name, I will lift up my hands. Let's lift up our hearts and our hands to the Lord. I will lift my hands to you as an act of surrender. I declare that I will surrender to your control. I offer up to you in my uplifted hands everything I have. Take me! (Psalm 134:2, Psalm 63:4, Lamentations 3:41) Clapping The mountains and hills themselves will burst into song before the Lord and all the trees will clap their hands. If God created the very trees we see to clap their hands in worship, surely we can! And must! Clap your hands, all you nations! Shout to God with cries of joy! If you can clap for a good concert or a good play, why not a GREAT GOD? (Isaiah 55:12, Psalm 47:1) Dancing Okay. No one wants to see me dance. Really. It's like Elaine from Seinfeld. But it's there in scripture. Let them praise his name with dancing. Praise him with the tambourine and dancing. King David himself, a man after God' own heart, danced and leapt before God! I may not dance in the traditional sense, but I like to move and sway and even jump! Do you stand stock still in worship with arms crossed and never move? (Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:4, 2 Samuel 6:16) Crying When the foundation of the second temple in Jerusalem was being laid all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord. Many who had seen the first temple wept and cried aloud, while others shouted for joy. This passage in Ezra is a great example of worship happening and people worshiping in various ways. They worshiped as the Spirit moved them! Jesus himself wept. And did Jesus not worship God in all he did? (Ezra 3:11-3, John 11:35) Stay tuned for the final installment of physical worship. worship Him 24/7... Scott So you're standing in church for worship. What do you do? Do you stand still? Do you move? Do you sing? Do you stand silent? The answer to all these questions is yes! In a previous post entitled "dive in" it was mentioned that God demands all of us. Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength. (Mark 12:30) We need to just dive in to worship. God wants us to be close to him. Bring your failings. Don't let that hinder you. Our sin does not surprise him! He just wants us. All of us. So dive in.
But what does worship "look" like? This is what we will talk about over the next three posts... the physical aspects of worship. This is not my opinion. The list will be from the Bible. As a believer and worshiper who needs to "worship the Father in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), you will need to wrestle with what these mean for you. Remember the bottom line... God wants ALL of you. Here we go: Singing We are to sing in worship. You can find this reference in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is commanded of us nearly 150 times in scripture. Sing to the Lord. Make a joyful noise. Speak to one another in singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Make a melody with your heart. A song of praise is fitting for our God. The references go on and on. And these are not written as suggestions. Most of these references are emphatic commands and exhortations! (Psalm 100:1-2, Psalm 95:1-2; Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:19, Psalm 147:1) Playing Instruments Through the Old Testament and New Testament instruments were used in worship. Lots of instruments. Ram's horns and trumpets. Lyre & Harp. Wood Pipes & Bells. Drums & Cymbals. Nearly every known instrument type from the day was used in worship. (Leviticus 25:9, Genesis 4:21, Psalm 87:7, Exodus 28:33, Psalm 68:25, Psalm 150:5) Shouting & Loud Noise Shout for joy to the Lord! Consider the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The whole crown began to praise in a loud voice! A healed man praised Jesus for the great miracle done in his life by shouting. Shout to God with loud songs of praise! There are over 100 scripture passages about shouting for joy to the Lord! If you can shout about a sport, how much more should you shout about the Creator of the universe? (Psalm 98:4, Luke 19:37-40, Luke 17:15, Psalm 47:1) More coming... stay tuned. worship Him 24/7... Scott Have you ever had one of those days when you wonder when it's all going to end? I have. I'm sure you have too. Know this... Jesus can be with you. Til the end of the ages. (Matthew 28:20) His promise is the great Comforter, his Holy Spirit, living inside you if you believe in him and call him Lord. (1 Corinthians 3:16 & Romans 10:9) Not only will Jesus be with you in spirit, but one day Jesus will return in the flesh. He will reign on this earth as KING. None will stand against him and his justice will be complete. Every knee will bow, every tongue confess that HE is LORD. If you are a believer in Christ, take heed. Be ready. He will return. "LOOK! I AM COMING SOON!" (Revelation 22:7,12) Listen to this new song by Chris Tomlin at Passion 2015 in Houston, Texas... Even So Come (Come Lord Jesus). Ever feel like you're not sure how to worship? I have an answer for you. Just dive in. He's waiting for you. Don't over think it. Just be willing to jump in the pool.
Often people are concerned about "how" they come to God in worship. Some believe it should be in reverence. Some believe it should be with joy. How about both? The point is to come! Be in his presence and give Him all of what you are. Don't hold anything back. Just dive in. In Mark 12:30 Jesus tells us to worship the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of of our strength. He wants his followers to give him everything! Jesus is actually quoting a passage from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 6:5. Since the beginning of the nation of Israel, God has demanded all of it. Not just your thinking. Not just your strength. Not just your heart. All of you. Here's a quick breakdown of what God wants. These descriptors are all meanings from the corresponding Greek word. "heart" = inner life, will, desire, emotion "soul" = vital breath of life, the center of your will and being "mind" = thoughts, intellect, understanding, insight, brain power "strength" = power, might, ability, body Do you give God all these things in your worship? Or do you just dabble your toe in the pool? I admit that sometimes I just over think how to get in the pool. Should I sing this part? Should I lift my hand here? Should I be thinking about the lyrics? Should I be offering him something? The answer to all of these is... ________ . Fill in the blank. If you are a believer in Christ, then the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. He will help guide your worship. He will help you fill in the blank. You just have to dive in. worship Him 24/7... Scott Most days when I come home my children run to the door and wrap their arms around me. I love it. They don't think about it. They just do it. That's how I want to be with God. I want to be like a child before God. I want to just run to him and wrap my arms around him. I don't want to have to think about it! I just want to be with him.
So often in our worship, especially in the "modern" world, we are not free in our worship. Be free. When David was bringing the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, David worshiped. Undignified. Scripture says in 2 Samuel 6 that he danced celebrating and praising the Lord. Imagine that! The king himself was worshiping in an undignified fashion... dancing! It didn't matter who saw him. It didn't matter what he looked like. He just worshiped freely in the way he felt he needed to worship God. When David returns home he discovers that his wife, Michal, saw his act of worship. It is here in verse 21 that we discover that David even may have removed part of his clothes in his worship! Michal chastises and berates David for his vulgar display. What is David's response? "I will become even more undignified than this, and even become humiliated in my own eyes." (2 Samuel 6:22) David could have been concerned about what he looked like while he worshiped. But he didn't. His great love for God outweighed his vanity or his worry about what others would think of him. He was only concerned about what God thought of him. David was called a man after God's own heart. Michal... not so much. In fact, because of her chastisement of David's worship, she was struck barren by God, never to have children. Be careful of how you judge others in their worship. Be free in your own worship. Run to God and wrap your arms around him. Be undignified. Remember this: what you and others may think is undignified in worship may be what God accepts and desires. Just like with David. Clap. Dance. Shout. Sit. Pray. Sing. Rejoice. Cry. Laugh. Just be with him. God will look at the heart and if that is focused on him, let yourself be undignified. worship Him 24/7... Scott You Are My Vision is a modern version of the classic hymn Be Thou My Vision. I've enjoyed this hymn for years since growing up in a traditional church. It's origins as a song are well over a thousand years old, yet it's meaning is still relevant as always. What would it mean if Christ was our vision? What would it be like to see everything through his eyes? Perhaps we could actually be satisfied with our lives, knowing that we are in his sight and we are in his hands. Perhaps we could understand what Paul means when he says "whatever was gain to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." (Philippians 3:7) Enjoy this rendition named You Are My Vision by Rend Collective. Why worship God when things aren't going so well? Isn't God in control of things down here? If he isn't good enough to keep rotten things happening to me, why should I continue to worship him?
These are rough questions. Questions I have asked as well. A few years ago, my beautiful wife and I had our second child. We felt led to return closer to our extended family so our children might better know their family. As we began the process of moving, my grandmother's health quickly deteriorated. She was moved to a nursing home and was in poor condition. Meanwhile, my family and I spent three months on the road waiting for and trusting on the Lord to provide a new position for me. He provided. We ended up only one and half hours away from where my family lived. We could spend time with family and my ailing grandmother. Weeks later my grandmother passed away. Not what I planned. God gives. God takes away. God does provide. Even from the very beginning he has been known as Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Provides (Genesis 22:14). There was once a man named Job. At the time he lived he was the greatest of men. He had a wife and many children, owned thousands of livestock, had the respect of the people, and lived well before God. Then he lost it all. Yet in the midst of his sorrows he "fell to the ground in worship and said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:20-21) God gives. God takes away. Job still worshiped. Why? Job still remained faithful to God. He understood that sin was in the world. He understood that we all live with the consequences of all mistakes, not only our own, but with that of others. Yes, God is in control of things down here. But God gave mankind free will to choose. Bad things can happen to good people. But remember these two things: First, there is no one down here who is truly good (Romans 3:10). We all make mistakes. And these mistakes do affect others. Second, God will use all things in our lives for good, even the bad (Romans 8:28). It's all part of his big plan. We can only see what is right in front of us. He sees through eternity. Job worshiped God when times were bad, because he knew God was still God. God had not changed. He knew that God still had his best in mind. So Job worshiped. God gives. God takes away. May the name of the Lord be praised. As I drove to the hospital the night my grandmother died, I questioned God. Sure. But I knew God was still God. He still had my best in mind. So I worshiped him on that drive. God gives. God takes away. May the name of the Lord be praised. worship Him 24/7... Scott Did you know that kissing should be part of our worship? Gives you a different view of a Friday night, huh? Kissing actually is part of worship, but not in the Friday night sense. Sorry to disappoint some of you, but read on! One of my favorite passages of worship is John 4:21-24. It is chock full of so much information from Jesus about worship. (Check out my previous post on this scripture here.) Today I'd like to zero in on the 24th verse in which Jesus says, "God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth." The Greek word for worship in this passage is "proskuneo" which translates as "worship". This word is a description of someone falling to their knees and kissing the feet and the hands of a superior person before them. Imagine a dog at the feet of his master, licking away at his master's feet and hands, in willing and loving submission. An act of love, trust, and loyalty. That is the image of the greek word for worship. When you clicked the link to this blog you might not have been thinking of kissing in terms of humble, sloppy wet smoocheroos for God. For many dedicated followers of Jesus it's even hard to think of worship in this way. How do we worship this way? Jesus supplies the answer: in spirit and truth (John 4:24). We must worship in spirit. Our spirit is our soul, our being, our very breath. God demands you in your worship, not a phoned-in, going-through-the-motions you. Be present. Be real. Give him all you have at the moment (Mark 13:20). We must worship in truth. The word in Greek (alethia) doesn't simply mean a spoken truth. But rather a truth of reality and sincerity. It is a straightforward word. Speak, pray and sing with an honest heart before God. No facade. No pretense. He can handle who you really are... Problems, issues, desires, and all. Give it to him straight. He can handle it. Allow "kissing" to be part of your worship. Go to him in an act of willing submission. And act of love, trust, and loyalty. Afterall, he gave you all of that and more with Jesus on the cross. Consider the words of John Mark McMillan... "So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss." from the song How He Loves Perhaps you may worship him in return in such a way. worship Him 24/7... Scott Check out John Mark McMillen's How He Loves video below. "sloppy wet kiss" can be heard at 3:20. Where are you right now? Are you at work? At home? On the baseball field? On a mountainside? What is it that you are doing right now? Are you aware that God himself is right there next to you?
In John 4:24, we learn that God is Spirit. As Spirit, our Father is ever present. He is in attendance every moment of our lives. Even on the couch. "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10 Not only is God ever present at work, at home, and on the baseball field, He is alive inside of each follower of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16). God is right there with you. Everywhere you go. The woman at the well asks Jesus in John 4:20 where worship should happen. What's the best place to worship? Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem." Jesus' reply was simply "everywhere". Worship everywhere. Jesus knew the day would come when his sacrifice on the cross would tear the veil in the temple in two (Matthew 27:51) and allow all people everywhere to come to the Father directly in worship. No longer would it be necessary to worship in a temple or at the behest of a priest. As vessels of God's Holy Spirit, we are made priests (1 Peter 2:9), able to worship our Father directly. So go worship. Worship 24/7. Worship at work. Worship at home. Worship on the ball field. Wherever you are, that's the best place to worship him! worship Him 24/7... Scott |
Scott Marshall worship pastor
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