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May 21, 2023

Worship Part 03

Worship Part 03

Speaker: Dennis Gallaher

Series: Worship

Category: Sunday Morning

The Weapon of Worship

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Worship begins as a sacrifice. The sacrifice is ourselves. It's an all in presentation to God. This takes place as we daily give our lives to the Lord - morning to night. Worship is the daily lifestyle of the person who follows Jesus.

The beginning of every week, Sunday, we come together and worship the Lord as a body of Christ. We join to be strengthened for the week ahead. We set aside our Sundays together to the powerful truth of worship. 

Psalm 95:1-3 O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 147:1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. v7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre. v11-14 The Lord favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His faithfulness. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your sons among you. He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.

It is important to understand that worship is not a singalong and something to endure. Worship is not a voice or song list. Worship is giving our deepest affection and our highest praise to God. When we understand this then our prayer, singing, obedience to His Word, standing firm against the devil's way, living under the authority and the plan of God, our whole life becomes a worship lifestyle. 

One key aspect of worship is worship as warfare. We are called to ask the Lord to give us what we need but also we are enlisted into an army of worshippers standing against the devil's work. A great victory in the Bible is fought with worship. Joshua 5 Joshua and Caleb crossed the Jordan River. The first city then to conquer in the Promised Land was Jericho. As Joshua was looking at mighty walls of Jericho, he sees a man with drawn sword standing opposite him and says, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” Joshua 5:13-15 He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua's response was to worship the Lord. Worship was the beginning of this battle and also the end of the battle. Joshua 6 tells of the battle of trumpets and shouts and the walls came tumbling down.

Worship is warfare; worship is a full body experience; worship defeats the enemy. Three things to pursue God's call in worship: (as warfare)

1) Know the enemy. See worship as warfare so that we battle in prayer for victory over our battles. We don't know a lot about the devil. Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. A tabret is a type of drum and pipe instrument. Satan was created to be a worship instrument of God. v14-15 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. v17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. The power of worship is to come up against the one that defies God. Satan robbed Adam of his identity, value, courage, and confidence, and he continues to do that today. We are robbed because we don't know the power of worship against the enemy. When the enemy corrupts worship, he keeps us from the Father.

2) Discipline yourself for battle. 2 Timothy 2:3-4 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. Hardship was a word applied to soldiers meaning punishment to gain strength. We need to discipline our lives and ourselves because we are in a war against the enemy. 1 Timothy 6:11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. There are things that we are to run from and things we are to pursue. We find them in the Word of God. As Joseph fled and ran from immorality, we are to flee whatever immorality comes our way. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We are in a war! But the war has been won at the cross of Jesus Christ. We are to harvest in the battles that have already been won. We do that by being worshippers and pursuing and understanding what it means to be a worshipper. It is a daily experience of worshipping God and doing battle in the name of the Lord. 

3) Obey the commander. Joshua dropped to his knees and put his face to the ground to this impressive being that stood with his sword drawn. Joshua had submission. Be ready to do what the commander says. Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they may do this with joy, not groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you.

How are you doing leading your families? The enemy wants to do to us as he did with Adam. He wants to rob us of our value in the Kingdom of God, of our identity as a Son of God, of our confidence in being a Son of God, and of our courage in the world. When the enemy can corrupt our worship, he keeps us from the Father. He paid the ultimate price for a relationship with each of us. The best weapon we have is worship.

Worship is our voice - Psalm 100:1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with jubilation; Come before Him with rejoicing. Psalm 96:1-2 Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Worship is our hands. Raising our hands means we surrender all to the Lord. 1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger and dispute. Psalm 63:4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Worship is our heart. John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Psalm 86:12 I will give thanks to You, Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forever. Deut 6:5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

Worship is our emotions. We become an instrument of worship that is offering worship to God with our whole being and we are doing battle. Be a worshipper today. Raise a new battle of worship. Begin with repenting of our sins then accepting God's gift of forgiveness and freedom.

1. What new understanding do you have of worship? Especially as warfare? What has changed in your worship?

2. How is your worship during the week any different than on Sunday?

3. Can you share a battle that has changed because of worship?