“Honoring God Through
Passionate Worship”
Mike Barnett,
WORSHIP IS MORE THAN SINGING SONGS TO GOD – WORSHIP
IS LIVING FOR HIM!
Worship
through the expression of sacrificial giving"
A STORY OF A WOMAN WORSHIPPING GOD BY BREAKING OPEN HER
ALABASTER JAR:
Mark 14:3-9 says:
“While he was in
Luke 7:36-38 says:
"Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have
dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the
table. When a woman who had lived a
sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house,
she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his
feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed
them and poured perfume on them".
Luke 7:36-38
THE WOMAN SHOWED JESUS EXTRAVAGANT LOVE IN THE
1.
Money –
Perfume was very expensive in those days.
2.
Time –
She probably invested at least an hour or two, if not more.
3.
Embarrassment
– She was laughed at and mocked for her act of love to Jesus.
4.
Pride –
It was humiliating servant’s work to attend to the feet.
5.
Reputation
– Respectable women in that culture during that time never let their hair down
in public.
6.
Heart – Alabaster
jars were beautifully decorated keepsakes that women cherished. Breaking open the alabaster jar symbolized
her breaking open her heart and giving it to Jesus.
QUESTION: What allowed the woman to worship Jesus
with this lavish and extravagant expression of love?
ANSWER: She received God’s grace and grace givers are
first of all grace receivers.
Romans 2:4 says:
“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his
kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you
toward repentance?” Romans 2:4
·
God does not
want our money as much as He wants our hearts -
giving him our money is just an outward expression of the internal
desire to give him all of ourselves!
Food for Thought: “People of Faith Give Passionate Praise to God”
Forward
in Faith . . .
F ocusing
on the needs of others
A
cknowledging the gifts of God’s people
I nvesting
in Kingdom building
T eaching
the Word of Life
H onoring
God through passionate worship
ILLUSTRATION:
“Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, once gave a group of his
constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of
the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then Lord Chancellor,
wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the
group and cried, “Neil!” Not daring to question or disobey the “command,” the
entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees! (Today in the Word,
July 30, 1993).
·
That’s
something we probably don’t do enough—fall to our knees in reverence before
God. We serve a God who is worthy of our praise, our reverence, and our
complete devotion.
·
Yet too
often, we live our lives without reference to Him.
·
We get up
each day and go about our business without thinking of God. We may even come to
church and not think about Him!
·
Worship is
the fuel that gives energy to a Christian’s life. We live and breathe by giving
praise to our Creator.
·
John Piper
puts it this way: “Worship has to do with real life. It is not a mythical
interlude in a week of reality” (John Piper, Desiring God, InterVarsity
Press, 1989, p. 61).
·
People of
faith give passionate praise to God. Are you living a life that’s founded in
worship? Let’s find out how you can do just that.
Philippians
4:4-8 says:
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I
will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be
evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Passionate Worship Begins with Praise (Verse 4)
“Rejoice
in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
·
Psalms is the
songbook of the Old Testament.
·
Fifteen entire psalms are devoted to praising
God for what He has done. That’s 10 percent of the total.
·
In the book
of Psalms alone, the word praise occurs more than 200 times!
·
These numbers
should tell us something. Authentic worship begins with praise.
·
A.W. Tozer
writes, “What is worship? Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some
appropriate manner a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and
astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient
Mystery, that Majesty which philosophers call the First Cause, but which we
call Our Father Which Art in Heaven” (A. W. Tozer, quoted in D. J. Fant, A.
W. Tozer, Christian Publications, 1964, p. 90).
1. Passionate
worship declares the person of God.
Psalm
47:7-8 says:
“For God
is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over
the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.”
2. Passionate
worship celebrates the promises of God.
Psalm 31:19
says:
“How great
is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you
bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.”
3. Passionate
worship acknowledges the presence of God.
Psalm
139:7-10 says:
“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.”
4. Passionate
worship responds to the pull of God.
Psalm
37:39-40 says:
“The
salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in times of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the
wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.”
“We are called to an
everlasting preoccupation with God” (A.W. Tozer).
Worship Is to be Participatory (Verses 5-7)
“Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Eight
Passionate Ways to Worship God:
1. Standing
1 Kings
8:22-23 says:
“Then
Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord
in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven
and said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven or on earth below.’”
2. Kneeling
Psalm 95:6
says:
“Come, let
us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;”
3. Laughing
Psalm
126:2 says:
“Our
mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was
said among the nations, ‘The Lord
has done great things for them.’”
4. Shouting
Psalm 66:1-5
says:
Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name."
Selah
5 Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man's behalf!
5. Singing
Psalm 40:3
says:
“He put a
new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and
put their trust in the Lord.”
Psalm
32:11 says:
“Rejoice
in the Lord and be glad, you
righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
7.
Musical
Instruments
Psalm
150:3-5 says:
“Praise
him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise
him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise
him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.”
7. Lifting
of Hands
Psalm 63:4
says:
“I will
praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”
8. Clapping
of Hands
Psalm 47:1
says:
“Clap your
hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
“Sometimes,
alleluia
Sometimes
praise the Lord.
Sometimes
gently singing
Our hearts
in one accord” (Chuck Girard).
Passionate Worship Leads to Action (Verse 8)
“Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.”
1. Passionate
worship includes others
Hebrews
“Let us
not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
·
Some things
can be done solo, but they’re better done with others. You can play golf by
yourself, but it’s much more fun with two or three other players.
·
You can sing
along with the radio when you’re alone in the car, but making music is much
more fun in a group. Worship is like that.
·
You can
worship God alone, and you should. But passionate worship always includes the
body of believers. We worship God best together.
·
Christians
sometimes try to play Lone Ranger and serve God all by themselves.
·
We get busy
with life and feel we don’t have time to be together.
·
We get
annoyed with one another’s faults and foibles and want to be alone.
·
Sometimes we
even feel we can worship God best alone, “communing with nature.”
·
Yet worship
is one of those things we must do together.
·
Believers in
the
Acts
2:46-47 says:
“Every day
they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their
homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved” (Acts
·
The Psalmist
gives the best reason for meeting together. It’s enjoyable!
Psalms
122:1 says:
“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us
go to the house of the Lord’”
Illustration:
We worship better when we worship together.
·
We reinforce
one another’s faith.
·
We bear one
another’s burdens.
·
We learn from
one another’s teaching—and mistakes!
·
We hear
reports of praise, and that helps when we’re feeling down.
·
We have an
opportunity to build others up.
·
We hear great
songs of praise, even if we’re not great singers!
·
We receive
the Lord’s Supper together.
·
We know we
are being faithful to the command of Scripture.
·
We pray for
one another.
·
Others pray
for us.
·
God meets
with us here!
·
There are
many pressures on our time, and worship time may be the first thing you’re
tempted to cut out of a busy week.
·
Don’t do it.
You need to worship, and you need to worship with your brothers and sisters in
Christ.
·
More than
that, we need you to worship with us.
·
We’re a
family, and we need each other. People of faith worship together.
·
Calvin
Coolidge said, “It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow.”
·
I think
that’s true. When we have truly worshiped God, we will be changed—and we will
make changes in the world.
·
Passionate
worship always leads to action.
2. Passionate
worship changes us.
Romans
12:1 says:
“Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Illustration:
Isaiah’s vision of God sets an interesting paradigm for worship.
Isaiah 61:13
says:
1 In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train
of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs,
each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they
covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And
they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD
Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his
glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds
shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am
a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes
have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his
hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7
With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips;
your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall
I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am
9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never
understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes. [a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."
11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
And he answered:
"Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the
land."
·
Isaiah had a
vision of God and felt unworthy.
·
He immediately confessed his uncleanness, “I
am a man of unclean lips” (v. 5).
·
Then a coal
from the altar was touched to his lips, and he was purified. He was changed (v.
6).
·
After he had
been purified, he was given a task. The Lord asked, “Whom shall I send.” Isaiah
answered, “Here am
3. Passionate
worship will change our world.
Acts
“After they prayed, the place
where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
·
When we
worship, we impact the world in which we live.
·
The Holy
Spirit came while the believers worshiped.
·
When the Holy
Spirit comes, there is power. Things happen.
·
If we
worshiped God authentically, what changes would we be empowered to make?
·
What would be
the effect on this church if we surrendered to God in worship?
·
How might it
affect our evangelism if we were fully empowered by the Spirit?
·
What changes
could we make in this community if we as a church said, “Here we are. Send us”?
·
When we
worship together authentically, we will be empowered to act.
·
Graham
Kendrick said, “To genuinely worship Jesus as Lord of all is immediately to
challenge all false gods, and to pose a threat to their dark and dingy domains”
(Graham Kendrick, Worship, Kingsway, 1984, p. 35).
·
When we
worship God, we are changed. When we are changed, we will change the world
around us.
Conclusion:
Jesus says, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in
truth” (John
·
As a church,
we need to worship together.
·
We cannot be effective in the world unless we
are effective here, in the presence of God.
·
We must meet
with Him, be changed by Him, and be filled with His power.
·
People of
faith give passionate praise to God. Will you dedicate yourselves to being
persons of faith? Will you commit yourselves to worshiping God together?
·
“It’s your
faith that takes you forward” (June Scobee Rogers).
“Worship
has the capacity to transform us, because it focuses our hearts and minds on
God” (Mark Hurst).