Praise Him in the Sanctuary - Psalm 150

Today the One Year Bible has us in Psalm 150.  We know that the Psalms were essentially the hymnal for the Israelites, and I sometimes I wish we still had the music that went along with these great praise choruses! Sometimes I try and think what it must have been like to be in the temple when these words were lifted up in praise and adoration, and how the  room might have reverberated with the stringed instruments, the wind section, the cymbals and tambourines. I get the impression that it was quite loud!

Unfortunately, camera phones weren’t around at the time, so we don’t have any Youtube clips of those worship services.  But then, those instruments and those melodies where for that time, and that people.  Today we have instruments and melodies that are for our time, and our people, and I believe God is just as pleased with our worship today as He was back then.

The point is not what instruments we play, but that we PRAISE HIM!  And to me there is something special about praising Him in the sanctuary, the place where God’s people come together in one accord, with Jesus in our midst, and the Holy Spirit moving in our hearts.

The next time you attend church, take a moment to read Psalm 150 before the worship band starts up, then:

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; Praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; Praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; Praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; Praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; Praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord! Ps 150:1-5

Pastor Clay

The Basics of Life - A New Worship Part 2

(To listen online CLICK HERE)

A New Worship - Part 2

1.         Last week looked at john 4 “worship in spirit and truth” (missed clayritter.com)

a.    this week we’re going to unpack the definition of worship, how it's described in the bible, relationship of music, and the result...

2.         What is Worship?  [Merriam Webster Dictionary]

a.    Reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; an act of expressing such reverence

Origin

3.         Old English weorthscipe, meaning “worthiness, respect, reverence...

4.         In essence, worship is when something has great worth to us, we give devotion, honor, and reverence to it, I.E. we “worship” it.

5.         It is a responsive word; we worship something or someone as a response to what that thing or person means to us, or what it does for us.

The Words of Worship

Look at some of the words in scripture that are translated as “worship” or "praise" as the two are interchangeable

Old Testament

6.         Two words, yadah and todaw are closely related, and account for most of the times the word ‘praise’ appears in the Old Testament.

a.    Both of these words give us the idea of ‘casting’ or to ‘shooting’ - in a sense lifting our praises up to God!

b.    One example is Psalm 54:6

‘I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.’ Psalm 54:6

The Basics of Life - A New Worship (Part 1)

(CLICK HERE to listen online)

A New Worship (Part 1)

John 4:5-24

5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

1.         Last week we talked about archeology, and the cool fact that not a single biblical reference has been disproved by archeology (pretty good record!)

a.    Well there’s another interesting fact that archeology has unearthed: Every ancient civilization that has been discovered/unearthed worshiped something.

b.    Whether its the Aztec’s worship of the sun God (Huitzilopochtli), the Roman gods, Stonehenge, apparently there were no atheists in the ancient world!

c.    Some would say the reason is that “humans have always needed a crutch,” they need something to explain the world around them, why it exists, how it come to be.

d.    (which I find to be interesting in that even ancient, supposedly “ignorant” people understood that our world couldn’t have just sprung up from nothing, there had to be a creator.  Apparently we needed to become much smarter to determine that there isn’t a creator!).

2.         Here’s my theory:   “Humans need a relationship with their creator,” which is why, in the absence of worshipping the true God, they will worship something.

The Power of Worship

And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him. – 1 Sam 16:23

This past Sunday we learned a powerful truth that I believe has the power to change our walk with Christ:  The Power of Worship.

We learned that worship has power:  Power to bring refreshment, power to bring victory, and power to bring the Kingdom!

But why is worship really important?  What’s the big deal?  Isn’t it just music? 

Worship can involve music, but it is so much more.  Worship is something that dates to eternity past that involved an angel who was called the “seal of perfection.” His name was Lucifer:

“You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.
“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
-- Ez 28:12-14

Ezekiel is describing an angelic being that radiated the splendor of God in all of His creative ability.  This being was crafted to produce beauty: He was beautiful to look upon, and beautiful to listen to.  This being was created to bring glory to the Living God in the eternal realm.

But there was a problem – apparently Lucifer was so splendid, so incredible, that he became completely enamored of himself, and decided that he should be the one receiving worship. And this was a problem:

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.
“By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.
-- Ez 28:12-17

Isaiah 14 describes the fall:

Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you.’
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.
“Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying:‘ Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,
Who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
-- Is 14:11-17

From this we learn that worship is holy, that it is set apart for God alone, for God alone is the only being worthy of our worship.  Lucifer, who we now call Satan, is not worthy of our worship, yet he desires it more than anything else.  That tells you something about the importance and value of worship.  And it brings us back to our truth about what worship brings:

Refreshment

When we are engaged in worship of the true and Living God, the result is refreshment.  But its not refreshing because the music is nice, it is refreshing because God is enthroned on the praise of His people:

But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. – Ps 22:3

In other words, when we praise Him, a spiritual reality is happening, we are enthroning God in our praise.  As we enthrone God, God refreshes us – as rain refreshes the fields:

Ask the LORD for rain, in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.
– Zech 10:1

Victory

This is pretty simple to me.  Satan desires to receive worship as God, but he isn’t God.  When we worship the true God, it throws that reality right in Satan’s face!  He can’t stand it. The enemies of God flee when God’s people worship Him. In military terms, when you’re enemy runs away, it’s called victory!

Kingdom

As Christians we live with the promise of the future eternal kingdom of God in heaven, but there is a present sense of the kingdom of God that we should not miss: God working in and through us!  When the Pharisee’s asked Jesus about the kingdom, He replied:

The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. -- Luke 17:20-21

Saints, we should keep our eye’s focused on the coming of our Lord:

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ… -- Phil 3:20

But we also should walk in the power and freedom of the kingdom of God that is within us.  Worship is something that recognizes that kingdom, embraces that kingdom, and manifests the power and presence of the Living God in our lives right now – today!

Oh, 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.
Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength.
Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
-- Ps 96:1-9

Think about these truths the next time you come to worship the Lord, whether in church, your home, or sitting on the beach.  

Pastor Clay

...and God gave him a new heart. 1 Sam 10:9

So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart. – 1 Sam 10:9

In 1 Samuel chapter 11 Saul is going to encounter the first test of his kingship, when Nahash the Ammonite comes to Jabesh Gilead, which was on the east side of the Jordan river.  (This area was where the tribe of Reuben and Gad had settled, sort of “the other side of the river”)

Now, some 400 years later, they need help – Nahash is telling them “hey, you submit to me, and by the way I’m gonna gouge out your right eye just for good measure!” So, yea these guys need some help, and so they send messengers out to find Saul. Saul better be ready for action.

Which is why I go back to 1 Sam 10:9, because as we noted last week:  before we can fulfill the call of God on our life, God has to give us a new heart! See, if this part of us does not belong to God, then God is hindered from being able to move powerfully in our life.  Sure, He can guide us to the right place at the right time through circumstances and lost donkeys, but that is not the same as having His power in our lives. 

…but if we will surrender our heart to God, allow Him to give us a new heart, then we are able to be powerfully moved by His Spirit.

…and if we are submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives, God is then able to work in a powerful and meaningful way in our lives.

…calling us to tasks that are beyond our comfort zone. 

…empowering us to do things that are beyond our ability. 

And that is where Saul is on this day, he is about to be called upon to do something he’s never done before, something he would not be able to do on his own, and as preparation, what does God do? God gave him another heart.

And what happens after that? He has an encounter with a two groups of men…

One group are carrying some interesting supplies: a sacrifice, some bread, and some wine.  (hmm what does that sound like?)

And another group is doing something also interesting: they are playing music, worshiping God, and prophesying, or speaking the things of the Lord.

Hmmm, a sacrifice, bread, wine, worship, moving of the Holy Spirit, what does that make me think of?

It makes me think of our communion service, coming up this Sunday at Calvary of Wilmington.  Don’t miss it!

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

A "Two-fer" Praise Week!

Greetings Saints in the Lord!

This week I have two praise reports: Last Sunday we raised over $2000 for the Youth Building! AWESOME! And if that isn’t awesome enough, this Wednesday we raised another $2400 for missions! We are just blown away at how God is moving, and the open heart of His people!

This Sunday we’ll be finishing up our three-part series on “judging”, from Matthew 7. It will be our last message on the section of Matthew “The Kingdom Principles” (or better known as the Sermon on the Mount!). After this Sunday we’ll be going into section three of Matthew, “The Manifestation of the King”, where Jesus begins His ministry on earth.

And don’t forget, this Sunday is the LAST SUNDAY to register for the “Clear and Present Danger” church conference! We’ll be gearing up for the conference, and please continue to pray for the speakers, worship team, workers, and those who will be attending!


Added bonus: This weeks worship article, found on the CCW Praise Team Blog.
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The Words of Worship

Think about what happens physically during worship – what we do. Sometimes we want to shout out, or say hallelujah, or worship with our instrument. Other times we have a desire to lift up our hands, or bow down before the Lord. Did you know that the bible gives us descriptions of these actions, contained in the Hebrew words for worship?

There are six Hebrew words which provide for us a description of the physical forms of worship that we engage in. In the Old Testament, and particularly in Psalms, we are repeatedly told to praise the Lord. However, within those commands to praise are words that provide different descriptions as to how we are to praise. In this week’s Worship Post, we’ll examine these words and their meaning!


Click here to go to this weeks post…

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay