Worship the Lord

“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.” Psalms 29:2 (NASB)

I. A Charge to Worship
 A.  It is Not an Option
   1.  This a mandate
 B.   Opportunities for Worship
   1.  Individual
     a.  Which I resist on one hand
      1)   I resist it because my bias is to see worship as a corporate experience
        a)   Done in the midst of fellow believers
      2)   I embrace it on the other because there are 7 days in a week, and 24 hours a day
        a)  We thus have to some ideal at least of being able to worship alone under daily conditions
     b.  Some examples
      1)   Gene Allen President of the local Athens Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship carries around a copy of “Our Daily Bread” in his pocket
        a)   He uses it as part of his experience with God during the course of the day
      2)   Our own Laurie Ann Hammond found a very useful booklet that she keeps in her school bus for devotional purposes
        a)   She has found it inspirational and uplifting often confronting her with material that she can apply to her personal situations, some of which apparently make her wiggle a little
          i.   Such wiggling, which is often called in our tradition “conviction” is not bad
           i)   God has been noted to point out where we falter in living our faith in our daily lives
      (i)  Worship does that from time to time
      3)   I personally, spend the first two to three ours of my day dealing with Scripture
        a)   It takes me that long because of my ADD
          i.   My mind wonders to what I consider important thoughts and I follow-up on those thoughts immediately lest I forget them
           i)   That delays my dealing with Scripture
      4)   I also am likely to have experiences of awe and wonder which I consider at experiences of worship during a variety of daily experiences
        a)   For instance, I might be listening to a piano concerto and be awed by the music
          i.   Thinking that this would not be possible had not God given the composer and the artists the talent to put together the music
           i)   And the listener the ability to be awed by the music and enjoy it
      5)   And then certainly those experiences during the course of the day where for some reason unknown to use we simply think about God spontaneously
   2.  Corporate Worship
     a.  Opposites
      1)   Disinterest, irrelevancy, apathy, competition, complacency
        a)   Believers staying away from Church worship for a host of reasons
          i.   Attendance declining
      2)   While other Churches grow in the midst of charges that their worship experiences are about entertainment and sensationalism
        a)   But in the midst of these the charges and probably realities it is still the name of Jesus as the Christ that has come through
     b.  The Purpose that Persists
      1)   To focus on God together
        a)   On his wondrous deeds in creation, involvement in history, and his saving act in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
II.  Reminders in Scripture
 A.  Often to a Wayward People
   1.  Who had other things to do
     a.  Who were distracted by the philosophies, ideals, and gods of the day
 B.  But Often to From Believers to Believers
   1.  Let us worship together whether we are together or in different places
     a.  Find ways to keep worshiping God
      1)   Find times to worship God
III.  Benefits of Worship
 A.  Fellowship
   1.  Fellowship is about being with other believers
     a.  There may be conversation which entails speaking and listening
     b.  There may be joining in common activities
      1)   In this case it is joining together for song, prayer, word and liturgy (the order of Worship)
        a)   This represents the Holy Array
          i.   This may have been seen in how one dresses
           i)   Best clothes stuff
          ii.   It is really about one’s attitude seeing worship as special because God is Holy
           i)   We focus on the Holiness of God
 B.  Hope
   1.  A friend Zach introduced his friends on Facebook to Zero a song my Hawk Nelson
     a.  The song captures the human predicament
      1)   “And we started at zero, and went different ways. Now we're all out here wasting away.”
        a)   There are glimpses of hope in it which are not really strong enough to point to the reason for hope if one only listens to the song
   2.  Worship points to the grounds of hope
     a.  “ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” 1 Peter 3:15 (NASB)
 C.  Faith
   1.  Then obviously worship is about faith
     a.  Why come to worship unless you have faith or are seeking faith
      1)   Worship then is being about touched the Holy Spirit in lifting up the name of Jesus
        a)   It is about God at work, not us at work
 D.  Salvation
   1.  Then finally worship is about salvation
     a.  It used to bother me to no end that the altar call has become overlooked
      1)   Then I realized it isn’t about the altar call, it is about coming through the door of the Church
        a)   One comes here at God’s invitation
          i.   I decide to accept the invitation, but a person doesn’t come here
           i)   Sinners don’t want to be bothered with the things of God
           ii)   If we come it is about responded to God
      (i)  That makes this event Holy worship