I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Psalm 34:1-10 (NKJV)
Worship connects us with God. It creates an opening for miracles, signs, and wonders. True worship is extremely dynamic and radical. It is not defined by a song that we sing whether fast or slow. Worship includes blessing the Lord at all times and praising Him. It also includes boasting about Him and exalting who He is. Worship is defined as honouring God with extravagant love and extreme submission. It is defined by how we see God in our lives and expressed through a life of holiness.
Why do we worship God? We worship because of who He is. We worship because He is God and is deserving of all praise. We do not worship because of what God has done. If He doesn’t do anything, will we still worship? True worship focusses on God and who He is and not what He can give or do for us (Psalm 96:5-6). Our worship must be to the One who is worthy. Worship is for and to God. It belongs to Him. When we worship in spirit and truth, God responds to us.
– Worship Brings Heaven to Earth
When we worship God, He ministers to us in return. As we worship, there is an interaction between heaven and earth. We worship and God speaks. We worship and He comes. We worship and His presence comes.
We see an example of this after the completion of the temple during the reign of Solomon (2 Chronicles 5:1-7, 11-14). The people of Israel were worshipping from a place of obedience and order. Everything was in order within the temple. It is therefore important that we worship from a place of obedience and order. If we cannot cooperate with the order within the church through ushers or other ministries, then our worship is null.
The worship of the people in Israel was sacrificial. We are to live a life of sacrifice, presenting our bodies to God. Sacrificial worship opens the heavens to us. The people within the temple were all one. They were in a spirit of unity. We cannot fully worship together as a church if there is disunity, discord, and division.
Another example is seen in Acts 4. The people were all in one accord when God came (Acts 4:23-31). God came and there was a shaking. God is about to shake us and we have to be aware of when He comes or we may miss it.
– Worship Causes Us to Triumph Over Our Enemies
True sincere worship disturbs the enemy. It brings confusion to the plans of hell. Jehoshaphat worshipped God when the people were threatened by the enemy (2 Chronicles 20:5-30).The people worshipped before, during, and after the battle. Before, in the midst and after the storm, we need to worship God. These are the days where we worship in the battle and we come out with plunder. Worship is punishment on the enemy.
Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, 7 To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute on them the written judgment— This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord! Psalm 149 (NKJV)
– Worship Enlarges Our View of God
We, the church, unfortunately have a small view of God and who He is. As a result, we begin to have wrong and distorted beliefs about Him. God is supreme, sovereign and holy. When we have this revelation of who He is, we are changed (Psalm 135:6, Daniel 4:34, Isaiah 6:1-2). If we truly say that we know who God is, then it must be reflected in our worship.
John had a revelation of Jesus in Revelation 1 (Revelation 1:10-18). This revelation changed him and the way he saw God. Many see Jesus as how he was in the gospels. Some even only think of him as one in a manger. However, our view of Jesus should be shifted to the man who is a roaring lion, to the One who is a jealous God waiting for His bride.
