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You can’t say you like it until you’ve tried it. It’s true with Broccoli. And it’s true with the things of God.
This week we are challenging you to try Worship.
It is in humans to worship and praise something. With all the world religions and philosophies they all find an object of worship. Even people that don’t believe in God end up worshipping something.
Everyone worships something. Everyone has something they center their life around… Some worship nature, money, success, power, science, knowledge, beauty, popularity, pleasure…
Don’t worship something that doesn’t give you life. Worship something that gives life. Jesus gives life and life more abundantly. If you are worshipping something but don’t feel it bringing you to life… you are worshipping the wrong thing.
“But Worship is weird…” From the outside looking in, worship definitely looks weird. If you have never tried it you might feel a little nervous about being in the room with worship going on.
Biblical forms of worship might seem strange… Bowing down, laying face down, hands lifted, clapping your hands, singing, shouting, dancing, leaping, laughter, crying, praising Him in song, praising Him with instruments. We can understand why that looks weird. Perhaps you are already uncomfortable with this topic of worship and are just ready to walk away from the entire subject by saying… “I don’t like worship.”
But have you tried worship? You can’t say you like it or dislike it until you have tried it. Have you tried it? We want to invite you to try it today.
worship praise God
Try it You’ll like it 3 – Try Worship
Sermon notes by Chris Fluitt
Try it You’ll Like It 3 – Worship
**Bumper Video –
You can’t say you like it until you’ve tried it.
Welcome to Redemption Church. My name is Chris Fluitt. I serve as Lead Pastor and I believe God has something for us today.
The 1st week we challenged you to try Faith.
We told you that Faith looks dumb from the outside.. but from the inside, as in the story of Naaman, it is powerful, miraculous, and everything you have been looking for.
Last week we told you to try Prayer.
The life of a Christian should be marked by Prayer. Prayer isn’t just asking for stuff… there is a much greater benefit. We talked about the power of agreement and how prayer, when done correctly, brings us into unity with God’s Kingdom and plan. There is always benefit in Kingdom Agreement.
Today we are challenging you to Try Worship. You’ll like it.
Everyone Worships
It is in humans to worship and praise something.
With all the world religions and philosophies they all find an object of worship. Here are the 5 most popular world religions and who they worship…
Christians – God in the face of Jesus.
Islam – Allah
Buddhism – They claim not to worship Buddha as God… But they build huge temples to him and bow before him in reverence…
Hindus – 3 major Gods… Brahma the creator, Vishnu or Krishna the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. Hindus have many other God’s they worship in addition…
Sikhs – proclaim to worship the same God of Islam, Judaism, & Christianity. They call him Waheguru / Wahguru / Vahguru…
And then of course there is Judaism – Jehovah
Satanism – doesn’t worship satan… but actually is the worship as ones self as God.
Atheism – doesn’t believe in a God but ends up going the way of humanism… they might not agree with this… but they end up showing their reverence to their own thoughts and actions…
Even people that don’t believe in God end up worshipping something…
Materialism has become a world religion…
We all know people that worship politicians or political parties or sport teams and athletes…
Everyone worships something. Everyone has something they center their life around… Some worship nature, money, success, power, science, knowledge, beauty, popularity, pleasure…
We are created for worship… Since we are all worshipping something we should make sure we are worshipping the right thing…
Jesus is the right one to worship…
Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.(NIV)
Don’t worship something that doesn’t give you life. Jesus gives life and life more abundantly. If you are worshipping something but don’t feel it bringing you to life… you are worshipping the wrong thing.
It is out of your life you are to praise and worship God…
Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.(NIV)
If you have breath you should try worshipping the Lord… why? Our breath comes from the Lord.
Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.(NIV)
In worship we are taking the breath God gave us and using it to thank Him, magnify Him, Exalt Him.
God Deserves Worship
In worship we never give God something He is undeserving of… We have all said and done things for people that we felt deep down that they had not deserved. Maybe you were forced into an awkward moment where someone asks you about someone’s job performance in front of that person… And you felt forced because of the situation to say something nicer than the truth…
Worshipping Jesus is never like that. You are never over stating God’s worthiness. You can’t say something nicer about Jesus than He deserves…
We know what Grace is. We studied it a few weeks ago at Connect Group. Grace is receiving what you don’t deserve… God gives us Grace… We can’t give God Grace because He deserves everything we could give and more… We can’t give God grace… We give Worship.
God Deserves Worship
You might be listening to this and saying… Well I worship already so this sermon isn’t for me. Let me show you a challenging scripture…
Psalm 150:2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.(KJV)
How much worship does God deserve? He deserves all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength. (Shema)
Praise Him for His Mighty Acts… Are you aware of any Mighty Act God has done? You should praise Him.
You should praise according to His excellent Greatness…
Great God Great Praise
How’s this for a challenge. The level of your praise… the commitment, the passion, the energy, the heart… We should attempt to have our praise match the level of His Greatness.
Does your praise & Worship paint the picture of God’s Greatness?
Psalm 48:1 Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, [in] the mountain of his holiness.(KJV)
Now the truth is that none of use fully comprehend the complete greatness of God… But still we should feel challenged to give worship that is commensurate… equivalent… comparable With His Glory.
Psalm 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.(NIV)
This means you should be giving some effort in worship. You shouldn’t just go through the motions in praise… you should be trying to praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
…I don’t feel like worshiping… We don’t worship according to our feelings… or according to our bank account… or according to there being more good news than bad news… WE PRAISE ACCORDING TO HIS GREATNESS!
We worship Beyond Circumstance
There are times where we might not feel like worshipping. There are times where God doesn’t feel as near as the problems we face. BUT we are to as Psalm 34 says…
Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise [shall] continually [be] in my mouth.(KJV)
Even when life isn’t easy, you can worship God. I am probably talking to more than one person right now that needs to hear this. You are facing problems you don’t have answers for and you might be tempted to not give praise to God in these moments… But you should Try it! Try worshipping in the middle of your struggle and pain. You will like it.
Acts 16 has a story you need to hear. Paul & Silas where on a missionary journey preaching the Gospel of Jesus. They make some people angry by delivering a woman from a demonic spirit… the spirit caused her to predict the future and a group of men were angry that they no longer had access to fortune telling.
So they take their anger out on Paul & Silas. They were stripped and beaten with rods and thrown into a Jail cell. Their feet were placed in stocks so that their movement was limited.
This was a bad situation. Talk about bad circumstances. They are in the middle of pain and struggle and have no clue how this story is going to end. What do you think they would do in this situation?
It makes sense that they would pray. It makes sense that they might be angry with God… “Here we are trying to serve you and this happens…” …What would you do in this situation?
Paul & Silas show us how to worship beyond circumstance.
Acts 16:25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.(KJV)
Acts 16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.(KJV)
In the middle of their prayer & worship… while they were singing songs of praise to God… their entire circumstance changed.
Redemption Church, can I remind you that God changes circumstance. Can I remind you that He can change the painful situation that is on your mind. Can I remind you that chains fall off and prison doors are opened by this God we serve. Blind eyes are opened, cancerous tumors mysteriously vanish, and the dead raised by the Lord of Heaven & Earth.
You can worship beyond circumstance because you are worshipping a God who changes circumstance.
In the middle of Jail and bound with chains… Paul & Silas worshipped God. God came and shook the foundations and opened every prison door.
Redemption Church! Worship God. Don’t let circumstance stop you.
But Worship is weird
From the outside looking in, worship definitely looks weird. If you have never tried it you might feel a little nervous about being in the room with worship going on.
Biblical forms of worship might seem strange…
Bowing down, laying face down, hands lifted, clapping your hands, singing, shouting, dancing, leaping, laughter, crying, praising Him in song, praising Him with instruments
We can understand why that looks weird. Perhaps you are already uncomfortable with this topic of worship and are just ready to walk away from the entire subject by saying… “I don’t like worship.”
I would ask… Have you tried it? You can’t say you like it or dislike it until you have tried it. Have you tried it?
I want to invite you to try it today.
Some might say “I worship inwardly.. I don’t think I need to do that silly stuff”
Worship starts on the inside, but it should show up on the outside.
1 Peter 2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:(KJV)
“To show forth” is the Greek word exaggellō.
It means TO TELL OUT. (What starts on the inside… comes out)
It means to make known by praising or proclaiming, to celebrate.
Does that describe your worship? Is worship coming out of you so others can see and know? Is your worship a celebration?
Worship is both Natural & Supernatural
Worship is physical/natural. Clapping your hands, singing, dancing… that is physical. In fact people do these physical things when their favorite sport team scores. They are physical.
There is a physical aspect to worship. It needs to be more than a mental exercise. It ought to be more than you standing in a church service. You need to put some physical in your worship. You need to put some energy and passion in your worship.
But worshipping God goes beyond the Physical. Worship goes beyond the Natural. Worship is Supernatural!
The physical act of clapping your hands isn’t anything special… Clapping your hands won’t make it out of this room. ..But when you clap your hands unto the Lord it is Worship, it is supernatural, and reaches beyond this room all the way to Heaven’s Throne!
MUSICIAN
The Bible is very clear that Praise should be a part of every battle. God would request that the tribe of Judah would go up first… Judah means Praise. At the battle of Jericho as they shouted and blew trumpets in praise to God the walls fell down. On another occasion 2 huge armies, the Moabites & the ammonites surrounded Judah and everyone was worried because they didn’t have an army that could match their foes. King Jehoshaphat sends out… a choir… As they sang “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever” God defeated their enemy.
Does worship sound supernatural to you yet?
In all these stories God wins the victory… but He does it as His people are worshipping. You need victory today? Try worshipping God the giver of victory!
Do you want the supernatural to happen in your life? Try Worship.
Do you want victory today? Worship the God who gives us victory.
We are going to open this altar. If you want prayer we will gladly pray for you if you just come into the first 2 feet. But can I challenge you to Worship today. Can I challenge you to worship God with more energy, passion, and heart?
Maybe you have never worshipped Him outwardly… You should try it today.
Maybe you have never lifted your hands, lifted your voice, or let yourself get emotional… I challenge you to do it today.
