Worship

By Terry Cowland

The Centrality of Worship Micah 6:6-8



Worship Ppt God Centred Worship

Culturally driven approaches to worship

1. It is________________worship

2. It is________________worship

3. It is________________worship



What is genuine Worship? Psalm 8:1-5;9

1.____________________

2.____________________

3.____________________

4.____________________lebration



Five Principles of Worship

1. Worship is to be ____________________John 4:21,21

2. Worship requires a _________________ relationship with Jesus Christ. John 4:22

3. Genuine Worship is without _________________John 4:23

4. Genuine Worship is where__________is the__________focus. John 4:23

5. Genuine Worship is where the________and_______________is central John 4:24



‘Testing’ Genuine Worship

1. Do I know Christ________________?

2. Is my worship______________or_______________centred?

3. Is _________and____________the_____________?

4. Is our worship a genuine expression of our_______ with God?

5. Have I remembered the______________of God?

6. Have I remembered that worship is not about an____________but ____________?

7. Have I remembered that worship is about__________________?



Genuine Worship Hebrews 12:28,29; 13:7-17



The Practices of Genuine Worship

1. Worship____________________Hebrews12:28,29

a. Know who_____are.

b. Know who ____is



2. Worship____________________Hebrews13:7,17

a. Follow the____________of Godly leaders

b. ________to Godly leaders



3. Worship____________________Hebrews13:8,9

a. ______________any teaching that is_______________________

b. ______________any teaching that is_______________________



4. Worship____________________Hebrews13:10-14

a. Remember your____________in Christ

b. ____________anything that comes______________&_________



5. Worship____________________Hebrews13:15-16

a. Maintain an attitude of _______________

b. Maintain an attitude of _______________



6. Worship____________________Hebrews13:15,16

a. Offer sacrifices of___________

b. Offer sacrifices of___________with others



7. Worship____________________Hebrews13:16

a. Give your___________and_________

b. Give ______________and_________



8. Worship____________________Ecclesiastes 5.1-7

a. Be______________for worship

b. Be______________about worship

c. Be______________about worship

d. Be______________about worship



9. Worship with_______________

a. Reverence means______and___________Habakkuk 2:20

b. Reverence means the_____________of ______________Psalm 8:1,4

c. Reverence requires a_____________and_____________mind

d. Reverence includes _____________ and_____________Psalm 122:1-4;

Colossians 3:16-17; Revelation 5:12-13



10. Worship________________.

a. Elders are to see that____________and_____________ is practiced Acts 20:28

b. Leaders are to see that everything is done_________ and in________ 1 Corinthians 4:40



11. Worship’s__________________

a. Worship is an expression of_____________ Psalm 95:1-6; Psalm 96:3-4; Psalm 103:1;

1st Chronicles 16:29-30



12. Worship is_______________

a. God is___________and____________

b. We are __________ we can be__________in order to____________.

Psalm 50:22-23 Exodus 20:18-19; 34:5-8; Hebrews 12:18-29



13. Worship is_____________

a. ___________the Lord as holy and__________him Leviticus 10:3

b. being___________ has a_________________Hebrews 10:23-25

c. We are a_____________ to worship God 1 Peter 2:5,9



14. Worship is a______________

Psalm 116:17; 69:30-31; 2 Samuel 24:24 & Romans 12:1-4



15. Worship is to be________________

Psalm 122:11; Samuel 15:22; 51:16-17; Habakkuk 2:20

Praising God

“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29


“Kingdom”
This is the place where the king lives; “king” and “dom”. Where does Our King live? He lives in our hearts (1 Cor 12:9; your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you).


When we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, He gave us His Kingdom, we are heirs to the throne and if we overcome (as we read in Revelations 3:21) we will sit on this throne. So whenever we overcome sin and temptations, we are given the right to sit on the throne with God. Doesn’t this make us grateful? We who don’t deserve anything, God has given us the opportunity to sit at the right hand of God, all we have to do is avoid temptations.


Imagine the queen coming to New Zealand and as she is driving in her car, waving, she stops the car and says, “Hayley, come here, I want you to sit with me today.” Won’t I feel honoured and humbled and ready to say thank you? Imagine Donald Trump coming and saying, “the next apprentice will earn $500,000 and I have chosen Hayley”. Donald Trump who is capable of choosing anyone and he wants me who have nothing to offer him. I’ll be amazed. Or imagine Simon Cowell saying, “I have chosen Hayley to inherit all my money and riches” or Oprah Winfrey saying, “You are my new best friend, you are going to come and live with me and travel with me and be on the cover of my magazine”. It will be a surprise because we haven’t done anything to deserve it. We will be so thankful and grateful to receive these gifts and glory without having done anything.


So let’s really give God the praise He deserves because He has taken us out of the world and darkness and brought us His Kingdom and He lives in our hearts and so long as we overcome temptation, we have the right to sit on His throne.

 “receive a kingdom”
Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit today, let’s pray we will receive the Kingdom of God here today and let’s pray for the Spirit to lead us and guide us as we worship God and thank Him and praise Him. Let’s ask the Spirit to remind us of all that God has done for us so we can make sure God is thanked and glorified and not taken for granted.




“which cannot be shaken”

When I think of the word, “shaken”, I think of earthquakes. A building that can withstand an earthquake is like the Kingdom of God, everything else around it can fall apart but God’s Kingdom keeps standing and it doesn’t matter how we feel and it doesn’t even matter if we believe it, because God can’t be shaken, no matter what. If we are in that Kingdom, then we are safe (in the same way we are safe in a building that withstands earthquakes) from all attacks, all situations, all problems. If the building can’t be moved, then neither can we.


So let’s pray against all evil spirits now remembering that the Kingdom of God cannot be shaken, or moved by satan. Let’s pray tiredness won’t shake us today, let’s pray sickness won’t shake us today, let’s pray fear or doubts or negative thoughts won’t shake us today, let’s pray….


“Gratitude”
A feeling of being grateful to someone for what they have done or given you. What do we have to be thankful for…..


- He died for us
- He forgives us
- He provides for us, comforts us, guides us, protects us, listens to us and answers us
- His perfect plan being fulfilled in us


“Acceptable service”
The best way to show God how grateful we are is to serve Him. We can use our mouths but that means nothing if it’s not backed up with our actions. Once a very good friend of mine told me I was her very close and good friend but behind my back she completely betrayed me. Being betrayed by a friend is worse than someone saying, “I hate you” and then betraying you because you expect it but when our friends betray us, it’s hard. So let’s keep that in mind when we go about our daily lives, ask ourselves, “is what I’m doing acceptable?”


Let’s thank God today because we have been meeting together on Wednesdays, Sundays, fasting, praying, encouraging one another and God found it acceptable and we are really privileged to be a part of that work. God also gave us gifts and talents and abilities and we can really praise God because we have used them for His glory. If you know you could have done better, that’s ok, just make a decision to do better next year but today let’s thank God for what He achieved through us. E.g. every third Sunday, every person has a role and everybody fulfils it and nobody needs a title, people do their role with humility and zeal.



“With reverence”
Godly fear. Often we fear people but we don’t fear God. We often worry about what others will think of us but we don’t worry about what God will think of us. Everyone will have different experiences of that. For myself, I often fear what people will think of me if I tell them about Jesus but I should only fear God who said to go and make disciples.


“awe”
Respect and admiration combined with fear because “Our God is a consuming fire”.


Dan 2:44, God is a consuming fire and He is a jealous God
2 Thess 1:7, He’s coming down with His angels with fire
Heb 10:27,31, He’s bringing judgement and fire will consume the adversaries and it’s a terrifying thing to fall at the hands of God


God can consume us in an instant (He is so powerful) and so we must fear Him. Without fear we can’t understand or appreciate what we have or what we have been saved from.


Praise God for who He is (a consuming fire)


Kind, good, gracious, powerful, peaceful, forgiving….

What Is Worship?

By Shari Bhandal

reference: www.gci.org

Many Christian churches have different worship styles. With our own experiences, we have different impressions and reactions to worship styles. I’m going to examine what the Bible says about worship. Let's look at the way God’s people worshiped before Moses, after Moses, and after Jesus. Then let's see how that biblical insight can help inform our worship in the modern world.

This is a purpose for which we are called: "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). We were called for the purpose of praising God, worshiping God. That is one of the job descriptions of a Christian. We should declare that God is worthy, worth more than everything else put together.

Definitions: The Bible doesn’t give a formal definition of worship but let’s look at the biblical words. In both Hebrew and Greek, there are two major kinds of words for worship. The first kind means to bow down, to kneel, to put one’s face down as an act of respect and submission. Our body language is saying, I will do whatever you want me to. I am ready to listen to your instructions and I am willing to obey. The other kind of biblical word means to serve. It carries the idea of doing something for God — making a sacrifice or carrying out his instructions.
Of course, word meanings don’t prove what worship is, but they do illustrate three kinds of worship.

There is
1. worship that involves speaking, and
2. worship that involves listening, and
3. a worship that involves doing.

We need all three types of worship. Some people focus primarily on speaking or singing praise to God. Praise is good, but if all we do is praise God, without ever listening to what he says, we have to ask whether we believe the words we are saying. If he is really all wise and all loving, then we need to be attentive to what he is telling us, because he is worth listening to.

Similarly, all talk and no action does not show God the respect he deserves. Actions speak louder than words, and if our behavior isn’t changed by God, then our actions are saying that God isn’t important — he’s a nice idea, but not relevant to our day-to-day lives. When we really believe that God is worthy of every praise, then we will be willing to listen and to change the way we live in response to such a worthy God. We will trust him and seek him and want to please him as much as we can. Worship should affect our behavior.

Response with all our being

Another point is that worship is a response to God. We can’t know God’s worth, much less declare it, unless God reveals himself to us. So God initiates worship by revealing himself to us. Then we respond, and the proper response is worship. The more we grasp his greatness, his power, his love, his character, the more we understand his worthiness, the better we can declare his worth – the better we can worship.

Our worship is a response to what God has revealed himself to be, not only in who he is, but also in what he has done and is doing and will do in the future.

We can worship God all by ourselves. But it is also something we do together. God has revealed himself not just to me, but too many people. God puts us in a community, he reveals himself to a community and through a community, and the community together responds to him in worship, in declaring that he is worth all honour and praise.

Moreover, God promises that whenever we gather in Jesus’ name, he will be there. We gather in his presence, and because of his promise, we expect him to be with us. He is the One who calls us together, who reveals himself to us, who initiates the worship and is the object of our worship.
One important method we use to worship God is that of music. In church, we have someone called a worship leader, who leads us in singing hymns and spiritual songs. So a worship leader is a song leader, and because of that some people automatically think of music when they hear the word worship.

Music is important, but worship is not just music – it involves our entire relationship with God, all our heart, mind, soul, and strength – it involves all the ways in which we can respond to God, all the ways we can praise him by what we say and do, all the ways we can demonstrate that God is worthy of all praise and honor and allegiance.
Worship before the time of Moses

In the Bible, we will see a wide variety of methods that God’s people have used to worship him and express their devotion to him. Some of these methods were done by specific command from God; others seem to have been the choice of the persons involved. We see this pattern throughout the Bible: some things are commanded and some things are optional.
We don’t have to read the Bible very far before we encounter a story about worship. Genesis 4 tells us that Cain and Abel brought an offering to the Lord. We aren’t told why – we are just told that they did it. A few chapters later, we read that Noah built an altar after the Flood, and he sacrificed some animals.

Later, Abraham made sacrifices. He built an altar at Shechem, another at Bethel, then at Hebron, and at Mount Moriah. As part of his worship, Abraham also prayed, circumcised and tithed. Isaac built an altar at Beersheba and he prayed. Jacob set up a stone pillar at Bethel and poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it as some sort of worship. He built an altar at Shechem, and one at Bethel. He vowed to tithe and he prayed. What conclusions can we draw from this?

• First, no one needed a priest. Everyone built their own altars, sacrificed their own animals and did their own worship. The head of the household acted as the religious leader for the family. We see that in the book of Job, too: Job made sacrifices on behalf of his children. There was no special priesthood. Each person could worship without a priest.

• Second, there aren’t many commands about the worship that the patriarchs did. God sometimes told his people where to build an altar and what to offer, but for the most part, the altars and offerings seem to have been initiated by the people. There’s no mention of special times or special days or special seasons. There doesn’t seem to be any restriction on place, either. The patriarchs stayed away from Baal worship, but other than that, they worshiped the true God wherever and whenever and however they wanted.

• Third, not much is said about method – the people could pour out wine or oil, totally incinerate an animal, or roast it and eat part of it. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not limited by time, location or method. The key word is flexibility. The detailed rules that God gave through Moses did not apply to the patriarchs. They were not restricted by rules about special places, people, rituals and days.

One thing was important – probably the greatest commandment about worship, the most important rule about worship no matter who we are or when we live. The first and greatest commandment is this: You shall worship no other gods.

Moses and the tabernacle

In the days of Moses, worship went from very little structure to very specific and very detailed structure. God specified exactly

• when sacrifices were to be made,
• how they were to be made,
• where they were to be made, and
• who was supposed to make them.

Worship became much more formal. Under the law of Moses, there were holy places, holy people, holy animals, holy rituals, and holy times. God designated certain things for certain uses in worship.

The tabernacle was a holy place. It was somewhat holy in the outer court, more holy in the inner court, and extremely holy behind the veil. The design of the tabernacle communicated something important about God: that he was holy. You just can’t walk up on him every day. You had to be a very holy person on a very holy day in order to walk into the Holy of Holies, and you had to go through special rituals in order to do it. The tabernacle was a symbolic message about God.

For worship in ancient Israel, there were holy people. The Levites were holy and assigned to work with the tabernacle. There was a priesthood between the people and God. For many acts of worship, the priests had to perform the actions. There were also holy animals and holy plants. Every firstborn animal was holy, dedicated to the Lord. The first-ripe fruits were holy, set apart for worship.

There were holy times. Every week, one day was holy. Every year, some extra days were holy. Every seven years and every 50 years, a whole year was set apart for special use. These designated times gave structure to the Israelite worship. The who, the what, the when, and the where were all spelled out. Everything was structured, organized, formalized.

Most of those details are obsolete, but the most important principle carries over into today’s worship, too. Only God should be worshiped. It’s not that he should be worshiped more than other gods are. It’s that he is the only God worthy of worship. He is so great, nothing else is even close. There is no god like our God. Nothing can compare with him, so we give him exclusive worship. We do not divide our loyalties between him and Baal, or between him and self. All allegiance and all worship go to him alone.

Worship in ancient Israel was not just at the tabernacle – it was also in the heart and in the home. God did not want people to think that they could do the rituals and then live as they please. It was not enough to "do" the worship – a person’s honor and respect for God should be genuine, in the heart, which meant that God was to be praised in all of life.

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses told the Israelites to put God’s instructions in their hearts, and teach them to their children, to talk about them when they sat, when they walked, and when they lay down. They were to write these instructions on the doorposts, to immerse themselves in God’s way of life. All of life is worship.

Some of the later prophets build on this theme. Samuel told Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. God wants a right attitude more than he wants correct rituals. In Jeremiah 7:22, God says, I didn’t bring you out of Egypt because I wanted sacrifices. I just wanted you to obey me, and sacrifices are only a tiny part of what I commanded.

Isaiah is even stronger – saying, in effect, "I’m sick of your sacrifices. I’m sick of your sabbaths and holy days." In Isaiah 1:11-17, The people were doing rituals, bringing animals, keeping Sabbaths and festivals, even praying, but despite all that, there was something seriously lacking in their worship.

The problem was that their lives were full of sin. So Isaiah counsels: "Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean.... Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
Their sacrifices, prayers and praises were not accompanied by performance in their day-to-day lives. They had worship rituals, but they did not obey God’s commands for how to treat their neighbors, and the result was unacceptable worship. As Jesus said, quoting Isaiah 29:13, their worship was in vain. It was hypocritical to do the worship if it wasn’t changing the other aspects of their lives.

For worship to be acceptable to God, we must have obedient lives. The ritual is not enough – the attitude is what is most important. God does not want hypocritical worship, people who say he is great but do not act like it. Perhaps this is commandment number 2 regarding worship – that it must be sincere. If we are going to say that God is worthy of all worship, then we should believe it in our hearts, and if we believe it, it will show in our actions. Real worship changes everything we do, because it changes who we are. Worship must be in the heart, not just at the place of worship.

The early church

Acts 2 tells us how worship was done among the people who saw Jesus’ example and followed it. "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (vv. 41-42). This is their response to God, their devotion, their worship: they accepted the message — they believed, they were repentant, they were baptized — and they devoted themselves to

• being taught,
• sharing with one another,
• breaking bread, and
• prayer.

Luke is giving a summary description, not a formula for worship services.
"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" (vv. 46-47). They worshipped in the temple, and they worshipped in their homes. They praised God, they were happy, and they were sincere.

Worship services

In our worship services today, where is the worship? It’s in the songs, in the sermon, and in the attentiveness that we have in listening to the sermon. But there is also worship in the work that goes on behind the scenes. People who get the building ready may be making sacrifices to God that are pleasing to him. Those who help with refreshments may worship as they work. When we do good and share with others, we are giving the kind of worship that God wants.

People who work with children are worshiping as they help children understand the good news about Jesus Christ. In their actions and in their words, they are praising God. They are showing that he changes our lives, and he changes our priorities. We no longer live to please ourselves, but to serve others. This is a form of worship.

One of the longest passages about church meetings is in 1 Corinthians 14. Some unusual things were happening in the church at Corinth, and Paul had to give them some guidance about it. Most of the chapter is trying to bring some control to a situation that had gotten out of control. Paul summarized their situation and provided a focus in verse 26: "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church."
The church meeting included songs, teaching, and the use of spiritual gifts. Of all the things Paul mentions, what is the most important? Notice what he says in the last part of verse 26: That all "must be done for the strengthening of the church." In verse 31 he says the goal is "so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged."

That’s the priority: Everything should be done in such a way that the church is instructed, edified, built up, strengthened. It doesn’t matter how many songs we sing or what spiritual gifts we have — if we aren’t helping anybody, we are missing the point of gathering together. Songs, sermon, and service: All three are forms of worship, and all three are important.

Worship today

Worship involves our entire relationship with God: our words, our attitudes, and our actions. Our words may be normal conversation, songs or prayers. In any style of speaking, we can declare God’s praises and express our faith reliance on him.

God wants worship not only on our lips, but also in our hearts. He wants our worship to be sincere — he wants to be the most important thing in our lives, that we are truly submissive to him. He wants our worship to affect our behavior, that we make sacrifices, that we put to death the deeds of selfishness, that we seek justice, be merciful and humble, and help others. He wants us not just to obey him, but to serve in ways that go beyond specific commands. We are to worship wherever we go, doing all things to God’s glory, praying always, giving thanks always, never ceasing to be a temple of the Holy Spirit.

There are also actions that are more specifically times of worship. We might call these private devotions, or spiritual disciplines. These are habits and actions of worship we do individually, as opposed to worship when we gather as a church.

Worship is not restricted to a specific place and time. The best thing that has ever happened to us is that we have God in our lives. The best thing that’s happened to us this week is that we have God in our lives. We have reason to celebrate all the time. When we live each day praising God in our hearts, it is natural that we praise God when we gather together, when we speak to one another about the best thing that’s ever happened to us. We worship all the time, but we also worship together at specific times at meetings designated for that specific purpose.

What should be involved in our worship services?

1. Our first act of worship is gathering together. Simply by gathering, we are showing that God has worth. Where two or three are gathered in his name, he will be present in a special way. When we gather, we gather in the presence of God. As the Old Testament says, we appear before the Lord. It’s like an ancient throne room, and we are invited to be with him.

In our worship services, we want God to be present. We specifically ask him to be present. He promises to be present. And if we are sincere about this, we should expect him to be present. And when we sing in God’s presence, we are singing to him. It’s not just a song about God — it is a song to God. These are words spoken to him. Like many of the psalms, the hymns we sing are often prayers set to music. He is the audience; we are the participants.

2. Like the psalms, our music comes in a wide variety. Some songs express positive emotions, such as adoration, praise, thanksgiving, confidence, faith, joy or excitement. We should always be happy that God is in our life. Even when we have trials, we are to rejoice. The psalms tell us to come before him and rejoice, to praise the Lord, to sing a new song unto the Lord. Praise him in the heights. Praise him, praise him, praise him. Our joy in him should spill over into praises. Our worship should be dominated by praise.

But joy is not the only legitimate emotion we can have with God. The psalms also have prayers of confession and supplication. Some of our hymns are more meditative than celebrative. Some ask questions, some express sorrow, or anguish or fear. All of these are legitimate emotions we can sing about.

3. Our worship services usually contain several prayers, too. They include praise, usually a request, sometimes a confession. When someone near the beginning of services asks God to be in the service, to inspire the service, this is something we all want. We join in the prayer not as an audience, but as participants. When we say "amen," we are saying, That’s my prayer, too. I want God to be here, too.

When we express our dependence on God, when we give all our requests to him, it shows his worth. When we want to be in his presence, it shows that he is good. When we confess our sins to him, it shows his greatness. When we give him thanks and praise, it exalts him and glorifies him. We worship when we participate in the prayers.

4. A fourth major part of our worship service is the sermon. The sermon is a communication of God’s word to us. It explains to us what God’s will is for our life. We expect God to speak to us through his Word, by inspiring the speaker, and we listen for what God is telling us. God’s truth affects our lives and our hearts. It affects real life, and it demands a heart-felt response. The sermon should therefore appeal to our mind and to our emotions.

In the sermon, we are not just an audience — we should also be participants. We should actively think about the Scriptures, think about the sermon, think about what it means in our lives. This isn’t just information about God — it is information about how God wants to change our lives. Part of our worship, part of our respectful response to God, is listening for what he wants to teach us and how he wants to change us.

We have to listen with the expectation that the sermon contains something God wants to tell us. It may be different for you than it is for me. The point is that we have to participate in the listening. Just as we participate in the music, and we participate in the prayers, we are all supposed to participate in the sermon, too.

5. As we listen, we should also be ready to respond to the message. The response can come in many different forms, depending on the message we have heard. One way to respond is to do what God is telling us to do. Some people are doing this by serving in various capacities within the church. Others respond with service outside of the church, and some may respond by telling others how good and great God is — worshiping him by doing the priestly duty of sharing the good news of salvation — and hopefully all these responses will be common.

Sometimes the proper response is more in emotion than it is in action. The most important response is that of faith – a willingness to believe what God has said. The response may include thankfulness, sometimes expressed as an offering during the worship service. Sometimes the appropriate response is simply joy. Sometimes it is repentance, a change in behavior or a change in attitude toward other people.

Sometimes silence is the best response. Sometimes we are simply dumbfounded at God’s greatness, or his mercy, and we just don’t have the words to say anything intelligent. So we cover our mouths and sit in awe of God. We are speechless at how utterly different God is from us, how holy, how righteous, how perfect, how powerful, how completely beyond limitations of time and space he is. And we are awe-struck that he has been so humble as to care about persons such as ourselves. Overwhelming awe is one of many possible responses to God, depending on how he reveals himself to us.

No matter what, we should expect God to affect both our emotions and our minds. Our relationship with him involves all our heart, mind, soul and strength. God wants all of us, not just part of us, as we worship him.

The real test of worship is not what happens at church, but what happens at home, and on the job, and wherever we go. Is God important enough to make a difference in the way we live, in the way we work, in the way we get along with other people? When the Holy Spirit lives in us, when we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, worship is a part of everyday life.
So remember these 3 questions regarding worship practise:

• Does it glorify God? That is one major purpose of worship.
• Does it build up the body of Christ? That is another major purpose.
• And third, does it help us be what God wants us to be in the world? Does it have practical results in our lives?

The Role of Music in the Bible

By Angela Bhandal

This is a topic dear to my heart. I love music. I love hearing instruments played. I love hearing people sing. I love to sing also. Look around you. Where ever you go music can be heard. In people’s cars, in shopping malls, in public toilets, in airports, at church, at sports events, on TV, on peoples phones, ipods, at your workplace, even as I sit here typing this I can hear cicadas chirping loudly outside. Maybe you whistle or hum without even realising it. So music is all around us. I am often amazed at how many songs have been written all over the world. There are only so many notes you can play but different songs keep being churned out every day of every week. Unbelievable. It’s like music is eternal. It just keeps going on and on.

If you analyse worldly music the theme that’s pretty popular to sing about is LOVE. Love that pampers the flesh and feels good in the moment. On the video clips are attractive and beautiful people which creates an ideal that love is only for those who fit a certain criteria. Outside of that I’m sorry, you don’t qualify for love. Praise God that we are children of God and have an unconditional love regardless of our looks, hair colour, skin colour, physic, dollars we earn, how much bling we wear etc… And tonight I want to focus our attention on music that is found in the Bible. So let us begin.

There are so many verses in the Bible that refer to music. Until I did my own study I really had no idea of how powerful music is in the Bible. Tonight’s study is really a small overview.

The bible first mentions musical instruments in Genesis. In the beginning was a man called Jubal. Genesis 4:20 says, “Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.” That is pretty impressive considering they did not have the technology or machinery we have in the 21 century. They would have made their instruments from scratch. And if instruments didn’t exist before, how did they know to even make them or how they would sound. God was really with these people and guiding them. God gave them insight, intelligence, skills and material needed to make the first instruments.

David soothed Saul with his harp. God allowed Saul to have an evil spirit torment him. Whenever David took his instrument and made music, Saul’s soul would be soothed. I remember when I was a new graduate nurse in Ward 25 (cancer ward), I used to take my Hillsong music book into the ward. At the end of my shift, I would go and play the piano which was at the far end of the ward. Within a couple of minutes, the lounge where the piano was would start filling with patients and visiting family members. They had come to watch me play. It was a very humbling experience. They were attracted to the music that was coming from the piano. Some of the sicker patients would often comment on how much they enjoyed listening to the music and how soothing it was.

There is something about music that touches us deep inside. Music is something we can’t even see or physically touch. Our ears can hear it but it’s not something tangible. This is something that God created and is of great importance to Him as we will discover in this study.

There were people in the Bible who God dedicated solely to music. They were the Levites.1 Chronicles 9:33
Music in the Bible is found in every circumstance - in Psalms of lamentation or joy, it is used to comfort the deepest sorrows or to express the highest peaks of joy and victory. Music was there when Jesus was born and music is also in Heaven as we speak now. Music fills the courts of heaven as heavenly beings praise our Lord and Creator. When God created the world, the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy (Job 38:7). God created man in His own image, to be an instrument of praise. He gave humans the ability to sing and to make music with musical instruments to complement the voice.

Songs and poetry were also means to improve the memory, to help remember significant events or warnings. When they sang to God they really sang with all their might and with the particular instruments they had it must have been very loud -
2 Samuel 6:5 “David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums (a small u-shaped frame with a handle attached at the bottom of the curve. Pieces of metal or other small objects were strung on small bars stretched from one side of the sistrum to the other) and cymbals.

David sang to God a song that was in relation to God saving him from the hand of his enemies. It’s rather long so if you want to read it it’s found in 2 Samuel 22:1-51

Have we ever rejoiced so greatly that the ground shook? When Zadok the priest anointed Solomon the people went up after him playing flutes and rejoicing greatly so that the ground shook with the sound (1 Kings 1:39-43) Wow - imagine making the ground shake - that’s powerful singing!

Solomon’s songs numbered 1005! (1Kings 4:32)

Did you know there was a four thousand member choir in the Bible - 1 Chr 23:4 David said “…four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.” Wow - that’s a lot of voices singing together. How beautiful that must have sounded. When I am feeling a bit low spiritually, what helps me also is turning on a Christian CD that I really like praising God too. When the music and singing hits my ears, it’s like the breath of the Holy Spirit floods my soul and I immediately have that feeling of being in the presence of God Almighty. My soul feels encouraged to start speaking to Jesus or to start worshipping Him. I love worshipping God with music.

There is something very powerful in praising God with song and music. When we praise God we are giving Him the adoration that He deserves. Nothing else matters when we are consumed with worshipping Him in song. We are acknowledging his worthiness. In 2 Chr 5:13 it says “The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.” Do we want God’s glory to be in our lives? Then worship Him. Acknowledge His worth ship in song and praise and in dancing and in raising of your voice and hands. Make a fool of yourself before Him and He will accept the fruit of your praise. (By fool I mean don’t care about who is next to you, don’t worry if you can’t sing in tune, just belt out those songs with a heart bursting with joy and express all that you can to God Almighty in song with your voice and body!)

If you are still not convinced that God wants us to praise Him, then look no further than the book of Psalms. The word Psalm means Songs! The entire book is primarily composed of songs and poems, songs of praise, of lament, of mourning, or thanksgiving. “Praise be to the Lord, O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever, sing joyfully to the Lord, yet I will praise Him, my Saviour and God, Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise…do these sound familiar? They are all in Psalms and of which I’m sure we have read many times! Do we really get what God is telling us to do? And that’s to praise Him, to tell Him of His awesome wonders, deeds and powers. It feels good to be acknowledged for things we have done on this earth; God is no different - He desires to be acknowledged also by those that love Him. Praise Him with the trumpet, harp, lyre, tambourine, dancing, strings, flute, cymbals… let everything that has breath praise the Lord! (Ps 150)

The rock stars of this world that play really great music, make loads of money and have a fabulous life think that they are untouchable, invincible and like being worshipped and adored by millions of fans worldwide. Unfortunately for them, their glory will be short-lived and only for this present earth because in Isaiah 5, God has some harsh things to say to these people.

Isaiah 5:11-12 says “Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.” Vs 14 “therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened it mouth without measure…”

In other words, Hell will be full of people who did their own thing, who had a great life drinking, eating, having a merry party-of-a-time with no regard for their Creator.

Death cannot praise you. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living - they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness. The LORD will save me and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord. Isaiah 38:18-20

There are so many stories in the Bible where singing/instruments were used in a powerful way -
Deborah and Barak (Judges 5)
King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20)
Disciples sang a hymn after the Passover meal
The loving father celebrates the return of his wayward son
Paul and Silas sang hymns in jail and their chains came loose
At the sound of the trumpet the dead will be raised imperishable (1 Corinthians 15)
Only the 144,000 could learn to sing this song (Rev 14)
The great multitude sings the song of Moses (Rev 15)
The four living creatures and the elders worshipped God in heaven

WORSHIP (ADORATION)

Message given by Odon On 2 July 2000 (summarised and edited by Benedicte Bahjejian)


To worship is to love deeply, it is to honour something divine with fear. The worship we are talking about is respect or honour given to God. As we know from the Bible, only God is to be worshipped. Some people tried to worship other gods or even people but God was against it.


1) To worship is to receive God’s message from the heart

When we give God’s message, we can convince sinners and they can come to worship God the same way that we give the message. So worshipping is not something that you learn, it is not something you become accustomed to. It is when the message of God is given to someone and this message comes in the person and the person feels, yes I must worship.

1 Cor 14:24,25 You will never hear this in any churches because most churches don’t want to worship and they don’t know what to say to their assemblies about how to worship, but because some among you have the gift to know what is to come, I want to tell you that you will give messages from God. A message you receive can be for someone who doesn’t believe, however, never tell this message to anyone else, but only to the person himself. If the person doesn’t change you can take one more person with you and go and see this person together and for the third time you go and take two witnesses with you and if for the fourth time he/she still refuses to change, just go. The way God chooses to attract sinners to Him, is by giving you who are here the message and you will go and see the person and this person will be convinced because all his/her sins will be exposed and you will tell this person who he/she is and automatically this person will worship God.

2) Here are 7 Greek words translated as ‘worship’, so 7 ways of worshipping God

1. Proskuneo: To kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication. Used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank to the Jewish high priests, to God, to Christ, to heavenly beings or to demons.

Mat 2: 11 the 3 wise men worshipped baby Jesus who was in the manger.
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down , and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Rev 4:10 The 24 elders fall down and worship God who is on his throne

Jn 4:20 The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say , that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”

Some people who worship the sun or the moon kiss their hand and lift up to the sun or the moon and for other people especially European people, if you want to worship someone you kiss their hand. People worship but they don’t know what they worship; only God is to be worshipped.

Exodus 20:3 our God is a jealous God, when you worship something that He doesn’t like He is jealous. Many women who are not worshipped by their husbands become wicked and they fight with their husbands, the choice is clear, between God and your husband who is first? Between you parents and God, who is first? God said He is jealous and we must worship Him so watch out with the kisses we give sometimes. To kiss someone is not wrong but to kiss someone’s hand is something different.

So ‘Proskuneo’ can be a good worship if it is toward God or Christ, but not if it done for other spiritual beings, gods, or people.

2. Sebomai: this means to revere, to worship with fear or out of fear.

Mark 7:7 “But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”

Acts 16:14 “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened , that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”

Acts 18:7 “And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.”

If we don’t know what or who we worship, we do it is in vain, this is following human ways. For instance a catholic Dad tells his kids to go with him to a catholic church, if they don’t go he will punish them. Yet, the dad doesn’t tell his children they are going to do at church, he is only concerned with the fact that his children must be there because the priest can see them, if his children are not there he fears that the priest will ask him where they are. So this dad goes to church and worships God because he is forced to do it, because he is afraid of being condemned by the priest. As for us it is the same way, sometimes in our church some people will say, where were you last Sunday? You haven’t been to church for two weeks, you must come to church. “Do I have to go to church just to please you?” Or do I go to church to please my God? Those who fear will listen to the pastor. To worship because we fear someone in our world today and most churches have a list of people. Your name is written in a book therefore you belong to that church, for example. When your name is written in that book you must also know if your name is recorded in heaven. Because of this type of worship we can not go into other prayer groups, because we are afraid that our pastor will ask us what we are doing and where we are going

So sebomai is NOT the right way to worship God.

3. Sebazomai: 1)To fear, be afraid. 2)To honour religiously, to worship according to the doctrines of men.

Rom 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator , who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

Churches in today’s world have inner rules which are far from the Bible. You see that elders in the church get together, each one bringing his own knowledge and understanding and they will write down some to lead the church. For example, if a pastor drinks, to protect his reputation, he will make a rule in the church saying that people can drink but not become drunk.

But those are your rules but what does the Bible say? Many Christians don’t remember that they have the Bible, they forget that this Bible is there to teach them. Jesus said that in the end times people will have their eyes covered they will have eyes but they won’t see, they will have ears but they won’t listen and when they will be told the truth they will refuse and reject it. When you show them the truth they will say, I don’t see things like that. This is God’s Word and it must be fulfulled so this type of worship (sebazomai) must happen. Some Christians go to church everyday and they comply with the churches rule and they forget that the one who created them also has rules. Romans 1:25 & Isaiah 29:13 the Word of God is modified and changed completely.

Isaiah 29:13, Most people worship God with their lips but deep inside they don’t know what they are doing. We must be very careful. When we worship does it touch our hearts, does it come from our hearts or do we worship because others worship? That’s what we must ask God as His servants, because God is preparing you for His service. If you find that there is something wrong with you or sometimes you do things because others do it, take note and ask God to give you what you need. This type of worship that I am talking about is to prepare you in what you are going to do in this world within a few hours. If you think you worship but it does not come from your heart ask God to put something in your heart and ask God to touch your heart so that you can love Him deeply and everything that you say will come from your heart. To avoid hypocrisy as we learned above, ask God to teach you how to worship Him so that you won’t do what is written in Isaiah 29:13.

So, sebazomai is NOT either the right way of worshipping God.


4. Latreuo - it means to serve and worship God according to His will.

To serve for hire, to serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen. In the NT, to render religious service or homage, to worship to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his worship of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office.

Mat 4:10 “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence , Satan: for it is written , Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”

Lk 2:37 “And she (Anna, a prophetess) was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”

Lk 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written , Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve .”

This type of worship is what it is to worship in spirit and truth. Philippians 3:3 we know the true circumcision, we belong to God and we serve by God’s spirit, we don’t serve by our natural feelings, we don’t serve because of human rules but we serve by God’s Spirit and we are proud to know who Jesus is, we have put our trust in Jesus and not in human rules.

Today many of God’s servants want to become more and more spiritual and want to discover gifts that are necessary for the church of God but God doesn’t allow them. But as for you, because God loved you, God has given you gifts and they are here and I think that you are starting to discover some of them and even to practice them. God has a plan for your lives and you will do great things for God’s glory, you already know them. Many people are looking for what God wants for their life but they can not find what it is. So you can be proud of your God and the Spirit that is in you so walk according to that Spirit and God will come and do great things among you. Also, because you will be different in this world and walk far away from human rules and people will find that you are a bit crazy and the things that you will say, you will have people against you, this is because they do not worship in spirit and truth, this will be the only reason. However, you will know how to worship in spirit and in truth and people will follow you because so far their trust is in human rules.

Latreuo IS the right way of worshipping God.

5. Eusebeo – to act piously or reverently towards God, one's country, magistrates, relations, and all to whom dutiful regard or reverence is due.

Acts 2:23 “For as I passed by , and beheld your devotions , I found an altar with this inscription , TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship , him declare I unto you.”

1 Tim 5:4 “But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home , and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.”


this is those Christians who are very serious when worshipping but they don’t know what they are worshipping, they have been brought up that way.

They are what you call extremists. Their is something wrong in their belief. Acts 17:23, this message what I am going to say was given to me 4 years ago by God and this message was one that concerns NZ. If I want to talk about worshipping it is because of this scripture in Acts. Most Christians here in NZ worship an unknown God they worship but they don’t know exactly what they worship and how can you worship without knowing who you are worshipping, this message is for you. You are the ones who are going to teach these people what God they are worshipping and where is the God that they worship and where is the place to worship God. It is hard, it is true that it is not easy but you must do it. People who worship seriously also worship wrongly, you must convince them to give up this type of worship and worship the true God, however it is not easy, you must pray a lot so that you can change the lives of these people, so that you can help them to come back to God’s plan. God’s loves NZ and the people of this country He really loves them a lot but these people don’t believe, they are proud and they want to be independent, they don’t want God’s will.

So, eusebeo is NOT the right way of worshipping God.

6. Sebasma - it is a bit different and it is what is practiced in most churches.
Whatever is religiously honoured, an object of worship of temples, altars, statues, idolatrous images.

Acts 2:23 “For as I passed by , and beheld your devotions , I found an altar with this inscription , TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship , him declare I unto you.”

2 Thess 2:4 “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”

As it is written in Revelation 2 and 3 this type of worship is like, if I worship a god I want everybody to worship the same god as me and the spirit has not started yet. As Ecclesiates 1:9 says, there is nothing new under the sun, this spirit also existed long ago, same as this worship it also existed long ago. In Daniels time the King wanted everybody to worship the same god and if anybody worshipped another god it would be a problem for them.

This type of worship is the worst type of worship because the people who are this way are in dictatorship and they dictate to everybody what to do, they are also very jealous, if you worship your god which is against his god he doesn’t think that you are doing something different no, he will sue you until you bow down and worship the same god as him. The people who worship this way don’t fear God, they fear the law a little bit but not God. It would be better to be an animal if you don’t fear God because if you don’t fear God you are ready to do anything and also with Satan. The one who doesn’t fear God has no wisdom, the Bible says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. So because you will never have spiritual wisdom you will act like an animal.
…The reason why I am telling you this is because when I read in 2 Thess 2:4 it says in the last days, satan will come and take the first place in the churches and lead them. The church will carry on worshipping the god that they don’t know. Who will have this church if it’s not us? If we have no mercy for this church, who will? If we don’t forgive those people, who will forgive them?

Everyone, put on your shoes, your belt and take your stick and go. Our goal is not to save all the pagans because there are a lot of Christians in NZ and we must show them the way that they must follow, show them how to worship in spirit and in truth. With the gifts that God has given us certain people will accept and others will refuse but on the judgement day the truth will be there.

Sebasma is NOT either the way God wants to be worshipped.

7. Ethelothreskeia - voluntary, arbitrary worship: worship which one prescribes and devises for himself, contrary to the contents and nature of faith which ought to be directed to Christ. Said of the misdirected zeal and the practice of ascetics.

Col 2:23 “Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.”

Col 2:23 & 3:2 this is the last type of worship. We must seek the things that are above and not the things which are on the earth.

And ethelothreskeia is NOT the right way either to worship God.

Conclusion

There are 7 Greek words the Bible translates as ‘worship’ and among them only one (and perhaps the first one also) is the way God wants to be worshipped; it is latreuo, to worship from the heart, with out hypocrisy or without being double minded. It is when we receive the message of God and it really touches our heart and we feel we want to worship God.

Also, in worship you give thanks to the Lord, Psalm 103. Worship is to talk about God’s greatness, Exodus 15:11, Psalm 34:4. Why do we worship? Eph 1:12 - there are many reasons that turn around this verse as to why we worship. The first 5 commandments are there for our relationship with God and this relationship is about worship, the first 5 are about worshipping giving glory to God and the last 5 are about our relationship with others.

We worship because that is what God asks us to do, Exodus 20:3. Who must worship? The birds sing and praise God in the morning. One day I heard a palm tree worshipping, so the trees worship too. Men (people) worship too and someone told me one day that he saw a hen worshipping in her house. Everything that has breath must worship. Everything that has breath must give glory to God. When do we worship? Psalm 34: 1-2, We must give glory to God at any time and worship Him at any time. Always be ready to worship at any moment. 1 Thess 5:16-18, We must thank God for everything, to thank God is also part of worship. Most Christians use God’s names when they worship Him to show Him how great He is. When we pray we should try to use God’s names.