February 24, 2009
John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This is actually going to be part one of a four part article on true Worship. This part will look at what worship is followed by Why we worship, Where we do it, and finally How we worship.
It is important to understand what worship is. Most basic definitions tell you that it is to pay homage or honor and praise to the one who deserves it. This fits our understanding of worship because God is Holy therefore he is deserving of Worship (Psalm 96:9). Worship actually comes from the root word Worthy and is a derivative of the old English word Worthy-ship. When we worship God we are proclaiming that He is worthy of our praise.
So first and foremost worship is an outward expression. If you were to stand before a king you would bow and proclaim something to the extent of “Your Majesty.” How much more should we be that way with God? In the Old Testament Worship meant to bow down or lay prostrate. In the New Testament it meant service or work. Outward expression happens in todays church in three ways: With our mouth, our hands, and in the midst of people.
1. With Our Mouth. The word praise in the Greek is Halal. It means to make a loud noise. Our should be verbal. Does this mean that we can’t be quiet when we worship? No, but predominantly we need to be voicing with our mouth how Great God is. It should be done with a joy in our heart which should then make its way to our mouth to be proclaimed.
2. With our Hands. In the Old Testament the words Praise and Thanks can often be interchanged because they mean to stretch out one’s hand in worship. The second part of worship should be with our whole body. It is easy to worship with our heart because no one sees but when we do it with our whole being it shows surrender to God and witnesses to those who are watching. If we truly want to worship Him it must be evident to those around us.
3. In the Midst of People. Worship was never meant to be a individual thing. We can worship on our own and should. Our public worship should be a picture of our private worship. We are called to worship in the midst of the congregation (Psalm 111:1). Our worship of God is to be on public display. This is how we show our devotion to Him. Romans 10:14 says How shall they hear without a preacher? Preacher is just another word for proclaimer. We proclaim that Jesus is our God when we worship him
Let us come boldly before the throne of God and proclaim how great He is. Let us do it with our mouths, our hands, and in the midst of others.
February 17, 2009
This is the second part of an article I wrote called Overcoming the Enemy. You can read the first part here and listen to the actual message here and here.
Overcoming The Enemy
1 Peter 5:8-10 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
We see in 1 Peter 5 that there is an enemy who is on the prowl for us. That enemy is Satan. While many down play his existence and or his power Peter obviously doesn’t. Satan’s power and capabilities that we ignore to our won demise. Fortunately Peter gives us several ways to help us overcome our enemy. Let’s start by getting an idea who our enemy is.
Ezekiel 28 gives us the best picture of who the Satan is. First we are told that he was the seal of perfection (vs. 12) which means that he was an example to the other angels. Second we are told that he was a high ranking angel (vs. 13) and oversaw worship in Heaven (vs. 13). He was in God’s presence as one of His cherubs protecting Him (vs. 14). Satan was perfect until pride got a hold of him and made him desire to be worshipped like God. This caused God to throw him out of heaven along with one third of the angels who took his side. Satan now desires to take down as many of us as possible. He hates when we worship God because he knows the power of worship. He also prowls around looking to trip us up by temptation, doubt, and discouragement. Peter understand Satan’s tactics and gives us five ways to overcome the enemy.
1. Be Watchful: The first way to overcome the enemy is to be watchful. Peter tells us in verse 8 to be sober and vigilant. If we know that an enemy is going to attack us then we will be looking out for it. Don’t be blindsided! Look back at how you have stumbled before and notice the patterns and places he attacks you. Do you fall into lust? Stay away from those areas where it could happen. Be proactive and look out for it. Be vigilant about it by disciplining ourselves in prayer and study of God’s word. This will train our eyes for what to see.
2. Resist Him: When the attacks come fight back. Don’t give into temptation but fight it. Scripture tells us God gives us everything necessary to fight temptation. Defend yourselves. Look to the promises of God’s word. Take a stand and refuse to be moved. Understand that God is behind you. The fight might take time so see it through and don’t give in when you feel weak.
3. Look to Others: We must realize that we aren’t alone. The rest of the church goes through these attacks and we need to stand together. When someone goes down we need to come to their rescue and pick them up. When we feel like we are getting week we need to call on others in the church to lean on.
4. Trust in God: Vs. 10 says that after we have suffered awhile God will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. As we are being attacked realize that it is part of God’s plan to make us stronger. Who doesn’t want to be perfected or established? Well this comes from us withstanding the enemy. After it is all done we will be strengthened because of it and there will be this settling peace that comes over us because we realize God was with us in the midst of it all. Trust Him for your strength and He will pull you through. Things look bleak? Put your hope in Him because He never fails.
5. Worship Him: Vs. 11 says “To Him be the Glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. We need to fight fire with fire. If we want to overcome the enemy we must use tactics that work and that is Worship. It was because of Worship that Satan got kicked out of heaven in the first place. If we put our worship where it is intended we will connect ourselves to the power of God. Where we direct our heart is where we will go.
Let’s be aware that there is an enemy who is trying to take us down so be on the look out, resist him when he attacks, trust in God and direct your worship towards him.
February 10, 2009
1 Peter 5:5-7 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
On Sunday we discussed three things that make us our own worst enemy. We looked at how Rebellion, Pride, and the Cares of this World can crowd out the presence of God. In this article I want to give you three tolls to fight back against these attitudes.
The first tool we need to equip ourselves with is submission. Lack of submission is a sign of disobedience in a person. There are several reasons for it but basically it comes down to unwillingness to submit to those over us. Peter tells us to submit to those in authority and those around us. This may mean us getting over feelings of fear and distrust that have been inside for a long time but once we place ourselves underneath we will start to see God’s plan working in our life.
The second tool we need to be equipped with is humility. Peter tells us to clothe ourselves with humility because God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Pride is often the root of all evil in our lives. Whether we think we are better that others or insecurity has gripped us we need to humble ourselves and repent of those feelings and actions. Humility is that understanding and attitude that we aren’t better than anyone else and that God’s blessings in our lives isn’t because we did anything to deserve it.
The last tool we need to have is trust. Peter tells us to cast all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us. Trust is that attitude that recognizes that God can provide and protect us much better than we can. God wants us to heave all of our worries, wants, and dreams upon him. Psalm 37 says His desire is to grant us the desires of our hearts. This can only happen when we have placed our trust in Him. We are God’s greatest possession. There is nothing He cares for more in the world than you and I. So go ahead give it to him and let him take care of you.
We can be our own worst enemy when we allow rebellion, pride, and possessions take hold of our life but we can battle those attitudes with Submission, Humility, and Trust.
Pastor Chuck
February 3, 2009
1 Peter 5:2-3 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
While this directive by Peter is meant towards Elders in the church the principles can be applied to anywhere you are called to lead. In the home I have seen this the most. My five year old Caleb is all into being as much like me as possible. He wants his hair cut like mine, he wants to dress like me, and do the things that I do. It is very flattering but it can have it’s down side. On Sunday when he was getting ready for church (dressing like me) he put all of his clothes on an then looked at my wife, Jennifer, and said “Oh no!, Where’s my phone?” It seems he thinks that my phone is part of my wardrobe.
It also showed me how closely he was watching. Is my example that my phone is so important to me that he thinks it is part of me? It is amazing the things that out children pick up from us but it is a good lesson on how closely people are watching who we lead. We must set an example. We set that example by being hard working, honest, and a role model in how to act. In contrast we are not to be lazy, greedy, dishonest, or controlling. The example we set will have ramifications for a long time. We all have been in situations where we worked for a difficult boss. It destroys morale and promotes dishonesty.
As Christians we are called to be examples in our walk with Christ. Do people know that you are a Christian? If so they are watching you. What are they seeing? Are they seeing compromise and complacency or are they witnessing love, truth, and grace. When we are a Godly example we experience backlash for what we believe but in the end it all work out. When we stand before Christ our actions will be rewarded. Be a good example.
Pastor Chuck
