Power of Worship - Pastor Frani

Stronger Through Worship, 8/6/2017 12:00:00 AM

Power of Worship

Scripture: Psalm 40:3; John 12:32

This Psalm begins with a rescue from physical, psychological and spiritual pit. While David was in the pit he patiently waited for the Lord. Watching like the way a watchman keenly watches for the light. Being pulled out of the slimy pit describes the rescue of someone who is totally helpless. The Lord is giving the Psalmist a firm footing compared to a slimy pit.

After the Lord delivered from the slimy pit, David says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him” psalm 40:3

Worship is a celebration to be experienced and shared. When we worship God, we experience the spectacular hand of God and we stand in awe of His presence. And this experience cannot be kept as a secret but we will share it all around us. We see many worshippers in the Bible after they encountered God in their lives they worshipped.

  1. Ex Song of Moses and Miriam. Miriam took her tambourine and began to sing unto the Lord along with the congregation, Ex 15:20-21;

  2. Hannah after she encountered the Lord in the Temple sang a beautiful song in 1 Sam 2;

  3. Song of Moses and Joshua. Duet 31:19-22; Covenant song of God’s faithfulness.

  4. Song of Deborah and Barak. Jug 5

  5. Many songs of David.

There are many songs in the Bible. In fact, the entire book of Psalms is a song book. Songs have been an integral part of worship. Here today we are meditating another song of David, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him” psalm 40:3

TWO ELEMENTS OF WORSHIP:

1. Vertical dimension: Celebration.

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Ps 40:3

In this Psalm 40, David experienced a mighty deliverance. We don’t know the exact background of the Psalm but he uses a metaphor, he lifted me up from a slimy pit (ditch, miry clay) and he set my foot on a solid rock!

              - Instability to stability

             - Uncertainty to certainty

             - Hopelessness to endless hope

            -  Insecurity to security

            - Danger to security

That was the experience of David with God. David’s life was not an easy life. He encountered many challenges, running when he was young and running when he was old. He was surrounded by enemies on every side. Outside Israel and within the family. There was no safe place for him. The very army that he trained wanted to stone and kill Him at Ziklag in 1 Sam 30. Then a beautiful verse says like this in vs. 6, David found his strength in the Lord His God.

  • David experienced the hand of the Lord upon his life. And every time he cried out to the Lord, the Lord heard him and rescued him and that point of time David did not keep quiet, he was exuberant in praising God.
  • Here David says, he put a new song in my mouth. Every deliverance brought a new song in his mouth. There was a newness and freshness in his worship.
  • What was that song? Hymn of praise to God.
  • Praise: grateful for what God has done, for all he has said and done.
  • We should learn to think and thank the Lord and burst out in celebration every time we worship the Lord.
  • Many of us have our own Jericho walls, red seas, sicknesses etc. which we have overcome and still need to overcome.
  • David knew the source of his good fortune was the Lord himself.
  • And nothing could stop him from worship.

2. Horizontal dimension: Proclamation

Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him” Psalm 40:3

  • Many will see (know God’s presence), and fear the Lord (revere/ awe of God) and put their trust in the Lord. (security)
  • Many people were watching David intently. As David sang a new song and praised God, the people were aware of the hand of God upon David. They began to revere the God of David.
  • They wished their life would be like that of David.
  • They desired the security that David enjoyed with His God.
  • They knew very clearly whatever David was today, is by the grace of God. God lifted him up from being a shepherd boy to be the king of Israel. God gave many victories in his life.
  • David was never ashamed to acknowledge God in public.
  • Though his very wife despised him of doing so.
  • He said I’ll become even more undignified than this.
  • When we begin to sing and declare the faithfulness of God, many are watching as we proclaim his faithfulness.
  • Psalm 40:9, 10 (Read)
  • Worship is witness to the faithfulness of God.
  • Worship includes Witness!

TWO RESULTS OF WORSHIP:

Two things happen when we worship God. Throughout the Bible worship and witness are related.

1. People who are spiritually lost are drawn to Christ through Worship.

Worship is like a magnet that draws people to Christ.

  • 1 Cor 14:24-25, 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So, they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
  • When we worship God, God comes in our midst. God inhabits the praises of His people. Ps 22:3
  • When God’s presence is in our midst, there an unbeliever walks in and he senses that God is really among you, the Bible says, there will be a conviction of sin, righteousness and the forth coming judgement of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in authentic worship.
  • Jesus said, in John 12:32, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.
  • This is talking about the resurrection and also lifting up Jesus higher through our praises.
  • When we genuinely encounter God in our lives, our lives will be transformed and the lost people will be drawn to the presence of God.
  • The unbeliever will want what the believer has.
  • William Booth said, “if the Church is on fire for God, people for miles would come and watch it burn.”
  • Most of the people are won to Christ by experiencing the presence of God than by apologetic argument. Few people are converted on intellectual grounds. Ex. Uncle Krishnan
  • Think of the Revivals in the history, the meetings began with singing, testimony and preaching of the word. People are drawn to exuberance of worship, authenticity of people and the power of the preacher.
  • Time and again people would come to the altar and give their lives to Jesus Christ.
  • A changed life is a greatest witness for Christ.
  • The contrast is also true, when people see the boredom in your faces, yawn, disinterest surely, they will be repelled from the presence of God.
  • Children like the unbelievers are also watching you closely and your attitude towards God from the time you enter the Church.
  • Do you come prepared to worship God? Do your children see the hunger for God in worship?

2. People who are saved will go out and share Christ after worship.

We see in the Bible that when people encountered God in worship they set out to share Christ.

Isaiah 6:1-8 (Read)

  • Isaiah had an upward vision(worship), which lead him to the inward conviction of who he was and then he got the outward vision (witness), he said, here I am Send me.
  • Isaiah saw, he heard and he responded to the call of God upon his life.
  • If he would not have entered worship he would have missed the call of God upon His life.
  • Acts 2:1-41; on the day of Pentecost, 120 people gathered in the upper room and were worshipping God, (2:11) they were declaring the wonders of God in their own tongues, the people on the outside were awestruck and the people who were worship were burdened to share the good news with the people who didn’t know God.
  • Peter stood up with the eleven and witnessed to the 3000 people on the outside boldly what God had done in their lives.
  • Result was all those people accepted the message.
  • People saw, people heard and put their trust in Jesus Christ.
  • In the early Christians, evangelism sprang out of their worship. It was not a planned event which was organized but as they began to genuinely worship God, they were burdened to share the love of Jesus with others.
  • If you meet God → Worship→ truly worship → you will witness
  • Whole hearted worshippers → called the whole world → whole hearted worship

CHALLENGES FOR THE WORSHIPPER

1. Come to Celebrate the presence of God

  • Lay aside all your anxieties, fears, troubles and cares and celebrate God’s gift of his grace and mercy.
  • Experience the power of God, to lift you up from the slimy pit to a solid rock.
  • Sing unto the Lord a new song, a hymn of praise to our God.

2. Tell others about your experience

  • True worshippers just don’t enjoy the presence of God themselves but they set out to tell others and invite them to experience the presence of God.
  • When joys are shared they are multiplied.

Conclusion:

God wants us to be both a worshipper and a witness.

Gerrit Gustafson said, “worship is a goal of evangelism and Evangelism is a fruit of worship”

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him” psalm 40:3

May the Lord raise up worshippers and witnesses in our midst.