Classroom: Worship 02-08-07
Worship 02-08-07
Gabby (guest speaker from Lebanon Day 4 of 5)
To know about worship is different than being the worshiper. Being the worshiper is something we need to work on. John 4:23 says the Word is seeking for new worshipers. God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of relationships – of lovers.
We are created with a desire to worship. God created us with a desire to worship him.
Each human has a desire inside to worship. And if we don’t worship God, we will worship something else. And if we don’t worship God, we’ll worship drugs, sex, money—or something else. Peoples that have had no contact with the outside world/civilization, when they are found, always are worshipping something – a rock, the sun, something. If we don’t worship something we’re going to feel emptiness.
Ps 45:10-11 Worship
Ex 4:31
John 4:24
Act 18:7
Rom 12:1
Worship is the uppermost place for a relationship with God. Praise is the uppermost way of prayer. Worship is putting our relationship with God into practice. Worship is putting your intimate relationship and life into practice. Only God is worthy of worship.
Gen 22 – Abraham went to worship God. God asked him to come and worship him. He asked him to sacrifice his only son – and not just the only son, the promise of God. Not just the son, the future, the ministry – everything. So when God asked Abraham to go worship Him, the first act was obedience. If you’re not obedient, you can’t worship. You’re not a worshiper. And you might say, “how can I know if I am obedient or not? How can I tell?” It’s easy. Are you obedient here on earth, to the people around you, to the authorities? I know people who enjoy disobedience. Obedience is a heart attitude. If you cannot obey people or authorities here on earth, how can you obey God? How can you be obedient without the heart and attitude of obedience? Obedience is a heart attitude, you know? If you don’t obey your leader on earth when you see, and your authority on earth that you see – how can you obey your Father in Heaven whom you don’t see?
I don’t want to be a disobeying person. I want to be obedient.
God will ask you to do things that are not logical. If you trust Him, things will work out in the end.
The second act of Abraham was giving. To be a right worshiper you need to be a giver, too. The Lord will not take from you without giving back. If you have a need, I have a challenge for you – go and give. If you need affection – go and give some affection to somebody. If you need money, go and give some money.
Another act of worship in the Bible – Matthew 2:11
Results of worshiping God
Better understanding of God
Satisfaction – fill your emptiness with God’s love through worship. One way to rid yourself of sin is to fill that space with worship to God.
Hear his voice – Luke 10:38-39
People think that if they serve the Lord by starting a new ministry they will grow closer to the Lord. They are wrong. Just worship Him, without any effort.
It starts at the feet of Jesus. Start with Worship. Because when you worship you hear the voice of Jesus. The problem is we don’t listen when we worship. So stop, listen to Him, take His instructions, and you will know Him. When you worship face to face – your encounter will change. When people see Jesus in you – they will come to you. Because they need Him. A worshiper is easy to find. It’s easy to know if you are a worshiper or not. You can see it in their face, their talking, their acting – their heart is open.
Worship:
1- Romans 12:1 present a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice means this – with all my will, I offer everything. This is to die to yourself, to say, “Lord I don’t want anything for me. I don’t want anything for me. You are number one. I am not number one. I don’t care if I have money, or family, or anything. All I care for is you.” This is the living sacrifice. When you sacrifice yourself willingly. When you put yourself on the altar, willingly.
2- Kneeling – we kneel in front of God.
3- Ps 99:5; 132:7; Revelation 19:10 – be yourself. If you want to bow, or kneel, or prostrate – go ahead.
4- “Selah” from the Psalms. What is “Selah” (See-La)? Silence from music. Pause. It’s a time to receive revelation and direction. To reflect. To meditate. It’s a time to see in the Spirit. We have to do this in our worship time. Selah is a very essential part of our worship. This is not a time for a solo singing act.
Mary/Martha Luke 10:38-42 notice that Martha was the one welcoming Jesus. Mary was silent, quiet, sitting at his feet. Martha was so excited about Jesus, serving Him – so busy – trying to please Him. But Martha was distracted with much serving. Although she was serving Jesus, she was still distracted. If you’re so busy serving – you will miss the most important thing, which is having Jesus in your life. Mary is doing the one thing that is necessary – which is listening to Jesus and having him in her life.
John 11:1 Lazarus dies – we see Martha first, the one who loves to show up. She stood up and ran to Jesus. Most of the people were in the house and started following her. When she showed up, the first thing she did was blame him, “if you were here, my brother would not be dead.” She did not understand Jesus because she was not close to him. When you are close to Jesus, you understand him and you don’t blame him – because you know him. You know him very well. Jesus sent a message to the one who waited, “the master is waiting for you.” He sent that message to Mary. She waited and listened. The first thing that Mary did when she saw Jesus was fall on his feet. She went to the place of worship where she meets Jesus at – where she knows how to contact and communicate with him. It was a place of peace, where she could understand him. A place of reverence – the feet of Jesus. And the Bible says that Mary told Jesus almost the same words as Martha – and when Jesus saw her sad, he cries too. He cries and weeps with her. Then Jesus says, “okay, open the cave.” And who is the first one to object? Did you notice the faith of Martha? The “servant” of God? Then when the miracle was happening, she was the first one to oppose it. “No, don’t do it. It’s against logic. It’s against our culture.” Listen, it’s not enough to serve the Lord, guys.
John 12:1 Here is Martha again. She did not learn her lesson. Even though Jesus told her in words, “Martha, be careful. Do not go too far. By doing this you will be opposing me, sometimes.” But she did not pay attention. She kept on with these things. And here is Mary again. She wanted to be close to Jesus. She knew she would be serving him sometimes – but when the Master is in the house, she knows it’s time to be with Him. She gets the expensive oil and pours it on him. She is saying, “this is my man. This is my lover.” As if this were a marriage. And where did she put this oil? On the feet of Jesus. She did not marry him physically, she knew her Lord and Savior. She is worshipping. And the first one to speak against this is Judas. Jesus tells him to leave her along. He is seeking for real worshipers.
John 13:23 John was leaning on Jesus.
John 18:15 Peter followed Jesus and entered the high court with him.
God commands us to worship Him. But we don’t worship Him because He commands us, we do it because we love Him; we want to worship Him. We want to give ourselves to Him. It’s about what is happening inside of us. So then, why does God command us to worship Him? Because He loves us, too – and He knows how much satisfaction we gain from it and how much joy there is in knowing Him and He wants us to know more of Him – because He loves us. Listen, knowing God is the greatest joy there is. It’s the only satisfaction. It’s the greatest love – and it is the only thing that will last, even after we die. Don’t misunderstand me wrong when I say that we worship God because it satisfies us. It satisfies Him, also. He is happy when we worship Him – and that’s partly because He knows how good it is for us and how much we love it and gain from it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not about us. It’s about God. It’s all about God. Because God is so great – He is the greatest in all good. He is all good.
John 21:7 the disciples are tired. Jesus has been dead for some time. Peter is a leader. That’s why Jesus chose him. After Jesus’ death, Peter says, “Let’s go back and do the things we did before Jesus came. Fishing.” And Jesus came and said, “I did not call you to fish. You will be fishers of men.”
To be a worshiper, you need to love, and be let yourself be loved too. You need to know how to love and you to know how to be loved.
Questions
I know prayer and praise and worship are not exactly the same thing – but would you say that there can be prayer without praise or worship? Or worship without praise or prayer?
Prayer is talking to God. It might depend on what type of prayer you’re talking about because there are different kinds of prayer. Your prayers can be an act of praise.
When I worship, I don’t pray much because this is a time for the Lord. I believe praise should come first. You cannot separate them because praise always leads to worship. Praise brings you into His presence. So once you praise Him you cannot do anything but worship because you are in His presence. It is so great. When somebody says “I love you” usually we say, “I love you too”. When I lead worship – VERY rarely will I start with worship. I usually start with praise. This is because not very many people are in His presence to worship. You must be in His presence – you need to praise Him.
When we start with worship – many times we mourn inside. We make it about ourselves. “Oh, poor me.” But this worship time is not about us, so praise Him! Just praise – and then enter worship. Just to be clear, when we are in His presence – its okay to start with worship.
-Coffee Break-
The Presence of the Lord
How can we enjoy the presence of the Lord? What is the presence of the Lord?
A feeling. It’s knowing He’ll never leave us or forsake us. So if you’re a Christian – God’s presence is with us whether we acknowledge it or not. God is only present. He’s everywhere. But sometimes we experience the Holy of Holies – when we feel the thickness of his presence. I do believe that God is everywhere but sometimes we don’t put forth the effort to see Him.
Song of Solomon 3:1-4 On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.
She wanted her lover. “I am thirsty!” When you’re satisfied you don’t look anymore for water. You don’t look anymore for food. Never get satisfied. It’s wrong. Jesus is enough food for us every day. He is the same every day, and you can never fully know him unless you are God. He will always satisfy you.
What happens for people who wait and wait for God and he doesn’t show up? Maybe our expectations aren’t met – maybe they are not the right expectations. We need to know that God will show us. He will teach us. He will be there. It’s not waiting to see if He shows up – it’s waiting for when He will show up. That goes along with wrong and right expectations.
You can ask for high expectations – just not wrong ones. Ask for things you want – and receive them or not – fine – but NOT because you didn’t ask.
How do you know that was God? Because of the fruits. Jesus said we will know what kind of tree it is because of the fruits on the tree. Let me tell you, I was not expecting this to happen. I was not expecting it at all. I was surprised by God. It had never happened before – and never after.
Read: Song of Solomon chapter 5
I want you to take these two keys: thirst and expectations
If you know that He is calling you, you can expect His presence. He will meet with you. Expect God, but don’t limit Him with your expectations. Your experience with how He speaks to you may be different. If you expect Him in one way – maybe He wants to come in a different way! Maybe it is better that He comes in a different way. It is right to expect Him. It is wrong to expect the way of Him.
The journey in the desert from Egypt was supposed to take one week. The fact that it took 40 years was not God. It was their disbelief and their choices.
95% of Muslims that are becoming Christians – it is through dreams and visions. Sometimes healings. It is according to your need. How much do you need to believe?
We must believe that God is just. He gives according to need. He shows Himself to one person because He knows that’s what they need to believe. Others don’t need to see Him to believe. And even some people He knows that they will not believe even if they see Him. So He protects us by not showing Himself directly to them because if He showed Himself and they don’t believe – they would never believe. Instead, He just keeps seeking for Him.
If you want to SEE Jesus Christ, ask Him to show Himself to you. Ask for it, sure.
Gabby (guest speaker from Lebanon Day 4 of 5)
To know about worship is different than being the worshiper. Being the worshiper is something we need to work on. John 4:23 says the Word is seeking for new worshipers. God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of relationships – of lovers.
We are created with a desire to worship. God created us with a desire to worship him.
Each human has a desire inside to worship. And if we don’t worship God, we will worship something else. And if we don’t worship God, we’ll worship drugs, sex, money—or something else. Peoples that have had no contact with the outside world/civilization, when they are found, always are worshipping something – a rock, the sun, something. If we don’t worship something we’re going to feel emptiness.
Ps 45:10-11 Worship
Ex 4:31
John 4:24
Act 18:7
Rom 12:1
Worship is the uppermost place for a relationship with God. Praise is the uppermost way of prayer. Worship is putting our relationship with God into practice. Worship is putting your intimate relationship and life into practice. Only God is worthy of worship.
Gen 22 – Abraham went to worship God. God asked him to come and worship him. He asked him to sacrifice his only son – and not just the only son, the promise of God. Not just the son, the future, the ministry – everything. So when God asked Abraham to go worship Him, the first act was obedience. If you’re not obedient, you can’t worship. You’re not a worshiper. And you might say, “how can I know if I am obedient or not? How can I tell?” It’s easy. Are you obedient here on earth, to the people around you, to the authorities? I know people who enjoy disobedience. Obedience is a heart attitude. If you cannot obey people or authorities here on earth, how can you obey God? How can you be obedient without the heart and attitude of obedience? Obedience is a heart attitude, you know? If you don’t obey your leader on earth when you see, and your authority on earth that you see – how can you obey your Father in Heaven whom you don’t see?
I don’t want to be a disobeying person. I want to be obedient.
God will ask you to do things that are not logical. If you trust Him, things will work out in the end.
The second act of Abraham was giving. To be a right worshiper you need to be a giver, too. The Lord will not take from you without giving back. If you have a need, I have a challenge for you – go and give. If you need affection – go and give some affection to somebody. If you need money, go and give some money.
Another act of worship in the Bible – Matthew 2:11
Results of worshiping God
Better understanding of God
Satisfaction – fill your emptiness with God’s love through worship. One way to rid yourself of sin is to fill that space with worship to God.
Hear his voice – Luke 10:38-39
People think that if they serve the Lord by starting a new ministry they will grow closer to the Lord. They are wrong. Just worship Him, without any effort.
It starts at the feet of Jesus. Start with Worship. Because when you worship you hear the voice of Jesus. The problem is we don’t listen when we worship. So stop, listen to Him, take His instructions, and you will know Him. When you worship face to face – your encounter will change. When people see Jesus in you – they will come to you. Because they need Him. A worshiper is easy to find. It’s easy to know if you are a worshiper or not. You can see it in their face, their talking, their acting – their heart is open.
Worship:
1- Romans 12:1 present a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice means this – with all my will, I offer everything. This is to die to yourself, to say, “Lord I don’t want anything for me. I don’t want anything for me. You are number one. I am not number one. I don’t care if I have money, or family, or anything. All I care for is you.” This is the living sacrifice. When you sacrifice yourself willingly. When you put yourself on the altar, willingly.
2- Kneeling – we kneel in front of God.
3- Ps 99:5; 132:7; Revelation 19:10 – be yourself. If you want to bow, or kneel, or prostrate – go ahead.
4- “Selah” from the Psalms. What is “Selah” (See-La)? Silence from music. Pause. It’s a time to receive revelation and direction. To reflect. To meditate. It’s a time to see in the Spirit. We have to do this in our worship time. Selah is a very essential part of our worship. This is not a time for a solo singing act.
Mary/Martha Luke 10:38-42 notice that Martha was the one welcoming Jesus. Mary was silent, quiet, sitting at his feet. Martha was so excited about Jesus, serving Him – so busy – trying to please Him. But Martha was distracted with much serving. Although she was serving Jesus, she was still distracted. If you’re so busy serving – you will miss the most important thing, which is having Jesus in your life. Mary is doing the one thing that is necessary – which is listening to Jesus and having him in her life.
John 11:1 Lazarus dies – we see Martha first, the one who loves to show up. She stood up and ran to Jesus. Most of the people were in the house and started following her. When she showed up, the first thing she did was blame him, “if you were here, my brother would not be dead.” She did not understand Jesus because she was not close to him. When you are close to Jesus, you understand him and you don’t blame him – because you know him. You know him very well. Jesus sent a message to the one who waited, “the master is waiting for you.” He sent that message to Mary. She waited and listened. The first thing that Mary did when she saw Jesus was fall on his feet. She went to the place of worship where she meets Jesus at – where she knows how to contact and communicate with him. It was a place of peace, where she could understand him. A place of reverence – the feet of Jesus. And the Bible says that Mary told Jesus almost the same words as Martha – and when Jesus saw her sad, he cries too. He cries and weeps with her. Then Jesus says, “okay, open the cave.” And who is the first one to object? Did you notice the faith of Martha? The “servant” of God? Then when the miracle was happening, she was the first one to oppose it. “No, don’t do it. It’s against logic. It’s against our culture.” Listen, it’s not enough to serve the Lord, guys.
John 12:1 Here is Martha again. She did not learn her lesson. Even though Jesus told her in words, “Martha, be careful. Do not go too far. By doing this you will be opposing me, sometimes.” But she did not pay attention. She kept on with these things. And here is Mary again. She wanted to be close to Jesus. She knew she would be serving him sometimes – but when the Master is in the house, she knows it’s time to be with Him. She gets the expensive oil and pours it on him. She is saying, “this is my man. This is my lover.” As if this were a marriage. And where did she put this oil? On the feet of Jesus. She did not marry him physically, she knew her Lord and Savior. She is worshipping. And the first one to speak against this is Judas. Jesus tells him to leave her along. He is seeking for real worshipers.
John 13:23 John was leaning on Jesus.
John 18:15 Peter followed Jesus and entered the high court with him.
God commands us to worship Him. But we don’t worship Him because He commands us, we do it because we love Him; we want to worship Him. We want to give ourselves to Him. It’s about what is happening inside of us. So then, why does God command us to worship Him? Because He loves us, too – and He knows how much satisfaction we gain from it and how much joy there is in knowing Him and He wants us to know more of Him – because He loves us. Listen, knowing God is the greatest joy there is. It’s the only satisfaction. It’s the greatest love – and it is the only thing that will last, even after we die. Don’t misunderstand me wrong when I say that we worship God because it satisfies us. It satisfies Him, also. He is happy when we worship Him – and that’s partly because He knows how good it is for us and how much we love it and gain from it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not about us. It’s about God. It’s all about God. Because God is so great – He is the greatest in all good. He is all good.
John 21:7 the disciples are tired. Jesus has been dead for some time. Peter is a leader. That’s why Jesus chose him. After Jesus’ death, Peter says, “Let’s go back and do the things we did before Jesus came. Fishing.” And Jesus came and said, “I did not call you to fish. You will be fishers of men.”
To be a worshiper, you need to love, and be let yourself be loved too. You need to know how to love and you to know how to be loved.
Questions
I know prayer and praise and worship are not exactly the same thing – but would you say that there can be prayer without praise or worship? Or worship without praise or prayer?
Prayer is talking to God. It might depend on what type of prayer you’re talking about because there are different kinds of prayer. Your prayers can be an act of praise.
When I worship, I don’t pray much because this is a time for the Lord. I believe praise should come first. You cannot separate them because praise always leads to worship. Praise brings you into His presence. So once you praise Him you cannot do anything but worship because you are in His presence. It is so great. When somebody says “I love you” usually we say, “I love you too”. When I lead worship – VERY rarely will I start with worship. I usually start with praise. This is because not very many people are in His presence to worship. You must be in His presence – you need to praise Him.
When we start with worship – many times we mourn inside. We make it about ourselves. “Oh, poor me.” But this worship time is not about us, so praise Him! Just praise – and then enter worship. Just to be clear, when we are in His presence – its okay to start with worship.
-Coffee Break-
The Presence of the Lord
How can we enjoy the presence of the Lord? What is the presence of the Lord?
A feeling. It’s knowing He’ll never leave us or forsake us. So if you’re a Christian – God’s presence is with us whether we acknowledge it or not. God is only present. He’s everywhere. But sometimes we experience the Holy of Holies – when we feel the thickness of his presence. I do believe that God is everywhere but sometimes we don’t put forth the effort to see Him.
Song of Solomon 3:1-4 On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.
She wanted her lover. “I am thirsty!” When you’re satisfied you don’t look anymore for water. You don’t look anymore for food. Never get satisfied. It’s wrong. Jesus is enough food for us every day. He is the same every day, and you can never fully know him unless you are God. He will always satisfy you.
What happens for people who wait and wait for God and he doesn’t show up? Maybe our expectations aren’t met – maybe they are not the right expectations. We need to know that God will show us. He will teach us. He will be there. It’s not waiting to see if He shows up – it’s waiting for when He will show up. That goes along with wrong and right expectations.
You can ask for high expectations – just not wrong ones. Ask for things you want – and receive them or not – fine – but NOT because you didn’t ask.
How do you know that was God? Because of the fruits. Jesus said we will know what kind of tree it is because of the fruits on the tree. Let me tell you, I was not expecting this to happen. I was not expecting it at all. I was surprised by God. It had never happened before – and never after.
Read: Song of Solomon chapter 5
I want you to take these two keys: thirst and expectations
If you know that He is calling you, you can expect His presence. He will meet with you. Expect God, but don’t limit Him with your expectations. Your experience with how He speaks to you may be different. If you expect Him in one way – maybe He wants to come in a different way! Maybe it is better that He comes in a different way. It is right to expect Him. It is wrong to expect the way of Him.
The journey in the desert from Egypt was supposed to take one week. The fact that it took 40 years was not God. It was their disbelief and their choices.
95% of Muslims that are becoming Christians – it is through dreams and visions. Sometimes healings. It is according to your need. How much do you need to believe?
We must believe that God is just. He gives according to need. He shows Himself to one person because He knows that’s what they need to believe. Others don’t need to see Him to believe. And even some people He knows that they will not believe even if they see Him. So He protects us by not showing Himself directly to them because if He showed Himself and they don’t believe – they would never believe. Instead, He just keeps seeking for Him.
If you want to SEE Jesus Christ, ask Him to show Himself to you. Ask for it, sure.
posted by CarbonChris at 4:56 AM
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