The Restoration of Worship

can you hear me up there for those of you didn't know I was teaching you get to see me again isn't that awesome thought you were done with me so for those that were here last week does anybody remember what we talked about music and science history I'll take it yeah so we talked about the origin of music and the original purpose of music and worship kind of laid some I'll have my trusty fidgety things sister Sloane you'll appreciate that I laid some kind of some groundwork for the next few lessons hoping that we could have some kind of a foundation for us all to be on the same plane so tonight I want to talk about the restoration of worship and some broader aspects of praise and worship so again if you aren't familiar with my teaching style like to ask a couple questions so I'm gonna just start right off the bat with a question and and you just shout out your answer here so the first thing I'm gonna want to ask you is what is worship somebody tell me what comes to mind maybe you can put it frame it that way with the word worship homage thank you honor yes what else love mm-hmm reverence sure lifting up conversation absolutely what is it not I'm sorry praise yeah very good what else is it not is that too ambiguous neglect okay and from this corner I'm sorry I heard word over here self not selfish this is the this is the big question I guess of the month of this month of series so I'll just go ahead and define it by the always benevolent mr. Webster and he says that it is it is as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity so alright let's stand without covered that and goodnight no just kidding so there are many things that can become a deity in the minds of humanity agreed it is evident in the observance of culture worship as we just defined it is not exclusive to apostolic s-- it's not exclusive to Pentecostals to Baptists or Christians of any other denomination because people will find things to worship Josh if you'll throw up those pictures for me as the human race we are a very passionate people and given the right stimulus many of us could display the level of enthusiasm and in motion that you're seeing on the screens some of you like I would never okay some may not display it on the outside but in their mind or heart they're experiencing a elation or a deep connection or joy or whatever else is induced so we are all able to find things to worship this is true in the church and outside of the church however for the one who's experienced salvation in Jesus Christ we rely on the spirit to check us and to realign us to focus on Christ and to give him priority when our minds wander off course when we establish that it that is a day-to-day thing or maybe even more frequent than that before now let me just say before anybody shuts me off and says oh here we go because you saw the Facebook symbol that I'm gonna get on my soapbox and it's browbeat in time I'm not gonna do that because I have no problem with the things that I just showed you as far as participation in moderation so so I want to just say don't tune me out just yet what I want to focus on tonight is what is correct worship what does it look like what pleases God you will probably always need a realignment in your spiritual journey but if we can focus on pleasing God and that being our priority then you won't have to worry about the other distractions because you will find it much easier when your total interest is on the things of God so last week I briefly mentioned the the tabernacle but I believe that it gives a simple model of what God is looking for in worship so for those of you that may be unfamiliar when the Israelites were delivered out of bondage in Egypt and they began their long and arduous journey to the promised land that God gave to them God decides to to establish his presence in the camp he wants to literally abide in their midst so before I go any further I it came to mind as I was preparing as a side note that that just gives me an incredible hope because if God wanted to be close to them and among them that means that that I can experience that today and that even when I'm imperfect as they were that he still loves me he still wants to be near me and wants to hear my worship amen so God gives Moses extremely specific instructions on how to build a tabernacle or a place of habitation if you will for him to dwell in then God gives the people with specific instructions on how to approach his presence and how to atone for their sins and he told them all that was required on a day-to-day basis in their tabernacle he told them what to put in it and he told them what not to do when they were in his presence so a couple of months ago sister Stacey taught us and brought us through the praying through the tabernacle and teaching us on the things of the tabernacle and in its furniture one piece at a time and we learned its purpose for each one of them one particular piece was the altar of incense the Bible says that God instructed them on how to make the incense that they were to burn he tells them not to use this specific combination of spices for any other purpose because it is holy as unto the Lord the ingredients that were in it were very specific and some of them were actually unique and not easily obtained likewise it's the same without worship today while we are able to worship from the heart freely as well as we should there is a divine authorship and to a to acceptable and unacceptable worship that's why I believe that this study is so important Gary Erickson which I believe I quoted last week says this about worship without a study worship as God would have it our worship can degenerate into a self-centered self oriented activity as we seek what blesses us rather than concentrating on what blesses him the true worship consists on giving and not getting so worship worship puts the emphasis on God's glory and not on human achievements worship transcends all ages in time it is the first church in the book of Acts that we identify with as apostolic s-- agreed it's the heritage though that we draw back to you the Bible says in Ephesians 2 and 20 that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone and since that church is our pattern it behooves us then to understand that we were a worshipping people then and we are now or we're not apostolic so I'm here to simply remind you tonight again not to get comfortable where you are in your worship and I say that carefully because worship is a lifestyle and everything that you do can be a worship as unto God but what I'm talking about is it's just one piece of the puzzle here and that's the worship that you exude when you're in the church house now this is not a chastisement of heartfelt worship because worship looks different on everybody but ask yourself the question what if you took an evaluation of yourself and how at liberty you feel and let me just be transparent for a moment as somebody who's struggling in the past with verses in the Bible that were commandments to praise Him in the dance that I felt bound in my own consciousness stricken with emotions that kept me closed in the reason that I bring this up is because I believe this to be a real issue that real people face and since I'm human and I'm fallible and prone to many different thoughts and emotions I know that I'm not the only one who at some point has wanted to be more free and more demonstrative in worship in the hopes that it would loosen chains of bondage or chains of pride in doubt and status quo religion is that okay so here's what it takes to overcome it number one a desire to please God with your worship and submission to to following the leading of the Holy Ghost number two a need for God to work in the church and to fill this tabernacle with his presence that supersedes any other impulse or desire in a desire for your own connection with God to rise to a new dimension and then I don't care mentality about what my neighbor thinks or their attitude No so rhetorical question does it take all that for God to blow our minds on any given service does it really take you doing something bold in your spirit for for the glory of God to manifest I say yes and I want you to listen carefully to me because I've seen God move in in on a group of people and every one of them including myself had their faces in the carpet and it wasn't one of those moments because again it's not about the position of your body as much as as it is the prostrate sure of your heart so yes it may be for some of you that you need to step out in the aisle and cut a rug if you will to obey the voice of God or for some other some other people it might be that you need to come to an altar on bended knee and declare his greatness yet to other people it might be your arm sky-high and surrender to another it might be a louder outspoken voice in prayer actually that one's really for everybody because you can't pray silently in your head and move heaven you've got to declare things in the atmosphere and pray things so that all of heaven can hear you so I want to bring in some scriptures to support this because I'm a fax person I believe the Bible and I don't have to defend it I simply believe it's true and if it says it in the word that's all I need to know so Psalms 142 and 1 said I cried unto the Lord with my voice with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication I'm gonna move faster Josh romans 10 and 9 says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved first John 1 and 9 says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness in Psalms 77 and 1 said I cried unto God with my voice even unto God with my voice and he gave ear unto me thank you the caveat here is that motive matters pastor says it all the time because if you're like the Pharisees praying aloud in the corner to boast so that people think you're spiritual that's a completely different matter and for a different time than tonight but I that something as simple as praying out loud can be a huge step for some and normal for others but I'm imploring you tonight do it try it take baby steps if you must but try it can you imagine what would take place when we come together if every person made the decision that when the music started or the first prayer was prayed that they just jumped right in and magnified God together without any restraint I'm sorry if you feel like I'm meddling or a trifling but I truly believe in this and I hope that that's food for thought anyway all over the world there are people that are receiving the Holy Ghost it revival is spreading and I don't know about you but I want cornerstone to be a large role player in that because God is delivering on his promise to pour out his spirit in the last days and it's easy to get lost in the day to day observance of how our churches are today in comparison to the hundreds of years of the dark ages day to day life tends to shroud the evidence but what we are experiencing is a restoration of practices and experiences of the New Testament church in fact the Prophet Amos prophesied that it would happen looking at it at a zoomed-out timeline it's very evident because in a most 9:00 and 11:00 mo says in that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up the breaches thereof and I will raise up his ruins and I will build it as in the days of old and I'm going to just tell you that that happened on the day of Pentecost and we share in that same Pentecost experience today that's great news for the Apostolic we should rejoice that God has opened up heavens and is pouring out his Spirit we just heard not long ago from our missions coordinator it said you're taught is that missions coordinator that there are large swaths of people that are receiving the Holy Ghost and that this is normal in countries all over the world our missionaries are reporting amazing things are happening in people's lives not long ago I guess it was a month ago or so now I was watching the Pentecostals of Alexandria service and brother Robinette was there many remember when he was here and he was giving testimony about what God was doing overseas and he said that he told of a meeting that occurred with a group of 5000 Hindus I'm sorry it was a very large group and that 5000 Hindus received the Holy Ghost in a crusade in India and he told of 200 some Trinitarian ministers being baptized in Jesus name in Germany and receiving the Holy Ghost and that the head of the Trinitarian organization also was filled with the Holy Ghost and said that none of his his ministers were going to be preaching the Trinity again it's a it's amazing yet it gets lost on us we don't see it in our day to day as much here in the good old USA in fact some might feel that we're on the decline and while yes that might be true that American culture is rejecting the traditional roles of religion it is in fact the greatest hour for the American Church I believe that I believe that some of the greatest revivals of our time this country is going to happen and in ways that we never would have imagined I believe that the denominator and it won't be because they heard about the UPC I or had a minister come to them from our ranks but God is searching for those who are searching for him and he will pour out his spirit on anyone who reaches for him so with great measure of his spirit pouring out on humanity great worship should go with it when we look for qualities in acceptable worship in great worship I believe that we should look no further than King David if you want to look at a good role model to your to model your worship after don't look at David look at his worship and look at the the worship practices he put into place in the tabernacle in first chronicles chapter 15 and verse 1 to give you a short back well let me let me do this let me read this so and David made him houses in the City of David and prepared a place for the Ark of God and pitched for it a tent but I say a tent this was the first recorded tent revival in history come on so it's interesting it in this particular time period I'm gonna take you to history class for a second it's interesting to note what is taking place in history at this moment in time because what was called the tabernacle of Moses which was the original tabernacle that God laid out the the instructions for was actually at a town called Gibeon and you can read about that in 1st chronicles 16 and then in chapter 21 in case you're making notes the priests they were actually still offering sacrifices there but in Chapter 15 we see David with the ark the ark is not in the tabernacle of Moses but God approves he puts his his seal of approval on David's tent on what's called Mount Zion so the there's a very simple reason why many of you have read the story or probably have of Eli the priest who at the end of his life and tenure as priest he it was ignored the sins of his son and as a result of that God passed judgment on him and his family and during the same day that he and his sons died and his daughter-in-law died the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines so although it was returned not long after that seven months I believe something like that the people had already long since forsaken even before they lost it the coven intial relationship with God and were disobeying his law so when they got the ark back the the Philistines sent it away after after it came into where where their temple was with Dagon in the temple in the the statue falls over and after all of that they send it away and they it comes back to them but they were disrespectful and and had forgotten what the ark represented knowing that they shouldn't have they they looked inside the Ark anyway and many people died and so afraid and bewildered about this event it was put in the house of abinadab for 20 years he's still with me so King Saul dies who also did not regard the things of God after he was anointed king king Saul dies and then David becomes king so after years of the ark being lost after years of of ignoring the ways of God David it becomes king and and David has learned in his past the value of the presence of God and so the Ark was a direct representation of his presence and of his provision and of his saving hand so David puts plans into motion that would reform Israel and that was going to begin with the return of the ark so after after David makes a mistake handling it the first time David goes back and he's searching for answers in the way to handle it properly he comes back again and this time he does things the way God instructed in first chronicles chapter 15 again moving into verse 16 says in David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be singers with instruments of music psalteries and harps and cymbals sounding by lifting up the voice of the voice with joy and in the next chapter verse 6 of chapter 16 it mentions the trumpet playing continually before the Ark of God but I want you to notice how they approached the presence of God while they are moving the ark back to the city from obaid items house the Bible says that they were rejoicing and playing and singing and praising and David was twirling and dancing and in some people's eyes making a fool of himself but he didn't care and you know what the people didn't care save one they were unified unified in demonstrative exuberant praise in worship their focus was not on themselves or on what God could do for them if they did everything just right but I believe that that's what we need more of in the Apostolic Church unity yes but demonstrative worship because there is power in that atmosphere praise and worship involve sounds and motion you cannot praise silently and without motion you cannot worship silently there are many different meanings and uses of the word praise in the Bible many of which I don't and I don't have time to go through them tonight but many of them can be interpreted to to mean to have loud and boisterous and exuberant and demonstrative attributes so what moved the heart of God here and caused him to bless David's efforts was the reverence of his presence and the worship that surrounded it because it was from the heart when David let all the people around when he let them let them worship around the ark while on its way to the tabernacle that he made they experienced no restriction in their worship they had a very different experience you could say then the people did at Mount Sinai for that just brief moment sandwiched between law and order there was this explosion and prelude to worship that was going to take place in the first church the Apostolic worship in the congregational Liberty never before David's Tabernacle was so many people used in worship never before had music and singing been used like it was so relentless and intense and it was heartfelt praising worship what a stark contrast this occurrence is against the backdrop of ritual order and sacrifices in blood in law and ceremony I want to say again that is the same for today when we come into the church house our worship ought to be spontaneous and heartfelt and sincere in and free of rituals in ceremony worship can be more than just what we do in the church and I'll touch on that in later lessons but for tonight I'm talking specifically on the worship that ministers directly to the Lord again after so moving forward here after David died his methods of worship did not at the dedication of Solomon's Temple in second chronicles chapter 5 in verse 13 it says even it says it came even to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music and praise the Lord saying for he is good for his mercy endureth forever that then the house was filled with a cloud even the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to Minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God even after that temple was destroyed when the Israelites were released from bondage they rebuilt the temple starting with the foundation when it was complete the descendants of Asaph who was appointed by David gathered trumpets and cymbals and praised the Lord with singing Nehemiah also after rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem records a celebration with singing and music on the wall the praises during David's Tabernacle became ingrained in the Jewish tradition so it is very likely then that those traditions carried through to the New Testament church seeing how many of those members were converts David's Tabernacle it was erected to celebrate the recovery of the ark by Israel but his whole purpose was to return Israel to a love for God and to follow him alone so if you fast forward to today 2018 we can also align ourselves with that same purpose we're afforded the same opportunity through the receiving of the Holy Ghost David's Tabernacle is then restored in us we are the tabernacle with God residing within the heart of every believer we get to share in the awesome blender of the very presence of God within us and as as David's Tabernacle celebrated the presence of the ark in the midst of Israel so apostolic worship celebrates the presence of God within us every time that I come through the church doors I consider it a celebration day it's a day I get to come in and I get to talk up all the good things God has done I get to remember once more all that that he's done for me and as a result that thankful heart morphs into praise and that praise morphs into worship to an Almighty God who says hey that's the kind of worship I'm looking for one that's not motivated by anything but gratitude one that is from the heart and is given with effort not second-best not leftover worship no the firstfruits of my week you know God says that a tenth belongs to him and when I say that we immediately go to money and our minds but giving God his tithe is not restricted to dollars and cents you ought to be giving at least the tithe of your time and your talent and your treasures every Sunday we're afforded the opportunity we get to come in and tithe of our time for the week in worship those of you who give faithfully to the kingdom of God financially you wouldn't dream of robbing god of what he asks of you in fact you often give more this is a very giving church so why would your worship be any different is it not given in the same spirit of sacrifice and joy it ought not to be that when it comes to giving of our worship that we do it simply out of obligation or rich well it shouldn't be given half-heartedly and without effort no no matter how you're feeling or or what you're going through the tithe still belongs to God so I admonish you again tonight to offer up a great worship offer up from the truest depths of your thankfulness as I touched on moments ago there is an acceptable and an unacceptable way to worship God but I believe that there are three forms of expression that will unlock the glory of God in your life three forms that will release the power of God and they're very important so here they are and I'm trying to wind down here this might blow your mind some of you might have never heard this maybe many of you probably have but there are three things here to unlocking the true true intimacy with God and that's Thanksgiving praise and worship profound right I know starting with Thanksgiving it is a prevailing mental state of thankfulness praise and worship or the other which are the other two expressions that I mentioned are impossible in purity without the feeling of gratitude Thanksgiving is what gets us started down the road to true worship it requires a probing of the mind to recall those personal blessings that's why God told the Israelites to erect so many monuments so that they would remember better maybe some of us could use that exercise ourselves maybe there ought to be some monuments or symbols in our lives to commemorate the great things God has done because before we can move into praise and worship we have to get this thankfulness thing down being thankful is actually humbling because it makes it makes you subordinate or or subject to someone other than yourself and that's a hard thing it acknowledges that you need someone else to contribute to your happiness it's really difficult to be a proud person to begin to be thankful thankful this is directly connected with the next tool which is praise while thankfulness acknowledges what God has done praise tells of who God is the character of God uh turd back to him with emphasis and emotion in expression which include physical bodily expressions such as hand clapping the raising of the hands bleeping dancing playing a musical instrument praise is doing all of those things with a heartfelt motive not out of obligation or ritual to save face with your peers so let me just say this the the reason that self for the worship leader the preacher or the pastor directs you to do those things in a service is because there are some folk that would never think anything of it I never think it odd to come into the church service and not engage in any meaningful way and be just fine going out the same way that came in no more victorious no more joyful no more happy no more connected than they were when they came in sometimes just got to give people a nudge in the right direction before we'll take off on our own and that's through I believe the the hope of leader ship here that with the right encouragement you will take off spiritually and then start propelling others yourself we don't we don't cheer lead with a bullwhip up here it's not a you verse me thing if someone from this pulpit is trying to pull you in as spiritually into the the deep end if you will it's not it's not a battle of the Wills in a winner-take-all kind of a thing that's not how the church is supposed to operate so don't feel burdened or offended when prodded to engage understand the vision of intimacy with God is the goal as for me I'm determined when I come in here that I don't want to let it go beyond the first request for a prayer or to lift my hands for me to say okay God I'm here I'm gonna give you my best I'm gonna worship you intently even if I'm tired feeling lazy or dreary or carnal and far from your presence why because there's life in his presence there's joy there's peace there's answers and there's a new hope there's communion with a holy presence unlike any rush or high or adrenaline boost that you've ever known there's simply no way that you can ever reach the total depth and Wonder and splendor of God so if he if so then he wouldn't be a God big enough to be worth serving you might feel like there's nowhere else to go in God and that you're saved and sanctified and cleansed and all that and believe me I'm I rejoice with you and we're all at different levels in our walk of God and I'm thank that that he looks on the new convert the same as the most seasoned or spiritual among us but let me challenge you tonight there is more to serving God than what you've experienced thus far in your life the only limits to God is what you put on him the only way to stunt your spiritual growth is to drink the poison of doubt in complacency but the best way to break out of those things is to make up in your mind that you you are going to be a worshiper if you've never danced before maybe it's time you tried it if you've never shouted before maybe it's time you gave it a go if you've never waved your hands in the air like you just do not care maybe you should get a little feel for it praise is agreeing with all the virtues and characteristics that God has said about himself in his word praise is not silent or still it is an outward expression of an understanding or admiration of God it's going to be verbal inaudible Psalms 35 and 28 I said and my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long Psalm 40 and 3 said and he hath put a new song in my mouth even praise unto our God Isaiah 12 and 6 said cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee and if you're wondering maybe to yourself where it demonstrates a more demonstrative praise as I've been talking about if you go to Acts chapter 3 in verse 8 it said and he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength and he leaped up in he leaping up stood and walked and entered with them into the temple walking and leaping and praising God one more in second Samuel six and 14 it says and David danced before the Lord with all his might it's in praise that we are poised to go deeper into a deeper experience which is worship that's the third tool worship is the ultimate dimension in our encounter with God that word worship actually comes from an old English word and it's worth Skype I believe weo rth scip worth Skype the root meaning of it is to attribute worth Wow when we worship God we are acknowledging his worth we are we as people are limited in our ability to fully comprehend God but we can catch a glimpse of him a measure of his greatness and immensity and it's with great privilege that we are able to come into his presence at will freely but we ought not come in empty-handed and without proper respect we should begin by as the psalmist said entering his gates with Thanksgiving in his courts with praise even Jesus when he taught the disciples to pray gave an example that offered praises first how's it go our Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name so with that framework as under as an understanding worship takes on more than just chills and goosebumps it's more than even then tears or it's worship is literally standing in the throne room of God literally and his presence reveals things to us it reveals sin it evokes commitment and it examines every fiber of the soul we can never forget that the purpose of worship is not just to edify ourselves but it's also to give ourselves to the Lord that he might have pleasure in us would you stand with me again Gary Erickson said it like this there is a great dichotomy in every person it is the war between the carnal and the spiritual the spiritual man knows it's best to offer praise and thanksgiving and worship to God but the carnal man does not want to do it so as a choice of our will we must sometimes force the outward carnal man to give thanks and praise if we continue to discipline our flesh and offer praises we will eventually arouse our whole being if we will lift our hands and sing praises before long we will be praising God willingly with our whole being therefore we should not wait until we feel like praising we should make a decision to do so based upon what we know about our great God the anointing and emotion will come if we will offer the sacrifice of praise the only hard part in worshiping God in praising God outwardly is winning the battle of the mind that resists the things of God the old argument that it is well it's just not my nature to be exuberant or that just has no place in my mind anymore because once you come to terms with the truth about yourself that's it for many of you it's simply the fear of criticism in the fear of being the leader that holds you back I bet that many of you have expressed inwardly or even outwardly that you'd like to be as free and worship in your worship as as so-and-so is so can I just be real with you I'm on this journey and I've been on it for a while and can I tell you that the more I step out and I'm talking about myself here the more demonstrative I become in my worship the easier it's become to enter into his presence the quicker I become connected to the flow of the Holy Ghost and as I engage more and more often the less uncomfortable I become so most of you don't know me as I was as a child but I was very introverted very closed off and would never have been up here in coming from that extremely introverted nature myself you can't say to me I'm just not that person because when when the music kicks up and the PA is rocking and the words are on the screen let me just admonish you and this is kind of a call this a helps or a tool do more than just look at the words apply them to your life let them take you back to the time that Jesus did it for you let it trigger the memory of the monument in your life the times that Jesus was there for you they were and he saved you when he delivered you when He healed you when he comforted you when he blessed you when he gave you joy he gave you peace gave you strength and he gave you favor hey man would you lift your hands with me Jesus I love you thank you Lord God for the ability to freely lift my hands team I thank you Lord God that I can come into your house I can lift my hands Jesus and I can worship you because of who you are and because of what you've done for me I pray God that you would help me to never hold back my praise from you because you've been so good to me God you created me Jesus and you put worship in me Lord and all what's a worship you as you desire I ask that you would help us tonight God to gain a new understanding and a new desire Lord to press beyond our our comfort zones Lord God I know that there is freedom in worship that is uninhibited and unrestrained and there is a new dimension that you're calling us to I'm asking God that you would put a a Liberty and a freedom in our spirit tonight God to press forward regardless of circumstance regardless of how I feel in my body regard of what's going on around me god I want us to be able to give a free worship unto you Lord demonstrative worship in unity God because there is strength in that unity there's power in unity Jesus in that law we want to move to the next dimension in you God and I know it that it's through our worship I know Lord God that you are calling and that you're drawing us to a deeper level of worship I'm asking you to help us tonight Jesus to remember all of the great things that you've done for us to begin with a thankful heart God and to move the Lord into praise Lord and adoration of your name God with passion and with zeal Jesus and that we would go further God into a dimension of worship that we've never experienced before in Jesus name now thank you for it I give you all praise in Jesus name in Jesus name does anybody feel that way does anybody wanna be that there is an untapped potential within this church body if you will release your praise if you will not be afraid of your neighbor because they want to do it just as bad as you do don't wait for that leader in worship that you've you have in your mind to be the first one to come up to be the first one to lift a hand you be the leader you be the one that sets the tone Amen God will blow our minds blow the walls off of this facility with his presence if we would do that Amen pastor would you come