1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,680 You're very welcome to today's Triumph Church podcast. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:16,440 We pray that you enjoy the message This morning is maybe 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,440 not a typical Mother's Day message. 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,920 This morning I'm going to minister on the subject of 5 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,000 worship. And first of all, worship does 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,240 honor God. It's the heart behind it. 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:35,360 It's not really how well you can sing or, or what you can do, but 8 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:40,560 the heart behind your worship. So, you know, many people think 9 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,440 it's primarily about music, which music is incorporated in 10 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,760 worship. But that's not the only thing 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,240 Abraham worshipped. In fact, the first time the word 12 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,000 worship in the Bible is mentioned is when the Lord asked 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,600 Him to sacrifice Isaac and He said we are going to go worship 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,200 the Lord. Wow. 15 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,640 And that had nothing to do with music. 16 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,640 That had to do with His obedience to God. 17 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:11,200 So even in our obedience, we are worshiping the Lord. 18 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,600 I'm going to cover just three points this morning, so I'm 19 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,960 going to talk about why do we worship? 20 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:24,080 Who is worship for and what is worship? 21 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,800 And these might seem like simplistic phrases or questions, 22 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,560 but I think it's good to talk about and to explore because all 23 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,720 of us come from different backgrounds, maybe different 24 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,200 churches, maybe we all have different ideas about what it 25 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,640 really means. So why do we worship God? 26 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:48,160 Why? Well, there is one true God, and 27 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,120 that's who I'm talking about this morning. 28 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:52,880 The God who created the heavens and the earth. 29 00:01:54,200 --> 00:02:00,880 In Revelations 411 it says, you are worthy, O Lord our God, to 30 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,400 receive glory and honor and power. 31 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:09,840 For you created all things, and they exist because you created 32 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,800 what you pleased. And I thought about reading 33 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,840 Genesis 1, but then I saw the scripture and I thought, really, 34 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,760 that just wraps it all up. We have to remind ourselves of 35 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,600 that because even the world is coming against us and telling us 36 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,720 God, maybe he didn't create everything. 37 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,280 Maybe we don't know that for sure, right? 38 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,600 Those questions are put out there. 39 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,920 But we believe that he is the creator of the universe and he 40 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:41,640 is He is worthy of our worship. You know, just small things we 41 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:44,760 praise people for like, oh wow, did you see what they made or do 42 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:46,800 you see what they did? Or do you see how they can do 43 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:48,120 that? Oh, that's amazing. 44 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,160 But what's more amazing than creation? 45 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:54,240 There is something that I realized, though. 46 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,920 One of the biggest things I realize is that a lot of people 47 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,520 have a different idea of God, and they grow up with different 48 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,360 ideas about who God is. Well, in America we have a lot 49 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:07,640 of tornadoes and hurricanes and different things. 50 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:11,680 And what do they call those acts of God, right? 51 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,600 It might be hard for you to worship somebody who you think 52 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,680 maybe ran a tornado through your town or a hurricane swept 53 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:21,920 everything away. That's being honest. 54 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:26,160 That's being real, right? God, a lot of people think maybe 55 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,600 he's mad at you. Maybe he's disappointed in you. 56 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,520 Maybe he's just up there waiting for you to make one little 57 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:36,920 mistake and you'll be struck with lightning. 58 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,680 But there are some people that think that, and there's that, 59 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,400 and that's out there. So I'm here to tell you this 60 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,120 morning, just like that last song we sang, God is good. 61 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,040 He's not mad at you. He's not upset at you. 62 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,600 He's not just waiting for you to make a mistake so he can give 63 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,160 you such a slap up beside the head. 64 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,840 No, God loves you. John 1010 tells us that the 65 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:08,680 thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy. 66 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,040 And Jesus said that I came, that they may have life and enjoy it 67 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:19,200 and have it in abundance to the full till it's overflowing. 68 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:24,040 That's the amplified classic. Jesus told the story of the 69 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:30,440 prodigal son to the disciples as a picture of our loving heavenly 70 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:37,480 Father, of how you can go make a mess of things and what he is 71 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,920 right there waiting for you with open arms. 72 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,440 He'll come running down that way, meet you halfway, throw a 73 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,600 party for you. That is God. 74 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,560 That is the God we serve. God is our provider. 75 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,840 God is our victory. You know, if you've heard of the 76 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:03,760 names of God like Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Nisi, 77 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,920 Jehovah Sid Canoe, Jehovah Shalom, those are names of God 78 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:14,120 that the Israelites as they were getting to know God and God did 79 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,200 certain things for them. They said, oh, God is our 80 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:23,240 healer, Jehovah Rapha. That is one of his names because 81 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,800 that is who he is. Jehovah Jireh. 82 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,280 God is our provider. We've seen him provide for us. 83 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:38,160 That's how we know who he is. Jehovah Nisi means God, our 84 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:43,160 victory because he is caused us to be victorious. 85 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:50,640 Jehovah Shalom, our peace. That's who God is. 86 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,480 It's so beautiful that we have the Word and reading the Word of 87 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:01,080 God and loving to read the word of God it, it shows you who he 88 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,760 is. It shows you God's character. 89 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,880 The world will try to tell you all sorts of things about who 90 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,800 God is, but make sure that you're clinging on to the truth. 91 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,880 What is true about God? What is not true? 92 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:20,920 And maybe you need to ask yourself those questions. 93 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:22,680 Maybe you need to write some things down. 94 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,360 What do I think God is? Is that true? 95 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:31,200 Let me look in the Word and see. God is rich in mercy, our ever 96 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:37,160 present help in time of need. Psalms 40 is a beautiful Psalm, 97 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:39,920 one through three. You can go ahead and put that 98 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,080 up. I waited patiently for the Lord 99 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,960 to help me. He turned to me and heard my 100 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,240 cry. He lifted me out of the pit of 101 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:54,240 despair, out of the mud in the mire. 102 00:06:54,760 --> 00:07:00,320 He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked 103 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:04,160 along. He's given me a new song to 104 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,520 sing, a hymn of praise to our God. 105 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,880 Many will see what He has done and be amazed and they will put 106 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,280 their trust in the Lord. Isn't that beautiful? 107 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:20,120 He has lifted us up and He studies us as we walk. 108 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:26,080 He is such a good God. What is your why? 109 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,840 What is your why? I want you to think about that 110 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:37,160 today. Think about what God has done 111 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,400 for you. How has he picked you up? 112 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,320 How has he turned your life around? 113 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:50,040 Think about that this morning. Why do we worship God? 114 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,600 Who is worship for is our second point. 115 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,080 I can't imagine never worshiping, like never 116 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,080 acknowledging or never saying thank you. 117 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:07,280 Can you imagine? Well, we all had to be taught, 118 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:11,920 didn't we, to say please and thank you, good message because 119 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,520 we had our moms along say please say thank you. 120 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,680 We all had to be taught that, mainly because we all have that 121 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,800 unfortunate attribute of pride in US. 122 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:31,720 And so like, just imagine if you got a cone say, and your mom 123 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,880 said say thank you. I don't know if any of you out 124 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,640 there with children had any stubborn children, but I had a 125 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,360 couple and you would say say thank you. 126 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:45,520 And they go, they don't want to do they, they don't want to say 127 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:47,800 thank you. And there could be several 128 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:52,400 reasons because they say, well, mom said, if I was good in the 129 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:54,760 store, then I would get this cone. 130 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,880 I was good. So I deserve it, right? 131 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:05,720 Or I am super cute, so I should just get a cone because I'm just 132 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,280 super cute, right? Or you get that cone and you're 133 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:14,120 like, oh wow, look what I have, ha ha ha. 134 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,000 I have it now. It's mine. 135 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,520 I'm going to show all my friends what I have and they're going to 136 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,600 think I'm so amazing because of what I have. 137 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:30,880 Now, that's a simplistic illustration, but if you will, 138 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,080 you could take that a step further. 139 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,760 And as adults, we do the same thing, don't we? 140 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,920 Wow, Look at what I have. It must because I'm so smart. 141 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,000 I'm so good. I did everything I was told to 142 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:47,000 do. I did it right. 143 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:55,560 I deserve this. Pride keeps us from worship. 144 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,880 So unfortunately there are little things like that that 145 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:04,240 kind of speed bumps or hurdles and trying to worship the Lord. 146 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:10,640 Pride is destructive because 1. You can't know it all, I'm sorry 147 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:15,600 to tell you, and you can't ever have all the answers. 148 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:21,360 You can't do it alone. You weren't created that way as 149 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:25,680 much as you'd like to. All of our children at one 150 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:31,440 point, they say I do it, me, mine, I do it, don't help me, 151 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:33,400 which is good. We want the independence. 152 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:39,040 But sometimes, but unfortunately pride gets in the way. 153 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,880 But I'm here to tell you this morning, you were created to 154 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:49,080 worship. You were created to worship. 155 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,400 You're not an island unto yourself. 156 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,160 You're created to be in community. 157 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,680 You're created to need one another, and you're created to 158 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:02,040 have a relationship with your Heavenly Father. 159 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,080 So what about at church on Sunday? 160 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,160 Do we want not want anyone to know how much that we really 161 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:16,800 need God? Do we want, We may want to lift 162 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:22,800 our hands too much or we might want to be too demonstrative 163 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:27,440 because we have to be very proper and keep our composure. 164 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:32,200 And you know, God's there and I'm here, but we're good. 165 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:36,640 Like, you know, I've only needed God a little bit in my life, not 166 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,000 a whole lot. I don't, I don't know. 167 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,560 I don't know. I'm not saying that's you, but 168 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:48,000 when we are worshiping God, we are acknowledging him. 169 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:54,040 We are acknowledging who he is. We are acknowledging him as our 170 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:57,880 provider. We are acknowledging him as our 171 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,000 healer. We are acknowledging him. 172 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:05,160 And actually what it does when we worship him is it activates 173 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,880 our faith. It's a faith activator. 174 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:13,040 When you get your eyes off of your own problems and I'm the 175 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:18,040 one who can answer the problems, this is this is amazing. 176 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,200 This is when miracles can happen. 177 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:27,880 This is when answers can come is when we choose to worship God no 178 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,000 matter what. So I'm going to read to you a 179 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,160 little story that some of you may have heard before, but I 180 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,160 think it's worth reading. And this is going to be the 181 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:42,920 story of King Jehoshaphat. And this takes place in Second 182 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,800 Chronicles 20. I just picked out a few 183 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,560 scriptures of the story, so I'll read through those starting in 184 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:53,280 verse 2. I think you have them up there 185 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,200 so you can put them in. Yeah. 186 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,800 So messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, a vast army from 187 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,080 Edom is marching against you beyond the Dead Sea. 188 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,520 They're already at Hazen Tamar. And this was another name for 189 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,760 ungodi. Jehoshaphat was terrified by 190 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,000 this news and begged the Lord for guidance. 191 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,880 He ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 192 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,800 Imagine as a nation we would fast and pray. 193 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,400 What would happen? So people from all over the 194 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,600 towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord's help. 195 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:32,000 And he prayed, O Lord God of our ancestors, you alone are God 196 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,320 who's in heaven. You're the ruler of all the 197 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,720 kingdoms of the earth. You're powerful and mighty. 198 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:38,640 What is he doing? He's worshiping God. 199 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:46,400 No one can stand against you. Verse 12 Our God, won't you stop 200 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,920 them? We are powerless against this 201 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,960 mighty army that is about to attack us, and we don't know 202 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,480 what to do, but we are looking for your help. 203 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,840 Verse 13 As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord, with 204 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,880 their little ones and their wives and their children, the 205 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,440 spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. 206 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:11,520 His name was Jehazio, son of Zechariah and his lineage there. 207 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,840 Verse 15 he said, Listen, all you people of Judah and 208 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,360 Jerusalem, listen, King Jehoshaphat, this is what the 209 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,800 Lord says, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged by this 210 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,640 mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 211 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,600 Verse 16 Tomorrow March out against them. 212 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,200 You will find them coming up through the ascentives at the 213 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,680 end of the valley that opens to the wilderness of Jeru. 214 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,680 But you will not need to fight. Take your possessions, stand 215 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,120 still, and watch the Lord's victory. 216 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,240 He is with you. O people of Judah and Jerusalem, 217 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,520 don't be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, 218 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,320 for the Lord is with you. Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low 219 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,640 with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and 220 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,560 Jerusalem did the same, worshipping the Lord. 221 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,240 After consulting the people, the King appointed singers to walk 222 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,960 ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising Him for 223 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,360 His holy splendor. And this is what they sang. 224 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,480 Give thanks to the Lord. His faithful love endures 225 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,280 forever. And at that very moment they 226 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:28,080 began to sing and give praise. The Lord caused the armies of 227 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,280 Amon and Moab and Mount Cyr to start fighting amongst 228 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,280 themselves. Moab and Amon turned against 229 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:36,880 their allies of Mount Seir, killed every one of them, and 230 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,120 after they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began 231 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,880 attacking each other. And that was it. 232 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,240 They were victorious. They didn't have to do anything. 233 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,400 But what did they do? They put worshippers out in 234 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,120 front of the army. Who would do that? 235 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,480 But people? This is a type and shadow. 236 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:03,200 The Old Testament is there for us to learn from and to apply to 237 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:07,360 our life. Some of you may find yourselves 238 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,080 in some real battles, in some serious situations. 239 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:14,520 What are you going to do about it? 240 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:20,360 How are you going to overcome? I submit to you that you have to 241 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:28,600 worship, you have to worship. You have to humble yourself and 242 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,720 without hesitation, surrender to Him. 243 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:38,760 God, I can't fix this on my own. I can't figure it out. 244 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:48,040 I don't know the way you do. And that is why, that is why, 245 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,320 why we worship. And this point is, who is it 246 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:58,000 for? Do you know God desires our 247 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,760 worship and He will be worshipped because of who He is. 248 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,200 But the answer to who is worship for? 249 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,880 It's you. It's actually for you. 250 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,880 And if that kind of messes with your head a little bit, just 251 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,920 stick with me. But it's so that you are in the 252 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:23,920 position to receive from him. So it puts you in a humbling 253 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:29,080 position to receive what the answer from God, to hear from 254 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:33,440 God for him to work and move and go before you and your behalf. 255 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,240 If you're like that child who goes, I'm OK, I got everything. 256 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,800 I don't need to say thank you. I have what I need. 257 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,760 And when we see like an unthankful child or some, you 258 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,520 know, a child is not thankful, this does kind of put like a 259 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,320 little bad taste in your mouth like, and I think kind of that 260 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,560 same way with God. If we're not thankful and we're 261 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:59,280 not worshiping him, it's I mean, he loves you unconditionally. 262 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:03,400 You know, it really puts, it puts something between you and 263 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,280 him. God, he doesn't need our 264 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,320 worship. He doesn't need it. 265 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,160 We need it. We need to remember who he is 266 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:20,440 and what he's done. It helps activate our faith so 267 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,560 we can know he he will do it again. 268 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,320 And that's why we say those names of God, Jehovah Jireh. 269 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,520 Why? Because he is a provider and 270 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:31,280 he's done it before and what he's going to do it again. 271 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,640 And when we worship Him, and we call on Him, and we remind him, 272 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,880 you, this is who you are, Lord, and this is who you are in my 273 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:41,120 life. Amen. 274 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:49,560 So what is worship? The definition is to honor or 275 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:54,000 bow in submission, to pay homage, to show reverence for a 276 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,360 divine being or supernatural power, to regard with great or 277 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,840 extravagant respect, honor or devotion. 278 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,840 Worship as a noun is an act of expressing reverence offered a 279 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:12,160 divine being or supernatural power or an object regarded as 280 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:17,840 sacred or worthy. And because you were created to 281 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,440 worship, you will worship something. 282 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:27,040 It will happen and you before you even realize it, you might 283 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,240 not even know it. And I used to read, you know, in 284 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,560 the Old Testament when it said the children of Israel came out 285 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,520 of Egypt and then they started worshipping a golden calf. 286 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,280 I'm like, what's that's so weird? 287 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,640 And and in our culture, it just feels kind of strange. 288 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:47,880 Why would I all of a sudden go, oh, golden calf? 289 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:54,840 But we have those today. It could, I mean, for some 290 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,680 reason we, we find beautiful jewels and crystals in the 291 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,080 ground and we go, oh, it's a stone. 292 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:05,920 What? What? 293 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,640 Or it's a it's a famous musician. 294 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,360 Oh my gosh. I just want to be around and I 295 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:20,000 want to listen to their music. I just want or it's a sports 296 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,600 team. Sorry, I don't want to step 297 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,920 anybody's toes. And hey, Ireland won yesterday. 298 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:29,080 Woo, yay, but or not yay. Maybe you weren't rooting for 299 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:35,920 them. Sorry, but and why? 300 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:42,520 Usually it's because look how great that piece of music is. 301 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:47,040 Look how amazing that art is. Look how they can kick that ball 302 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,200 down the field. Wow, sorry, I don't mean to like 303 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,360 light of it, but but like, whoa, I can't do that. 304 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,480 They can do they're doing such an amazing job. 305 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,360 We're created to worship, worship. 306 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,920 Wow, wow. We we love it. 307 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,040 We love to go to the stadium and we love to shout and we love to 308 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,560 jump and we love to cheer, right? 309 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:14,520 We love it. Come on, you love it anyone? 310 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:18,120 If it's not sports, it's music. It's something, it's something. 311 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:24,640 And you know, I've had people tell me in the Irish church it's 312 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,560 not cultural to be very expressive and I understand 313 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:36,160 cultural differences. But if it was so cultural, what 314 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:42,720 really what it means is the culture of the church has been 315 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:48,960 this way, but culturally, as a people, I don't see that. 316 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:55,160 I've see expressiveness, I see exuberance, and I see 317 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,360 liveliness. You know what I'm saying? 318 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:03,320 No, I'm not asking. No, you know, one continent. 319 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:09,200 I haven't been to Australia and I haven't been to Africa. 320 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,920 I need to go because I'm telling you, I would like really love to 321 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,000 be in some worship services in Africa. 322 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,560 I've only just seen them. I've only just seen them, but oh 323 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,040 man, do they know how to worship. 324 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:30,720 And but yeah, so I understand there is there are cultural 325 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:37,880 differences, but I see that in kind of any culture, and I've 326 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,920 been to a lot of different places around the world. 327 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:46,040 There is still something in you, no matter how reserved of a 328 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:52,000 people you are to be expressive in some way, shape or form. 329 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,600 And I'm not commanding or telling you you have to be a 330 00:22:55,600 --> 00:23:00,280 certain way in worship. But I think it comes from the 331 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,320 first thing I was talking about. Like, like who? 332 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,240 Who is God and why? Why do we worship? 333 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,640 And when you think about why and who he is, that will help you 334 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:15,120 know. So worship comes from the heart. 335 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:21,640 This is on our what is worship point in John 423 through 24. 336 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,680 Jesus is talking to the woman at the well and he says the time is 337 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:28,800 coming and indeed is here now when true worshipers will 338 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,080 worship the Father in spirit and truth. 339 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,120 The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way, 340 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,280 for God is spirit and those who help them must worship in spirit 341 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,200 and in truth. This passage, Jesus is speaking 342 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:47,400 to the Samaritan woman and she's kind of kind of the argument of 343 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,680 the day was where are we supposed to worship? 344 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,320 And the Samaritan says this is where we're supposed to worship 345 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,320 at this mountain. And then the the rest of the 346 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:58,480 Jews were saying you have to worship in Jerusalem. 347 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:04,360 And Jesus just completely sidesteps that argument and says 348 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:09,920 it's not a certain place. The time is coming. 349 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:14,920 And because of what he did on the cross, it's not about a 350 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,520 location where the Holy Spirit resides. 351 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:24,480 The Holy Spirit resides in each one of us, and we are to worship 352 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:32,280 Him in spirit and in truth. To worship in spirit means 353 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,520 worship that flows from the inner person. 354 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:41,760 It's sincere, it's alive, it's not mechanical or forced. 355 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,920 It comes from a heart that recognizes the greatness of God. 356 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:50,680 Worship that honors God is not just singing songs. 357 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:58,160 It's not just about worshipping when things are going great and 358 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,000 when things are really going well. 359 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,960 He's worthy all the time of our worship. 360 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:11,720 He chose us to make Himself like we are now called the temple of 361 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:16,280 the Holy Spirit. He dwells within us and 362 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:21,680 therefore we should worship Him. Worship involves surrender. 363 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:25,320 It really does, Romans 12/1 says. 364 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:26,880 And so do your brothers and sisters. 365 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,640 I plead with you to give your bodies to God, because all He 366 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:35,200 has done for you let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the 367 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:42,000 kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship 368 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,360 Him. There's a beautiful definition. 369 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:51,560 It is a sacrifice, a sacrifice of praise. 370 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,920 Paul gives a profound definition. 371 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:00,560 Worship is surrender, surrendering ourselves to him. 372 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:09,160 In the Old Testament, worship often coincided with sacrifices 373 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,920 that were made, and so we don't have to do that anymore. 374 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,320 But then what? What does that mean for us 375 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:21,920 today? How would do we sacrifice, how 376 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,640 do we submit to God in that way? And I kind of touched on it like 377 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:32,600 your obedience, not just doing it your way, but God's way. 378 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,200 Being obedient is an act of worship. 379 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,960 And it also means it's not confined to a Sunday morning. 380 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,280 And you guys know that. I think especially being in a 381 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,520 hotel, it's not about this beautiful building we have to 382 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,760 worship in. I mean, it is a beautiful 383 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,720 building, but and we're grateful, so grateful for it, 384 00:26:54,240 --> 00:27:00,680 but worship is wherever you are. I will say though, that your 385 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:08,440 worship time at home prepares you for your worship time here. 386 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:15,720 If your only time you ever worship is in church on a Sunday 387 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:21,520 morning, then I do submit to you that you are not receiving all 388 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,480 that you can from God when you worship at home. 389 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,680 That's personal time. Same thing with praying. 390 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:36,800 But when you come together and you bring that that culture of 391 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:41,320 honor and worship together, there's something called a 392 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:46,720 corporate anointing. Why did Jehoshaphat call for the 393 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:51,520 whole country to come together? There's it's so powerful, you 394 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,640 guys. It's so powerful even for a 395 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:57,480 husband and wife, just the two of you, if you're going through 396 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:02,120 something, you grab their hand and you say, let's worship 397 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:05,480 together. That's so powerful. 398 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,400 Getting somebody else to connect with, to agree with you. 399 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:22,000 But as a church, corporate worship can be powerful, Hebrews 400 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,000 1315 says. Therefore, let us offer through 401 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,000 Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our 402 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,440 allegiance to his name. There again we have the word 403 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:41,360 sacrifice of praise. And yeah, we, our worship is not 404 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,800 based on circumstances, but based on who God is. 405 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,760 And you know, we have this thing right here where we say 406 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,640 experience God, grow in God and share God. 407 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,800 And the Lord gave us a vision when he gave us the vision for 408 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,880 this church. One of the first things that we 409 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,800 agreed on as part of the vision for this church is that this 410 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:11,040 would be a place where people experience God. 411 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,640 And you may say, well, Pastor Amy, how do you know that that 412 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,200 can happen, how you can't make anything happen? 413 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,240 Of course not. Of course not. 414 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,160 But this is going to be a House of worship. 415 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:27,040 This is going to be a place in of honor. 416 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:32,600 This is going to be a place where God is invited in, where 417 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:39,440 he is invited to move. And if we grab a hold of that, 418 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:45,920 you know, and so my, my other point here is worship is not 419 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,200 just for you, it's also for those around you. 420 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:55,920 Remember Paul and Silas when they worshipped in the midnight 421 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,840 hour, They didn't just get set free. 422 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,720 What happened? Everybody got set free. 423 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:12,400 Their worship affected everyone. Imagine I want you to think 424 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:18,440 about this seriously. Your worship effects everyone in 425 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:24,520 this room. If everybody came in expecting 426 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:32,080 God to move, if everyone came in prepared and ready to worship, 427 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:41,600 you know, Satan's always after unity and, and things like that. 428 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,080 So keeping our, ourselves unified as one body is really 429 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:49,000 important. And I especially, you know, we 430 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,040 come from all different cultures, which I love that our 431 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,160 church is so multicultural. It's so beautiful. 432 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:58,680 It's really what the Kingdom of God looks like. 433 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:07,120 And so, so one thing that we can come together on is why we're 434 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,680 all here is to worship the King of kings and Lord of Lords. 435 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,440 That's what brings us together, isn't it? 436 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:20,280 I want you to see how valuable your worship time is and how 437 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:24,360 valuable worship can be in church. 438 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,720 And if we can honor God with our first fruits, we honor God with 439 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,560 our our money and our our tithe and things like that. 440 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:37,320 We also honor God with our time. You can honor God by getting up 441 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,240 early and spending that bit of time with Him in the morning. 442 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,360 That's honoring the first fruits of your day, if you will. 443 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,680 And I like to think of coming to church on a Sunday morning as 444 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,200 honoring God with the first fruits of your week. 445 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,760 It is a spiritual discipline. It's something you have to put 446 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:00,720 time aside for. But when you do that, that 447 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,080 honors God. And it's not just honoring God, 448 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,080 but it's also honoring each other. 449 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,000 And your being here makes a difference in other people's 450 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,720 lives. So I want you to get that 451 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,680 picture. Coming ready to worship God and 452 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:20,560 expecting God to move. Being here and prepared and 453 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,840 ready, preparing your heart. There is a scripture that says 454 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:28,160 that we're not to grieve the Holy Spirit, and sometimes we 455 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:31,080 can. By not honoring each other and 456 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:35,440 honoring what God is trying to do, it is possible to frustrate 457 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,400 God's plan and frustrate what he's trying to do. 458 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:44,520 And so you have a part to play and even what happens in your 459 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,160 own life and then what happens here in church. 460 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:53,400 So I hope today that you can take away some, just maybe a 461 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:58,880 renewed appreciation for worship and for coming ready and 462 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:04,440 expecting to experience God. So we're doing more than just 463 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,880 singing on a Sunday morning. We're honoring God. 464 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:12,520 We're experiencing God, and we're giving him permission and 465 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,000 allowing an atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move. 466 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:21,880 Thank you for listening to the Triumph Church Podcast this 467 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,480 week. If it was a blessing to you, 468 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:29,360 share it with someone you know. For more information on Triumph 469 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:35,280 Church, you can visit us at www.triumphchurch.ie.