1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,600 Oh my goodness, I love this place and I love what God is 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,600 doing here and I believe if he hasn't done it in you yet, he 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,240 sure can. I'm so thankful that you guys 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:12,360 are here. I want to welcome those of you 5 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,120 joining at all of our different locations, those of you watching 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,440 online, and those of you who are part of the Crossing Inside. 7 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,680 Special shout out to The Crossing Inside in Pike County. 8 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,400 Got a chance to spend some time with you this past Wednesday. 9 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,000 And it's just so cool to see people that are a part of our 10 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,560 church that are brothers in Christ with us. 11 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,800 Everybody that I got to meet with has been baptized. 12 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,400 And they're trying to work on the other 22 people that are 13 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,640 serving time. And even though they don't have 14 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,040 the same opportunities that we have, because the decisions that 15 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,800 they've made, they're trying to make the Pike County Jail the 16 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,800 hardest place on planet earth to get the hell from. 17 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,080 And I love that. I love it. 18 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,520 So whether it's your first time or your first time in a long 19 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:54,760 time, we're so glad that you're here. 20 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,920 And I want to encourage you to swing by the new here booth that 21 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,200 is in the lobby at all of our different locations. 22 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:05,640 We are in a sermon series called Some Assembly Required, and this 23 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,640 sermon series is part what we believe is a church, part why we 24 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,960 do what we do as a church, and part how to build a meaningful 25 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,520 encounter with God. And I believe one of the best 26 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:24,440 ways to build a meaningful encounter with God is through 27 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,000 worship. And what I want to do today is 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000 I'm going to answer a couple questions and then I'm going to 29 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,040 do a book report slash teaching. All right, so a couple 30 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,760 questions. You guys have probably been 31 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,000 asked this before. Why does the crossing church 32 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,560 have a light show during worship? 33 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:40,680 Are you guys just trying to be super hip and cool? 34 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,240 No, it all goes back to church architecture. 35 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,080 When church buildings were built back in the day, they were 36 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,640 designed with huge ceiling heights and massive windows to 37 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,520 allow the maximum amount of light into the space. 38 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,080 And then in the 10th century, churches invented and 39 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:03,480 popularized stained glass windows to bring into the 40 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,240 worship space different glorious colors. 41 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,840 Then, in the 1800s, churches were some of the very first 42 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,680 buildings electrified in their communities. 43 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,920 In fact, Thomas Edison donated the very first bulb to a 44 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:24,320 Presbyterian Church in New Jersey. 45 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,800 Why? Because they wanted the church 46 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,280 to always be associated with light. 47 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,640 So instead of the crossing, having to spend tons of money to 48 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:37,320 build really high ceiling auditoriums and expensive 49 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,680 ceilings, we leverage technology to create a multi colored 50 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,920 experience. And you might be going, why do 51 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,120 Christians like light so much? Let me tell you. 52 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:53,080 Because all throughout Scripture, light and fire which 53 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:59,160 produces light are closely associated with God, Jesus, 54 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,400 heaven, and the Bible. You know what The very first 55 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:09,480 thing God created was light. Let there be light. 56 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,440 God spoke to Moses in a burning Bush. 57 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:16,560 He led the people in Israel with a pillar of fire. 58 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,640 When the temple was constructed, they put in the lamp stands. 59 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:25,240 God promises to make His face shine upon us in Numbers chapter 60 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,720 6. God's word is described as a 61 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:33,480 light for our path in Psalm 119, Jesus is described as the light 62 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,600 of the world, and he came to a world that was covered in 63 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,880 darkness. Later, Jesus says that his 64 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,920 followers will be like a lamp on a stand. 65 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,960 In First Thessalonians chapter 5, Christians are called 66 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,200 children of the You guys are getting it. 67 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,960 First Peter chapter 29 says that we are people who have been 68 00:03:54,960 --> 00:04:00,040 called out of darkness into his marvelous light. 69 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,240 We're told in First Timothy chapter 6 that God dwells in 70 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,600 unapproachable light. So that is why when the church 71 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,200 has always gathered, light has always been part of it. 72 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,960 Now you might also ask, what is the purpose of worship? 73 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,760 Why is worship important? The purpose of worship is to 74 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:25,680 direct our affection and our attention to God. 75 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,440 It is not about feeling His presence. 76 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,880 Sometimes you'll say, man, I really felt God during that 77 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,680 worship experience. I want you to know that is not 78 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,240 important. It is not about what you get out 79 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,400 of worship. It is about what you give in 80 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,880 worship and if you make whether or not you feel something about 81 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:51,400 worship, you have started to worship you because now it is 82 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,520 about how you felt about the worship. 83 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:58,040 Worship is not about you, worship is about Him. 84 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,640 Why does the Crossing sing all kinds of new songs instead of 85 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,520 them old school good songs? I get it. 86 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,760 I've told you before, I like an old song here and there. 87 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:13,280 I just need you to know this. All worship was contemporary 88 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,760 worship at one point in time. So for those of you who are 89 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,760 wanting the hymns, I want you to know there was a time when there 90 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,400 was a pastor getting nasty emails about these new hymns 91 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:29,720 everybody's singing. All worship was new worship at 92 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,240 one point in time. But let me just allow God to 93 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:36,040 speak to this for a second. Psalm 96 one says, sing to the 94 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:40,600 Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. 95 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,280 In fact, over and over again in Scripture, God commanded people 96 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:50,320 to sing a new song to Him. He commands it in Psalm 98 and 97 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,680 Psalm 40 and Psalm 33. He says it again in Isaiah 44, 98 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,720 and He described it in Revelation chapter 5 verse nine. 99 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:03,000 Since God is always moving, His Spirit is always directing our 100 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,200 knowledge and appreciation is always growing. 101 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,080 There will always be a new song being written on the hearts of 102 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,560 His people. Now what I'd like to do for the 103 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,040 remainder of the message, and I'm going to move the lightning 104 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,720 fast, is I want to do a book report. 105 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,040 A while back I was in a Zoom meeting with a pastor from 106 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,040 Nashville by the name of Darren Whitehead, and he gave the 107 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,720 devotional for the day. And later on in that year, I had 108 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,400 an opportunity to attend a conference that he spoke at. 109 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:31,560 And he has written several books. 110 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,680 And one of these books is the book called Holy Roar. 111 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:39,800 You can go buy it if you want to, but I could save you the 15 112 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,400 bucks if you just paid attention to my sermon. 113 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,960 In his book, what he does is he unpacks the beauty of worship 114 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,240 hidden in the Old Testament. And my hope is that it will be a 115 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,440 blessing to you today. One of the problems that we 116 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:58,160 experience as Christians, or more importantly as American 117 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,120 Christians, is our vocab is limited. 118 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,240 For instance, when we read in the Greek text, the Old 119 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,560 Testament or the New Testament, there are different words for 120 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,080 love that is directed in different areas. 121 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,880 But here in for those of us in America, when we talk about 122 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:21,560 love, we use one word, love. So let me ask you this question. 123 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:23,080 Do you love your wife? Yeah. 124 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,080 Do you love your kids? Yeah. 125 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:28,800 Is your love for your wife a little bit different than your 126 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,440 love for your kids? Yeah. 127 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,000 Do you love your dog? Yeah, kinda. 128 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,840 You say you love it. So you mean to tell me that you 129 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,200 love your dogs the same way you love your wife and your kids? 130 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,080 That seems weird. Do you love the Kansas City 131 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:44,000 Chiefs? Yeah. 132 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:47,320 Do you love them at the same amount that you love? 133 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,560 And for those of you who are Cubs fans, if you loved your 134 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:52,840 family the way you love the Cubs, you'd be a way better 135 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:54,560 father. I can guarantee you that much. 136 00:07:54,960 --> 00:08:00,440 You love rooting for losers. OK, so when we get into the Old 137 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:04,640 Testament, when it talks about worship, there are 7 different 138 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,160 words for worship. And I believe locked inside of 139 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:13,600 these 7 words is something that is unexpected and something 140 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,240 that'll change what you experience and what you do in 141 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:18,640 worship. And my hope is that when you 142 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,760 know these words and the power contained in them, you will 143 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,520 begin to build a meaningful encounter with God through 144 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,240 worship. The first word is yada. 145 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:35,440 Everybody say yada yada, to Revere or worship with extended 146 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:41,600 hands, to hold out the hand, to throw a stone, to shoot an 147 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,480 arrow. I went to church with my grandma 148 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:46,960 one time and the church that I grew up in, there was not a 149 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,640 whole lot of hand raising. All the lights were up way high 150 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:51,800 and everybody kind of worshiped God like this. 151 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:55,960 We were so thankful for everything he did. 152 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,520 We did this. Sometimes we might do this. 153 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,480 And I went to my grandma's church and my grandma had her 154 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,120 hand up and I'm like, they're going to call on you. 155 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,000 Like, you better put your hand down. 156 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:11,880 Now you got to know this. My grandpa's name was Oronnell. 157 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:19,080 My grandma's name was Cleata. If you're named Cleata, you 158 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,280 probably don't care what other people think about you. 159 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:23,640 OK. And my name's Clayton. 160 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,680 Like, I'm a generation of people who we need no last name. 161 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,240 Nobody's been like, you know, there's a lot of Matt's, there's 162 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,640 a lot of Brian's, tons of Brads and Bob's, but nobody goes 163 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,280 Clayton who? But like, I think I know who 164 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,160 we're talking about. Cleata was one-of-a-kind. 165 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,360 She was a one off and there she was in the middle of this 166 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,920 Presbyterian Church, both hands up, praising Jesus like this is 167 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,680 you keep doing what you're doing, I'm fine, she's OK. 168 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,200 You die means to extend your hand in worship. 169 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,360 It's used 111 times in the Old Testament. 170 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,040 It's used to describe people coming together and lifting 171 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,480 their hands together in God's presence. 172 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:03,280 Hear me. It is the natural expression of 173 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:09,480 excitement, wonder, aw, it's what we do when our team wins, 174 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,680 scores the touchdown. We yada, it's it'd be and it 175 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:17,920 crosses all geographical boundaries and all language 176 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,720 barriers. If you see somebody in another 177 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,200 nation, in another country going woo, you don't ask yourself, I 178 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,960 wonder what he's thinking. It translates and it is 179 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,320 something that you never have to teach your kids. 180 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,440 Did you ever have to teach your kids how to celebrate? 181 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,240 Now this when we're really excited, here's what we do. 182 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,640 Your kids naturally do it. The first time your kid makes a 183 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:50,400 basket, what does he do? He you does Psalm 145, verse 10 184 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:52,720 says all your works. You die. 185 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,440 You, Lord, your faithful people extol you. 186 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,880 The things that God does, you die. 187 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,800 They lift their hands in victory. 188 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,360 Psalm 67, three says May the peoples you die. 189 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,440 You God, may all the peoples you die, you. 190 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,760 In the movies, when you see people shooting their guns in 191 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,600 the air in victory, they are you dying. 192 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,320 When people are launching arrows into the air with joy, they are 193 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:25,720 you dying. And maybe today, for the first 194 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:32,360 time, you would. You da the Lord you see you. 195 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,640 Da is an eternal verb, which means that one day we will you 196 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,560 da God forever and ever. So if we're going to do it for 197 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:46,640 all eternity, we might as well start practicing now. 198 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,680 Interesting devotional. The Bible says that when we are 199 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:55,160 in heaven, we will see God face to face, then we will have 200 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,960 perfect knowledge of who he is. And when the Bible describes God 201 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,480 in heaven and it describes his presence, this is what the Bible 202 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:08,080 communicates, that God is surrounded by angels and living 203 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,680 creatures who never stop worshipping him. 204 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,600 They never stop. That means pay attention here, 205 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:22,960 that as our knowledge of God increases, as our understanding 206 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:28,760 of God increases, so does our desire to worship him. 207 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,880 The more you know about him, the more you want to you da him. 208 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,880 Word to halal. Everybody say halal. 209 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:44,280 You guys are learning Hebrew. It means to boast, to rave, to 210 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:50,080 shine, to celebrate, to act clamorously foolish. 211 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:56,680 This is the primary word for praise in the Old Testament. 212 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:02,440 It is from this word that we get the word Hallelujah. 213 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:09,480 The Oh yeah, the the is Jehovah is Yahweh. 214 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:17,800 Praise Hallelujah is praise God when you it is the laying aside 215 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:22,600 of your inhibitions. It is the kind of worship where 216 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:27,600 you kill yourself conscious. You care nothing about what 217 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,200 other people think. You just want to praise the 218 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,560 Lord. Think of your family at a 219 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,240 wedding. You're at a wedding, everybody's 220 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,280 hanging out and having fun and the DJ comes out and he starts 221 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,440 getting it going and everybody's like, OK, let's go up there 222 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,360 after everybody does their little dance and they get 223 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:44,720 everybody to do the chicken dance. 224 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,600 They loosen everybody up with the chicken dance and then they 225 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,200 do YMCA and everybody's kind of getting a little bit more 226 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,160 loosened up. Then they do the Electric Slide 227 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,600 and you got grandma with her busted up hip. 228 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,840 OK. And then about 30 minutes later, 229 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,240 while everybody kind of goes back to eat and the cool kids 230 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,200 are being too cool, you'll look across the dance floor and 231 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,640 you'll see a couple old people and a couple young people. 232 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:12,640 They're no longer doing choreography. 233 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,040 They're just, they're just having fun. 234 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,720 You know what they're doing? They're halaling. 235 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,960 They don't care what other people think. 236 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,280 They are just clamorously foolish. 237 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:32,000 I have a question for you. How much of your worship to God 238 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,800 has been restrained by your fear of how other people see you? 239 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:44,640 Psalm 149 verse 3 says let them halal His name with dancing and 240 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,960 make music to Him with timbrel and harp. 241 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,640 When you think about the Lord and you think about all that He 242 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,680 has done for you and you get so focused on Him that you stop 243 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,760 thinking or caring about what others think, you just might be 244 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:05,640 on your way to what the Bible calls worship, a special kind of 245 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:11,120 worship. Halal word 3 Zamar. 246 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:17,600 Everybody say zamar to make music, to celebrate in song and 247 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:22,240 music, to touch the strings or the parts of a musical 248 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,160 instrument. Praise and worship Music can be 249 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:31,320 a powerful tool to draw us in to a personal experience with God. 250 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,000 Music is more powerful than we can even understand. 251 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:39,160 It can soften our hearts. It can soothe our troubled 252 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,280 souls. It opens a door to the spiritual 253 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:46,240 world that paves the road for the spirits coming into our 254 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,360 lives. Why do we put on music when 255 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,480 we're driving with a loved one? Why do couples have a song? 256 00:15:54,120 --> 00:16:00,120 There is something that happens in us when music underscores a 257 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:05,240 preaching moment. Immediately we start to relax a 258 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,360 little bit, lean in a little bit more. 259 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:15,720 Over 40 times in the Bible, zamar is used to praise the Lord 260 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:20,160 with the instruments to get the music going, to get your heart 261 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,240 directed in the right way. Psalm 144 verse 9 says I will 262 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,920 sing a new song to you, O God, on a harp of 10 strings, I will 263 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:33,480 zamar you. Psalm 7 or Psalm 7 verse 17 264 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:38,040 says, I will you die the Lord according to his righteousness, 265 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:42,360 and I will sing zamar to the name of the Most High. 266 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,560 Psalm 57 verse 7 says My heart is fixed, Oh God, my heart is 267 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,280 fixed, I will sing and give zamar to you. 268 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,400 Music can bolster the human heart and fill us with the 269 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:00,800 courage to live out our faith as we cling to the promises of God. 270 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,599 Think of the walk out music for a basketball team, the hype 271 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:07,680 music for a football team. We're getting ready to go to 272 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:08,560 war. And you know what? 273 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,920 We need a soundtrack. That's why presidential 274 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,440 candidates fight over the rights to certain music to be played 275 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,119 during their campaign. Because they know that the music 276 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,359 moves you, changes you, that there's something that happens 277 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,599 to the human heart. There's something that happens 278 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:30,720 in worship when an instrument gets played and God gets his 279 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:39,000 zamar #4 toda. Everybody say Toda, this is an 280 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,520 extension of the hand. You're going to notice something 281 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,560 when God talks about worship. He doesn't spend a whole lot of 282 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:51,640 time talking about this. There's an awful lot of this. 283 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,520 It is Thanksgiving, a confession, a sacrifice of 284 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:03,760 praise, Thanksgiving for things not yet received, a choir of 285 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,720 worshippers. Toda in Hebrew is a word that 286 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,440 means an extension of the hand in Thanksgiving to God, not just 287 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:15,920 for what he's done, but it is a sacrifice of praise for things 288 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,560 not yet received. It is praising God in 289 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:26,360 expectation. It is a way for us in our hearts 290 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:32,000 to convey trust in the goodness of our God when things aren't 291 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000 going right. It's not just praising God for 292 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,840 what He's done. It's praising God for what you 293 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:45,240 believe He could do. In Psalm 56, David writes this 294 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,720 Psalm while he is experiencing hardship on absolutely every 295 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,880 side. His enemies are attacking him 296 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:55,360 continually. Let me tell you what he he says 297 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:57,680 death is staring him in the face. 298 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,680 Earlier in Psalm 56, this is what he writes. 299 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:05,440 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit. 300 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,040 All day long they press their attack. 301 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:13,720 My adversaries pursue me all day long in their pride. 302 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,880 Many are attacking me when I am afraid. 303 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:21,080 I will put my trust in you, God, whose word I praise. 304 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,640 In God I trust and I am not afraid. 305 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:29,600 What can mere mortals do to me? All day long they twist my 306 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,600 words. Their schemes are all for my 307 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,640 ruin. They conspire, they learn, they 308 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,640 watch my steps, hoping to take my life. 309 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,440 But look how he ends the song in Psalm 56. 310 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:47,640 In God I trust and am not afraid. 311 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,560 What can man do to me? I am under vows to you, God. 312 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:57,520 I will present my toda to you. Believe in all right, for You 313 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:02,200 have delivered me from death, my feet from stumbling, that I may 314 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,720 walk before God in the light of life. 315 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,720 He writes that song while he is being oppressed, claiming in 316 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:10,920 advance that God will deliver him. 317 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,200 Hear me. When you todah, you are choosing 318 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,440 to worship over your worry. Instead of focusing on the 319 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,760 things that are out of your control, you are focusing all of 320 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,320 your attention to the One who is in control. 321 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:29,480 When you Todah, the things of this world get smaller and you 322 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,640 start. To see your God for how big He 323 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,000 really is. Hear me, I got a devotional 324 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,320 thought for somebody today. If you are here today and things 325 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,680 are not up and to the right. If you are walking with some 326 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,280 worry, if there's some pain in your stride, if there's a 327 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,240 marital hardship, you're navigating a parenting pinch 328 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,280 point. If you are listening to my voice 329 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,680 right now and you are still waiting and praying for the 330 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,000 salvation of a loved one. If you're here today and you're 331 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,760 beat down. If you're tired, if you're sick, 332 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:03,560 if you're sad, you're depressed, you're overwhelmed, stressed 333 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,240 out, needing some guidance, in search of direction, longing for 334 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,920 peace, you have all of the necessary ingredients to Da Da, 335 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:13,640 the name of the Lord, Lord Most High. 336 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,680 Remember the song Do it again. To do it again is a todah song. 337 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,920 When you sing that song and your heart moves in the middle of 338 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,760 that song, it's because your heart is saying todah. 339 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,960 Stupid Todah. Look at me walking around these 340 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:32,080 walls. I thought by now they fall. 341 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,200 But you have never failed me yet, Todah. 342 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,080 Waiting for change to come, knowing the battles won for you 343 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:46,680 have never failed me yet, Toda. I've seen you move, You move the 344 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:52,600 mountains, and I believe I'll see you do it again. 345 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:58,640 Toda, you made a way when there was no way, and I believe I'll 346 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:04,000 see you do it again. Toda some 121 verse one through 347 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,320 2 says I lift my eyes to the mountains. 348 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:12,840 Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the 349 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:17,840 Maker of heaven and earth. When you're in it, you can look 350 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,800 at your problem, or you can look to the hills, knowing that God 351 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:27,160 is on his way. And you can todah #5 Barack. 352 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:36,400 Barack means to kneel to bless God as an act of adoration, to 353 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:42,320 praise, to salute, to thank. This word is commonly translated 354 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,880 as praise is a word of humility. Barack embodies the notion of 355 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:57,680 kneeling before God, blessing God, adoring God, recognizing 356 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,880 your position in relationship to God. 357 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:08,520 This word is used 289 times in the Psalms on each occurrence. 358 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,640 It is used to describe worshippers falling on their 359 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:16,080 face before God in reverence, adoration, and thanks. 360 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,440 Scholars of the ancient Hebrew provide additional insights into 361 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,440 the word Barack. They believe that in the 362 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,200 original context, the term did not simply mean just to kneel, 363 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,680 but to kneel down and keeping your eyes fixed on the King. 364 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,960 That when we Barack, we are recognizing that he's in charge 365 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,640 and we are not taking our eyes off the King. 366 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:46,000 Psalm 72 verse 11 and 15 says, May all the kings bow down to 367 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:51,400 him, and all nations serve him. Long may he live. 368 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,120 May gold from Sheba be given him. 369 00:23:54,240 --> 00:24:00,080 May people ever pray for him and Barack him all day long. 370 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:04,640 When Barack takes place, even the most powerful lay aside 371 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,800 their egos, their power, their desires. 372 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:13,560 They give all they have to him. Their gold, their prayer, their 373 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,640 honor, their gaze. They have an understanding of 374 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,920 who they're worshipping. If we've experienced the 375 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,920 goodness of God, if we've seen him work in our lives, in the 376 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,440 lives of our friends, in the life of our church, how can we 377 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:35,560 not, Barack, how can we not fall to our knees in gratitude with 378 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,840 our eyes fixed on him? Because when the king walks in 379 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:46,320 the room, everybody kneels Number six, Tequila. 380 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:53,120 Some of you said tequila, and that's why you choose the 381 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:59,760 crossing. Tequila means laudation, a hymn, 382 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:05,320 a song of praise, a new song, a spontaneous song. 383 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,120 The Old Testament psalmist were masters of incorporating the 384 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:12,440 stories of their history into songs of praise. 385 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:17,160 And their story praise is captured by the word tequila. 386 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,840 In fact, tehila is a Hebrew word meaning hymn, song of praise, 387 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,040 new spontaneous song. The book of Psalms is actually a 388 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,640 collection of these kinds of songs. 389 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,040 And in fact, in the Hebrew language, the book of Psalms is 390 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:35,400 called the tehilam. Tehilam is a word that is used 391 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,640 57 times in the scripture with over half of those occurrences 392 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:44,000 being found in Psalm. Psalm 22 verse 3 says you, yet 393 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:49,960 you are enthroned as the holy 1 You are the one Israel Tehilas. 394 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,880 Songs of Tehila may not rhyme, they may not even be the 395 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,560 catchiest tune. But these songs, even though 396 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,800 they're not the most polished, they come from the worshippers 397 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:07,760 heart and the moment. Songs of Tehila flow from the 398 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:14,320 depth of our intimacy with God, singing a made-up song to God. 399 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,000 Follow this with me. Some of you have probably sang a 400 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,720 song to your wife. It's probably not in the same 401 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,240 stratosphere as what we're talking about here, but you have 402 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:32,280 been so moved that you sang her a little song made-up a little 403 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,680 Jingle. When you did that, you were to 404 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,080 heal him. There's something that happens 405 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:42,440 to us when we sing a made-up song to God. 406 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,440 Full disclosure, I had never to heal him until recently, but 407 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:49,880 when I was working on the Storm was like, I got to start giving 408 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:51,520 it a try. So there's been a couple times 409 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,920 that I've been driving and I just try to like, OK, God, I'm 410 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:55,480 going to try this to heal him thing out. 411 00:26:55,480 --> 00:27:00,280 And can I tell you, it's been special every time. 412 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,120 If I can come up with a cool little Jingle for my wife, I can 413 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:05,640 probably come up with a Jingle for God. 414 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:07,960 And it's not a song for everybody else. 415 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,960 It's a song for me, and it's a song for him. 416 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,840 Even if the words don't rhyme, even if you can't carry a tune, 417 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:19,880 even if you don't know quite yet what to sing, practice raising a 418 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,280 spontaneous song of praise to God. 419 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,240 It may be awkward at first. It may even be uncomfortable. 420 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,560 But if you do, there's a gift for you. 421 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:35,200 The Bible says that God dwells into helium. 422 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,080 Some of you may have grown up in church and you have heard this 423 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,040 verse before. God inhabits the praises of His 424 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,400 people. There's a certain type of praise 425 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,200 that He inhabits. In fact, I already read you the 426 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:51,480 verse. I just read it to you in a 427 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,880 different version. Psalm 22 three is God is 428 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,160 enthroned and inhabits your tehila. 429 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,720 When you sing a made-up song about the goodness of God out of 430 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:11,360 the overflow of your heart, God says I'm coming into the middle 431 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:16,200 of that. I will inhabit your tahila. 432 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,960 He does not inhabit your Barack, he inhabits your tahila. 433 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,120 He doesn't inhabit your yadah. He inhabits when you just start 434 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:31,760 singing to him, saying no one can do stuff like you, no one's 435 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,880 better than you. No one's loving me like you do. 436 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,240 He's like I'm on my way. That's my living room. 437 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:47,560 That's where I like to be in your tahila #7 Shabak to address 438 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:53,360 in a loud tone, to shout, to commend, glory and triumph. 439 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:58,120 Psalm 117 one says praise the Lord, all you nations, Shabak 440 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,960 him, all you peoples. What he's doing is it is our the 441 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:06,680 final Hebrew word of praise. It means to address in this loud 442 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:12,840 tone quite literally, it means to raise a holy roar. 443 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:18,120 The word is used sparsely in the Old Testament, but these 11 444 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:22,600 times that it shows up, each time it has a powerful effect, 445 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,680 similar to fans at a sporting event, joining together in a 446 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:31,040 thunderous sound, all cheering, all yelling, all declaring the 447 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,320 celebration. This corporate celebration, this 448 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:39,240 shout of praise that erupts in a stadium during a match of soccer 449 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,240 or during the game of football is Shavak. 450 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,560 And every time we gather with God's people to praise him with 451 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,360 one voice uniting with another voice, these songs become 452 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,280 anthems. These anthems become 453 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,160 declarations. These declarations become a holy 454 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,080 roar. Psalm 145, verse 4 says One 455 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,960 generation shall box your works to another. 456 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:08,000 They tell of your mighty acts. Shabbat transcends time and 457 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,680 geography. It is this holy roar that 458 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,880 reaches from one generation to the next generation. 459 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:19,480 And this shout of praise needs your voice because no one can 460 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,320 Shabbat God for you. Only you can do that. 461 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:28,640 But when you Shabbat and I Shabbat and we Shabbat, when we 462 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:32,480 gather as a church, we are lifting a holy, triumphant roar. 463 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:37,480 Why? Because we have won through 464 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,200 Jesus. We are celebrating the victory 465 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,440 that was won on our behalf when Jesus was crucified on the cross 466 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,960 and rose from the grave. You see, the reason we gather to 467 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,440 celebrate is because sin has been destroyed, guilt has been 468 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,840 cast off, shame has been dismantled, Satan has been 469 00:30:55,840 --> 00:31:00,120 crushed, Hell has been defeated. So how can we not show up and 470 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,560 Shabbat with everything we have? And here's what I'm wondering 471 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:10,040 What would happen to our worship if we started worshiping? 472 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:16,600 Not how we feel, but how God commands and how God deserves. 473 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:25,640 We're moving to a time of decision, Tyler McKenzie, who 474 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,280 preaches here a couple of times a year, recently wrote in a 475 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,960 Christian Standard article. These words hang with me. 476 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:36,200 In 1947, African American theologian Howard Thurman. 477 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,880 He gave a famous speech for the Ingersoll Lecture Series at 478 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:45,560 Harvard. He explored how worship songs of 479 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:51,640 slaves gave them hope amid chaos and suffering. 480 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,800 He referenced their songs that spoke of Chariots swinging, low, 481 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:03,320 trumpets resounding, tombstones bursting, and sinners trembling. 482 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,760 The popular critics of African American spirituals was that 483 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:12,840 they were too heavenly minded and that this sort of thinking 484 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:19,400 made slaves passive and too other worldly to fight back 485 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:23,000 against slavery. But Thurman used his lecture to 486 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:28,560 challenge this critique. He argued that their hope and 487 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:34,560 divine judgement and eternal heaven empowered them to trust 488 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:41,720 God's sovereignty, endure pain, and conquer evil with good, that 489 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,360 their songs of hope were fuel for the ultimate fight. 490 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,320 They knew that they would outlive all of the chaos they 491 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:56,440 experienced in this world with God and eternity, and that 492 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:02,320 enabled them to look evil and hardship in the face and sing. 493 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:10,720 To experience unthinkable hardships and write songs about 494 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:15,240 God is on his way. That they could be separated 495 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:20,400 from their families, abused and beaten, but because their mind 496 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:24,480 was so focused on the God who reigned supreme, they could 497 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:29,120 sing. Swing low, Sweet chariot coming 498 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:36,360 forth to carry me home. And times like these and the 499 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,240 times that you're living in right now, this sort of hopeful 500 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:45,720 theology sung with a spiritual family can be just the medicine 501 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:48,520 we need. So to those of you who don't 502 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:52,840 have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, you 503 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:57,400 don't have anything to sing about yet, but heaven is waiting 504 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:01,720 for you to join the triumphant chorus. 505 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,920 And so in just a few moments, when the people around you stand 506 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,159 and sing and a lot more of them start worshipping and some of 507 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:12,960 them come to the steps and pray, I want to encourage you to talk 508 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:14,639 to somebody. Or if you want, walk right over 509 00:34:14,639 --> 00:34:17,639 there underneath that screen next to the baptistry and talk 510 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:20,239 to somebody about how you can begin an intimate, personal 511 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,920 relationship with Jesus Christ. So you can understand why we are 512 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,800 so excited to sing about the goodness of our God. 513 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,280 And to those of you who do have an intimate, personal 514 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:34,199 relationship with Jesus, it is time for our worship to join the 515 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:36,880 heavens. That this is not about how you 516 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:39,719 feel right now. This is not about how your week 517 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:41,719 was. This is not about whether or not 518 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:43,400 you feel the best or don't feel the best. 519 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:48,239 This is about is God worthy of worship and are we willing to 520 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:54,080 give Him what He desires, what He requires, and what He 521 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:55,960 deserves. Would you stand with me? 522 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,120 I think probably the right thing for me to do, God, is to 523 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:15,200 apologize for all the times we've done it wrong, to 524 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,800 apologize for all the times we made worship about us. 525 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:24,360 And instead of making it about you, I'm incredibly thankful 526 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,200 that you are long-suffering and patient with us. 527 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:35,320 God, I pray that you would release a culture of genuine, 528 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:42,080 authentic, obedient worship in this church, not just here, but 529 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:45,040 at all of our locations, but not just at all of our locations. 530 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:48,840 Release it in May Release it in US. 531 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:51,160 Hear my pray. Amen.