Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to the Psalms 34:1. I want to speak a message to you entitled "Passionate Worship".
I wonder if there's anyone in here this morning who passionately loves Jesus?
Psalms 34:1, "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth".
Father, I thank you that you're faithful. Holy Spirit, as we come to your word, we do hunger and thirst after you. Lord, we thank you for being here this morning, you've met with us already and we know you're not through. Father, may we decrease and you increase in this place, in the wonderful name of Jesus, Amen.
There's a story of a lady who for many years had wanted to have a child and she was finally able to give birth after many years of trying. Some time after she had given birth when the child was 12 years old, began to develop some complications. That child had some sicknesses and the doctors treated her and what happened over that year was pretty hard for the family and that child did pass away. One day that Mom was talking with one of her friends and she said, "You know, I thought I would see my daughter grow up and marry, I thought I would see my grandkids and hold them on my knee but you know, God gave me 12 years with that wonderful child and I will cherish those 12 years for the rest of my life. I give God all the glory because He gave me my daughter and I was able to enjoy those 12 years with her. How many of you know that's really the heart of worship? Loving God no matter what ever happens, caring and knowing that He's wonderful and faithful.
When we talk about the word "worship", I think it means so much to many people. Many people when they hear the word "worship" immediately think of what we've done this morning, corporate singing in a church. How many of you know that's a good part of worship? But corporate worship is not all that worship is. Psalms 29:2 says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due His name, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness".
There's something beautiful and wonderful about those who love God with all their heart and they begin to sing to Him, people who are living a life that is pure and right before their creator. Pure and right before the one who saved them from their sins, pure and right and with dignity and love toward God.
Worship means to respect or to reverence, it's that simple. I think in our churches today we talk about worship and there's a lot of hype and a lot of stuff that we bring with it but worship is simply reverence to God, to ascribe worthiness and honor. It carries the idea of an extravagant devotion and an extravagant adoration. I wonder if there's anyone in this room today who is extravagantly devoted to God? Someone who loves God with all their heart and all their soul and all their mind and all their strength, with everything that is within them.
One writer described worship this way, as "worthship", that He is worthy of everything that we have to give Him. He's worthy of all honor, of all praise. As a matter of fact, the idea of worship means to kiss, actually like a dog licking his master's hand. How many of you have ever seen the devotion of a good dog? I have the best dog in the world. As a matter of fact I don't think I ever want another one because I don't think he could ever be replaced. Rusty, a wonderful, beautiful purebred collie, the most devoted dog in the world. I couldn't wait to preach a sermon called, "More than a dog" and I preached it one day. That dog did everything I asked it to do and the anointing was so strong it laid next to me during the whole message. I love that dog. When I come home that dog would just love me, he'd love my kids, but you know, Aren't you glad you're not a dog today? The truth is that we can love God with the kind of devotion that a dog would show its master, the kind of devotion we serve our master with, our God and Savior, because He is faithful.
A good definition I like is this, "A life lived for the glory of God everyday, all day, all for God". Psalms 113:3 says, "From the rising of the sun to it's going down, the name of the Lord is to be praised". That means to when the sun goes up, to when it goes down and even all through the night. I wonder if there's anyone in this room who's ever woken up in the middle of the night just worshipping God?
The truth is that worship is our reason for living, it's what we were created to do. This verse I think is very familiar to people but I want you to read the last sentence as we go through it, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who call you out of darkness into His marvelous light". How many of you are thankful this morning that you're not living the old life that you used to live? Some of us have come out of some stuff when life was dark, when life was hard, when things were difficult. Listen, the truth is, I don't know how people do it without Jesus. They just barely live and barely exist. They just get by day to day.
The truth is with Jesus we can thrive, we can give Him the glory. Everyone in this room has a testimony. I wonder if anyone in this room has a testimony that they've shared with someone every once in awhile? The things that God has done for you, the things that he's done through you, the miracles that he's done in your life, the things that he's brought you out of. What a marvelous God we serve. As a matter of fact, God has done such a work in our lives that it's hard to stay silent, it's hard not to give him glory.
David Meese wrote a song a long time ago called "We are the reason". Maybe you remember it, "We are the reason that he gave His life, we are the reason that he suffered and died". In the middle of that song, he sings "I finally found my reason for living, it's in giving every part of my heart to Him in all that I do and every word that I say, I'll be giving my all just for Him". That's worship, my all for Jesus.
Corporately we worship, when we all come together it truthfully reflects the overflow of what we've been doing the 6 other days of the week. How many of you love to hear the people of God just sing and worship the Lord? There are times when I don't even sing because when you're singing and giving it your all it's hard to hear everyone around you. There are times when I just stop singing up here. I purposely just listen to hear you worship the Lord. It's amazing, you can hear it out of a heart of a person what God has done in their life by the inflection in their voice, with the enthusiasm that they sing, with the desire that they bring to the Lord. You can see and hear what God has done in their life. What we do here on Sunday's is a reflection of what we've done for the Lord the other 6 days of the week.
I called this message "Passionate worship" because passion deals with life, it deals with enthusiasm. Passion deals with commitment, a passionate life for God. The truth is when you find someone passionate about something, they put their all into it, they're giving everything to Jesus. I'm not just talking about the songs that we sing on Sunday mornings. The truth is this, passionate people will outperform talented people all the time. Passionate people will accomplish more with their life tha someone who has all the skill but just goes through the motions. A passion for God, a passion for His purpose, a passion for His plan will move people into the direction that God has for their life quicker than anything else. Passionate people move on despite setbacks. Passinate people move on despite discouragement because they love what they do and they love who they serve and there's something inside of them that they have made a commitment to live for that thing and they're giving their life and devotion to it. I wonder if there's anyone in this room today who has passionately devoted their life to Jesus? Passion for God will move you closer to Him, it will stir your heart, it will stir your soul.
I believe there are several things that passionate worship demonstrates in the life of a believer. Ways that you can know that you're passionately in love with Jesus, that your life is being used for His glory all the time. Listen, more than just songs on a Sunday or a Wednesday when we get together or just when your singing in your car, passionate worship effects how you live for Jesus everyday because our life is that praise to the Lord. How we live it, how we talk, how we walk, the things that we say, the things that we do, that is a live of devotion lived for the glory of God and that is worship. The truth is I would trade one person who stands there at church on Sunday and might just sing a little bit but everyday gives their life wholly for the Lord. I would trade one of those for 10 people who on Sunday shout and jump and dance and scream but Monday through Saturday live like the devil.
I want to tell you there is a day coming I believe in this church when there will be a freedom in our worship like you've never seen. When you sing you won't be ashamed to lift your voice, to shout and lift your voice to the Lord. Some of you might even dance a little bit and you can't dance. That's ok, I can't dance either. Phil Collins sings this song, "I can't dance". Well I'm one of those people but what I can do is lift my voice, What I can do is tell people about Jesus, I can lift my hands, I can shout. There may be a lot of things that I can't do but what I'm able to do I'm going to do for Jesus. I want to tell you that we're going to see it in the church where it's real where the people you see lift their hands are people that really serve the Lord throughout the week and not just lift them because it's the religious thing to do on Sunday.
I want to tell you the first thing that passionate worship is. Passionate worship is engaged not detached. You see when my wife got engaged to me and I got engaged to her we didn't walk around unenthusiastically. When she accepted that ring and put it on her finger, how many of you remember that time when you got engaged? Some of you need to look at that ring on your spouses hand and get engaged all over again. Some of you are kind of detached in your marriage. If you put a car in neutral it isn't going anywhere unless you're on a hill and then you don't have control of it. A lot of people try to serve God in neutral. You can't serve God in neutral. The engine is running and your just wasting gas. The car is in neutral, you hit the hill and now you can't steer down it. Now you're scared. Life is coming at you 100 mph and you don't have control but if you engaged you have control. You could slow it down or speed it up or do what you need to do. How many know if you're engaged with God you have control because you're doing something with Him. Put it in drive, engage your life with Jesus. Nothing happens unless you're moving on with Him.
True worship is not dead or lifeless. Something happens when you sing and praise the Lord. When you come to the house of God you've got to be engaged. You can rev your engine all you want, some of you want to hook up a trailer hitch just wanting to go for the ride. The truth is the trailer doesn't have any control. Listen to me, worship expressive everyday and in the house of God. If you're living for God, you'll tell people what He's done for you. True worship puts a song in your heart, a spring in your step, a smile on your face. I call it victory gear.
If you're going to be engaged with the Lord you'll live in victory. Is there anyone saved here this morning? Listen, if you're saved and Jesus is your Savior, no matter what trial comes into your life, no matter what you go through, if you're living a life of worship you're in victory gear. "Though He slay me I will praise Him". He is faithful. No matter what happens I'm going to live for Jesus. It's an engaged faith, it's an engaged worship, victory gear.
True worship touches our emotions. Why? Because worship engages the whole person, body, soul, mind and spirit. People say to me, "You know Pastor, I'm just not emotional". Really?
Ok, taxes just went up $12,000 this year, you pull up to the gas tank and it's $4.00, your kid got an ?F' on his report card and doesn't care what you think. "I'm not emotional". Someone cut you off in the parking lot at Publix because you want that space. Oh, you're emotional now. Your football team goes to the Super Bowl and in the last second they win by a field goal.
"I'm not emotional". I've sat with some of you and I know you're emotional.
Listen I'm not talking about emotion for emotions sake and being goofy. I'm not talking about goofiness, I'm talking about being engaged. Worship is engaged. Some things that we classify as goofy in the church we wouldn't look at people if they did it at a concert or a baseball game. I watch concerts on television sometimes. You watch the people when they come to a slow song. We were meant to worship and if you don't worship Jesus you'll worship something. Those people at the concert they'll even bring out lighters. Don't bring in a lighter to church, please. We'll get wet, we have sprinklers. The room is too small and even when we move to the bigger one don't do it because some of you have some serious hairspray going on. You'll get emotional then and it won't be the fire of the Holy Ghost.
Psalms 47:1, "Clap your hands all you people, shout unto God with a voice of triumph". Psalms 134:2, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth".
The truth is this, lift your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. Give Him some praise, give him some glory for he is worthy of all glory, honor and praise. He is God.
Psalm 95:6 says, "Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel unto the Lord our maker".
I love it when you come and kneel at the altar with a heart truly and wholly expressed to the Lord. True worship effects you. I've been touched deeply as I've watched people worship the Lord. I remember the times when the power of God has been so powerful in church and people have just knelt in His presence. One of the most precious things I've ever watched back in the 90's, Ron Canoli had a tape out and I just remember they were singing a song and there was a skinny little black man there singing his heart out. All I saw were the tears coming down his face. I was sitting in my home watching it and the presence of God was so powerful. The concert had been done months ago and when I saw that man worshipping the Lord I began to weep. Listen, how many of you know the presence of God effects you? As we worship the Lord, He touches us.
I love to see youth with their arms outstretched touching the heart of God. I want to tell you something, the youth of this generation, they are something else, they want something real. Can I say something about us older people? We need to help them find Jesus, they need to follow our example. If you go to some of the youth conventions, you can see kids with red hair, spiked hair and no hair because they're that way. Kids with a heart for God.
I want to tell you I believe what God is going to do in this next generation is powerful. Church, how many of you know that we need to be the ones to help stir that up in them? They're going to follow us, they want something real or they're going to run from the Lord. Truly knowing God will affect you. The truth is if you're not really an expressive person to those around you, a touch of God will not only change you in the way that you worship but will affect you in the way that you communicate with others. In my first church, there was a man on my Board, a very quiet man, a powerful man of God but he sure didn't talk a whole lot. As a matter of fact it affected his wife deeply because she was a talker, she still is. He was a hard working man but a man of very few words but when he spoke you wanted to listen. Something began to happen in his life as he began to wholly commit himself to the Lord. He began to communicate differently as he began to express himself to Jesus. Things began to happen in his marriage, they actually began to talk. As a matter of fact, this quiet simple man that just worked by himself with his hands and his tools right now is in a choir at a church of about 2000 people. He gets up front, he used to not be able to talk but now he worships the Lord. He'll put on a robe and he can sing his praises to the Lord. It began to change him. True worship will change you even in your relationship with others.
Mark this, those who are passionate are hungry and thirsty for more of God. The truth is this, I just can't get enough of Jesus.
There was a time when I gave my life to the Lord, I grew up in church but something happened somewhere along the way when God began to touch my life. How many of you have ever had that experience? You just can't get enough. Passionate people are hungry. You watch someone passionate in their work, someone passionate on their job. Listen, if they want it and they want success and they want to build a company, it doesn't matter, they want to keep going even when they reach a certain pinnacle or place where they never thought they would attain, all of a sudden they realize there is more and can accomplish more, not willing to just settle or what they've got right here.
Psalms 42:2 says, "My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God".
How many of you have ever just been thirsty for Jesus?
Psalms 63:1 says "Oh God, you are my God, early I will seek you for my soul thirsts for you". In Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled". Who's are righteousness? Jesus. We're not righteous, no not one, but he's our righteousness.
Christ is our righteousness. His word leads us in paths of righteousness and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, after Jesus, shall be filled. There's a lot of people that come to church, there's a lot of people that have given their life to the Lord and they say, "I'm still hungry". A lot of people will walk into the house of God but still leave empty.
How many of you have ever felt that way?
The Bible says, "Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled". John 6:32 says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger ad he who believes in Me shall never thirst".
Worship and the word go hand in hand. Jesus is the bread of life. We take communion but I wonder how many of you have evr come into the house of the Lord just a little hungry? How many of you ever leave the house of the lord a little hungry?
I'm going to use a service as kind of our relationship with Jesus on a daily basis. The truth is this, "Jesus is the bread of life". He's the foundation of all that we do. How many of you know that bread is the foundation of a really good sandwich? Anyone hungry this morning? You know you come into the house of God a little bit hungry. The Bible says, "He who hungers and thirsts will be filled and will never hunger again".
I like to eat, some of you know that. I want to talk a little bit about Sundays because we're kind of layering things throughout the whole service. Anything good comes in layers. Any good cook knows that. How many of you know Jesus not only is the good shepherd but he invented food? Manna from heaven. We're not kosher but that's ok. How many of you know you come into the house of the Lord a little prayed up with Jesus.
It's good to come prayed up. You've got the foundation of the bread. You begin to enter into worship a little bit with praise and worship then you've got to put a little meat on the thing.
How many of you know in the morning you just need some meat to get going? I went out to Denny's yesterday, had to have my bacon. But as you come into the house of the Lord you enter into his courts with thanksgiving and come into his presence with praise. It's like building something inside of you.
Things have got to be complete in our life. How many of you know God is in the process of making things complete but the truth is you should be able to leave satisfied. Jesus is not only enough, he's more than enough. As a matter of fact, if you were to eat this whole sandwich it's not only enough it's more than enough.
Just for a minute I'm going to relate this sandwich to praise and worship. I don't want to get too spiritual. You can come to house of God when you need to eat. Everyday you need to eat. Everyday I get hungry. As a matter of fact I get hungry about 3 times a day. How many of you eat 3 times a day? How many of you eat twice a day? How many of you eat only once a day? How many of you eat all day long? You are all honorary Italians, glory to God. The truth is you need to worship all day long to keep on going. Worshippers understand that because you live in the presence of the Lord. The presence of God and the Word of God is that fuel that will keep you going. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be full. Sometimes we can get out of balance. That sandwich could be praise and worship and you could feast on that all day.
Through this illustration what am I trying to say? A lot of people leave church dry because they didn't drink. They leave hungry because they wouldn't eat. A lot of people will go through their day instead of being a worshipper that comes into the presence of God. The truth is this, if you praise and worship all day long but don't get any of the word you're going to be full but you're still going to be thirsty and are not going to be satusfied. If you come in and all you want is the word but you never worship with your daily life. All you do is read the Bible but you don't give God glory throughout the week. You're not going to be thirsty but there's still going to be something missing because you're not full.
Worship and the Word bring balance. How many of you know the most balanced thing is water? Water will cleanse and water will purify. If at any point the worship and the Word in your life gets out of balance, if you are full of the Word but you never worship the Lord it's never going to satisfy. Something happens when we have the Word inside of us, we want to worship and it's out of that worship that we begin to get full of Jesus.
Worship is not just song. Sometimes your act of worship is simply giving someone who needs, sitting with someone in jail, sitting with someone who's in the hospital, ministering to someone in need, going to someone who needs help, helping someone to get off of drugs. How many of you know that is our reasonable act of worship? Worship is more than just song. If all you do is come to church and sing and you don't live it outside of this building you're out of balance and you'll never be satisfied but something that God is doing is satisfying.
Listen, passionate worship is intelligent. True worship is for thinkers and for knowers. Those who truly worship God know what they're doing. The reason why you need the word in your life, the reason why we dance and lift up our hands or when we shout and clap in the sanctuary, the reason why we have to have the word is because that word makes us intelligent about the one that we know. We need to know God and it's out of that knowing that we can effectively give Him praise.
Psalm 4:22 says, "You worship what you do not know but we know what we worship".
People out there in those rock concerts lifting their hands trying to do something, trying to fill something inside but have no idea what they're doing. When they come to church, the thing they should know is that we know what's going on.
Ist Corinthians 14:15 says, "I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the understanding, I will sing with the spirit and I will also sing with the understanding".
Passionate worship knows what it's doing. Passionate worship is also spiritual. What do I mean? It's deeper than the feelings of the flesh. True worship comes from who we are. Spiritual worship is deep. "Deep calls unto deep" the Psalm says. How many of you know when you're going through that stuff and you've got that thing for God. There's something when you know that you're hungry and thirsty for the Lord that comes out of the belly. "God, I don't want to just hear something in my mind, I don't want to get a little bit on my tongue, there's just something, deep calls unto deep".
The connection between a husband and a wife is deep because it's a spiritual bond. It's more than the physical things. There is a connection that happens because they've been engaged together, they've gone into gear. With the Lord it's the same thing. We experience that same closeness with the Lord. It is out of spiritual worship that we get to know God and His ways. I want you to just mark this verse down and you can read it later, Ist Corinthians 2:10-13.
I want to give you the last thing that passionate worship is. True worship is not just a form or an act or a show. As a matter of fact passionate worship happens when no one else is around. We live for Jesus regardless of who's looking or who's not looking. It's pure. Passionate worship is authentic, it is genuine. It is not a duty but it's from the heart. The truth is this when I look at my wife everyday I am so thankful that I am married to her. How many of you husbands know that you married up in the world? Everyday I am so thankful, it's something real, something genuine. The truth is that everyday that I live for Jesus, that relationship is real. Passionate worshippers understand that God is not looking for worship.
God has angels around his throne singing his praises day after day all day long. They were created to do that, they will serve him, they must serve him. You and I have been given a free will. True worshippers understand relationship.
In John, one of the greatest verses ever written on worship, John 4:23-24 says, "But the hour is coming and now is when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth".
Listen, my wife is not looking for a husband who is just going to love her because it's my duty. If that is all our relationship was then at some point that relationship will fall apart. "Why are you home tonight?" Because I have to. That's not a true marriage. True worshippers woship in the spirit and in true relationship. God, more than anything else I love you because I recognize who you are. I live for you everyday because of what you've done for me. I tell people of your great love because of what you have genuinely done inside of me. I worship you because how I feel matches what I know and when I don't feel I still know.
Some of you here need to understand in your marriages, How many of you ever have days where you don't feel in love? The truth is this, I know my wife loves me, She knows I love her. There are some days we don't feel in love. As a matter of fact there are some days we don't feel a whole lot of anything. Some days you feel like going the other way. How many of you know what I'm saying? You people who have been married awhile, you may be thinking "That's not very spiritual". Get a life because you know you've felt the same way. The only reason you didn't get in your car and keep going is because you made a commitment to love them for better or for worse. The truth is this, we've made a commitment to Jesus and when I don't feel it, I know it.
Listen to me, passionate worshippers understand that. That makes a difference in even the corporate life of a church. Sometimes you come to church and you don't feel like it. That doesn't mean because you don't feel like it that you lift you hands and shout anyway, that's called a lie but it does mean that your still going to engage. "Lord, I don't feel like it but I love you. I'll sing, I may not sing my hardest but I love you.
I'm going to clap because I'm engaged". But it moves beyond that, how about your daily life? Lord, today I'm going to serve you. I don't feel like it, I don't even feel like you love me but I know you do". You know when the devil starts whispering in your ear again saying you're no good, you deserve everything you're getting. The true worshipper says, "I know whom I have believed. I know, I may not feel it. As a matter of fact everything I'm feeling goes against what the word says but I know the word so I'm going to believe the word. That's why I can say with my mouth what I know to be true and that is a heart of a passionate worshipper.
