1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,840 Good morning. 2 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:01,660 Good morning. 3 00:00:01,660 --> 00:00:02,500 How are y'all doing today? 4 00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:03,340 Good. 5 00:00:03,340 --> 00:00:06,200 I'm doing good, thanks, yeah? 6 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:07,040 Good stuff. 7 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,000 All right, if you are joining us here 8 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,220 for the first time this morning here in our sanctuary, 9 00:00:11,220 --> 00:00:13,160 or if you're joining us online for the first time, 10 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:14,860 we wanna say welcome. 11 00:00:14,860 --> 00:00:16,520 We're so glad you're here to worship with us today 12 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:17,920 at Hosanna Christian Fellowship. 13 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:22,280 I am Pastor Nathan, and this morning, 14 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:27,160 we're gonna be continuing the Apostle John's experience 15 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:28,720 in the throne room of God, 16 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,480 and looking at what might be the first part 17 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,280 of a two-part study on what true worship is. 18 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,240 If you've been with us for the last few months, 19 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,520 you've been with us as we've gone through Revelation, 20 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,400 and when we got to chapter four, 21 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,240 starting in that chapter, our study shifted to heaven. 22 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,240 We've been literally in heaven from chapter four forward, 23 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,040 and there in chapter four in the beginning, 24 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,480 we saw John get caught up there into heaven 25 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,640 where he sees this wonderful vision of God on the throne. 26 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,520 He sees the 24 elders, he sees the four living creatures, 27 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,320 and then in chapter five, 28 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,400 him still in the throne room of God, 29 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,560 we opened up with Jesus, 30 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,240 claiming the title deed of earth as our kinsman redeemer, 31 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,880 as the one and only one who could possibly fulfill 32 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,520 the redemption clause of mankind and all of creation. 33 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,060 And so today, we're gonna see what is possibly 34 00:01:23,060 --> 00:01:27,600 the largest worship service in history, all right? 35 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:28,760 It is huge. 36 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,280 The venue of this worship service, heaven itself, 37 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,320 and in attendance at this worship service is God, 38 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:41,320 some strange creatures, angels, the redeemed, it says, 39 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:42,680 and then later on in the chapter, 40 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:44,720 it says that the number of all of these, 41 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,000 the angels and the redeemed and the creatures, 42 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,000 is thousands upon thousands of thousands, 43 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,240 all singing praise to the lamb of God, Jesus Christ. 44 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,360 Now, worship is very, very important to God, 45 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:00,960 as we're gonna see later in this chapter. 46 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:02,400 It's incredibly important to him, 47 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,760 and even though what we're looking at this morning 48 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:06,880 is taking place in heaven, 49 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,040 worship is something we could do anywhere. 50 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,480 We could worship God any place. 51 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,120 It doesn't have to only be here Sunday morning. 52 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,080 It doesn't have to only be in a church. 53 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,440 We could worship God anywhere, any day. 54 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,600 Worship isn't something reserved for Sunday alone. 55 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,400 We can worship God at home. 56 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,520 We can worship God in our car. 57 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,320 We can worship God inside. 58 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,120 We can worship God outside. 59 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,280 Worship is a universal thing, 60 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,600 but it will have its ultimate fulfillment, 61 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,440 its ultimate expression when we get to heaven, 62 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:40,840 because when we get to heaven, 63 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,120 worship there will no longer be a long distance experience. 64 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,520 We will be face to face with God Almighty. 65 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:50,840 We will be singing directly into his eyes. 66 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:52,960 We will be smiling at him as we praise. 67 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,640 He will be right there with us, 68 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,680 and we will be present with the Lamb of God, 69 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,880 who will still then bear the marks of our redemption, 70 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:02,280 as we talked about last week, 71 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,520 and we will there be praising him forever. 72 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,240 So there's a lot of information here 73 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:08,880 at the end of Revelation chapter five. 74 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,360 There's actually three different songs of worship 75 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:13,680 that we're gonna be studying. 76 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,440 This week we're gonna look at the first song. 77 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,480 We'll be looking at verses eight through 10 78 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:19,640 of Revelation five, and the next time we're together, 79 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:23,640 we'll look at the second two songs in verses 11 through 14, 80 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,640 but the big overarching question 81 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:30,440 that these next two studies pose to us is simply this. 82 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,540 How important is worship to you? 83 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,500 How important is worship to you? 84 00:03:37,540 --> 00:03:39,200 As you contemplate that question, 85 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,100 one of the natural places your mind might wander to 86 00:03:42,100 --> 00:03:43,120 is the next question. 87 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,200 Well, how important is worship to God? 88 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,020 How important is it to him? 89 00:03:49,020 --> 00:03:51,360 Well, biblically, the answer to that question 90 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,000 is pretty simple. 91 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:54,080 If you're a student of the Bible, 92 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,360 you'll see that worship is a top priority to God, 93 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,680 and possibly the top priority, 94 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,300 because when we think of what God wants from us, 95 00:04:03,300 --> 00:04:05,120 other things might naturally come to mind, 96 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,840 especially in line with our specific giftings and callings. 97 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:10,240 We might think, oh, evangelism's 98 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,120 the most important thing to God. 99 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,060 We might think outreach is the most important thing to God. 100 00:04:15,060 --> 00:04:18,160 Some might go, no, discipleship is the most important thing 101 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,760 God wants from us in our relationship with them. 102 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,360 Others might say, no, it's teaching. 103 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:23,360 It's teaching the word. 104 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,340 That's obviously the top priority to God. 105 00:04:27,340 --> 00:04:30,440 Now, all of those things for sure are incredibly important, 106 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,880 very important, vital to our faith walk as Christians, 107 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:36,480 but they're not on the top of the list 108 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:38,960 of what God wants from his people. 109 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,240 There at the top of the list is worship. 110 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,220 Because what happens here, here on earth, 111 00:04:44,220 --> 00:04:48,600 here from me to you, the pulpit to the body here 112 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,960 as we gather together, what happens from each of you 113 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,680 to one another as the body ministers to one another, 114 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:56,840 and then what happens from us to the world 115 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:58,840 as we go out to share the gospel of Christ, 116 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,160 all of our outreach, all of our activity, 117 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,180 all of our outward activity stems from our upreach. 118 00:05:06,180 --> 00:05:07,800 It stems from our worship, 119 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,720 our worship relationship with our God. 120 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:12,560 Because everything we are, 121 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,280 everything we do is God's children. 122 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:19,480 It's all a direct reflection of our worship of God. 123 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,020 Is he our everything? 124 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,300 Is he our focus? 125 00:05:25,300 --> 00:05:27,660 Is he our priority? 126 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,520 Is he our reason for everything? 127 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,100 Do we worship truly? 128 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:36,360 What is that even? 129 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:37,240 What does that even mean? 130 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,880 Well, we're gonna attempt to answer some of these questions 131 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,360 this morning in Revelation five, 132 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,160 but first, we are gonna spend some time in worship 133 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,680 because God is worthy. 134 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,320 He is worthy of our worship, he is worthy of our praise, 135 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,880 and as we're gonna see today, we get as his people 136 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,040 the wonderful opportunity to respond to him 137 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,880 for what he has done in saving our souls, amen? 138 00:05:58,880 --> 00:05:59,700 Let's pray. 139 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:02,400 Father, we love you. 140 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,100 God, we love you so much. 141 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,140 Lord, we quite literally are nothing without you. 142 00:06:08,140 --> 00:06:11,220 Lord, without you, we are simply lost people, 143 00:06:12,740 --> 00:06:14,300 controlled by our sin, 144 00:06:15,820 --> 00:06:18,460 standing in the path of your judgment against sin. 145 00:06:20,180 --> 00:06:23,340 But Lord, as believers, we've come to a place, God, 146 00:06:23,340 --> 00:06:25,180 where we believed in you. 147 00:06:26,260 --> 00:06:28,980 We believed in who you are and what you did for us, God. 148 00:06:29,860 --> 00:06:32,420 We received that free gift of salvation 149 00:06:32,420 --> 00:06:35,500 that you offered to us, Lord, and we were born again. 150 00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:36,860 We were redeemed. 151 00:06:36,860 --> 00:06:38,860 We were saved, we were set free 152 00:06:38,860 --> 00:06:40,500 from the power and control of sin 153 00:06:41,460 --> 00:06:43,100 to then, for the rest of this life, 154 00:06:43,100 --> 00:06:46,540 live a life that glorifies you, 155 00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:49,700 a life with true meaning and true purpose. 156 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:51,500 Lord, a life of true love 157 00:06:51,500 --> 00:06:53,380 that we couldn't possibly do without you, 158 00:06:53,380 --> 00:06:56,020 and then, on top of that, we have the hope of heaven 159 00:06:57,140 --> 00:07:00,620 and an eternity just with you in perfection. 160 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:03,860 God, you are so worthy. 161 00:07:03,860 --> 00:07:08,220 You are so worthy, and God, we wanna open this morning 162 00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:10,380 in worshiping of you, Lord, 163 00:07:10,380 --> 00:07:12,700 even in preparation of looking into your word 164 00:07:12,700 --> 00:07:15,660 and learning what true worship is all about. 165 00:07:15,660 --> 00:07:19,540 But God, we wanna glorify your name and praise you 166 00:07:19,540 --> 00:07:21,940 because, God, you are everything. 167 00:07:21,940 --> 00:07:23,180 You are our everything. 168 00:07:23,180 --> 00:07:25,820 You are our reason for being, 169 00:07:25,820 --> 00:07:27,780 and we love you and we thank you. 170 00:07:29,020 --> 00:07:31,620 So God, be glorified this morning. 171 00:07:31,620 --> 00:07:34,180 Fill us and move through us in your spirit, God, 172 00:07:34,180 --> 00:07:37,260 that we would be people who respond to what you have done. 173 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:39,260 Thank you. 174 00:07:39,260 --> 00:07:41,540 It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 175 00:07:41,540 --> 00:07:44,460 All right, today we are in Revelation chapter five 176 00:07:44,460 --> 00:07:46,060 looking at verses eight through 10, 177 00:07:46,060 --> 00:07:49,500 so I just wanna read the verses for context. 178 00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:52,660 It says, when he took the scroll, 179 00:07:52,660 --> 00:07:54,860 the four living creatures and the 24 elders 180 00:07:54,860 --> 00:07:56,660 fell down before the lamb. 181 00:07:56,660 --> 00:07:59,860 Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, 182 00:07:59,860 --> 00:08:02,060 which are the prayers of the saints. 183 00:08:02,060 --> 00:08:04,100 And they sang a new song. 184 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:07,340 You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals 185 00:08:07,340 --> 00:08:09,220 because you were slaughtered, 186 00:08:09,220 --> 00:08:12,140 and you purchased people for God by your blood 187 00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:16,060 from every tribe and language and people and nation. 188 00:08:16,060 --> 00:08:20,140 You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, 189 00:08:20,140 --> 00:08:23,140 and they will reign on the earth. 190 00:08:23,140 --> 00:08:25,300 So that's the first worship song we're looking at here 191 00:08:25,300 --> 00:08:26,820 at the end of Revelation chapter five, 192 00:08:26,820 --> 00:08:29,020 and I want us all to notice five things. 193 00:08:29,020 --> 00:08:31,220 If you're taking notes and now you're like, 194 00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:32,060 I don't need to take notes, 195 00:08:32,060 --> 00:08:33,700 they're gonna email them to me, but whatever. 196 00:08:33,700 --> 00:08:36,020 If you wanna write this down, okay. 197 00:08:36,020 --> 00:08:38,180 There's five things that we're gonna notice in this. 198 00:08:38,180 --> 00:08:40,340 One, we're gonna see who's involved 199 00:08:40,340 --> 00:08:42,000 in the worship here in heaven. 200 00:08:43,100 --> 00:08:45,940 We're gonna see what inspired their worship. 201 00:08:45,940 --> 00:08:49,220 We're gonna see their posture in worship. 202 00:08:49,220 --> 00:08:51,260 We're gonna see the tools that they employed 203 00:08:51,260 --> 00:08:52,660 in their worship, and then lastly, 204 00:08:52,660 --> 00:08:55,300 we're gonna look at the nature of the praise 205 00:08:55,300 --> 00:08:56,740 that they give in worship. 206 00:08:56,740 --> 00:09:00,020 And so the first thing is who's involved here 207 00:09:00,020 --> 00:09:01,320 in this worship service? 208 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,660 Well, immediately we see that it says 209 00:09:03,660 --> 00:09:07,580 there's four living creatures and the 24 elders. 210 00:09:07,580 --> 00:09:10,260 Now next week, it adds to this worship service 211 00:09:10,260 --> 00:09:12,700 that there are also many angels, 212 00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:14,660 and then it says there is thousands 213 00:09:14,660 --> 00:09:17,500 plus thousands of thousands in attendance 214 00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:20,340 at this worship service, so there's a lot there. 215 00:09:20,340 --> 00:09:23,060 Now specifically, we looked at the four living creatures 216 00:09:23,060 --> 00:09:26,780 and the 24 elders when we studied chapter four. 217 00:09:26,780 --> 00:09:28,860 If you remember, these four living creatures 218 00:09:28,860 --> 00:09:31,060 were there in God's throne room, 219 00:09:31,060 --> 00:09:33,580 and it's my understanding and my belief 220 00:09:33,580 --> 00:09:34,980 that they're literal creatures. 221 00:09:34,980 --> 00:09:36,260 Some people go, no, they're just 222 00:09:36,260 --> 00:09:38,180 a metaphorical representation, 223 00:09:38,180 --> 00:09:40,780 but I believe they're literal creatures 224 00:09:40,780 --> 00:09:42,920 that exist there in heaven. 225 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,420 Now they do have a very strange description 226 00:09:45,420 --> 00:09:48,540 as John did his best to describe what he was seeing there, 227 00:09:48,540 --> 00:09:51,060 and he says that they're covered in eyes, 228 00:09:51,060 --> 00:09:53,500 both front and back, both sides of their wings. 229 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:55,380 They have six wings each. 230 00:09:55,380 --> 00:09:58,100 They bore the likeness of a lion, an ox, 231 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:02,480 a man, and an eagle, very strange-looking creatures, 232 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,980 but the term there that he uses for living creatures 233 00:10:05,980 --> 00:10:08,860 is the Greek word zoa. 234 00:10:08,860 --> 00:10:13,660 We get our English word zoology from this word, 235 00:10:13,660 --> 00:10:15,740 and if you understand what the word zoology means, 236 00:10:15,740 --> 00:10:18,940 it simply means a study of living creatures, 237 00:10:18,940 --> 00:10:20,980 actual living creatures, and so this Greek word 238 00:10:20,980 --> 00:10:25,140 zoa is a word not used to reference metaphorical things, 239 00:10:25,140 --> 00:10:27,060 but actual living creatures, and so, 240 00:10:27,060 --> 00:10:28,580 and then as we go through Revelation, 241 00:10:28,580 --> 00:10:30,260 we see that these four living creatures 242 00:10:30,260 --> 00:10:34,260 say and do things, they're involved in worship, 243 00:10:34,260 --> 00:10:35,820 it actually told us that they worship 244 00:10:35,820 --> 00:10:39,460 in a never-ending manner in the presence of God, 245 00:10:39,460 --> 00:10:43,540 so they're special angelic beings of God's presence 246 00:10:43,540 --> 00:10:46,060 hovering around the presence of God at all times, 247 00:10:46,060 --> 00:10:48,660 and so they are there for this worship service. 248 00:10:48,660 --> 00:10:52,540 Then it says the 24 elders, and if you remember then, 249 00:10:52,540 --> 00:10:57,540 those elders are representative of the entire body of Christ, 250 00:10:57,820 --> 00:11:01,540 every single Christian, they represent the entire church, 251 00:11:01,540 --> 00:11:04,680 the saved, the redeemed that had been caught up 252 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:08,100 before the tribulation there in the throne room of God. 253 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:11,100 Now we get this from the ideas from both the Old Testament 254 00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:13,700 and the New Testament, because in the Old Testament, 255 00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:16,020 in the temple, in the tribe of Levi, 256 00:11:16,020 --> 00:11:18,900 there were 24 priestly divisions, 257 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:22,500 so 24 divisions of priests from the tribe of Levi, 258 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:25,220 and these 24 divisions represented 259 00:11:25,220 --> 00:11:29,140 all the people of Israel, and so we see that these 24 elders 260 00:11:29,140 --> 00:11:31,980 are representative of all the people of God, 261 00:11:31,980 --> 00:11:35,180 but then it's 24 elders, not 24 priests, 262 00:11:35,180 --> 00:11:37,820 and in the New Testament, we know that an elder 263 00:11:37,820 --> 00:11:41,300 is a church leader, an elder is a representative 264 00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:45,120 of the church, and so thus, the 24 elders represent 265 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:49,180 the entire body of Christ there in heaven. 266 00:11:49,180 --> 00:11:52,140 So what inspired their worship? 267 00:11:52,140 --> 00:11:53,860 Well, what does it say there in the very beginning 268 00:11:53,860 --> 00:11:55,460 of verse eight? 269 00:11:55,460 --> 00:11:58,140 When he took the scroll. 270 00:11:58,140 --> 00:12:00,100 That's what it tells us. 271 00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:03,400 The worship that we're seeing here in Revelation five 272 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:08,220 is in response to a completed work of the lamb. 273 00:12:08,220 --> 00:12:12,300 It's in response to a completed work of the lamb, Jesus. 274 00:12:12,300 --> 00:12:14,460 The lamb of God, as we studied in the first part 275 00:12:14,460 --> 00:12:18,260 of chapter five, stepped up, takes the scroll, 276 00:12:18,260 --> 00:12:22,060 takes the ownership, the authority to rule. 277 00:12:22,060 --> 00:12:24,020 Him taking the scroll was a result 278 00:12:24,020 --> 00:12:26,900 of the finished redemption that he did, 279 00:12:26,900 --> 00:12:29,340 that the redemption price that he paid 280 00:12:29,340 --> 00:12:32,320 by shedding his blood, it was a finished work there, 281 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,660 and on that cue of him taking the scroll, 282 00:12:35,660 --> 00:12:37,140 we read here in Revelation five 283 00:12:37,140 --> 00:12:41,580 that then a response is given, a response of worship. 284 00:12:41,580 --> 00:12:44,460 One of the things I want to point out here 285 00:12:44,460 --> 00:12:47,220 is this whole scene shows us something 286 00:12:47,220 --> 00:12:49,780 I think is very important, that there's order 287 00:12:49,780 --> 00:12:52,060 in the worship service, okay? 288 00:12:52,060 --> 00:12:55,460 There's order, it's not a chaotic mess, all right? 289 00:12:55,460 --> 00:12:59,140 It's not a chaotic mess with people speaking over each other 290 00:12:59,140 --> 00:13:02,140 and hooting and hollering and rolling down the aisle, 291 00:13:02,140 --> 00:13:05,520 and it's orderly, all right? 292 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,020 Paul the apostle, in addressing how church services, 293 00:13:09,020 --> 00:13:10,660 church gatherings are to be conducted, 294 00:13:10,660 --> 00:13:13,620 he said this in 1 Corinthians 14, 40, 295 00:13:13,620 --> 00:13:18,200 but everything is to be done decently and in order. 296 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:20,860 When the church gets together, 297 00:13:20,860 --> 00:13:22,940 everything is to be done decently and in order, 298 00:13:22,940 --> 00:13:25,380 and this includes worship. 299 00:13:25,380 --> 00:13:27,740 You see, what we don't see here in heaven 300 00:13:27,740 --> 00:13:29,780 is John standing there and just going, 301 00:13:29,780 --> 00:13:31,240 I feel like hollering, 302 00:13:32,140 --> 00:13:34,860 and just starts hollering over everybody, 303 00:13:34,860 --> 00:13:36,580 and then the four creatures are like, 304 00:13:36,580 --> 00:13:39,860 well, I'm an ox, moo, well, I'm an eagle, kaka, 305 00:13:39,860 --> 00:13:42,420 and it's just this big mess of worship in heaven. 306 00:13:42,420 --> 00:13:44,260 That's not what we see. 307 00:13:44,260 --> 00:13:47,900 We don't see it just going off the rails, we see order. 308 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,740 In chapter five, it says that the lamb takes a scroll, 309 00:13:52,740 --> 00:13:54,500 and then in response to that work, 310 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:57,780 the 24 elders and the four living creatures bow down, 311 00:13:57,780 --> 00:13:59,620 and then they say certain things, 312 00:13:59,620 --> 00:14:01,720 and they say them together in unity, 313 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:04,180 and they worship God that way. 314 00:14:04,180 --> 00:14:06,700 And so, the inspiration of their worship here, 315 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:08,520 it teaches us that true worship, 316 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,020 it's a response to God. 317 00:14:11,020 --> 00:14:13,000 That's what true worship is. 318 00:14:14,020 --> 00:14:17,540 For the redeemed, it should be a natural response to God. 319 00:14:17,540 --> 00:14:19,420 For those that have received salvation, 320 00:14:19,420 --> 00:14:20,980 that have been forgiven and set free, right? 321 00:14:20,980 --> 00:14:24,560 It should be a natural response of ours to worship God. 322 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,600 We shouldn't have to force it. 323 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,180 We shouldn't have to struggle to worship, right? 324 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,860 And I know there's times where we all deal with that, 325 00:14:35,860 --> 00:14:37,820 but I think what we're about to get into 326 00:14:37,820 --> 00:14:39,860 might tell us why we have those times 327 00:14:39,860 --> 00:14:43,340 of struggle with worship, because worship, 328 00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:46,600 it's not an appeal, it's not a coercion, 329 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:48,580 it's not a manipulation of God. 330 00:14:49,540 --> 00:14:52,540 We don't worship God because we wanna put him 331 00:14:52,540 --> 00:14:54,620 in the right mood to get what we want. 332 00:14:54,620 --> 00:14:56,660 We've talked about that before as kids. 333 00:14:56,660 --> 00:14:58,300 When you want something from mom and dad, 334 00:14:58,300 --> 00:14:59,780 that's when you do the foot massages 335 00:14:59,780 --> 00:15:02,980 and make breakfast in bed, and you do all the things, right? 336 00:15:02,980 --> 00:15:05,420 And the parents are like, oh, thank you so much, 337 00:15:05,420 --> 00:15:06,940 and it's always, what do you want, right? 338 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:10,340 Oh, that new video game, can you get it for me, right? 339 00:15:10,340 --> 00:15:13,060 Worship of God isn't that. 340 00:15:13,060 --> 00:15:14,280 It's not a show. 341 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,220 It's not a performance. 342 00:15:19,100 --> 00:15:23,060 Really, all that to say that worship is not for us, 343 00:15:23,060 --> 00:15:25,640 it's not because of us or about us. 344 00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:30,060 True worship never has to be worked up 345 00:15:30,060 --> 00:15:31,900 because it's not about a feeling. 346 00:15:32,820 --> 00:15:34,800 It's not because of a feeling. 347 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,720 We don't only worship when we feel like it. 348 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:42,240 We worship because God is worth it. 349 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,280 And so, it's not to say that there isn't 350 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,520 or shouldn't be emotion in worship. 351 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,640 I mean, worship can be very emotional. 352 00:15:51,500 --> 00:15:53,560 It could be a very emotional moment, 353 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,200 but it's not primarily feeling motivated. 354 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,840 Worship isn't about making us feel better. 355 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:03,600 It's not to get us in the mood for Bible study, right? 356 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,920 It's none of those things. 357 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,280 Worship should never be based 358 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,080 on whether I feel like worshiping or not. 359 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:13,320 That's not true worship. 360 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,200 Worship is in response to God for all he has done. 361 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,360 It's a response to him. 362 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,640 You know, God has worked in your life. 363 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:26,640 God is working in your life. 364 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,960 God has been working in your life all week long. 365 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:30,640 He's been faithful all week long. 366 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:32,760 He's been faithful every moment of every day. 367 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:33,800 You are his child. 368 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:34,800 He loves you. 369 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:36,400 Not only did he save you, 370 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:38,760 but he then does more in our lives, right? 371 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,720 He is faithful and has been, 372 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,920 and so worship is that opportunity where it's like, 373 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:45,440 it's your turn. 374 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,120 It's your turn to now respond to him 375 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,920 in gratitude and thanks for what he has done. 376 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:55,580 It's your turn to give him the glory. 377 00:16:55,580 --> 00:16:57,640 It's your turn to give him the praise. 378 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,480 It's your turn to express to him his worth, 379 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,640 how amazing he is. 380 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,720 And that's what we see here in Revelation five. 381 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,800 It's a demonstration ultimately of love 382 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,680 to the one we love because he first loved us. 383 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,080 And so we see these 24 elders, 384 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:18,560 representative of the whole church 385 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:20,040 and the four living creatures, 386 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,600 and the next time also in attendance are the angels, 387 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:24,720 naturally responding, 388 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,840 inspired to worship Christ for what he has done. 389 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,360 That's the inspiration. 390 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:31,680 That's why we worship. 391 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,520 Now the third thing I wanna talk about this morning 392 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,440 is what was the posture of their worship? 393 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,720 What does it say there in the verses? 394 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,640 It tells us that they fell down before the lamb. 395 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,000 They fell down before the lamb. 396 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,560 They were so awestruck at what he had done. 397 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,920 They were so grateful at what God had done 398 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,320 in redeeming them and redeeming creation 399 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:55,720 and dealing with the curse. 400 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,800 They were so overwhelmed that now the earth 401 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,360 can be fully redeemed and bought back 402 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,760 and it's being bought back by God, the lamb, 403 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,520 the one who died for everything and paid the price. 404 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,360 Oh my gosh, the rulership, the dominion, the ownership, 405 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:16,920 it's restored, the curse is lifted, corruption is done. 406 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:19,200 Wow. 407 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,760 And so it says they fell down. 408 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,560 Now before you think fell down 409 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:27,560 is like a slain in the spirit type of thing, 410 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,080 that's not what this is, all right? 411 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,200 We don't work ourselves up to where like, 412 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,400 God is so great and we just fall over, right? 413 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,120 That's not the idea here, okay? 414 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,640 That term fall down or fell down, 415 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,160 it simply means to throw oneself to the ground 416 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:47,480 as a sign of devotion or humility. 417 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:51,960 In ancient times, doing this was one of the greatest 418 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,960 demonstrations of respect and veneration in ancient times. 419 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,880 To bow down, to do what this word is talking about. 420 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,200 The idea is getting down on the ground 421 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,600 in front of somebody to show devotion to them 422 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:07,720 and it's an action that you do in humility 423 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,520 to say you are worth it, 424 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,040 you deserve all the praise and the honor. 425 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,760 This concept, in fact, is seen all over the Old Testament. 426 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:19,120 You study through the Old Testament, 427 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:21,200 you'll see the word worship many times 428 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,480 and there's a whole bunch of different words for worship, 429 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,240 but the word that is used most frequently 430 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,080 in the Old Testament for worship, I can't pronounce it, 431 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,200 so I'm just gonna tell you what it means, okay? 432 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,880 It means, the word means, I think it's like shah-ha 433 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:38,160 or something like that, but the word means to bow down, 434 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:40,800 literally to bow down, to lie prostrate, 435 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,200 like to lie down face down on the ground 436 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,760 or to pay homage. 437 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,400 You guys understand the concept of paying homage, right? 438 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,080 That's when in ancient times you would go before the king 439 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,320 or the ruler or the person who was in that position 440 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:57,200 of authority and power and you would pay homage, 441 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,480 you would give to them, whether it was gifts or respect 442 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:02,240 or all that type of thing. 443 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,200 The word that's used most in the Old Testament is that word. 444 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,080 And so the idea of worship, going all the way back, 445 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:13,320 is this idea of bowing down or making oneself low 446 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,560 before another in humility, in humility. 447 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,000 As a matter of fact, Psalm 95, six says this, 448 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,360 come, let us worship and bow down, 449 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,080 let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. 450 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:34,440 That's the idea, I'm paying homage to the king of kings. 451 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,560 I'm offering veneration to the one who is worthy. 452 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,440 I am lowering myself because he is high above all 453 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:42,920 and deserves to be. 454 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,040 You know, Paul even predicts that one day, 455 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,120 what does he say, every knee shall bow. 456 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:52,120 Every tongue will confess. 457 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:53,480 That's what's gonna come in the future. 458 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,840 And so the very act of worship 459 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:59,320 and what I'm defining here is true worship, 460 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,320 the very act of it, it's a complete emptying of self. 461 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,720 There is none of you, there is none of me 462 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,120 in that moment, that act of worship. 463 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:12,600 When we truly worship, there is none of us in it. 464 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,960 There is no preoccupation with self, 465 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,800 there is no focus on self, it's a full process 466 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,040 on self, it's a full preoccupation with God, 467 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,200 with him and what he has done. 468 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,080 It's all about him and him alone. 469 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,800 Now I think this might be why some people 470 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:32,640 don't involve themselves in worship 471 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:34,280 in the church like they should. 472 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:40,480 Because now I'm not intending to call anybody out here, okay? 473 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,800 So before you send me a really mean email, 474 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,560 okay, I'm not intending to call anybody out here. 475 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,280 But because there's good reasons for this, 476 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,640 but sometimes Christians might find themselves 477 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:55,920 showing up late to church. 478 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,520 Well, because the worship, it's not my style. 479 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:01,720 It's not my taste. 480 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,480 I don't like this or that. 481 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,040 I don't like the way that person sings 482 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:08,400 or I don't like the song selection. 483 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,920 And so I'm gonna show up late to church 484 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,360 just to avoid all of that. 485 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:15,040 I think it should be this way 486 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:15,920 and they don't do it that way, 487 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,800 so I'm just gonna avoid it altogether. 488 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:20,800 And you know, you think about it that way, 489 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,240 it's like man, it's hard to take the focus 490 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:24,600 off ourselves, isn't it? 491 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,440 You know, we approach the worship of God 492 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,340 through the lens of what my preferences are, 493 00:22:29,340 --> 00:22:31,760 what my tastes are, how I think it should be, 494 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,520 what it should sound like according to my. 495 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,840 And you know, that's not true worship. 496 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:41,080 Sometimes it's not our preferences 497 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:42,920 that are high on the altar, 498 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,960 but our time that's high on the altar. 499 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,520 Sadly, we can sometimes find ourselves 500 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:51,880 claiming to worship God, 501 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,720 but we're not really expressing 502 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:56,400 this sign of humble devotion. 503 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,240 What we're doing is giving him the leftovers of our day. 504 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,700 And we wanna call that worship, right? 505 00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:06,600 God, you'll have my focus. 506 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:07,760 You'll have my attention. 507 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:09,640 You'll have my passion. 508 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:10,880 You'll have my veneration. 509 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:12,920 You'll have my everything after. 510 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,260 You know, after this, after that. 511 00:23:17,260 --> 00:23:18,680 I'm too busy. 512 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,320 I'm too distracted now. 513 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,560 I'm too blah, blah, blah, fill in the blank. 514 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,320 So I'll worship you later. 515 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,360 I'll venerate you as king and ruler and authority 516 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,280 on my time, you know, when it works for me, 517 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:34,280 when it's best for me. 518 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,960 And you know, in those situations, 519 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:41,240 we're claiming to give God all of our worship, 520 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:42,840 but only after we have worshiped 521 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,640 at the altar of everything else first. 522 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,200 You know, and I think in many ways, 523 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,860 Christians who are weak in worship 524 00:23:51,860 --> 00:23:53,800 are often that way because they're weak 525 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,540 in their relationship with God. 526 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:01,520 They might say, you know, yeah, of course he's my God, 527 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,920 but he's not the number one priority of your life. 528 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,320 They might say, yeah, he's almighty, 529 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,720 but he only gets you when you're all done 530 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:11,860 with other things. 531 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:14,400 And of course, you know, you might say, 532 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,040 well, yeah, he deserves our all. 533 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,480 He deserves my everything only after 534 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,040 he meets my standards first. 535 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:26,060 Or when the worship meets my standards first. 536 00:24:26,060 --> 00:24:28,600 Or if it's done the way I want first. 537 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,300 You know, and that's not true worship. 538 00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:34,880 What we do here Sunday mornings when we gather together 539 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:37,120 the body of Christ, and of course we're studying the word, 540 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:40,960 but we have a time of worship and singing praises to God. 541 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:42,680 What we do here gathered together 542 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,320 as the congregation to worship, 543 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,700 it's supposed to be an overflow 544 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:49,800 of what we've already been doing all week long. 545 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:51,340 Some of us don't approach it that way. 546 00:24:51,340 --> 00:24:53,360 We go, okay, I'm gonna come to church, 547 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,920 and the worship is gonna be my point of contact 548 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,000 and my recharge to get me through the week. 549 00:24:58,000 --> 00:24:59,160 And then you go through the week 550 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:00,860 and you don't worship God at all. 551 00:25:00,860 --> 00:25:05,160 And that's why you feel so empty and depleted 552 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,000 by the time you come back to church. 553 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,340 But if you haven't been living and bowed down humility 554 00:25:11,340 --> 00:25:13,600 before God all week, you're gonna struggle 555 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:15,840 doing so on Sunday as well. 556 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:19,680 And so now let's look at the tools 557 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,000 that they employ in their worship. 558 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,480 Verse five, or chapter five, verse eight. 559 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,160 It tells us there that each one had a harp 560 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,320 and golden bowls filled with incense, 561 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,200 which are the prayers of the saints. 562 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:34,040 So they had a harp. 563 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:38,600 This is likely where the idea of little chubby angels 564 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:40,880 sitting on a cloud with a harp came from. 565 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:42,720 We've seen those pictures over time. 566 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,680 I don't think that's the picture, right? 567 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,920 But a harp, they're there with an instrument is the idea. 568 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,920 Now in some translations this might be rendered a lyre. 569 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,180 A harp and lyre could be two different instruments. 570 00:25:57,180 --> 00:25:59,720 Sometimes they were referred to as the same instrument. 571 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,840 But our best understanding of what this word 572 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,320 was referring to is it's an ancient instrument 573 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,080 that was rectangle or trapezoidal in shape 574 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,160 and it had strings on it, 575 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,240 similar like the body of a guitar type of idea. 576 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,200 And it was an instrument that was played. 577 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,720 The strings were plucked as a song was sung 578 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,480 or words were simply spoken like poetry. 579 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,740 So there was even spoken word in those days 580 00:26:22,740 --> 00:26:26,640 and they would have music behind it to accompany the idea. 581 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:28,720 Now music, both vocally and instrumentally, 582 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,720 is an important part of worship. 583 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,680 And we see it here, both vocally and instrumentally, 584 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,840 employed as the part of worship of God in heaven. 585 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:39,320 The reason I'm pointing that out 586 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,600 is there are certain groups of people within the church 587 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,120 even today that think instrumentation 588 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:47,320 as a part of worship is wrong. 589 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:48,520 It's bad. 590 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:50,880 That worship should only be the voice. 591 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,560 And if you think that way, 592 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,800 if that's your understanding of all that, 593 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,280 there shouldn't be guitars and there shouldn't be drums, 594 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,880 especially electric guitar because it's distorted 595 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,240 and that word distorted means something bad. 596 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:06,320 And all these types of ideas, if you think that, 597 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,100 well you have a problem with scripture. 598 00:27:09,100 --> 00:27:10,280 You have a problem with scripture 599 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,960 because we see them employing instruments here 600 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:14,040 in the worship. 601 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:17,920 And so music, it's always been important 602 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,120 when it comes to the gathering of God's people. 603 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:22,260 We see it all the way throughout scripture. 604 00:27:22,260 --> 00:27:24,540 In the Old Testament, music was employed 605 00:27:24,540 --> 00:27:27,120 on many different occasions. 606 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:30,440 When the people, God's people would gather together. 607 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,120 We see it one time in the Red Sea 608 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,400 when the Red Sea swallowed up the Egyptians, right? 609 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,240 You go back to Exodus and you read that story 610 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,000 about God setting his people free 611 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:39,600 and they flee across the wilderness 612 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,880 and they get to the Red Sea and oh no, we're gonna die. 613 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:44,080 And then God does his miracle and parts the Red Sea 614 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:47,200 and they get across the Red Sea and then the ocean just boom, 615 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:48,980 takes care of Pharaoh and his army. 616 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,480 They didn't get to the other side and go, 617 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,880 oh, well done God. 618 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,200 Golf clap of celebration. 619 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,960 No, it tells us that they danced 620 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,620 and they had tambourines and they sang to the Lord. 621 00:28:03,620 --> 00:28:05,960 They were just expressing their praise 622 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,880 and thanks to him in this really outward way. 623 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:13,320 In the temple, there would be worshiping groups 624 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,480 and instrumentation happening. 625 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:16,760 You can find that multiple places 626 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:18,920 throughout the Old Testament. 627 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,080 In 1 Chronicles 15, when the Ark of the Covenant 628 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,700 came back to Jerusalem the right way, right? 629 00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:26,360 Because they had done it the wrong way first. 630 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:27,960 When they brought it back the right way, 631 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,920 we see there in 1 Chronicles 15, 632 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,420 David goes to the leaders of the priests, right? 633 00:28:33,420 --> 00:28:35,360 The tribe that was specifically set aside, 634 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:36,480 you're not gonna have land, 635 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:38,860 you're focused on ministering to the people 636 00:28:38,860 --> 00:28:42,040 on God's behalf and ministering for God in his temple. 637 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:43,600 And so he goes to the leader of the priests 638 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,080 in 1 Chronicles 15 and he says, 639 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,920 hey, I need you guys to appoint some of the priests 640 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:53,800 to be worship leaders, to lead the praise of God, 641 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,080 to lead in vocally and instrumentation, all that. 642 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:58,640 And he says this specifically, 643 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,560 to have them raise their voices with joy, 644 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:06,560 accompanied by musical instruments, harps, liars, and cymbals. 645 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,660 Specifically laid out as David was establishing there, 646 00:29:11,660 --> 00:29:13,640 led by the Holy Spirit, I'm sure, 647 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,100 to establish worship in God's house 648 00:29:17,100 --> 00:29:19,240 and those that would lead that worship. 649 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,280 In 1 Chronicles 25, 650 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:26,280 it's a really detailed roster of the worship team. 651 00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:30,660 These priests that were picked to lead worship 652 00:29:30,660 --> 00:29:32,200 in God's house. 653 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:34,940 It's a really neat list there, too. 654 00:29:34,940 --> 00:29:37,660 You could read it through on your own later on, 655 00:29:37,660 --> 00:29:40,780 but you have these worship leaders that were hand selected 656 00:29:40,780 --> 00:29:42,520 and it says that part of their worship, 657 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,340 as they were leading the people and singing these praises 658 00:29:45,340 --> 00:29:49,060 and playing instruments and doing this presentation of God, 659 00:29:49,060 --> 00:29:52,000 it said that they prophesied vocally. 660 00:29:53,740 --> 00:29:56,580 And then it says another group prophesied vocally 661 00:29:56,580 --> 00:29:59,180 and with instruments. 662 00:29:59,180 --> 00:30:02,040 So the very act of worshiping God can be prophetic, 663 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:03,900 speaking forth the truth of God, 664 00:30:03,900 --> 00:30:07,140 and God could even speak forth the future of his intention 665 00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:10,380 as we're praising him and being inspired to praise him. 666 00:30:12,380 --> 00:30:14,060 But what's interesting is in this worship team 667 00:30:14,060 --> 00:30:18,340 in 1 Chronicles 25, had 288 people on the team. 668 00:30:18,340 --> 00:30:19,380 Can you imagine that? 669 00:30:20,580 --> 00:30:23,620 I don't think we could fit 288 people on our stage. 670 00:30:24,660 --> 00:30:26,060 But there's something very interesting 671 00:30:26,060 --> 00:30:28,260 that it points out there in 1 Chronicles 25. 672 00:30:28,260 --> 00:30:30,740 Verse seven, it says they were trained 673 00:30:30,740 --> 00:30:34,180 and skillful in music for the Lord. 674 00:30:34,180 --> 00:30:37,220 Now this is not to say that you can't worship God 675 00:30:37,220 --> 00:30:39,660 unless you're trained and skillful, 676 00:30:39,660 --> 00:30:43,260 because that would eliminate, I think, most of us, right? 677 00:30:43,260 --> 00:30:44,340 We're like, I don't sing good 678 00:30:44,340 --> 00:30:46,240 and I can't play an instrument to save my life. 679 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:47,900 But the idea is that scripturally, 680 00:30:47,900 --> 00:30:50,220 there's a precedent for the importance 681 00:30:50,220 --> 00:30:52,740 of those with a calling, 682 00:30:52,740 --> 00:30:55,700 and those that God has gifted with a musical talent 683 00:30:55,700 --> 00:30:56,700 to lead in worship. 684 00:30:56,700 --> 00:30:58,780 And that's why periodically we'll put out the notice. 685 00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:02,420 Hey, you know, we have some openings on our worship team. 686 00:31:02,420 --> 00:31:04,740 And so if you feel like God has called you 687 00:31:04,740 --> 00:31:05,820 or gifted you vocally, 688 00:31:05,820 --> 00:31:07,540 or you have a talent with an instrument, 689 00:31:07,540 --> 00:31:09,500 you know, we would like to talk to you 690 00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:11,720 and audition you in that sense, 691 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,060 and see what God's doing in your life in that regard 692 00:31:14,060 --> 00:31:18,380 to have you come be a part of the worship community. 693 00:31:18,380 --> 00:31:20,140 But scripturally, we see this importance 694 00:31:20,140 --> 00:31:22,460 of those with this calling and ability to lead in worship, 695 00:31:22,460 --> 00:31:24,980 and even to be called into full-time ministry 696 00:31:24,980 --> 00:31:26,580 as worship leaders. 697 00:31:26,580 --> 00:31:29,440 In some churches, they'll have on staff a worship pastor 698 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:32,820 who's in charge of, or who is the elder leading 699 00:31:32,820 --> 00:31:36,500 that part of the spiritual ministry to the body of Christ. 700 00:31:37,420 --> 00:31:39,900 What's interesting is in Second Chronicles chapter 20, 701 00:31:39,900 --> 00:31:43,700 we see worship even employed in battle. 702 00:31:43,700 --> 00:31:46,180 In battle, as a part of the warfare, right? 703 00:31:46,180 --> 00:31:48,620 Second Chronicles chapter 20 verse 21. 704 00:31:48,620 --> 00:31:51,220 Jehoshaphat is going out to battle, and it says this. 705 00:31:51,220 --> 00:31:53,500 Then he consulted with the people, 706 00:31:53,500 --> 00:31:55,660 and appointed some to sing for the Lord, 707 00:31:55,660 --> 00:31:58,440 and some to praise the splendor of his holiness. 708 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:03,440 When they went out in front of the armed forces, 709 00:32:03,900 --> 00:32:05,300 they kept singing. 710 00:32:05,300 --> 00:32:06,580 Give thanks to the Lord 711 00:32:06,580 --> 00:32:09,240 for his faithful love endures forever. 712 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:11,260 The moment they began their shouts and praises, 713 00:32:11,260 --> 00:32:13,780 the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, 714 00:32:13,780 --> 00:32:16,300 the Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir, 715 00:32:16,300 --> 00:32:19,100 who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated. 716 00:32:20,580 --> 00:32:22,180 Did you notice the detail there? 717 00:32:24,740 --> 00:32:27,320 It wasn't the soldiers who went out first. 718 00:32:28,540 --> 00:32:29,740 It was the worship team. 719 00:32:31,820 --> 00:32:34,100 They led the army. 720 00:32:34,100 --> 00:32:36,100 How's that for a battle strategy, right? 721 00:32:36,100 --> 00:32:37,860 Okay, we're going to war. 722 00:32:37,860 --> 00:32:40,300 All right, we got our weapons, we got our ammo, 723 00:32:40,300 --> 00:32:41,980 our supply lines are in place. 724 00:32:41,980 --> 00:32:43,020 All right, the enemy's coming. 725 00:32:43,020 --> 00:32:44,460 Ready, charge. 726 00:32:44,460 --> 00:32:46,980 Send out the trumpet player, and the harp player, 727 00:32:46,980 --> 00:32:49,300 and the lyre player, and the guy with the cymbals. 728 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:53,300 I mean, I guess you could hit them with a cymbal, 729 00:32:53,300 --> 00:32:55,260 but how's that going to work? 730 00:32:55,260 --> 00:32:57,060 How is that going to work? 731 00:32:58,460 --> 00:33:00,780 But it was the worshipers. 732 00:33:00,780 --> 00:33:02,460 And for those of you that might be thinking, 733 00:33:02,460 --> 00:33:04,360 oh, well, those were the bad singers. 734 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:05,660 You go ahead of the army. 735 00:33:05,660 --> 00:33:08,920 No, that wasn't what was taking place here, right? 736 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,140 You think you could sing, sure, lead the charge. 737 00:33:11,140 --> 00:33:11,980 No. 738 00:33:13,980 --> 00:33:16,940 But what I think is beautiful about this scripture here 739 00:33:16,940 --> 00:33:20,340 is what happened when the worshipers worshiped 740 00:33:20,340 --> 00:33:22,780 and sang, give thanks to the Lord 741 00:33:22,780 --> 00:33:24,920 for his faithful love endures forever. 742 00:33:27,660 --> 00:33:30,420 His faithful love for them endured. 743 00:33:30,420 --> 00:33:32,560 That's what happened, right? 744 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,700 It says that the Lord said ambushes against their enemies 745 00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:36,300 and their enemies were defeated. 746 00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:38,180 But when did they worship? 747 00:33:38,180 --> 00:33:40,980 Before the victory or after the victory? 748 00:33:41,700 --> 00:33:42,740 Before the victory. 749 00:33:43,940 --> 00:33:45,300 They worshiped before the victory. 750 00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:47,780 They thanked God before the battle 751 00:33:47,780 --> 00:33:51,980 for what he hadn't done yet, trusting that he would. 752 00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:56,420 You see what worship is about? 753 00:33:58,260 --> 00:33:59,300 God, you're holy. 754 00:34:00,260 --> 00:34:01,100 You're almighty. 755 00:34:02,460 --> 00:34:03,940 God, you can do all things. 756 00:34:03,940 --> 00:34:05,500 God, you can do all things. 757 00:34:06,460 --> 00:34:08,500 God, I'm praising you because I don't have anything 758 00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:11,600 to worry about in life because you go before me. 759 00:34:13,140 --> 00:34:14,620 God, I haven't even gotten to the fight yet, 760 00:34:14,620 --> 00:34:18,160 but I just wanna praise you and sing glory to your name 761 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:19,740 because I know you are with me. 762 00:34:22,740 --> 00:34:25,420 Think about that next time you're in a battle, 763 00:34:25,420 --> 00:34:29,300 heading into a battle, getting into a fight. 764 00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:30,500 Think about that next time. 765 00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:34,220 Maybe start with thanking God for the victory 766 00:34:34,220 --> 00:34:36,640 he's already given you. 767 00:34:38,820 --> 00:34:41,760 Maybe start with praising him. 768 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:45,620 That God, your faithful love for me endures forever 769 00:34:45,620 --> 00:34:47,980 and so it's gonna endure with me through this fight 770 00:34:47,980 --> 00:34:50,360 and hallelujah, praise your name. 771 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,120 Maybe for some it's in the context 772 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,060 of your marriage relationship, right? 773 00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:59,540 People fight. 774 00:34:59,540 --> 00:35:02,420 It's a fact of life there, but maybe next time 775 00:35:02,420 --> 00:35:04,500 there's a battle coming or there's a fight brewing 776 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:08,500 or it's just starting to swell up, stop. 777 00:35:10,180 --> 00:35:14,180 And together, let's worship God for a moment. 778 00:35:15,340 --> 00:35:17,460 I know we're having a disagreement right now, 779 00:35:17,460 --> 00:35:19,300 but let's worship God for a moment. 780 00:35:19,300 --> 00:35:20,860 Just try and bring God into that moment 781 00:35:20,860 --> 00:35:24,540 and say, God, I thank you for already reconciling us 782 00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:25,440 through your blood. 783 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:30,320 I thank you for already resolving this fight 784 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:33,320 and this battle, God, we praise you for that. 785 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,000 Thank you for forgiving me of my sin. 786 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:41,800 Thank you for loving me forever, no matter what. 787 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:46,600 Do that and then see how hard it is to not extend grace 788 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:48,620 and mercy and forgiveness in that moment. 789 00:35:48,620 --> 00:35:53,620 Music is and always has been just a powerful force 790 00:35:56,100 --> 00:35:57,200 in society. 791 00:35:58,100 --> 00:35:59,340 I think God made it that way. 792 00:35:59,340 --> 00:36:03,780 I mean, every society, every culture has songs, 793 00:36:03,780 --> 00:36:07,540 has folk songs, has anthems, something that inspire 794 00:36:07,540 --> 00:36:10,820 or capture the hearts of people when we hear them, right? 795 00:36:10,820 --> 00:36:13,900 Every country has a national anthem and when that's played, 796 00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:17,660 there's a sense of patriotism that is supposed to be 797 00:36:17,660 --> 00:36:21,220 welled up through that and music's powerful. 798 00:36:21,220 --> 00:36:23,580 We sell stuff with music, right? 799 00:36:23,580 --> 00:36:25,940 Millions and millions of dollars are spent every year 800 00:36:25,940 --> 00:36:28,820 to hire somebody to come up with a jingle 801 00:36:28,820 --> 00:36:30,460 that'll stick in your head. 802 00:36:30,460 --> 00:36:31,300 Ready? 803 00:36:31,300 --> 00:36:32,860 Ba ba ba ba ba. 804 00:36:37,100 --> 00:36:40,060 There's jingles out there that just bring us to mind, 805 00:36:40,060 --> 00:36:43,140 oh yeah, I should go to McDonald's, I should go do this, 806 00:36:43,140 --> 00:36:44,340 or I should go do that. 807 00:36:44,340 --> 00:36:48,140 You know, millions of dollars and it's like five notes. 808 00:36:49,620 --> 00:36:51,060 But it's powerful. 809 00:36:51,060 --> 00:36:52,380 But it's powerful. 810 00:36:53,540 --> 00:36:58,540 We work to music, we sleep to music, some of us. 811 00:36:59,020 --> 00:37:03,540 Music can change our mood, it can change our thoughts, 812 00:37:03,540 --> 00:37:08,220 it can, you know, it's powerful and I believe God moves 813 00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:10,620 in and through music. 814 00:37:10,620 --> 00:37:12,620 And I think God made us to respond to it. 815 00:37:12,620 --> 00:37:14,820 That's why it's such a critical, important part 816 00:37:14,820 --> 00:37:16,700 of our worship of Him. 817 00:37:16,700 --> 00:37:18,460 Yeah, we talk about work is worship, 818 00:37:18,460 --> 00:37:20,820 work is unto the Lord and our giving is worship, right? 819 00:37:20,820 --> 00:37:24,500 And yeah, we get to give to God in support of Him 820 00:37:24,500 --> 00:37:26,120 and His kingdom and we're just giving back 821 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,480 what He's given us and God, yeah, that's worship too. 822 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,500 And studying the word together, we are worshiping God 823 00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:33,420 as we venerate His word, yes. 824 00:37:34,860 --> 00:37:36,340 But there's something powerful 825 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:38,900 about the musical part of worship, 826 00:37:38,900 --> 00:37:43,000 the singing and the playing and the effect it has on us. 827 00:37:44,060 --> 00:37:45,980 Now the big question that comes up out of this is, 828 00:37:45,980 --> 00:37:48,080 well, what style of music is in heaven? 829 00:37:49,140 --> 00:37:51,260 Well, metal core, of course. 830 00:37:51,260 --> 00:37:53,660 I mean, come on, that's easy. 831 00:37:53,660 --> 00:37:58,380 No, I think it's gonna be there. 832 00:37:58,380 --> 00:38:00,620 I think all music is gonna be there in heaven. 833 00:38:01,980 --> 00:38:03,780 You know, and in some might go, well, what was the style 834 00:38:03,780 --> 00:38:05,180 of music in ancient Israel? 835 00:38:05,180 --> 00:38:07,060 And we don't really know. 836 00:38:07,060 --> 00:38:08,480 But we could look back in scripture 837 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,780 to kind of find out how the music was presented. 838 00:38:10,780 --> 00:38:13,180 One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 150, 839 00:38:13,180 --> 00:38:16,220 verses three through five, and it says this. 840 00:38:16,220 --> 00:38:18,860 Praise Him with the blast of a ram's horn. 841 00:38:18,860 --> 00:38:21,420 Praise Him with harp and lyre. 842 00:38:21,420 --> 00:38:24,160 Praise Him with tambourine and dance. 843 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,300 Praise Him with strings and flute. 844 00:38:26,300 --> 00:38:30,060 And my favorite verse, praise Him with resounding cymbals 845 00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:32,980 and praise Him with clashing cymbals. 846 00:38:32,980 --> 00:38:34,620 That sounds pretty metal to me. 847 00:38:34,620 --> 00:38:39,620 But the idea of those verses is that it was loud, right? 848 00:38:40,820 --> 00:38:42,800 The blasting of the ram's horn. 849 00:38:43,980 --> 00:38:47,240 It was tasteful and beautiful with the harp and the lyre. 850 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:49,280 It was rhythmic. 851 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:51,420 It was celebratory. 852 00:38:51,420 --> 00:38:52,900 It made you move. 853 00:38:52,900 --> 00:38:57,900 It did something to you as a part of your response to God. 854 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,140 So there was a benefit of the music for you, 855 00:39:02,140 --> 00:39:05,100 but that's not what it was about. 856 00:39:05,100 --> 00:39:06,860 In music, it does indeed move us 857 00:39:06,860 --> 00:39:08,340 as a part of our response to God. 858 00:39:08,340 --> 00:39:09,980 But not just physically. 859 00:39:09,980 --> 00:39:11,540 I'm not just speaking physically, right? 860 00:39:11,540 --> 00:39:12,740 I'm a toe-tapper. 861 00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:15,740 People hate sitting in pews with me 862 00:39:15,740 --> 00:39:18,020 because my feet bounce constantly. 863 00:39:18,020 --> 00:39:18,980 Like, can you stop that? 864 00:39:18,980 --> 00:39:20,440 I'm like, I wish I could. 865 00:39:21,340 --> 00:39:23,180 There's a reason I'm a drummer, okay? 866 00:39:24,220 --> 00:39:28,220 But when we think of being moved, 867 00:39:28,220 --> 00:39:30,480 when we worship God and we're singing these words to Him 868 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:32,780 and we're thinking about all He has done for us 869 00:39:32,780 --> 00:39:34,580 and all that He has accomplished, 870 00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:37,060 and we sing out in our voice, 871 00:39:37,060 --> 00:39:38,820 and nowhere in scripture does it say 872 00:39:38,820 --> 00:39:40,580 it needs to be a beautiful voice, right? 873 00:39:40,580 --> 00:39:42,720 That joyful noise we talk about all the time. 874 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:44,680 But we were expressing to God, 875 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:46,060 or maybe it's instrumentation. 876 00:39:46,060 --> 00:39:48,180 You could play, so you play guitar, 877 00:39:48,180 --> 00:39:50,820 you play drums or keyboard or whatever instrument. 878 00:39:50,820 --> 00:39:52,980 You're just expressing and singing out 879 00:39:52,980 --> 00:39:55,780 and playing out your gratitude to Him. 880 00:39:55,780 --> 00:39:58,720 You can absolutely be moved to tears, 881 00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:02,260 moved to laughter, moved to all kinds of emotions. 882 00:40:02,260 --> 00:40:04,320 Music has that effect on us. 883 00:40:05,980 --> 00:40:07,820 There was a song, some of you are familiar 884 00:40:07,820 --> 00:40:09,460 with the band named Skillet. 885 00:40:09,460 --> 00:40:11,220 They're kind of a Christian rock band. 886 00:40:11,220 --> 00:40:12,820 I love them, they're great. 887 00:40:12,820 --> 00:40:15,220 And a few years ago, they came out with a new album 888 00:40:15,220 --> 00:40:16,060 and I'm listening to it, 889 00:40:16,060 --> 00:40:17,460 and I'm like, yeah, this is good stuff, right? 890 00:40:17,460 --> 00:40:20,460 And then they had this one song on there called Stars. 891 00:40:20,460 --> 00:40:23,580 And it was kind of like a rock ballad type of thing. 892 00:40:23,580 --> 00:40:25,220 First time I listened to that song, 893 00:40:25,220 --> 00:40:27,780 I just started blubbering like a baby. 894 00:40:27,780 --> 00:40:29,580 You know, because it was talking about like, 895 00:40:29,580 --> 00:40:33,180 no matter what's happening in life, the storms, 896 00:40:33,180 --> 00:40:38,120 how much I've messed up, God, you hold my heart 897 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:41,060 because you're the one who holds the stars, right? 898 00:40:41,060 --> 00:40:42,460 And I would listen to that and I'm like, 899 00:40:42,460 --> 00:40:45,920 you know, I'm just so moved by the words. 900 00:40:46,780 --> 00:40:47,660 And then over the years, 901 00:40:47,660 --> 00:40:50,120 sometimes I go back and listen to it and I'm moved again. 902 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:51,320 I just, I don't know what it is, 903 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,820 but that particular song is an example 904 00:40:53,820 --> 00:40:55,960 of me being moved emotionally about it. 905 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:58,360 And I just wanna just cry these words out to God 906 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:01,120 because it's just speaking such a powerful truth for me, 907 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:03,360 right, songs can do that to us. 908 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,360 But still, sometimes people get caught up 909 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:08,820 and well, what kind of music does God enjoy 910 00:41:08,820 --> 00:41:11,280 and what genre and how fast or how slow? 911 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,160 And here's the answer to that question. 912 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:14,560 Whatever comes from your heart, 913 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:16,980 if it's true and honest about praising Him, 914 00:41:16,980 --> 00:41:18,320 that's what honors God. 915 00:41:20,020 --> 00:41:25,020 And that could be hymns, that could be punk rock, 916 00:41:25,020 --> 00:41:27,500 that can be Maranatha music, 917 00:41:27,500 --> 00:41:29,660 that could be metalcore, hallelujah, right? 918 00:41:29,660 --> 00:41:34,100 It's all of it involved as long as the point is 919 00:41:34,100 --> 00:41:37,000 worshiping Him and praising Him and giving Him glory. 920 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:42,320 It says they had golden bowls filled with the incense, 921 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:44,400 which are the prayers of the saints. 922 00:41:45,460 --> 00:41:47,700 This is a picture of, 923 00:41:47,700 --> 00:41:49,700 from the Old Testament of the priests in the temple. 924 00:41:49,700 --> 00:41:52,960 When the priest would walk in to the holy place, 925 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:54,800 they would walk in with this bowl 926 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:57,720 filled with incense and the incense was burning 927 00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:01,720 and that bowl, it represented the prayers of the people. 928 00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:03,320 And so as a part of the worship service, 929 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:05,720 what you would have is the people were outside 930 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:07,560 in the temple of the courtyard praying. 931 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:08,600 They were literally praying. 932 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:10,260 They're lifting up their prayers to God 933 00:42:10,260 --> 00:42:12,320 in a big communal prayer service 934 00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:14,900 and then as that was happening, 935 00:42:14,900 --> 00:42:17,620 the priest would then walk in to the holy place 936 00:42:17,620 --> 00:42:22,160 to offer those prayers to God represented by the incense. 937 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:25,960 We see that concept in Psalm chapter 141 verse two. 938 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:28,960 It says, may my prayer be set before you as incense, 939 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,960 the raising of my hands as the evening offering. 940 00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:33,860 And so you have this bowl here in heaven 941 00:42:33,860 --> 00:42:35,900 that these elders are holding representing 942 00:42:35,900 --> 00:42:37,700 all the prayers of God's people. 943 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:42,700 Now, I want to point out this is a part of worship. 944 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:46,260 This is a part of the worship of God, 945 00:42:46,260 --> 00:42:48,500 all the intercessions, all the pleadings, 946 00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:50,860 all the confessions, all the burdens, 947 00:42:50,860 --> 00:42:53,200 all the worries, all the fears, all the anxieties, 948 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,600 all being poured out to God as he is listening. 949 00:42:58,160 --> 00:42:59,520 And the idea of the incense, 950 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:01,660 incense was something that was sweet smelling. 951 00:43:01,660 --> 00:43:04,300 And so the idea here is that your prayers 952 00:43:04,300 --> 00:43:07,160 being poured out to God as an act of worship 953 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:09,000 are sweet smelling to God. 954 00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:13,160 Like it's never something startling 955 00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:15,420 or surprising or annoying to God. 956 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:19,200 We've all had that moment, right? 957 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:22,300 I'm experiencing those moments with my grandson right now. 958 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,420 That's an interesting aroma, a little startling. 959 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:29,820 Our prayers aren't like that to God. 960 00:43:29,820 --> 00:43:32,160 It's a sweet smelling aroma. 961 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,700 This is wonderful, this is great, this is beautiful. 962 00:43:34,700 --> 00:43:37,200 This is an awesome thing he loves 963 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:39,900 and he enjoys hearing the prayers of his kids. 964 00:43:39,900 --> 00:43:42,600 And when we are pouring our prayers to him, 965 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:46,400 especially in song and music, 966 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:47,760 and that's the context of it is 967 00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:50,400 we're pouring out our prayers to him as a part of worship. 968 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,060 It's an act of worship, why? 969 00:43:53,060 --> 00:43:56,360 Because the very act of prayer 970 00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:59,600 is you and me voicing your utter dependence on him. 971 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:03,200 The very fact that you're saying God I need you. 972 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:04,660 That's worship. 973 00:44:04,660 --> 00:44:06,360 God you are capable, you are worthy, 974 00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,400 you can handle this, I trust you, right? 975 00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:11,000 Those singers going out before battle, 976 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:12,400 Lord you've already given me the victory, 977 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:14,500 here's the issue, here's what I'm about to walk into, 978 00:44:14,500 --> 00:44:16,900 but God I know you know and know you're gonna fix it. 979 00:44:16,900 --> 00:44:19,300 It's this whole idea of expressing your trust 980 00:44:19,300 --> 00:44:21,100 and your faith and your belief in him 981 00:44:21,100 --> 00:44:22,460 by bringing it to him. 982 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:27,560 So verse nine, we get to the nature of the worship. 983 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:29,160 It says they sang a new song. 984 00:44:30,060 --> 00:44:32,400 You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals 985 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:33,800 because you were slaughtered 986 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,160 and you purchased people for God by your blood 987 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:39,700 from every tribe and language and people and nation. 988 00:44:39,700 --> 00:44:41,800 You made them a kingdom and priest to our God 989 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:43,600 and they will reign on the earth. 990 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:48,040 So the nature of their worship here, 991 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,340 it says in the very beginning they sing what? 992 00:44:51,340 --> 00:44:54,800 A new song, okay? 993 00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:57,040 Now what do they mean by that, right? 994 00:44:58,500 --> 00:45:02,940 How old can a song be before we have to stop singing it? 995 00:45:04,660 --> 00:45:07,140 You know is it five years, is it 10 years? 996 00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,300 Is that even what they mean? 997 00:45:10,300 --> 00:45:11,900 I don't think so. 998 00:45:11,900 --> 00:45:14,200 It doesn't mean what you probably think it means. 999 00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:15,200 Now in the book of Psalms, 1000 00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:18,060 which was really the song book of Israel, 1001 00:45:18,060 --> 00:45:20,440 you have the concept, this concept of a new song 1002 00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:23,140 comes up nine times throughout the entire book of songs. 1003 00:45:23,140 --> 00:45:25,940 And in that idea, some people do get hung up 1004 00:45:25,940 --> 00:45:27,460 on the age of songs. 1005 00:45:27,460 --> 00:45:30,340 Like is it an old song, is it a new song? 1006 00:45:30,340 --> 00:45:32,160 And then you start to go well is it a good one 1007 00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:33,940 or a bad one based upon those types of things? 1008 00:45:33,940 --> 00:45:35,940 And I've mentioned some of that, right? 1009 00:45:35,940 --> 00:45:39,500 Sometimes we hear like why can't we just do only hymns? 1010 00:45:39,500 --> 00:45:42,160 As if those are the only spiritual songs 1011 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:43,320 that have ever existed. 1012 00:45:44,860 --> 00:45:47,300 Some today from the early Calvary Chapel movement 1013 00:45:47,300 --> 00:45:48,860 will sometimes go why can't we just do 1014 00:45:48,860 --> 00:45:51,120 the old Maranatha stuff? 1015 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:52,800 As if that was the only spiritual music 1016 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:54,100 that will ever exist. 1017 00:45:55,420 --> 00:45:58,160 Others are you know why can't we do this stuff 1018 00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:00,520 for that, you know fill in the blank of the era 1019 00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:01,460 of what it is. 1020 00:46:01,460 --> 00:46:03,320 And we get caught up in that type of thinking 1021 00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:05,220 but I think the reason we could get caught up 1022 00:46:05,220 --> 00:46:07,600 in that type of thinking in regards to worship 1023 00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:09,920 is because of the nature of music 1024 00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:12,220 and its effect on us and how it ties us emotionally 1025 00:46:12,220 --> 00:46:14,000 to moments, right? 1026 00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:19,800 Many of us most typically like best 1027 00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:23,260 the worship music that was on the radio 1028 00:46:23,260 --> 00:46:26,400 or was prevalent during the most spiritually vibrant 1029 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:28,100 times of our lives. 1030 00:46:28,100 --> 00:46:30,720 That tends to be fairly common. 1031 00:46:30,720 --> 00:46:33,040 You know during that decade or that time 1032 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:36,080 you know just man I was maybe a brand new baby Christian. 1033 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:37,800 Maybe it was like when you first got saved 1034 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,080 and the wonder of all of that was there. 1035 00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:41,360 And so the music from that time 1036 00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:43,280 that's like your favorite worship music 1037 00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:45,360 or maybe it was a different season of life 1038 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:47,120 but God was moving powerfully 1039 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:49,040 and all the songs of that time right? 1040 00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:51,320 They're just like oh that's my favorite worship music 1041 00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:52,920 and we could find ourselves being like 1042 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:54,920 why can't we do that and only that. 1043 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:02,040 But those songs, those memories, 1044 00:47:02,040 --> 00:47:05,280 the nostalgia that we get from those older songs 1045 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:06,920 or those times from another period, 1046 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:10,280 it's all tied to what God was doing then. 1047 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:13,640 That's what it's tied to. 1048 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:16,180 And if that's all we want to sing, 1049 00:47:16,180 --> 00:47:19,240 if that's all we want to sing out to God and worship, 1050 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:21,460 what we are essentially saying 1051 00:47:21,460 --> 00:47:24,040 or at least in danger of saying is God, 1052 00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:27,000 I only want to celebrate what you once did 1053 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:28,840 because you're not doing anything now. 1054 00:47:30,700 --> 00:47:33,160 You may not say those words 1055 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:35,360 but that can be an inclination of the heart. 1056 00:47:36,760 --> 00:47:39,900 And so we're called to sing a new song in that regard. 1057 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:44,000 The idea is to have an ever growing, 1058 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,560 fresh expression of what God is doing today in your life 1059 00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:49,840 and praising him for what he is doing now 1060 00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:53,160 and praising him for what he is doing in this season of life. 1061 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:55,520 Now that doesn't mean an old song 1062 00:47:55,520 --> 00:48:00,520 can't express what God is doing in this moment of your life. 1063 00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:04,160 So it's not the age of the song in that regard, right? 1064 00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:05,640 It could be an old hymn that you hear 1065 00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:07,600 and it's like, oh my gosh, God is just, 1066 00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:09,760 that is what God is doing in my life right now 1067 00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:12,120 and you just want to sing that and praise that out to him. 1068 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:12,960 Amen. 1069 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:20,200 It doesn't mean that remembering what God has done 1070 00:48:20,200 --> 00:48:22,760 in the past is in any way inherently a bad thing, right? 1071 00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:24,240 There's a lot about that, 1072 00:48:24,240 --> 00:48:26,000 about remembering what God has done, right? 1073 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:28,440 We're responding to what God has done in worship. 1074 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:31,040 And so this idea of a new song is like, 1075 00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:34,280 oh, it doesn't have to only be this, 1076 00:48:34,280 --> 00:48:36,920 but sometimes we do fall into a trap of thinking 1077 00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:39,640 it only has to be this, old stuff. 1078 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:44,360 And in that it can mean that in your worship, 1079 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:46,600 maybe you're clinging to past graces 1080 00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:50,640 or clinging to past blessings in your living 1081 00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:53,320 and you're walking in that past work that God did 1082 00:48:53,320 --> 00:48:55,680 instead of living and walking in what God is 1083 00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:57,680 and wants to do today. 1084 00:48:57,680 --> 00:48:59,600 That's the idea of singing a new song. 1085 00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:04,960 And if you're tied to just simply walking in, 1086 00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:07,320 celebrating what God has done in the past, 1087 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:10,720 that can be a part of why the new songs don't appeal to you. 1088 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:14,000 No, no, no, it's only this past nostalgia, 1089 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,000 this past feeling, this past work. 1090 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:17,000 That's all I want to stay in. 1091 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,240 And so there'll be new songs, new music come out 1092 00:49:20,240 --> 00:49:21,920 and you're like, no, that doesn't speak to me, you know? 1093 00:49:21,920 --> 00:49:25,760 And maybe it might if you open your eyes 1094 00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:27,760 to what God is doing today. 1095 00:49:27,760 --> 00:49:29,880 Make sense? 1096 00:49:29,880 --> 00:49:30,720 All right. 1097 00:49:30,720 --> 00:49:33,880 I read this story about a young man who once told his dad, 1098 00:49:33,880 --> 00:49:36,920 hey dad, I love God, I love the church, 1099 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:38,480 but the music is kind of boring. 1100 00:49:39,360 --> 00:49:42,880 And his dad got mad at him, how dare you, right? 1101 00:49:42,880 --> 00:49:45,160 Those songs are our foundation and our tradition 1102 00:49:45,160 --> 00:49:46,440 and he's like, you know, if you don't like them, 1103 00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:48,800 why don't you write some songs then? 1104 00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:51,640 And the kid said, you know what, I'm gonna do that. 1105 00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:54,040 His name was Isaac Watts. 1106 00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:58,080 He ended up writing many of the most famous worship songs 1107 00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:01,240 that are even still sung today. 1108 00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:04,280 He wrote some, gosh, it's hundreds and hundreds of songs, 1109 00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:06,640 like for example, Joy to the World, 1110 00:50:07,740 --> 00:50:09,640 which I think in its day was pretty speed metal 1111 00:50:09,640 --> 00:50:10,480 for its time. 1112 00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:13,800 It's a pretty upbeat song. 1113 00:50:13,800 --> 00:50:16,640 He wrote When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. 1114 00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:18,520 These are songs we still sing today 1115 00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:21,860 because they capture something of what God is doing 1116 00:50:21,860 --> 00:50:22,800 in every generation. 1117 00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:25,040 But every generation, every culture, 1118 00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:27,900 has an ever evolving expression through music, 1119 00:50:29,020 --> 00:50:32,280 through song, and as God moves in each generation, 1120 00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:35,480 the expression of praise and worship through music 1121 00:50:35,480 --> 00:50:37,240 will change as well. 1122 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,280 It'll change stylistically, it'll change instrumentally, 1123 00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:44,240 it'll even change vocally, and that is a good thing 1124 00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:48,900 as long as it's in response to God 1125 00:50:48,900 --> 00:50:51,080 and focused on him and what he's done. 1126 00:50:51,080 --> 00:50:56,080 And so, not only was it a new song, as it says, 1127 00:50:56,280 --> 00:50:58,440 but it was a song for, as we've been talking about, 1128 00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:00,220 what God has done. 1129 00:51:00,220 --> 00:51:02,120 What they're singing back to God is you are worthy 1130 00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:04,440 to take the scroll, you are worthy to open its seals 1131 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:06,680 because you were slaughtered for us, right? 1132 00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:08,280 And you purchased us. 1133 00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:10,960 The idea is you've redeemed us for God by your blood 1134 00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:12,720 out of all the people of the earth. 1135 00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:15,920 I mean, I think if you're a songwriter 1136 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:17,940 and you wanna have an anointed worship song, 1137 00:51:17,940 --> 00:51:19,920 just fill it with Jesus. 1138 00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:22,920 Just fill it up with Jesus and really make sure 1139 00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:25,180 his sacrifice, what he's done for us 1140 00:51:25,180 --> 00:51:27,280 and what he's done for you is kind of the centerpiece 1141 00:51:27,280 --> 00:51:28,120 of all of that. 1142 00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:30,520 I'm not saying exclusively that's only a worship song, 1143 00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:32,440 but I think that would be anointed 1144 00:51:33,640 --> 00:51:36,760 because it's all about him and his sacrifice. 1145 00:51:38,380 --> 00:51:43,380 And when churches try to remove the blood from the worship, 1146 00:51:44,720 --> 00:51:48,120 or remove the death, or remove the sacrifice 1147 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:51,280 from the worship, and that happens in a lot of places today. 1148 00:51:52,340 --> 00:51:55,300 The music is turning to be so focused on me 1149 00:51:55,300 --> 00:51:57,200 and my experience and what I've offered to God 1150 00:51:57,200 --> 00:51:58,160 and what I've done. 1151 00:51:59,720 --> 00:52:01,360 And that's not to say a good worship song 1152 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:03,480 can't be like, God, I love you, right? 1153 00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:06,000 But there's a difference in it's about him 1154 00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:08,040 versus it's about me. 1155 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:11,200 But when churches try and remove these elements, 1156 00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:12,960 it kills the life of the worship. 1157 00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:16,180 It kills what it's about, it kills what it's for. 1158 00:52:16,180 --> 00:52:18,780 And so you'll notice too that the worship song 1159 00:52:18,780 --> 00:52:23,140 was a song that only the redeemed could sing, right? 1160 00:52:23,140 --> 00:52:26,060 The unsaved couldn't sing this, you purchased us. 1161 00:52:26,060 --> 00:52:29,180 You redeemed us from all the nations of the world. 1162 00:52:29,180 --> 00:52:31,180 The unsaved can't sing that song. 1163 00:52:32,380 --> 00:52:35,780 That's something that only the redeemed can sing 1164 00:52:35,780 --> 00:52:37,500 and I think this is a paramount characteristic 1165 00:52:37,500 --> 00:52:38,500 of true worship. 1166 00:52:40,540 --> 00:52:43,340 Because it's based on a true relationship with God 1167 00:52:43,340 --> 00:52:45,060 and what he's done. 1168 00:52:45,060 --> 00:52:47,020 And lastly, the song was about what God would do 1169 00:52:47,020 --> 00:52:49,540 now and in the future, right? 1170 00:52:49,540 --> 00:52:52,140 You're gonna make us kings and priests. 1171 00:52:53,260 --> 00:52:54,740 You know, I think worship should 1172 00:52:56,180 --> 00:52:58,420 fling us into the future. 1173 00:52:58,420 --> 00:52:59,940 Should fling our minds into the future, 1174 00:52:59,940 --> 00:53:01,620 remind us about our future state, 1175 00:53:01,620 --> 00:53:04,580 remind us about what's to come as his children. 1176 00:53:04,580 --> 00:53:07,860 You know, when we marvel at what God will do for us 1177 00:53:07,860 --> 00:53:10,580 and with us, what God is gonna do beyond our time 1178 00:53:10,580 --> 00:53:11,420 here on earth. 1179 00:53:11,420 --> 00:53:12,780 When we think about, like, you know, 1180 00:53:12,780 --> 00:53:14,660 especially in context of the difficulties 1181 00:53:14,660 --> 00:53:15,780 and the struggles of life and we go, 1182 00:53:15,780 --> 00:53:18,100 I wanna put that aside, I wanna put the conflict aside 1183 00:53:18,100 --> 00:53:19,100 and the fighting and all that. 1184 00:53:19,100 --> 00:53:21,660 God, I just, Lord. 1185 00:53:21,660 --> 00:53:23,260 And we think about where we're gonna be, 1186 00:53:23,260 --> 00:53:25,420 that he's gonna make us a kingdom. 1187 00:53:25,420 --> 00:53:28,060 His kingdom, kings and priests to his glory, 1188 00:53:28,060 --> 00:53:30,500 ruling with him and I believe this is a reference 1189 00:53:30,500 --> 00:53:32,500 directly to the millennium that is to come 1190 00:53:32,500 --> 00:53:33,900 and we'll get into that later. 1191 00:53:33,900 --> 00:53:35,860 But the idea of that, God, we're gonna be coheirs 1192 00:53:35,860 --> 00:53:37,260 with you forever. 1193 00:53:37,260 --> 00:53:42,260 That definitely changes our perspective on now. 1194 00:53:42,260 --> 00:53:45,260 And so, worship is for God. 1195 00:53:45,260 --> 00:53:46,260 It's about God. 1196 00:53:46,260 --> 00:53:47,100 It's to God. 1197 00:53:47,100 --> 00:53:49,460 But it does, I'm not gonna ignore the fact 1198 00:53:49,460 --> 00:53:52,300 that it does have a beneficial effect for us. 1199 00:53:52,300 --> 00:53:55,700 When we put our focus on the one who rules our life now 1200 00:53:55,700 --> 00:53:57,420 and the one who's gonna make us rule with him 1201 00:53:57,420 --> 00:53:59,980 in the future, when we put our focus on the salvation 1202 00:53:59,980 --> 00:54:02,100 we have now and the glory that means in the future, 1203 00:54:02,100 --> 00:54:03,860 I think it's one of the greatest deliverances 1204 00:54:03,860 --> 00:54:05,860 from anxiety and depression. 1205 00:54:05,860 --> 00:54:09,900 From anxiety and depression and fear and all of that stuff. 1206 00:54:13,940 --> 00:54:17,700 None of those things can tie us down 1207 00:54:17,700 --> 00:54:18,660 because we're free. 1208 00:54:19,620 --> 00:54:20,900 And we express that in worship. 1209 00:54:20,900 --> 00:54:22,740 So, get used to worship. 1210 00:54:23,620 --> 00:54:25,660 Get used to singing, get used to playing, 1211 00:54:25,660 --> 00:54:27,500 get used to all of that because we're gonna be 1212 00:54:27,500 --> 00:54:29,340 doing it forever. 1213 00:54:29,340 --> 00:54:31,720 We're gonna be doing it for all of eternity. 1214 00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:33,540 God made us to worship him. 1215 00:54:33,540 --> 00:54:36,940 God made us to respond to him in singing and song 1216 00:54:36,940 --> 00:54:39,620 and it's a wonderfully amazing gift and thing 1217 00:54:39,620 --> 00:54:41,300 we get to do as his people. 1218 00:54:41,300 --> 00:54:42,980 You know, the Bible says a joyful heart 1219 00:54:42,980 --> 00:54:44,860 makes a face cheerful. 1220 00:54:46,460 --> 00:54:47,720 And so sing. 1221 00:54:48,660 --> 00:54:49,900 Make that joyful noise. 1222 00:54:49,900 --> 00:54:52,460 Respond to God in worship. 1223 00:54:52,460 --> 00:54:55,780 Bow your heart to him in reverent humility 1224 00:54:57,300 --> 00:54:58,500 because he is worth it. 1225 00:54:58,500 --> 00:55:02,140 And so, today I wanted to close our service 1226 00:55:02,140 --> 00:55:04,980 with an old song, right? 1227 00:55:06,900 --> 00:55:08,980 But it's one that's been speaking to me lately 1228 00:55:08,980 --> 00:55:10,860 in what God is doing in my life today. 1229 00:55:10,860 --> 00:55:14,580 And I pray it speaks to what God is doing 1230 00:55:14,580 --> 00:55:16,060 in your life today. 1231 00:55:16,060 --> 00:55:17,660 But it's tied to our study, right? 1232 00:55:17,660 --> 00:55:20,340 It's from a scripture I referenced earlier, Psalm 95-6. 1233 00:55:20,340 --> 00:55:22,820 Come let us worship and bow down. 1234 00:55:22,820 --> 00:55:25,580 And so we're gonna close in that song and I just pray 1235 00:55:25,580 --> 00:55:28,620 that you just respond to what God has done. 1236 00:55:28,620 --> 00:55:32,380 In that concept of bowing your heart before him 1237 00:55:32,380 --> 00:55:33,980 in reverence and humility. 1238 00:55:35,220 --> 00:55:37,020 Knowing that we deserve nothing. 1239 00:55:38,160 --> 00:55:41,380 Knowing that we have earned nothing. 1240 00:55:41,380 --> 00:55:43,260 We're sinners. 1241 00:55:43,260 --> 00:55:46,060 But we're sinners saved by the grace of Almighty God. 1242 00:55:47,260 --> 00:55:50,300 We're people redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. 1243 00:55:50,300 --> 00:55:52,420 Hallelujah. 1244 00:55:52,420 --> 00:55:55,280 And we get to go to heaven one day. 1245 00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:59,380 I can't wait to get there. 1246 00:55:59,380 --> 00:56:01,220 I hope you can't wait to get there. 1247 00:56:02,100 --> 00:56:05,940 And in the meantime, let that hope before us 1248 00:56:05,940 --> 00:56:08,060 carry us through the difficulties of now. 1249 00:56:09,240 --> 00:56:12,060 Take that opportunity to worship him truly. 1250 00:56:13,020 --> 00:56:14,520 To worship him with true worship. 1251 00:56:14,520 --> 00:56:17,100 It's not about you, not about me, 1252 00:56:17,100 --> 00:56:19,220 not about our preferences, not about our likes, 1253 00:56:19,220 --> 00:56:23,180 not about any of that, but all about him, amen? 1254 00:56:23,180 --> 00:56:24,000 Let's pray. 1255 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:26,320 Lord, we love you. 1256 00:56:29,420 --> 00:56:33,340 And God, I know we don't love you perfectly. 1257 00:56:34,740 --> 00:56:37,140 But Lord, you didn't ask us to be perfect people. 1258 00:56:38,780 --> 00:56:40,560 You just want us to respond to you. 1259 00:56:42,980 --> 00:56:45,300 You want us to put you in that place, 1260 00:56:45,300 --> 00:56:47,340 that number one place in our lives. 1261 00:56:48,700 --> 00:56:51,280 You want us to choose you as our priority 1262 00:56:51,280 --> 00:56:53,780 and our reason for being God. 1263 00:56:53,780 --> 00:56:55,980 Lord, how can we not after what you've done for us? 1264 00:56:55,980 --> 00:56:57,380 But yet, Lord, we struggle. 1265 00:56:59,300 --> 00:57:01,660 So Lord, today, let today be a reminder 1266 00:57:03,580 --> 00:57:07,060 of what we're called to do in worshiping you. 1267 00:57:08,360 --> 00:57:10,180 Let today be an encouragement, God, 1268 00:57:10,180 --> 00:57:12,900 of where we're to put our focus and our hearts 1269 00:57:12,900 --> 00:57:14,800 in regards to worshiping you, God. 1270 00:57:17,620 --> 00:57:19,680 Yes, Lord, we're thankful for the gift 1271 00:57:19,680 --> 00:57:22,380 of different types of music that appeal 1272 00:57:22,380 --> 00:57:24,340 to our interest and likes, and God, 1273 00:57:24,340 --> 00:57:26,420 we're so grateful, Lord, for all of that. 1274 00:57:26,420 --> 00:57:27,980 But Lord, at the end of the day, 1275 00:57:29,260 --> 00:57:30,740 we don't worship because we like it, 1276 00:57:30,740 --> 00:57:33,000 we don't worship because it makes us feel good. 1277 00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:36,860 We worship because you are worthy. 1278 00:57:38,620 --> 00:57:40,940 And so God, may we be people of worship, Lord. 1279 00:57:41,820 --> 00:57:44,600 Let us be people who worship and bow down. 1280 00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:49,560 Let us be people who have kneeling hearts before you. 1281 00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:52,760 We love you, we thank you. 1282 00:57:52,760 --> 00:57:55,120 It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 1283 00:57:55,120 --> 00:58:19,720 All right, let's worship.