Why Do We Do That?

2. Why Do We Do That? • Show Worship Inspiration Video Here

3. Why Do We Do That? • John 4:23 – But the time is coming—indeed it's here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.  • The Father is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. • Authentic worship from a relationship. • What will He find when He looks at you?

4. Why Do We Do That? • Billboard—Worship is a Verb! • If you will remember back in grammar, verbs are action words. • These words are doing something. • There is movement and physical action involved. • An action verb is just that—active! • Let’s look at some of the specific actions we do in worship and answer why we do them. • All of these are Biblical expressions of worship.

5. Why Do We Do That? • Before we do, let’s establish that the Bible is our standard and guide for our actions in worship. • Some will say that many of these Scriptures are from the Old Testament and conclude that we are in a new era. • Thus, the O.T. is not applicable. • Allow me to caution you on that line of thinking. • This whole book is inspired by the Lord—all 66 books of it.

6. Why Do We Do That? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (NLT)

7. Why Do We Do That? • 2 Points on this: • All Scripture is useful for teaching... All 66 books are useful—Old and New Testaments. • When Paul wrote this to Timothy, they only had the 39 books of the Old Testament. • So, you can say that Paul was directly speaking of the Old Testament when he wrote these words. • It does cover the New Testament as well. • Conclude: ALL Scripture is applicable for us!

8. Why Do We Do That? • Let’s examine the actions we do during worship from the Bible. • Many believers don’t realize that what we do during worship is actually has a Biblical basis. • This is because they have never been taught this. • Why I am calling this: Why Do We Do That? • Let’s start with the most obvious.

9. Why Do We Do That? • Sing Praises • Psalm 9:11 – “Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about His unforgettable deeds.” (NLT)  • Remember that singing is to be out loud & over 200 references in the Bible to singing. • Singing in Africa – 5 Africans = 50 Americans • Anglo-Saxon Culture – stoic, dignifed & refined • Historically influenced our worship

10. Why Do We Do That? • My take on all this? • Let the Culture of the Bible be your greatest influence and not just your cultural heritage. • There are good things in our heritage and there are things that we need to throw out! • Wisdom will show us what falls into which category.

11. Why Do We Do That? • Much of what we do in our churches is based on tradition & culture and not necessarily something that the Bible teaches how to do it: • Offerings --Musical Intruments • Style of Preaching --Leadership Styles • Ordination Rites • Styles of Worship • Christian Wedding & Funeral • Preacher Stands & People Sit in Pews • Lord’s Supper

12. Why Do We Do That? • Don’t get me wrong: I am not saying that these things are wrong. • I’m saying that they are parts of our traditions that are not specifically spelled out in Scripture. • They are often culturally based, but our worship is Biblically based. • Sing and sing loud your praises to God! • It’s Biblical And the Bible crosses all cultural lines. • I have witnessed people in over 40 nations worship God with all of these Biblical forms of worship.

13. Why Do We Do That? 2. Stand While We Sing • 2 Chronicles 20:19 – Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout. • Very Loud Shout – Vibrant worship is Biblical! • The Levites Stood to Worship. • What does standing mean in our culture? • Respect!

14. Why Do We Do That? • If the President or the Governor would walk in here, what should our proper response be? • Stand in their presence until they tell you to sit. • Think about this: we are inviting the Creator of the Universe in here during our worship. • What should our response be if we would stand for a mere man or woman? • We should stand to begin worship. • It shows our respect for our King!

15. Why Do We Do That? • Look at worship in heaven: • Revelation 7:9-10 – A great multitude...from every nation...standing before the throne and before the lamb...were crying out with a loud voice saying “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” • Worship in heaven is loud! How can it not be? • Pastor John Osteen • Your worship is loud! God is not deaf you know. • He isn’t nervous either!

16. Why Do We Do That? 3. Lifting Hands • Psalm 134:2 – “Lift up your hands in holiness and to the sanctuary and bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]!” (AMP) • 1 Timothy 2:8 – In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. • Many of the frescos/pictures drawn by the Early Church of worship and prayer show the believers with their hands lifted.

17. Why Do We Do That? • 3 Things about lifting your hands in worship: • Yadah – Hebrew word for thanks. • This is the word used when we are commanded to give thanks to the Lord in Psalms. • It literally means, throw up your hands and worship. • When you are lifting your hands to the Lord, you are giving thanks to Him in your worship. • You are demonstrating on the outside what is going on in your heart.

18. Why Do We Do That? 2. Lifting your hands is also a sign of submission to the Lord. • It is the International Sign of Surrender. • You are declaring that you have surrendered your life to Him every time you do it. • And, your hands are empty of any weapons. • No excuses! • You are not holding anything back from Him.

19. Why Do We Do That? 3.There are times in worship when I want to express my love to God in more ways than just singing. • I will lift my hands or even kneel. • It is just an outward expression of my love to God. • It actually aids me in putting my focus on Him.   • Folding your hands in prayer is not something that is in the Bible. • It is a part of our culture.

20. Why Do We Do That? 4.Clapping & Shouting • Psalm 47:1 – “Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!” • Psalm 47:1 – “O CLAP your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy!” (AMP) • What is the highest form of praise in our culture? • A standing ovation! • Clapping is a form of praise and so is shouting in a voice of triumph.

21. Why Do We Do That? • What do WVU fans do every time the Mountaineers score a touchdown? • They lift up shouts of triumph and shout, Touchdown Mountaineers! • There is nothing wrong with that. • This is human nature! • God wired us to do these things.

22. Why Do We Do That? • But, we have somehow muffled our expressions of worship and put restraints on them. • And, said that we can do all these expressions of worship for other things but not for the One to Whom they should really be directed toward. • The One Who created and saved us! • No wonder so many people have rejected the Church as not being relevant!

23. Why Do We Do That? 5. Musical Instruments and Dancing • Ps 150:3-5 – “Praise Him with a blast of the ram's horn; praise Him with the lyre and harp! 4 Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flutes! 5 Praise Him with a clash of cymbals; praise Him with loud clanging cymbals.” (NLT)

24. Why Do We Do That? • Dancing – Halal – Hebrew word which means to twirl in worship before the Lord like King David did as he brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. • This word is in Hallelujah. • What is the only word that is the same in all languages? • Hallelujah! • Interesting that the only word where this is true is a word that describes worship to our God.Selah

25. Why Do We Do That? • Musical Instruments – we are mandated by the Lord to use musical instruments in our worship. • God inspired man to create these instruments in the first place. • Just because the devil has used them for his own purposes, does not mean that they were not first created by God for worship. • Remember: the devil is an imitator and a counterfeiter. • Remember: God is the One saying these things!

26. Why Do We Do That? 6.Play Skillfully • Psalm 33:3 – Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy! • The word skillful in the original Hebrew gives the connotation, to do well, to make something beautiful. • We are to put people on our worship teams who are both anointed and skillful and can produce beautiful songs of worship to the Lord.

27. Why Do We Do That? • Have you noticed how many of these verses contain the word shout? • Worship is a verb and should be lively! • We are worshiping the One who has delivered us from our sins!

28. Why Do We Do That? 7. Make a joyful noise • Psalm 81:1 – “Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.” (KJV) • It never mentions the quality of your voice. • Many times worship will have a celebratory element to it. • We are to sing aloud and joyfully! 

29. Why Do We Do That? 8. Be Still • Psalm 46:10 – "Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." (NLT) • There is a time to shout & dance, but there is also a time to be still and to stand in awe of His Presence. • Many times, you will even feel the need to kneel before the Lord your Maker! • It doesn’t happen often, but it is just as powerful as the lively times.

30. Why Do We Do That? 9. Kneel and Bow Down • Psalm 95:6 – “Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, 7 for He is our God.” (NLT) • This often happens spontaneously when we are ushered into the Presence of the Lord. • I have been in Worship times when I felt compelled to fall on my knees and when I later looked up, I noticed most everyone had done the same thing.

31. Why Do We Do That? 10. Be Loud • Psalms 33:3 – “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully [on the strings] with a loud and joyful sound.” (AMP) • How are we commanded to play the stringed instrument? • LOUD!  • Why be so loud? • We have so much to praise God for that we need to shout it from the house tops!

32. Why Do We Do That? • Psalm 149:6 – “Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands . . .” (AMP) • “High Praises” – these are praises that come out of the mouth with volume and authority! • We are to go forth with the high praises of God in our mouths and the Word of God in our hands. • These are our marching orders! • Fight the good fight of faith with the Word of God and with praise on our lips!

33. Why Do We Do That? • As you can see, these are all Biblical forms of worship. • You may not feel comfortable at first lifting your hands, for instance. • But, as you step out in obedience to the Lord, a sacrifice of praise, you will notice the inhibitions will drop.  • What should our Response be? • OBEDIENCE to the Word of God!

34. Why Do We Do That? • Let’s conclude with the scene in Jerusalem at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple: • 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 – 11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. • The priests had just taken the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies and had safely come out.

35. Why Do We Do That? 12 And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets.

36. Why Do We Do That? 13 The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: "He is good! His faithful love endures forever!“ • Notice: • All the instruments • The Unity • They sang with raised voices

37. Why Do We Do That? • Because they all worshiped the Lord in unity, look at what happened next: • At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God. (NLT) • 2 Chronicles 5:14 – So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. (AMP)

38. Why Do We Do That? • Why did this happen? • They were praising the Lord in spirit and in truth and in unison. • It was unified, authentic, genuine worship flowing out of a love for the Lord. • God responded!

39. Why Do We Do That? • This can happen here! • God moves in a special way when His people come together to worship Him in unity. • When our focus and all of our attention is on Him, He reaches out and touches us. • Using all of these Biblical forms of worship just aids us to keep our focus on Jesus.  • Let’s purpose in our hearts that we are going to be a true worshiper of the Lord and Him alone!