EXCELLENT WORSHIPER (b)

JULY 21, 2007- JULY 28, 2007

CHAPTER 08:   EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

A story of radical faith in ACTION!

Luke 5:17-19

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

 ¹⁷ On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.^[a] 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, ¹⁹ but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
 

I. FAITH AND EXPECTATION

The first thing you can bring to worship is your radical faith and expectation. Jesus loves it when you bring faith into the sanctuary. Jesus healed the sick man because of the FAITH of hid FRIENDS. 

Don’t we all hope to have excellent friends like these when we need faith for a miracle?

What sort of faith, of expectation, do you carry into the sanctuary? Your faith could bring a miracle for someone else. If you want to be excellent worshipers, ask yourself

• WHAT AM I CONTRIBUTING TOWARD THE SERVICE?
• AM I EAGER TO SET TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY MORNING?
• AM I PACKING MY FRIENDS INTO THE CAR WHO NEED TO SEE JESUS?
• OR AM I MOANING ALL THE WAY TO CHURCH, LATE FOR CHOIR REHEARSAL, AND SCOWLING UPON ARRIVAL FORM STINKING ATTITUDE?
• DO I DAWDLE IN, HOPING FOR SOMEONE ELSE HAS ALREADY PRAYED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD?

If you bring to the altar a lack of faith, if you expect nothing, you will most likely to have your expectation fulfilled. But if you bring faith, first and foremost, JESUS MOVES.

When we think about what Jesus Christ has done in our life, we are filled with expectation or miracles for others. When we think of the way we dealt before we found Jesus, and what we thought we are destined for, and what Jesus saved us from , and what He has put inside us, and where He placed us right now, when we think on these things, faith rises and explodes within us. We become eager to get to church and see His presence fill the sanctuary as we worship Him.

Some people mat fear what others will judge when they publicly worship God. They may worry that someone will criticize their radical display of affection to the Lord and disclose them as superficial or shallow. But don’t let others think rob you of enjoying the supernatural presence of God that comes when we worship Him from depths of our hearts. True worship is not about stirring ourselves into an emotional frenzy. Jesus Christ is real and what He has done in our lives is worthy of our extravagant praise. what He has done is worthy of our getting up at wee hour of  morning to worship Him. If we will worship Him as He deserves, we will be filled of faith, full of the glory of God and full of His presence.

Don’t be hesitant to bring an invisible faith and exuberant expectations into your time of worship. it is not shallow, it is awesome!

II. JOY

Zombie spirit- dull, glazed-over look in the people’s eyes that comes when they FORGET what God has done for them and where He is leading the,. We need to bring JOY into our time of worship. if visitors can’t see any difference between our church and the club down the road, then we have a problem. Or if the club down the road is actually better at bringing joy to people, then we have a bigger problem!

When we walk into church on Sunday morning:

• Do you  feel the impact of joy inside you?

The joy of the Lord is your strength and what Jesus has done in your life should put the largest smile on your face. TRUE WORSHIP FILLS YOU WITH JOY DESPITE WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES ARE GOING ON AROUND US. No matter what you are facing, all circumstances must bow to the Word of the Lord, and that truth should alone put joy on your face.

Matthew 5:14-16

   ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Sometimes, we should stand in the mirror and practice joy. Some people think that they look joyful but when they see themselves, they would realize they are “hiding the light”  of their true feelings for God.

Let the joy of the Lord show on your face.

 

Exodus 34:29

The Shining Face of Moses

 ²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.^[a]

Spending time with God literally shows on your dace! When reality of Jesus Christ setting your face is inside you, it will show on your face. Don’t be afraid to let the glory of the Lord shone through your life.

Imaging if an unbelieving visitor came to a church where the joy of the Lord was visible on every face both on the platform and in the pews. Imaging the revival that worlds hit this church. You have the ability to change the atmosphere of your sanctuary by bringing liberating joy into your worship. Joy is natural result of spending time in the presence of the Lord.

III. EBB AND FLOW ON THE PLATFORM

There is a natural ebb and flow to worship. There is enthusiastic praise and then there is deep, rich worship. but there is always joy and on overwhelming expectation. There are extremes in some styles of corporate worship that can alienate people from participating in worship that is spiritual and truthful.

When the Holy Spirit  leads people in worship, there is natural ebb and flow to the times of high praise and deep worship that builds up the spirits of these who participate. With the ebb and flow of worship, we are aiming to keep everyone together, because we won’t see EVERYONE engage in bringing their worship before the King. In corporate worship, we need to open our ears spiritually and musically n order to lead the multitude in a genuine expression of love and adoration of our Saviour.

IV. LEARN HOW TO LISTEN,  LOOK AND BE AWARE

Worship God with everything you are, but have “one eye shut and one eye open”. It’s easy to get lost in worship and while that is awesome for you, you could easily miss  a great moment. Be aware of what is happening corporately in the service, whether you are on the platform or sitting in the congregation.

The worship leader has the responsibility of taking people into the presence of the Lord as a team together. When we don’t stay alert to what is going on around us in our personal life, we can get ourselves into trouble.

We can engross in loving Jesus during the worship time that we forget our responsibilities to those around us,. It’s wonderful to enjoy what we are doing, but when he half of the band changes key and the other half doesn’t, then the entire congregation slide to a halt, while the musicians head for the chorus and the singers are back at the verse one. When this happens, our eyes come off to Jesus.

V. GREAT PRODUCTION SOUND AND LIGHTING

Human beings are amazing creatures who seem to need everything “just right” in order to have an excellent church service. As leader, we know that a substandard production makes for an awful service! When sound is too loud, it is a distraction. When sound is too soft, it is a distraction. When sound is feeding back, it is a distraction. When the lighting is dark, it makes people sleepy. Thing like this distract from having one excellent worship service.

When the preacher’s microphone isn’t working, it distracts. It stops momentum, it stops the flow of service, and people take their eye off Jesus. So it is critical that we work together getting all the elements right.

It’s easy to walk in the middle of the road and be average whenever someone dares to break tank and become enthusiastic about something, there’s always be someone who things they are being unrealistic or obsessive. But who cares? The truth is, people who are obsess on enthusiastic about an idea get more done than people who are without enthusiasm.

Colossians 2:23

²³ These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
 

As an excellent worshiper, I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus even when all the technicalities of sound and lights fail,. Don’t let distractions keep you from seeing the beauty of the Lord.

VI. PASSION

Are you passionate about Jesus Christ?

• Have you ever looked at your Bible then started crying?
• That all the answers you will ever need hold by His Word?
• Are we constantly reminded of what God did to save us and set us free?

Allow yourself to think  about the Lord and what He  has done. Allow passion for the Lord to rise within you , let passion to be the fuel that drives who you are wand what you do in life.

Passion for the Lord is not found on a platform. To be beautifully passionate about the troth of GOD’S Word, you must really KNOW HIM.

What can kill passion? Think about in the context of marriage. What are some of the passion killers or relationships?

• Lack of intense,
• indifference
• being too busy to have time to be together destroys passions.

It’s a huge passion killer if one partner is saying “Oh my sweet, I love you” but the other is off in her own little world somewhere and not listening. DISTRACTION is a passion killer.

Spend intimate time with the Lord. Don’t ‘be too busy and don’t go to Him complaining, giving your top list of wants and then say “amen”. Go to Him, thank Him, love Him and follow Him to love you in return.

VII. BE GENUINE

Excellent worshipers are genuine, tat performance mentality must submit to serve the body of Christ. When we worship the living God, we do not need to be found “performing”. We need to be genuine in our purpose of worship.

The world can tell when someone is pretending, be an excellent worshiper where pursuit of God is genuine in COMMITMENT. Then if people do see you while you’re worshipping the Lord, they all fall in love with Jesus all over again,.

VIII. NO PRIMA DONNAS

The “prima donna” attitude is so subtle. It whispers to the unguarded heart of the worshiper. (this church wouldn’t be as good if I wasn’t here. If only the church know what they had in my being here. All the pastors get paid, they should pay me for all I do! Don’t they know how much I’m worth?)

The prima donna “look at me, look at me!” attitude does not glorify God. People are promoted because of their faithfulness and the call of God on their life. the excellent worshipper never seeks promotions but HONOR IS GRACED UPON THEM FROM THE LORD.

Worship is sovereign.

Luke 14:17-21

¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant^[a] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
 

the people that were too busy to attend the banquet could be any one of us. But we can also be one of the people who drop everything in order to come to the banquet of the Lord and say “Yes, I’ll have a go! I love Jesus, I’ve got this bit of talent, it needs a bit of work, but I’ve got it and I’ll work on it. Yes, ill  have a go at it.” Jesus grabs ordinary people, people committed to Him, committed to His plan and his purpose and He uses them.

Some people are desperate for recognition. Don’t feel like you are going to miss out. Be faithful, follow after the things of God, be genuine, be passionate in your pursuit and trust God

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Wisdom Better than Folly

 ¹¹ Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

Walk away form the prima donna attitude, walk away from doing things in the church for recognition, and be committed to building the church. God’s lighthouse to the world. God will answer the needs in the earth today through people like you and me, just the ORDINARY, EVERYDAY guy, who say “Excuse me, but I would like to do something for the Lord. If you can possibly use me, feel free!”

Matthew 20:26-28

²⁶ It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^[a] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,^[b] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

God honors servants  not prima donnas.

IX. LOVE THE LORD MORE THAN YOUR GIFT.

Loving the Lord more than your gift keeps worship in perspective. We become frustrated when we become very self-reflective, looking on our gift and wondering why it isn’t being used  In the way we want it to, then we get together with other people who are feeling the same way and we share the frustrations and start walking down the bitterness road.

Misery, gossip and bitterness will always find a friend, the fact that we can find someone to agree with us is not confirmation from the Lord that what were feeling is right! No matter what we whine about, we will always find someone with same attitude who is happy agree with us because it makes them feel better! That is actually a dangerous path to follow.

Discipline yourself to keep your focus on the Lord. If God works to birth incredible things in you, there is no man that can stand in the way of what the Lord wants to do,. God is your promoter,

Psalm 75:6-7

 ⁶ For not from the east or from the west     and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, ⁷ but it is God who executes judgment,     putting down one and lifting up another.

Be faithful with what He has put in your hand, because in the end, it IS ALL ABOUT JESUS.

X. WHAT YOU BRING TO THE  WORSHIP SERVICE

Worship is a divine privilege and with that privilege comes a great responsibility to show generosity to others in the body of Christ though all we do. We should never lead worship to the pastors and worship leaders. We all need to learn to be excellent, extravagant worshipers, generous In our service to one another and generous in our expressions of love toward one another and it will change the dynamics of His harvest.