EXTRAVAGANT WORSHIP (part1c)

June 16, 2007

CHAPTER 04:   EMOTIONAL FERVOR

Psalm 88

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

 ¹ O LORD, God of my salvation;     I cry out day and night before you. ² Let my prayer come before you;     incline your ear to my cry! ³ For my soul is full of troubles,     and my life draws near to Sheol. ⁴ I am counted among those who go down to the pit;     I am a man who has no strength, ⁵ like one set loose among the dead,     like the slain that lie in the grave,  like those whom you remember no more,     for they are cut off from your hand. ⁶ You have put me in the depths of the pit,     in the regions dark and deep. ⁷ Your wrath lies heavy upon me,     and you overwhelm me with all your waves.                           Selah ⁸ You have caused my companions to shun me;     you have made me a horror^[b] to them.  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;   ⁹ my eye grows dim through sorrow.  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;     I spread out my hands to you. ¹⁰ Do you work wonders for the dead?     Do the departed rise up to praise you?                           Selah

¹¹ Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,     or your faithfulness in Abaddon? ¹² Are your wonders known in the darkness,     or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? ¹³ But I, O LORD, cry to you;     in the morning my prayer comes before you. ¹⁴ O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?     Why do you hide your face from me? ¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,     I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[c] 16 Your wrath has swept over me;     your dreadful assaults destroy me. ¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long;     they close in on me together. ¹⁸ You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;     my companions have become darkness.^[d]

Ever had days like that? When dreariness and despair go on and on?

Psalm 89:1

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the LORD

 ¹ I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;     with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

(the songwriter was falling much better when he wrote the latter psalm)

When a creative person with an artistic temperament is not yielded to the Holy Spirit and the Lordship of Christ, Psalm 88 is an accurate picture of how she/he may view life. creative people can tend to get isolated and then wallow in self-pity. But “GOD SEES THE LONELY IN FAMILIES because He said it isn’t good for us to be alone.

Psalm 68:6

⁶ God settles the solitary in a home;
   he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
   but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
     

When we yield our lives over to Him, He puts us with each other so that we can encourage one another, so that we can sing on the Lord’s greatness and love together.

Solitude is great if it is yielded to the patterns of the Lord, who withdrew to  a solitary place before ministering to the masses. Solitude should not be used to withdraw one’s gifts from humanity but to refill oneself for ministry to others by yielding to Jesus Christ.

We are all designed to be creative, healthy, Word-loving Christians, we still experience a vast range of emotions. The goal is not to let our “feelings” rule us but to submit our emotions to the Lord. So we yield our negative thoughts to Him, He gives us His positive Word. We can only truly say-

Nehemiah 8:10

“…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

If your negative emotions get on top of your, pessimism and passivity sets in. to fight those dark times in your life, ask the Lord to reign over your creative drive. Ask the Lord to rule over your desire for attention. Creative people often feel like this is a need that must be fulfilled.

One of the worst effects of letting “our negative” emotions get on top of us is that they make us feel alienated from God. If things are going well, we tend to feel that God likes us. But if things are going badly, we often feel that God is angry with us. We mustn't depend on feelings. Our creative thoughts need to be filled with the truth of God’s Word to keep is built up, edifies and productive.

Proverbs 25:28

²⁸ A man without self-control
   is like a city broken into and left without walls.
   

If we lack self-control over our emotional state, we are like an unprotected city that is vulnerable to attacks and subject to chaos. God wants us to be creative people who walk with strength and security.

Practical Keys on Controlling Emotions:

1. 1.    Dwell on Truth

            Pray that God will give you ears that are sensitive to God’s truth. If you have the   tendencies of a melancholy heart, pray David’s Psalm-

Psalm 51:8

⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
   let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
    

            This prayer will change you because God answers prayer that is in accordance with His Word. Determine to be joyful and glad regardless of the circumstances around you. Discipline your mind to dwell on the truth. Psalm that helps to develop healthy self-esteem and maintain emotional self-control is-

Psalm 139

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

 ¹ O LORD, you have searched me and known me! ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;     you discern my thoughts from afar. ³ You search out my path and my lying down     and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,     behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,     and lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;     it is high; I cannot attain it. ⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?     Or where shall I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!     If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning     and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,     and your right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,     and the light about me be night,” ¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;     the night is bright as the day,     for darkness is as light with you. ¹³ For you formed my inward parts;     you knitted me together in my mother's womb. ¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]  Wonderful are your works;     my soul knows it very well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,  when I was being made in secret,     intricately woven in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;  in your book were written, every one of them,     the days that were formed for me,     when as yet there was none of them. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!     How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more than the sand.     I awake, and I am still with you. ¹⁹ Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!     O men of blood, depart from me! ²⁰ They speak against you with malicious intent;     your enemies take your name in vain.^[b] 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?     And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? ²² I hate them with complete hatred;     I count them my enemies. ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!     Try me and know my thoughts!^[c] 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,     and lead me in the way everlasting!^[d]

1. 2.    Develop your unseen life of worship

            C.S Lewis describes worship as “inner health made audible.”

            Worshiping God establishes our inner health or emotional state in the Light of who God     is. Too often we set our emotions in the light of who other people are. We Can become       discourage if we compare ourselves to others. Rather than looking at other, we should         LOOK AT GOD by WORSHIPPING HIM. Spending time alone with Him can give us knowledge of His great love for us and help us to view ourselves as God sees us,            

“WORSHIP RESTORES OUR INNER HEALTH.”

            Worship is the most selfless experience that your nature is capable of because it    takes   your eyes off of your weakness and on to GOD’S POWER.

• -       Worship God when you feel weak.
• -       Worship God when you feel vulnerable.
• -       When in your time of solitude your creativity hits a dark moment, worship God.
• -        When you feel tempted, worship God.
• -       When you are angry or disappointed Worship God.
• -       Worship God when your emotions come unstable and watch how quickly your inner health is restored.

1. 3.    Have a sense of humor

            Sometimes, we just need to get a sense of humor because everyone makes mistakes.     The greatest people make mistakes and they’re great because they learn from them. If             at all possible, it’s nice to make mistakes when we’re alone, but it usually doesn’t; work        that way! Unfortunately most of our mistakes will be very PUBLIC.

            Stop punishing yourself for our mistakes. You will remember them far longer than             anyone else will. Taking yourself to seriously will destroy your creativity and your joy.           Have a good laugh at yourself.

Ecclesiastes 7:16

¹⁶ Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
 

            Basically the Word is saying “don’t go too far that way and don’t go too far that way           because it will blow you up

Proverbs 17:22

²² A joyful heart is good medicine,
   but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
     

1. 4.    Surround yourself with the right people

            Try to put yourself in an environment where you are all to laugh and be lifted by other.      Surround yourself with people who won’t tolerate your mood melancholy days but will             pick you up and help you to see the bright side of life. that’s why Jesus was so good to    give us the “the church family”. can you imagine being newly saved and being all by            yourself?

            We need the church ,we need the balance of the family, the team. We need each other.   We need to be thrown into this environment that makes us strong believers. The    environment of faith makes us who we are in heist and allows us to grow. We need to be   in an environment where we hear the Word and where it can grow in us so that we        become strong and no longer ruled by our emotions.

1. 5.    Learn to deal with disappointment

            We may feel  overlooked by church’ leadership, or if you are a musician you may feel      unfulfilled musically, but the problem is not with church God ahs given each of us the            keys to solve our own issues of discontent. if we have the right attitude, all of our musical     ambitions can be fulfilled within the local church. Fulfillment is the condition of the   heart. Your satisfaction for life must come form your own heart and not form    applause, approval or permission from others.

            Fulfillment comes from worshipping him, not from having others  worship you, pleasure    comes from using your creative gifts to glorify His Name, not your own. Gratification is           not from making the “Bestseller of the Week” but by grasping the fact that creative gift is    used for something that matters for eternity. It you understand this, you will learn to    swallow hard, maintain a free sprit and grow in faith, love, patience and contentment.

Philippians 4:11

¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
 

            We all need to learn how to be content where we are and continue to faithfully worship     God. Long term fulfillment is a life that is built of being faithful in and out of season.

Commitment to building up others lead to true contentment.

The best place to use your gifts to encourage pope is in the local church. This kind of service is a true act of worship. we may have been praying “God use me” but then as soon He does, they complain that they feel used!

Don’t; wince if God answers your prayer and uses you! Do all that you do as unto Him so that your pleasure is from knowing that He sees your act of service. This will help you deal with the disappointment of feeling overlooked by other. Surrender your desire to be noticed and give your creative gifts ins service to the Lord. Once you let them go and die to the need to be “fulfilled’,, you will find contentment, GOD’S WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND HIS TIMING IS ALWAYS PERFECT.

We need to learn to keep our hands off to God’s palm and walk always from disappointments so that we can bring and effective in the house of God.

If you don’t manage your emotions, you’ll be disappointed with yourself and never reach your destiny. If you are driven by your emotions, you will run in circles without ever moving toward your goals. Lear how to build your life on something stringer than your own fickle emotions. Accept the challenge to manage your own emotions rather than letting your emotions mange you

Learn to be content with little and learn how to be content with much and you will become stronger emotionally. Worship the Lord with your contentment.

Sometimes when we found it hard t life ourselves out of the “land of melancholy”, we have to rise up and shout our melancholy down. We have to shout it down and say “You will not rule me, I will rule you.”

The melancholy part of our temperament helps us to express the depth of our feelings and pour them into a song of worship. Never allow temperament to rule your emotions.

Learn the power of controlling your emotions, so that your emotional fervor can rise up inspirit and in truth as an extravagant worshiper!