Why is Praise & Worship so Crucial for Us?

Worship
Bible Text: John 4:23-24 ; Psalm 95

What is worship?
"Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship." - Rick Warren
Worship is far more than music - or a type or genre of music.
Worship is a life style – in fact the 5 purposes as outlined in Purpose Driven Life represent a lifestyle of worship
We worship by having fellowship with other believers,
We worship by becoming a disciple of Jesus, willing to be trained and transformed,
We worship by being involved in the ministry,
We worship by evangelism and missionary work overseas
Worship and worshippers that the Lord seeks
John 4:23-24 - "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Why worship?
1. It exalts God and humbles our hearts.
Worship that is not only from brilliant mind but more so from a broken heart.
Worship that is from a mind that deduce him but a heart that is ignited that find delights in Him.
2. Praise and worship magnify our view of God
It is more for us than for Him – It helps us magnify God in our Spirit and thereby increase our faith
Do you know that we are so often inhibited by FEAR. (False Evidence Appearing Real)
Fear of failures
Fear of further hurts
Fear of costs – time, money, emotion
The Hebrews word for Worship - Sahah or Shachah, Prostrate – face down.
Another word is "Praise" tehillah ( from halah – hallelujah – praise be to our God)

3. Praise and worship is an expression of faith
Worship is more for our benefit – as we are reminded of God’s grace, greatness & faithfulness
There is power in the spoken word and confession of faith!

4. Praise and worship is a powerful Spiritual Weapon
In 2 Chronicle 20:21 – King Jehoshaphat was instructed to send the worship team before the army!
See other parallel happenings
Joshua 6:10, 20 - defeat of Jericho
Judges 7:18-22 – Gideon blows the trumpet
2 Kings 7:3-16; 19:35

Why Praise & Worship is so important?
5. Praise & Worship brings deliverance !
Paul & Silas praise and sing in Acts 16:25 – prison doors opens & earth quakes.
Spiritual warfare – when we sing the songs of praise – about the blood of the lamb à the evil spirits cannot stand it .
There is a well known book called – "From Prison to Praise" by Merlin Carothers

Some Pattern of expressiveness in the Bible
How to be expressive before God?
1. Nehemiah 8:5 "Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

2. King David danced withall his might in 2 Samuel 6:14

An exposition on Psalms 95
Verse 1-5 - a call to rejoice
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

A Call to Reverence -(95:6-7b)
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

A Warning From Massah and Meribah (95:7c-11)
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways."
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."

Conclusion & Application:
1. Failure to worship is one of the principal causes of a hardened heart.
2. Let us be opened to new ideas and ways of worship – worship makes our hearts fresh, open and teachable.
3. Our greatest problem is not sin but the pride that causes us to sin. True humility only comes when we are at our wits end.
4. Worship can usher in the power and presence of God.
It can break down stronghold, mindsets. Etc
By far the most pertinent reason is to usher in His presence so that He may infuse His power and His grace

Message Outline - 9th April 2006

POWER POINT SLIDE OUTLINE

TITLE SLIDE :
The centrality of RESURRETION
Bible Text: 1 Corinthians 15

SLIDE 2
The Classic Chapter in 1 Cor 15
•V3-4 – Christ’s Resurrection was prophesised – eg Psalms16:10
•V5-11 – the resurrected Christ appeared to the 12, then the 500, to James and to Paul , most of them were still alive at the time of Paul’s writing
•“You may call the witnesses to the stand!” - Paul
•Resurrection is just as central to our faith as the Cross!

SLIDE 3
The Absurd Hypothesis -1Cor 15:12-19

•If Christ HAS NOT BEEN RAISED, THEN….
•Our preaching is empty and our faith is a joke! v14
•We are the biggest fools! v15
•You are still in your sins! v17
•We have NO hope! v18
•We will be the most pitiful loser! v19
•We should just “eat and drink” and pursue a hedonistic lifestyle (v32)

SLIDE 4
PTL! The Resurrection is True!1 Cor 15:20-25
•The “original sin” through Adam is reversed V21-22
•The “parousia” – Christ second triumphant royal return is assured v23-25
•The final & ultimate victory – sin & death conquered. V26, v55-56
•Resurrection is more than just resuscitation – we shall have a glorified body! V53-54

SLIDE 5
Other proofs?
•The empty tomb
•The missing body
•The transformed lives – turning from cowards into heroes
•The test of countless persecutions and sustained suppressions right through history
•Empires come and go, but the church of Jesus Christ last forever!

SLIDE 6
•Last week, we look at how Jesus have promise us the Holy Spirit. The presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a clear sign that he have not leave us as orphans. In John 14:18
•In Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul prayed for the saints - …so that you may know him better…. and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead

SLIDE 7
We must invite the reality of this power in our midst!
•See Phil 3:10 – “I want to know Christ and the power of His Resurrection….”
•My personal experiences…..healings, deliverances, power encounters..
•Paul’s defence of his apostleship – 1 Cor 2:1-5 - he came to the Corinthians not with eloquence or pursuisive words but the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power..

SLIDE 8
Let us ask God to demonstrate his power!
•Come and respond to Him, act upon the power & gifts he has given you!

Person & Power of the Holy Spirit - Pt 2

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit – Part 2
by Pastor Jeremy Wong

Review - 2 Weeks ago in Part 1
•The Holy Spirit is God of CREATION
•C – Let us worship and adore the creator
•R – Look to Him for restoration & revival
•E – Ask Him to empower us for ministry
•A – Seek to be anointed to serve
•T – He will teach us & points us to Christ
•E – He will enlightens us with revelations


A. Holy Spirit in The New Testament
Luke 1 – Holy Spirit was fully involved in the incarnation of Jesus!
Luke 1: 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
The angel responds in Luke 1:35 “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”


B. The Promise in John 14:15-21
•15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
•21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

The promise is conditionla upon our love & Obedience to the Lord..
The promise is that we will not be "Spiritual Orphans" -> sense of abandonment? Can you sense God presence?


C. The Perils of ignoring the Holy Spirit
•If you have NOT tasted the reality of the Spirit filled life, you will most likely…
•Settle for “Knowledge” instead of the “Spirit-filled Life”
•Content with “Tradition” instead of “Power”
•Replace “real relationships” with mere activities & programs

D. Power & Boldness for witness
•In Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.“
•Intellectual and experiential encounter will the Holy Spirit will cause us to Hunger for more…..


E. Testimonies of failures & Triumph
•Immorality & deceit exposed
•Occultist powers & New Age etc overcame ( see Acts 19)
•Revelation is more powerful than mere knowledge


F. How to be filled with the Holy Spirit? The 4Ds
•Is this 100 years of Pentecostalism? but the roots goes back to the Book of Acts
•Desire for it - John 7:37-39 “if anyone thirst let him come to me.”
•Denounce sin & pride in your life – not just a safe and respectable religion but a life changing experience
•Dedicate your life to serve him – your Career, even Marriage is for His glory.
•Dependence – fully upon him. (Ephesians 5:18 be “be filled and continuously being fill”….in the Spirit."

Mission Sunday - 26/3/06

Mission Sunday - by Uncle Say Yaun - 26.03.2006

1. Mission of JESUS

2. God’s Mission for Us
-2 Peter 3:9
- John 20:21

3. Called to follow Him
- Matt 4:19

4. Commission to go for Him
- Matt 28:19

Mission is
Given to every follower of Jesus
Mandatory
A lifestyle
Life long
Ministering to unbelievers
Introducing people to God

5. How to do Mission
Giving
Getting involve personally
Going yourself

*************************

What have we done for global mission in BOL church in Melbourne?
Praying
Disaster relief – eg Tsunami
Christmas giving to local charity
Bible for China
Short term mission trips
Support overseas missionary work
More ownership of people on the field…..

Thailand mission trip –slide1
Short Term mission Trips – slide 2
Short Term mission Trips - teaching
Eating Strange Foods with strange company

Bread of life youth - compasion child support -
Meet Monsunder and James
-->Support a Rural evangelist in China

Possible & Doable Local Missions

Mission organisation we have supported
OMF – former china inland mission founded by Hudson Taylor
Asian Outreach – Mainly helping un-reached people groups in Asia
Wycliffe Bible translators – giving indigenous people a bible in their own language
MAPlink …Etc…..