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