Last blog, we talked about what worship is and that it is not singing songs and playing Christian music. Worship is relationship. It’s our stance as Christians, our very being. WE are worshipers if we are called sons and daughters of the King. We do not offer worship – we ARE worship! Just to backtrack a little, we started off with the verse:

 John 4:23-24– “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father inspirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

God was talking to the Samaritan woman here about the location of worship not being as important as HOW we worship. God can be worshipped anytime, anywhere, not just in Church before the sermon. True worship is Holy Spirit led, anointed and power-filled.

True worship should be something we continually do in our Spirits throughout our day. Yes, songs of praise and music can feed our worship, but they aren’t our worship… True worship breaks barriers!

How many of us can remember moments where we just didn’t feel like worshipping? When all hell has broke loose, when we are not seeing answers to our prayers, when we are in the midst of a storm and we just cant seem to get ourselves in a place to worship?

Worship is not about whether we feel like it or not. It takes a dying of ones self to worship, to get outside ourselves, feelings, and focus our hearts onto God! 

It’s not easy sometimes to worship. We often times have to talk ourselves into worshipping, but worship will reform the atmosphere in your life in a way nothing else has the power to do. We try to blame it on the enemy when our worship is inhibited, but even the enemy does not have the power to stop us from worshipping. He doesn’t need to – we stop ourselves and WE are the only ones who can choose whether or not we will worship in the heights of passion or the lows of despair and emptiness!

It will challenge our flesh in the moments we just don’t feel like it, but when we choose to worship despite our feelings or circumstances, it shifts our focus off the problem and onto God! It allows God to enter and that is when breakthrough happens!

Mathew 14:22-33(Jesus walks on water, calms the storm and brings Peter out on the water, disciples worship Him) 

Matthew 14:33– “When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.” 

As a group of disciples, they had never worshipped God before together. The disciples were there when Jesus healed the leper, forgave the adulterer, preached to thousands…They loved and followed Jesus, leaving their families and lives, but had never corporately worshipped Him until after this incident on the water. Why? Because this time it involved them! This time, it was THEM that were saved! Worship is personal!! Worship is intimate and allows our hearts to be ONE with our God. 

Breakthrough Worship stories

Why is worship so important? Why does worship matter so much? Worship is the only thing God cannot give Himself! To worship – you have to have something higher than yourself and there is noting higher than God! 

Luke 19:40– “Jesus responded, “Listen to me. If my followers were silenced, the very stones would break forth with praises!” 

*Everything that has breath will praise the Lord and even the rocks will cry out! All of creation was designed to worship God! 

Joshua 6:1-27– (Walls of Jericho) God gave Joshua specific instructions on what to have the people do for the walls to come down. He instructed them to march around the city once a day for 6 days and on the 7^thday, march around 7 times and the priests blowing on the trumpet, the long blast on the rams horn and the people shouting then at the top of their lungs and the walls would come down…Joshua and the people did as instructed and as they worshipped and followed God’s instructions, the walls came down!

Acts 16:25-26– “Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship. Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose.” – Again, it was through worship after they had been severely beaten that the chains broke! Very symbolic of the chains we live in ourselves!

**The story of Jehoshaphat

Tribes against Jehoshaphat and his tribe were outnumbered. Again, God told him not to be afraid, that he would be with him…

2 Chronicles 20:18-19– “Then Jehoshaphat knelt down, bowing with his face to the ground. All Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping God. The Levites (both Kohathites and Korahites) stood to their feet to praise God, the God of Israel; they praised at the top of their lungs!”

2 Chronicles 20:22“ at the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and mount Stir to start fighting among themselves.”

In all these stories, they had every opportunity to fear, to worry or complain. They were in despair, moments of weakness. What brought the breakthrough for each of them? Worship! Worship is what invites and allows God to fight our battles. How amazing is that? As we worship and praise, God fights on our behalf. Too often we are fighting in our own strength, when all we need to do is praise!

This reminds me of a song I love:

You go before I know

That You’ve gone to win my war

You come back with the head of my enemy

You come back and You call it my victory 

All I did was praise

All I did was worship

All I did was bow down

All I did was stay still 

Worship needs to become a lifestyle! It is who we are, not what we do. It’s an inward state of being that becomes an outward expression.

God is looking for worshippers! Those that will worship in spirit and truth, to respond form our heart to His, to respond in total adoration and reverence.

We were created to worship, all creation!

Psalms 150:6 “let everything that breaths sing praises to the Lord”

Psalms 148: (READ 

As Stormie Omartian stated:

“We were created to worship God. It’s a state in which our soul finds true peace, rest, and purpose. But it must become a condition of the heart, a way of life, a pattern woven into the fabric of our being. Worship must become so ongoing that it is no longer even a decision that has to be made because the decision has already been made. Worship must become a lifestyle. When you make worship a lifestyle, it will determine in whose image you will be formed and what you become. Sometimes praise and worship will be the only thing you do in a situation. You will stand and praise God while the tornados of life whirl around you, and you will see God move on your behalf. And then you will understand the hidden power of praise. When you understand that concept, it will change your life.”

Worship – when you think of worship, what usually comes to mind? Maybe the first half hour of church service singing songs, putting on “worship” music in the car…I think when most of us hear the word worship, we think of it as an action, doing something. Worship is none of those things. Music and worship songs can “lead” us and feed our spirits in worship, but worship is our being, it is our stance, who we are…worship is relational.

Again worship is not about being a singer or playing an instrument. It’s not about performance, but WE are Gods instrument. I love how our spiritual mama Cheryl Salem says it, “ We are Gods instrument! Who is playing you? It’s either God or the devil!”

Worship is an issue of the heart; it is where we give God His rightful place. It has nothing to do with words.

In fact, Mark 7:6-7says, “Jesus replied, “You are frauds and hypocrites! How accurately did Isaiah prophesy about you phonies when he said: These people honor me with their words while their hearts run far away from me! Their worship is nothing more than a charade! For they continue to insist that their man-made traditions are equal to the instructions of God.”

Jesus then goes on to say in verse 15 “its not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HEART!!!!

He says, their “worship,” is nothing more than a charade. He wasn’t talking about their singing. He was talking about their hearts. The Pharisees worship was motivated by their desire to look holy to others, not motivated by love. We can’t confess to be Christians and follow God if our hearts and motives are wrong – it will show through.

John 4:23-24– “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father inspirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

God was talking to the Samaritan woman here about the location of worship not being as important as HOW we worship. God can be worshipped anytime, anywhere, not just in Church before the sermon. True worship is Holy Spirit led, anointed and power-filled.

Jesus said, “the hour is coming and now is…” Up until that time, people could not worship in Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not come. We are a 3 part being, just like the Trinity is 3 parts. We are body, soul and spirit. Body=clapping, singing…Spirit=our hearts, feelings and emotions…But man had not been given the Holy Spirit yet, so Old Testament people could not worship in Spirit…True worshipers began in the New Testament, on the hour of Pentecost.

Jesus says, “…now is…” because He was here and He was the first worshiper.

Look at the Tabernacle – again 3 parts…Outer Court, Inner Court and Holy of Holies, where no one could enter, except the High Priest at certain times…When Jesus died, the veil connecting to the Holy of Holies was torn so we now had a way in and could fully worship God in Spirit!

Worship is important – it’s not what we do, but who we are!! Worship is not about singing, but about our hearts being one with our God and pouring out a love, honor and reverence only reserved for Him.

Exodus 34:14– “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

Satan knew how important worship was. Let’s look at another verse…

Matthew 4:9– “All of these kingdoms I will give to you,” the accuser said, “if only you will kneel down before me and worship me.” But Jesus said, “Go away, enemy! For the Scriptures say: Kneel before the Lord your God and worship only him. At once the accuser left him, and angels suddenly gathered around Jesus to minister to his needs.”

This was Satan’s last attempt to be worshipped. But Jesus came to save us, to point us TO God…

I love how when Jesus resisted the devil, Angels came and ministered to Him. When we resist the devil, the Lord sends angels to encourage and minister to us!

Isaiah 14:12– “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground,You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven,I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…”

Worship was what got him sent out from heaven! Yes, he wanted to be more like God, but his desire was to be worshiped instead of God! He wanted to be like God. He wanted the attention and exaltation. This was the very first account of sin in the Universe and Satan’s crime? To be worshipped and exalted above God. This is the origin of sin and ever since, Satan’s desire is to lure us away from worshipping God, to draw us away from God instead of pointing other to God.

If Satan tried to lure Jesus from accomplishing God’s will, how much more do you think he tries to lure us? Look at the state of our Nation today? Satan is the god of this world and controls everything from the Media to the business world, to things we watch, read…Most of the time, we don’t even realize these things lure us from God. He entices us with things of this world so we will bow down and worship him instead of God. We can easily listen o music more than we worship God. We can read books or keep ourselves so busy, we don’t have time for God. These are all things that in and of themselves may not be sinful, but anything we put above worshipping God, is sin and the enemy is crafty.  But if we are in our Word and prayer and worship, daily, we will recognize those futile attempts.

Let’s look at the first time the word worship is even mentioned in the Bible…

Genesis 22:1-19 (Abraham Tested)

Remember, Abraham was tested just 50 years prior to this, as well. Abraham was asked to leave his family and he did. Why did God test him again?? Same as us – we can revel in God’s goodness when He is working things out for us, but after that, we can easily drift back into the world and the world’s way of life…

When God asks Abraham to take Isaac up to Moriah, Abraham immediately obeys. The Bible doesn’t say he questioned or fought back. He obeyed. It took 3 days to arrive at their destination… Why 3 days? Because that gave Abraham time to think about this – was this God who was asking him to sacrifice his son worth all this? Was this God worth his worship and praise? For 3 days, he could have thought long and hard and not went through with this… Instead, EVEN IN THE STORM OF HIS MIND, HE WORSHIPPED!!

Genesis 22:5– “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

This is the first time the word worship is used in the Bible. What would be going through your mind when you are asked to do something this horrific?? And I bet none of us have ever been asked to do something like this!! Most times when we are in distress, worshipping is the last thing we have the heart or energy to do! Yet, Abraham took his son and they worshipped!!!

Worship requires a sacrifice! It’s sacrificing that which is most precious to us… in this case, for Abraham; it was his promised son Isaac. Often times, we need to sacrifice that which is most important to us, that which is crowding our lives so we can be in the position to operate in worship.

What is stopping you from being a worshipper?

The second time the word worship was used in the Bible was pertaining to Job. We all know the story of Job – he wastested to see if he would still worship God when he would ultimately lose EVERYTHING!!!

Job 1:20– “Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.”

In both Abraham and Job’s circumstances, they were in distress…Most of us wouldn’t even be able to worship, yet it was worship that broke the barriers for them and ushered in their greatest blessings!

Do we worship God when things are good? When prayers are answered? For his benefits? No, God should be worshipped for who He is not for what He does!

And in the Old Testament when they didn’t have a Bible, they didn’t have Jesus, they didn’t have hope – if they could worship, how much more can we having Jesus, having the Word, having the Holy Spirit because Romans 8:28tells us, “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.”

Job was a man of faith, but like us, his faith wavered. One minute he was in distress crying out why is this happening to me, then the next minute praising God. It was normal for him because He didn’t have the Holy Spirit or the Word. When we waver in our faith and worship, we are living the Old Testament experiences and we are not under that life anymore! Our worship is to be full in spirit AND truth!