Monday, January 8, 2018 Reflections on Celebration of Discipline—The Discipline of Worship, Part 1 of 8: What Worship Is

Good morning! I am so glad you have joined me today. Be blessed as we enter in to the study of the discipline of worship!!

Monday, January 8, 2018

Reflections on Celebration of Discipline—The Discipline of Worship, Part 1 of 8: What Worship Is

Scripture:
Psalm 42:7
Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.

John 4:23
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

John 12:32
“…And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Matthew 4:10
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
    and him only shall you serve.’”

Excerpt:
“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” —WILLIAM TEMPLE

“Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father. Its central reality is found “in spirit and truth.” It is kindled within us only when the Spirit of God touches our human spirit. Forms and rituals do not produce worship, nor does the disuse of forms and rituals. We can use all the right techniques and methods, we can have the best possible liturgy, but we have not worshiped the Lord until Spirit touches spirit.” (Foster, Richard J.. Celebration of Discipline: The Path To Spiritual Growth (pp. 158-159). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.)

Devotional:
Ahhh…worship. This subject may just be my favorite. My whole life, I have loved to worship. My parents are musicians, and both joined Youth With A Mission (YWAM) at age 18, where they met and fell in love worshiping God. My father played the guitar beautifully and sang like an angel, and my mother plays piano and harmonizes with her rich, robust alto to this day. It was not unusual for our car to be filled with three part harmony with seven voices singing praises, mostly old Southern gospel and Jesus Movement praise choruses. I grew up loving to sing in choirs, and I am humbly grateful to have been given the joy of leading in worship in a variety of settings. Most importantly, it is the place I live in my spirit. To breathe is to have the need to worship, and I have truly found that staying in this place throughout my day is the most powerful and connected form of prayer. I don’t have music playing all the time, though I am certainly not against that! However, from the spirit man, the deep of my heart calls out to the deep of the Spirit of God for my strength and guidance.

For the next eight sessions, we will be examining the corporate discipline of worship. To gather together and touch the heart of God on the Spirit level is a priceless gift and needs to be pursued by every believer. We are called not to forsake assembling together with believers (Hebrews 10:25) because this gathering together to worship God has intrinsic value for our life as a believer and worshipper of Him.

We are not to be overly concerned with the “how” of worship, though the beauty of the rituals of worship in the church setting should not be despised in its various forms. However, let us always remember that it is spirit to Spirit that we worship our God, and this place is a catalyst for intimacy with Him. We were created by this great and loving Father for the express purpose of glorifying Him, and worship is key to this.

I pray that each of us will find a deeper and more intimate place of worship as we enter in to the study of this precious discipline of our faith.


Prayer:

Thanksgiving:
Sweet Father God, I enter Your presence by the blood of Jesus and with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. I bless You, Lord. I lift You up and say that You are glorious. You are holy. You are righteous. You are good. You are mighty. You are kind. You are love. Thank You, Lord. (Take time to let thanksgiving and worship flow from your heart to the heart of God. Linger here as long as you would like.)

Confession:
God, I bring my confession to You today and ask for Your healing touch. I hold on to nothing but give You my life. Your hands hold me. (Take time to release any sin or attitudes the Lord reveals.)

Supplication:
I lift my needs to You for Your intervention, healing and guidance. (Take time to journal needs, concerns, and requests. Make note of progress, victories and answers to prayer.)

Intercession:
I bring my family to You today and lift up our needs to Your throne. I give up my control and worry and let You have these needs. (Journal needs, requests and concerns for each family member, noting progress, praise, and victory.)

Thanksgiving and Consecration:
I give this day and this time to You and thank You for meeting me here. You are good, and I love You, Lord! Seal this time for Your Kingdom, and protect each of us as we move into this day. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Blessing and Benediction:
Ephesians 3:20–21Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.