Spirit Led Worship
This morning I want to continue looking at the being Spirit led.
Last week we looked at the Holy Spirit, the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give you power
Over the next few week we will look at how to be led in various ways by the Spirit.
This Morning I want to look at Spirit Led Worship:
Something Jodi and I try to accomplish each week is to lead a Spirit led worship service.
Turn in your Bibles to John 4:19-26
Worship of God can be done only through the One (Jesus) who expresses God’s invisible nature (1:18) and by virtue of the Holy Spirit who opens to a believer the new realm of the kingdom
Basically, Spirit led worship!
He even gives you the Holy Spirit to worship Him the way He wants to be worshiped. power to worship God! Say amen!
In order for us to understand how to worship in Spirit and truth, we must understand the need to worship in Spirit and truth:
A key to this is the fact that:
One of the greatest gifts Christ gave the church is the Holy Spirit. (Amen?)
To illustrate that lets go back and compare the first Pentecost to the New Testament Pentecost.
On the first Pentecost at Mt Sinai 50 days after Passover in Egypt God Gave them the law
Say the law
3000 died Exodus 32
On the day of Pentecost God gave the Spirit say Spirit 3000 were saved.
Good news: The Sprit has replaced the law
Look at II Cor. 3:4-11
Gal. 3:5-14
Gal. 5:18
See, The law demands righteousness from us, the Spirit gives righteousness to us
The law does not lift a finger to help, the Spirit gives us the Power needed to succeed.
The Holy Spirit always, say always, leads you to victory.
The Holy Spirit always leads you out of bondage, out of sickness, out of debt, out of depression out of the realm of darkness!
He always leads you out of Egypt and always leads you to the land flowing with milk and honey
He not only wants to lead you out of but into.
So many are in no man’s land, they are out of, Egypt, the world, the realm of darkness.
But they are not in the full blessings of God
They are wondering wandering
Wo wa.
Wondering what God has for them to do…wandering in circles trying to do something without the lead of The Holy Spirit.
They are wonderboy and wonderwomen
God did not bring you out to let you wonder, He brought you out to led you in.
Let’s look at how God led the people compared to today.
In the Old Testament there was a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.
I have spent many months in the dessert.
The dessert gets hot and cold
I remember carrying around an extreme cold weather sleeping bag in 110 degree heat because the nights got so cold in the dessert.
God kept them cool
The cloud blocked out the sun
The fire heated the air
As long as they were led by God, they walked in His coolness
When the cloud moved the people moved, when it stopped they stopped.
The purpose was to make them keep their eyes on God
As long as they were led by God, God was their hospital, their bank, their supermarket.
The Bible says their shoes did not wear out, their feet did not swell, they wanted food He gave them bread, they got tired of bread they got vegetarian Quail.( ok maybe it wasn’t so vegetarian)
That is supernatural…say supernatural…
We serve a supernatural God amen
Want water, hit a rock.
Now I use to think ah, isn’t that cute. Hit a rock and water would trickle down the side…However there were 3million people in the dessert, not to mention animals. It is estimated that it took 11million gallons of water a day! This is more than a trickle, but to God it was nothing.
We don’t serve a God that trickles blessings…He is ready to pour them out amen….
Their cloths even grow with them
When you learn to follow the Lord that is what happens.
The lord was outside, He is not inside.
How much better does the Spirit lead to life.
So how did the People of Israel, under the law worship God.
Psalms 47:1-2, Psalms 98:4-8, Psalms 63:4, Psalms 134:1-2, Psalms 30:11-12, Psalms 149:1-4
Psalms 150, II Samuel 6:12, 13-14, 20-22
Do you know what he was saying . I don’t care. I will be undignified for the Lord.
They clapped their hands, they danced, they sang songs.
Now that we understand how much better we have it, this should cause us to want to worship in Spirit and in truth:
So how do we do this?
By understanding the truths of worship:
1. Our goal in worship.
- Lie: Worship is when we talk about God.
- Truth: Worship is when we come into the presence of God.
2. The result of worship.
- Lie: Good worship leaves me feeling pleased.
- Truth: Good worship leaves God feeling pleased.
3. Our focus in worship.
- Lie: In worship, the focus is on the people on stage/the people who are sitting around me.
- Truth: In worship, the focus is on God.
4. Our pathway to worship.
- Lie: Good worship happens when the music and sermon are good.
- Truth: Good worship happens when we worship in Spirit and truth.
5. Our preparation for worship.
- Lie: Worship happens in church.
- Truth: Worship happens all the time.
6. Our passion for worship.
- Lie: I’m willing to worship if this thing takes off.
- Truth: I’m willing to worship if it’s me alone.
I. Worshiping in Spirit and Truth adjusts our attitude toward God
II. Worshiping in Spirit and Truth advances our walk with God
III. Worshiping in Spirit and Truth abandons whatever offends God (See Isaiah 6:1-8).
IV. Worshiping in Spirit and Truth avoids the punishment of God.
- \\ A. God’s people were disciplined* for the failure to worship (See 2 Kings 17:25-27). It was the duty of the Israelites to worship God. When they failed to do so, God dealt with them appropriately, yet severely...some were devoured by lions.
Cf. Isaiah 29:13
Amos 4