On Sunday,
February 19th, I preached about heart change....
I wanted to take
a moment and re-challenge ourselves and ask the question: “How is your heart of
worship?”
After the king
was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies
around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace
of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent." (2 Samuel 7:1-2
)
We talked about
how David had a heart of worship. His heart was so much on worshipping God that
David made it a priority.
I said there
were 3 ways to show and prove that you have a heart of worship:
1. Make
Sunday Morning Worship a priority.
On your weekly
calendar, is Sunday Morning Worship something that is on it and you rarely, if
ever, have a conflict? If you do, it’s not because conflicts don’t come up.
There is ALWAYS something OTHER to do than come to church. But do you take
worship seriously enough to say NO and to actually make Sunday Morning Worship
the 1# priority? Yes, that can be hard to do. So I ask the question then: How
is YOUR heart of worship? If worship is what you do on Sundays when there is
nothing else to do or if worship is not something that you do on a weekly
basis, then maybe you need a heart of worship transplant.
2. Sing like
no one is listening.
When David returned home to bless his household,
Michal, daughter of Saul, came out to meet him and said, “How the king of
Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of
the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to
Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone
from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will
celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I
will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I
will be held in honor.” (2 Samuel 6:20-22)
David, King of
the united and of Israel, praised God with all that he was! His wife was
embarrassed of him dancing in the streets, and she complained to him. David
replied, “I will become even more undignified than this!” David didn’t care who
was watching; he was out of control in his worship of God. When was the last
time that you got so out of control worshipping God that people complained? Has
it EVER happened to you before?
David was
considered “A Man after God’s Own heart.” David was a singer. Before he was
king, he would sing to King Saul. David is credited with the authorship of the
majority of Psalms. I think part of the reason that David was a man after God’s
own heart was because he was always singing and worshipping God. Do you have a
heart to worship Him through song? If not, what is it going to take to get your
heart there?
“Sing to the
Lord, all the earth proclaim His salvation day after day!” (1 Chronicles 16:23)
3. Worship
through-out life.
Being a part of weekly corporate worship is VITAL. It is
a key element to our faith to worship with the Body of Christ. I would go as
far to say that we really can’t even claim to follow Christ if we are not
willing to be a part of the Body of Christ and worship together weekly. But
there is more. Worship is also a daily heart matter. Our hearts should be so
set on God that our daily lives should be as of worship to God. Everything we
do should glorify Him.
I appeal to you
therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, at present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)
How is your
heart of worship? Do you need heart surgery? A heart tweak? An open heart
surgery? Or a complete heart transplant?
No matter where
you are, God wants you to have a heart of worship for Him. He WILL help you
change or transplant your heart when you are ready.
Are you ready?
What about today?
Lord God, please
give me a heart of worship, to worship with your body (the church) weekly, to
sing like no one is watching, and to live a life of worship. I know I have a
long way to go. But please, Lord, give me a heart that pleases You. Amen.
AWESOME! Just what I needed to read.