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[0:00] We're talking this morning about worship.

[0:13] Worship. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise Him. You can come this afternoon to the Bhutanese Fellowship and they'll say, Hallelujah.! You know what they're saying.

[0:24] Julie and I, we went over, we were very blessed to have the trip of a lifetime and to go to the nation of Israel and we went to the Garden Tomb, which many believe may very well be the spot or certainly within reach of the spot where the Lord's tomb was.

[0:44] And there were Christians there from many nations, certainly they weren't Aussies, and they were singing Hallelujah. And we knew what they were singing because that's universal, isn't it?

[0:55] Amen. As much as it's Hebrew, it's understood by every nation. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord is what it means. Praise Him. So worship is the theme this morning and Hallelujah.

[1:07] It's the same in every language. We're talking about worship today and worship on some aspects here. How should we worship? When should we worship? And why should we worship?

[1:18] We are to worship. How? Now, we're going to turn to Ephesians 5 and spend our time there and refer to other scriptures too.

[1:28] So Ephesians 5, if you'd like to turn to that. Ephesians 5 from verse 17, it says, Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

[1:48] And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

[2:03] Giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

[2:16] Understanding what the will of the Lord is. It is God's will that we worship. Amen? It is His will that we worship. So firstly, what is worship?

[2:28] How are we to worship? What does biblical worship look like? How are we to worship God? Spiritual fullness, I put to you, is where it starts.

[2:39] Be filled with the Spirit. There's a fullness, there's a richness, there's an abundance that we have. As His Spirit fills us. The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.

[2:51] Colossians 3.16, it says, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

[3:03] In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. There's spiritual life, there's spiritual fullness. There's a fullness that comes from His Spirit.

[3:17] Worship, it speaks of the worthship. He is worthy. He has worth and value. He has, worship is ascribing worth unto our God.

[3:28] Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy. We count Him as valuable. There's a richness, there's a fullness. Mary, Lazarus' sister, was a worshipper.

[3:40] And she went all out, no holding back. There was a fullness to her worship. She didn't hold back. It filled the place where they were worshipping. In John 12, 3, it says that Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.

[4:00] And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. The house was filled with this fragrant aroma of the ointment. It filled the place where they were.

[4:10] There was a fullness there. There was a richness. There was an abundance. And so too for us, there can be that abundance of our worship. As we worship, we will know a filling, an outpouring, an overflowing, an anointing to be as Mary was.

[4:28] Be as Mary was today. It was costly worship. Others would consider it was a wasteful thing. Mary's act of worship, some have reckoned, cost her something like 10 months of wages.

[4:42] It was no light thing. And we can know a fullness, a joyfulness, when it's real worship. Not artificial, not manufactured, conjured up by the atmosphere, by the band, by the whatever it be, the lights, the atmosphere of the place.

[5:07] Sometimes we can make that mistake. Someone has said truly that entertainment is the devil's substitute for joy. Sometimes entertainment can be a substitute for the real.

[5:22] So our worship should be one of spiritual fullness, be filled with the Spirit. Also, our worship is to have spiritual songs.

[5:32] Verse 19, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. The songs that we are to sing are spiritual, spiritual songs.

[5:43] Our worship is founded on truth. And God is seeking true worshippers. In John 4, he says, The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship God.

[5:58] Worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit. And they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

[6:09] So there's a truthfulness to our worship. There's spiritual songs, spiritual songs in our worship. So our worship must have solid Bible truth underpinning it.

[6:23] A solid Bible basis to what we do, how we practice, how we worship. We're singing truths. Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs.

[6:34] Teaching, admonishing one another. You know, there's the message time, but even our worship is teaching and admonishing one another. We're singing to impart truth to one another.

[6:48] We're singing doctrine. There's doctrine in these songs. We're singing truths. In James 5.13 it says, Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.

[7:00] Take the psalm book in your Bible and dwell on the fullness of it, the richness of it, the spiritual songs contained in your psalm book, in your Bible.

[7:11] Acts 16 it says, And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. Spiritual songs. Spiritual songs.

[7:21] That's what we need. And you know, you don't have to clock on or clock off your Christianity or your worship. You know, sometimes I like to hum and sing a little song while I'm doing the dishes.

[7:36] Or whatever it be. Something at home. While you're doing a task, a chore. Something that might seem onerous. You can have a song in your heart, can't you? Unto the Lord.

[7:46] You can sing a spiritual song, can't you? You don't have to come to church to sing the spiritual songs. You can sing them while you're driving along. You know, no one's going to complain because they can't hear you.

[7:57] But the Lord can hear you. Those spiritual songs can be offered up as praise unto Him. So in a spiritual fullness, spiritual songs, spiritual songs, and thirdly, saved hearts.

[8:08] It is from our hearts that we sing, with a melody. Verse 19, Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3.15 says, Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, so that which also you are called in one body, and be thankful.

[8:26] Let God's peace rule in your heart. Let it preside. Let it rule and reign, and have the preeminence. This worship that we know, and love, is heart changing.

[8:36] And friends, today, our motive is not to move the flesh, to tap our toes, that might happen too, but it is to see our hearts move. That's the point. It is that our hearts be moved.

[8:48] That our hearts be in right fashion. Colossians 3.16, it says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another.

[8:59] There's something that happens when we get together, isn't there? Something that happens that's very special. You know, we can't really fellowship with the TV preacher. You know, you might get a really good TV preacher, but you can't fellowship with him.

[9:13] And you can't worship, teaching and admonishing one another. That's why we get together, isn't it? That's why it's good to get together. Every chance we can. Singing and teaching and admonishing one another.

[9:25] In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing. With grace in your hearts to the Lord. How is your heart? Is your heart healthy? Is there peace in your heart?

[9:38] Melody in your heart? God tunes our heart, doesn't he? He gets it in right order. The Lord Jesus did not come to enhance your life. You know, there's some preachers that tell you that Jesus has come to enhance your life, so you can have your best life now.

[9:54] As if it's all suddenly going to be all easy, freezing. But he has come to change our hearts. To change our hearts. To change our lives.

[10:05] To seek and to save that which was lost. So our hearts can be saved. We can be saved. And for some, when they hear that message of salvation, it might mean the prison camp.

[10:18] And the torture cell. And death. But glorious salvation. Safe hearts. That's what matters. And we can know a spiritual fullness.

[10:30] Spiritual songs. That spring from safe hearts. Safe hearts. That's what matters today. Is that your heart be saved. That you know that real salvation.

[10:41] A heart transformed by his grace. Peter said to Simon, Acts 8, Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter. For thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

[10:52] He saw right through him. This man Simon. That his heart was not right with God. Now I can't take my special x-ray vision and see inside every heart here this morning and search your heart.

[11:06] But there is one who can. And he can search and try our hearts. He knows the very chords and sinews and what makes and fashions our heart and what makes us tick and whether he is presiding, dwelling in our hearts by faith.

[11:22] For Simon, his heart was not right. Our Lord told also of some who drew near to him with their mouth, but their heart was far from him.

[11:32] Matthew 15, verse 8, This people draweth nigh to me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips. You know, this is where we get the phrase lip service from.

[11:45] They serve me with their lips. They're all talk. But their heart is far from me. Let it not be so for you today. Does worship spring from your heart?

[11:57] Friends, you can know hearts filled, hearts changed, hearts saved, a rejoicing of the heart. Why? The Bible says we've been saved out of the snare of the devil.

[12:09] A snare is a trap, isn't it? It's something that captures us and holds us bound and held. He set us free from the snare of the fowler.

[12:22] Isn't that reason to praise him? You've been saved. You've been made a fellow citizen. No more a stranger. Made a fellow citizen of the household, of the family of God.

[12:32] A young man came to an evangelist one day and said, what do I have to do to be saved? The man said, you're too late.

[12:47] And the young man was very upset. He promised, I can do anything, anything I can do. And the evangelist said, you're too late. Your salvation was secured hundreds and hundreds of years ago on the cross.

[12:59] There's nothing you can do to save yourself. Just receive. Christ is your saviour. And then the Lord Jesus who is in heaven will accept you and you will be saved through his merits and his works.

[13:18] A heart saved. That's where true worship springs from. A heart saved. From such a heart. A heart saved by grace. That's what he wants in us.

[13:30] And we can know that great melody of that great grace. A praise and a thankfulness unto our God and saviour for his awesome grace. It's the grace in our heart.

[13:41] Do we know that saving grace of God? We've seen that our worship springs from a spiritual fullness. Be filled with the spirit. These songs that we sing our spiritual songs.

[13:54] Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs. And we worship in spirit and in truth. This is sacred. This is truth. Teaching, admonishing one another.

[14:06] This is truth to our worship. And as our worship comes from saved hearts we're singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. Now consider this. We've seen the how.

[14:20] Spiritual fullness. Spiritual songs. We've seen that. Hearts saved. How? Secondly, when. When are we to worship?

[14:31] Verse 20 of our text tells us giving thanks always unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When are we to worship?

[14:44] Is it something we just do when we gather together in a meeting? Okay, our next opportunity for worship is at 6, probably about 6.05.

[14:56] We usually start late tonight. And then we switch off at 7pm. Give or take. Then Monday night at 7, we come again and worship.

[15:11] No. He's saying always. Always. Always. It's always. Giving thanks always. Worship isn't meant to be something we switch on and off.

[15:23] It's meant to be a total life reality that we know and have. Not limited by time and space and time schedules when we can squeeze it in.

[15:35] Not limited by location or procedures. Acts 17 for in Him we live and move and have our being. By faith we receive.

[15:46] We enter in. We know His grace in our hearts. And our worship is not man-centered. It's not that we have to wait for some particular fashion of men.

[16:01] It's not centered on man and his needs. The worship isn't here to make you feel good, give you goosebumps or make you want to rock and roll. Our worship is unto Him.

[16:16] It is God-centered. It's for His praise. It's not about having a certain atmosphere so we can have a certain emotional experience.

[16:28] That may happen. But rather the scriptural focus is our worship is to glorify our great God and Savior, isn't it? It is to Him. Our worship is to glorify God, to give Him glory.

[16:42] As David cried as He was delivered from the hand of Saul in 2 Samuel 22, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. The God of my rock in Him will I trust.

[16:56] He is my shield. That was worship. And the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my saviour. Thou savest me from violence.

[17:07] I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised. When do we worship? What if I don't feel like you? What if I'm having a tough day?

[17:22] Things aren't going that well for me. Giving thanks when? Always. For all things. It's counterintuitive, isn't it?

[17:33] It's like it goes against the grain. When do we praise Him? Praise Him even when you don't feel like it. When you're tired.

[17:44] When you're flagging. Praise Him anyway. Amen. Praise Him anyway. Praise Him all the more. Yet more and more. Praise Him when you're flagged.

[17:55] When you feel like complaining. The word speaks of the sacrifice of praise. In other words, there's a cost to it. You may be going through great testing in your life.

[18:10] There's people here searching for a job. It's hard going. There's people here going through some tough health challenges. Problems at home. Laker finance. Needs.

[18:21] Many needs. Giving thanks. Always. For all things. Amen. That's what it says to do. You don't have to feel like it.

[18:33] You just have to do it. Just do it. You may be going through great trial. You may be asking what am I going to do? There's big decisions ahead. There's big challenges.

[18:43] There's lots of things you don't know how you're going to get it all done. You may be going through what seems like hell on earth. Giving thanks.

[18:54] Always. For all things. Tell your soul what to do. Tell your soul to praise him. Tell your soul to give him glory. Psalm 42 verse 5 Why art thou cast down O my soul?

[19:08] Why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him who is sorry I shall yet praise him for the help of his counsellors.

[19:19] I shall yet praise him. Yet will I praise him. It's all the more reason to praise. When are we to worship? Psalm 34 I will bless the Lord at some of the time.

[19:34] Oh I'm preaching I will bless the Lord at all times in the good times and in the bad times.

[19:49] I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually continually continually be in my mouth. now consider this we've seen the how spiritual fullness spiritual songs what was the third one?

[20:11] Why? From saved hearts we've seen the when at all times and thirdly we see the why why are we to worship God speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody to the Lord why are we to worship it's unto the Lord it's unto him unto him be glory in the church it's unto him unto him for him because of him to him all glory and all praise is due and our awesome God wants his church to praise him it's to his praise and to his glory Acts 2 47 it says the church of Jerusalem were praising God and having favour with all the people there is power in praise we see as God moved in tremendous works with souls saved as people were praising God

[21:11] God's glory is what they paid attention to they were proclaiming his glorious works they were praising him as Paul and Silas praised even though they had just been beaten up black and blue in their pain and discomfort in the dungeon at midnight their attention was to give God the praise was to give God the honour their joy was not in their surroundings it wasn't in their feelings definitely not they were hurting it wasn't in their circumstances but they had praise didn't they at midnight in the dungeon and real praise is God centred worship is designed for him and it will do us good too won't it don't you feel better when you've said some praise to God don't you feel there's more of a spring in your step when you've praised him there's a soul deep benefit that comes to you when you praise God and it's one of the fundamental reasons to praise him is because it's why we were created we were fashioned to be to his praise to give him pleasure and praise as we read before revelation for thou art worthy oh lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created praise him in joyfulness in gladness in thankfulness why are we to worship because he's commanded us to it's his command to us praise ye the lord that's ye all of us our company praise ye the lord for it is good to sing praises unto our god for it is pleasant and praise is comely in other words it's fitting it's right it's beautiful for you it's praising so we see it's a command and our motivation is for god's pleasure people of god this morning is to his pleasure is for his benefit it's fitting and right and proper and beautiful that we praise god and our motivation is god's pleasure it's not for us to get a buzz we might get that too but it is for his praise isn't it it's unto him it's to him we live sometimes in such a self focused world don't we isn't it so everything's about self self focus self dependency self sensiveness and humanistic philosophies come and they stroke this ego that we have and the church gets much like that in some ways it gravitates this way so that it's about pleasing people but our motive must be the glory of god that is the bottom line and so our attitude to praising god is not meant to be fickle and changeable it's not meant to be dependent on how we feel or when we get the inclination as if we've got to feel happy to praise god our reason for praise is because of who he is it's because of who he is he's our savior he's ransomed us he's made us fellow citizens he's made you children of god he's adopted you he's welcomed you you're no more strangers than foreigners praise god we've been welcomed into his family to become an australian citizen you've got to pass all kinds of tests and get all kinds of you've got to have such a good character what if god was to treat us like that to become a citizen of heaven you've got to measure up he doesn't

[25:12] do that does he he says that jesus has measured up for us and we just have to receive his invitation so friends it's not dependent on how we feel and whatsoever we do we should glorify god give him glory with your life as i say give him glory and monday morning when you're at the workplace give him glory give him glory so that you're a witness for christ 24 by 7 our reason for praise is because of who he is our saviour our redeemer and true praise celebrates the worth and value of god it's not dependent on how we feel and all the more if you're feeling lousy praise him when you're feeling low praise him when you're feeling forlorn praise him always anyway psalm 103 bless the lord oh my soul and all that is within me the totality of my being bless his holy name bless the lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits we too easily forget don't we we forget his benefits don't we like our brother was saying about australia you've got a roof over your head you've got running water you've got electricity you can switch on the benefits of australia what about god's benefits to us even if we had none of that forget not all his benefits praise his name bless his holy name forget not all his benefits we ought to praise the lord for our salvation shouldn't we shouldn't we praise him for that your name is written down in heaven as a record there a record there and one day they're going to read it out yet her name's in the book yes his name's in the book glory bless his holy name there's a record our names are written down in heaven and we have his help when trouble comes he'll help lighten our load he'll help your shoulder that weight and he'll give you grace to get through another day and worship and praise is not so much about the music or the sensation it's centered upon the

[28:02] Lord it is your response to him and you can praise him with your own songs make them up the adoration of the sacred is worship the experience of God the fear of God the book of Psalms is a book of praise songs and we can read them and take comfort in them read the Psalms and you'll want to join with David in song as David says my lips shall praise thee oh that men would praise the Lord he says let the poor and needy praise thy name it says God inhabits the praises of his people he's enthroned he dwells there you bless him as you praise him and he's tangibly present David says seven times a day do I praise thee praise the Lord let it be your ongoing desire to worship him to bring him glory to adore him now when

[29:05] I see folks coming to Christ committing their lives to Christ why shouldn't I praise the Lord another soul another name written down in glory do you know the spirit is filling the spiritual fullness you can you can you know I heard a preacher lately saying we all have the spirit but we may not have the spirit filling there's a sense where we need to seek his filling to seek his filling over and over and over again we have his spirit but sometimes maybe the filling level gets down a bit we have to check the gauge as it word so to speak I'm just drawing a picture here he wants you to be full he wants the fullness in our lives that being filled of the spirit of God and that great joy that comes as we worship him that reality of a saved heart friends it's time to praise the Lord he's seeking worshippers still

[30:06] Psalm 9 it says I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will show forth all thy marvellous works that's Psalm 9 1 through 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee I will send praise to thy name O the most high how long has it been since you praised the Lord how long has it been we're not talking about opening the song book and mouthing some words how long has it been since you praised the Lord truly praised him it's not words in a book it's not coming to a meaning I will praise thee how with my whole heart I will sing praise to thy name how long has it been since you sat down and realised what you have forget not all!

[30:51] his benefits! praise him with your whole heart praise the Lord praise the Lord oh my soul while I live I will praise the Lord I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being praise the Lord for the blessed Bible we have and the freedom to read it praise the Lord for the fellowship we have to serve him in praise the Lord for a heart to love him more and!

[31:16] glory to God hallelujah praise to the Lord his mercy endureth forever here's what one preacher said about his mercy endureth forever let me close with this thought we have good reason to praise the Lord because as someone has said when kingdoms have crumbled for the last time his mercy endureth forever when dictators have waged their wicked battles for the last time his mercy endureth forever when the stars have fallen like untimely figs from a tree shaken by the wind his mercy endureth forever when the sun refuses to shine and the moon has turned as black as sackcloth of hair his mercy endureth forever when people shall die no more and cemeteries shall not dot the horizon his mercies endureth forever when shoulders shall never stoop nor brows wrinkle nor faces become furrowed his mercy endureth forever when all of us awaken his likeness to live forever around his throne his mercy endureth forever this is truth today brothers and sisters his mercy endureth forever so we should praise him shouldn't we mustn't we a quick recap worship how when why how are we to worship be filled with the spirit a spiritual fullness speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your hearts to the

[32:55] Lord spiritual songs save hearts when are we to worship giving thanks always all the time unto God may your worship be a lifestyle a life reality so that whatever you're doing even if it be the daily chores even if it be some irksome task you can hum a tune you can whistle or sing a melody but most of all it's in your heart because you're saved you're saved psalm 34 praise why why are we to praise because we feel like it why are we to praise because he is worthy he is worthy unto him to him be glory it is his will be not unwise but understanding what the will of the lord is it is his will it is his command oh the man would praise the lord i will praise thee oh lord with my whole heart i will show forth all thy marvelous works praise ye the lord praise the lord oh my soul blessed be god why his mercy endureth forever let me leave you with one final challenge one scripture to close

[34:20] Isaiah 64 7 it says the sad day there is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee none that calleth upon thy name none that stir up himself to take hold of thee what about us today sometimes sometimes I get accused of being a stirrer I stir people up and then they come and tell me off afterwards I stir people up I want to stir you up in a good way really in a good way I want to provoke you in a good way and I want you to provoke one another in a good way unto love and unto good works I want to stir you this morning I want you to stir yourself up to call on him and to lay hold of him get hold of God today get hold of him today like Jacob wrestled as it were get a hold of him and hold him tight lay hold of God lay hold of God let us pray our God and King our Master and Saviour we come with hearts unworthy yet cleansed by the blood hearts renewed hearts saved and in those hearts you plant a melody a spiritual song

[35:51] Lord you give us that spiritual filling that spiritual fullness we've got reason to glorify you for you are worthy and always is the time schedule for our praise and worship Lord we pray if there's any here yet to know that saving grace in their heart their heart is yet darkened their minds yet blinded Lord that they might have a revelation of who you are this morning and realise the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed us from all sin and we can know assuredly know of an assured place a name written down of a citizenship made possible not by any virtue or credit or integrity of our own yet of entirely yours that you paid the price for our sin and you made the way possible that we can trust you and know your eternal salvation Lord help us each one whatever it be there's some here this morning Lord we know some hearts here weighed down heavy laden some burdened down some they may think of little reason to praise you it's so hard going for them right now

[36:59]  Lord give them grace that they might praise you still giving thanks always to God for all things give us grace Lord help us to praise you no matter what no matter what and to know that you are working in us for your greater glory in Jesus name amen amen