Why Praise and Worship - Leaders' Talks

Hey, I'm Pastor Steve Hall.

I want to empower you today to walk in your true identity as a worshiper and warrior.

Embrace the power of God's Word and the Holy Spirit.

Today be encouraged with a word from my guest speaker.

Welcome to the Born for War podcast.

So the title of my message today is Why, Praise and Worship.

So when I teach in Academy, a lot of times I will teach on the how of praise and worship.

I'll teach the why, the what, kind of answer a lot of different questions about praise and worship.

But in particular, I felt like the Lord led me to teach on the why.

Why we praise and why we worship.

Number one is this.

Why do we praise?

Why do we worship?

Number one, God created us to praise Him.

Here's what it says in Isaiah 43, verse 21.

Isaiah 43:21

It says, The people whom I form for myself that they may declare my praise.

This is a very famous passage, Psalm 150.

It says this.

In fact, can we say this together?

Let's all say it.

Let everything, breath, praise the Lord.

Yeah.

Nice.

So we were created by God to praise him.

Number two is this.

If we don't, creation will cry out in our place.

Many of you know the passage where Jesus saddled a donkey and rode into Jerusalem.

This was kind of his unveiling, his revealing himself as the Messiah to the world.

He rides in on the donkey, and everybody is laying their clothes before him and laying palm branches before him.

And they're singing, Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna to the Son of David.

And when he finishes that that ride, some of the Pharisees come to him and they say, Why don't you rebuke those who are calling you, you know, the Messiah and declaring their praise?

And here was Jesus' response.

It's Luke 19, verse 40.

Luke 19:40

I tell you, Jesus replied, If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.

If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.

There's several verses that talk about all creation, the fish, the birds, the air, the creatures, high and low.

Here's a glorified example in Psalm 148.

It says this praise him, sun and moon.

Praise him, you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created.

And he established them forever and ever.

He issued a decree that will never pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures in all the ocean depths.

How many know that all of creation, including us, were created to praise him?

Amen.

We were created to praise him.

Number three is this why praise?

Why worship?

Number three, it helps others connect with God.

We just had a kind of a cool opportunity surface with Unveiled Worship.

And there's a music publisher that has taken us on, Hosanna Integrity Music, heard our album, and has basically we've signed with them, they're going to help promote our music.

It's pretty cool, right?

And um, but when I teach songwriting, and we have developed a culture here, um, John and Brie and um several from the Worship Academy, we always write songs and we, you know, um produce those songs and release those songs.

Uh when I teach on songwriting, I always talk about the John 3.16 of songwriting.

And uh how many know John 3.16?

For God so the world that he gave.

Okay, all right, we know that one.

But this is not that.

All right, I talk about the John 3.16 of songwriting is Colossians 3.16.

It says this let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing in your hearts, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

So the the key to songwriting is let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, when the word of God is inside of you, then all of a sudden songs begin to birth and explode and erupt in your spirit.

And you it just can't help itself.

Once the word of God is inside of you, then all of a sudden, but listen to this teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

So here's what it says in 1 Chronicles 16.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, among the who?

So when we worship, when we give thanks, it glorifies the Lord in the midst of the people.

Sing to him, sing praise to him, tell of all his wonderful works, glory in his holy name.

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually.

So when we praise, when we worship the Lord, it encourages each other.

Number four is this why praise?

Why worship?

Number four, it pleases the Lord.

It pleases the Lord.

Hebrews 13 says this through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name, and do not forget to do good and to share with others.

For with such sacrifice, what?

So when we praise, when we worship the Lord, it pleases him, it honors him.

Number five is this why praise?

Why worship?

Praise is a command, not a suggestion.

A lot of people will say this, you know.

I had a uh businessman that started coming to my church that I planted in San Diego, and um he would always come.

He was dressed very nice and was a pretty wealthy man.

And he told me, he said, he said, Brian, he said, I love to hear you speak.

I'm like, thank you.

He goes, but I hate that music part.

He goes, when we all stand and the words come up on the screen, he goes, I can't stand that part.

I'm like, well, you're really not gonna like heaven very much, let me tell you.

Because it's a lot of worship, it's a lot of praise.

And he's like, What?

I'm like, yeah, you're not gonna like heaven.

But I could tell that he was very much alive and working and in his intellect.

But how many know that we need more than just our brain, we need our heart too?

And it's like I tell people, it's like, you know, can you imagine if I married my wife and I just said, you know, I love you, but I'm not going to kiss you, I'm not gonna hug you, uh, I'm not gonna tell you any nice things.

Um, if I change my mind, I'll let you know.

But I love you.

And so many times that's what we do with the Lord.

We say, I want to know everything that there is in your book.

I like your book.

But just don't ask me to involve my emotions.

Don't ask me to get emotionally involved with you.

How many think that's a pretty boring existence?

It's okay.

You can lift your hands, you can sing, you can shout, you can lift up a song of praise to the Lord because you love him.

You know, you you want to know the the most uh pathetic thing I've ever heard is a half-hearted shout.

Come on, shout to the Lord.

Like seriously, you can't shout halfway.

It's that's a shout.

All right, but this little it's like a billy goat.

I mean, it it no, seriously.

God is looking for people that will praise him all the way.

If you're gonna lift your hands, don't do this.

Do this.

If you're gonna sing, sing all the way.

If you're gonna shout, shout all the way.

He he's looking for people to involve their emotions.

Remember when David danced before the Lord with all of his might?

What did that look like?

I mean, seriously, it's like, what does it look like to do something with all your might?

I don't think we know.

When's the last time you did something with all your might?

He's looking for people that will praise, that will glorify him in all everything.

It pleases the Lord.

Praise is not a command, it's not a suggestion.

It it is a command, not a suggestion.

Here's what it says in Psalm 150.

I read this before.

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary.

I'm sorry, praise the Lord if you want to.

Is that what it says?

Praise the Lord if you're feeling it.

No, it's not what it says.

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in his mighty heavens.

Here's what it says in Psalm 106 Praise the Lord.

Same thing.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting.

A lot of people will tell me, you know, I just not I'm not that emotional.

It's just not my personality to praise the Lord, you know, to get into it.

Like, yeah, it's not my personality to pay my tithe either.

It's not my personality to forgive people that hurt me.

You you you know why I do it?

He commanded me to.

He commanded me to.

He wants me to do those things.

He wants me to do something that I'm not comfortable with, but actually it pleases the Lord to do it.

So I'm I'm gonna encourage you.

Go for it.

Praise the Lord, lift your hands, sing, shout, even dance.

What?

I was at a wedding last night.

I could cut a rug, let me tell you.

It wasn't pretty, but I'm telling you, I was on the dance floor and I was going for it.

Man, what if we actually came to church and actually just gave ourselves over to this thing called praise?

Maybe it would please him.

Maybe it would just really honor him and glorify him.

Y'all still awake?

All right, number six, praise unleashes the warrior and deliver on our behalf.

Here's what it says in 1 Chronicles.

This is Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel, sending out the worshipers, sending out the praisers, sending out the musicians into battle.

Crazy.

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying, Give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever.

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, who were invading Judah, and they were what?

Defeated, praised, won the victory.

Isn't it amazing?

And then, of course, in the New Testament, Acts 16, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.

And the other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.

At once the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose.

Isn't that incredible?

Can you imagine being in prison in stocks in chains?

And all of a sudden you have this idea.

Let's sing.

Let's sing.

Like talk about a very uncomfortable situation, and they begin to praise the Lord.

You are worthy of it all.

You're worthy of it all.

For from you are all things, and to you are all things, you deserve the glory.

And all of a sudden, an earthquake happens.

Crazy.

I remember leading worship at a pastor's conference.

And there was probably 800, a thousand pastors at this conference.

And I was singing the song, Blessed be the name of the Lord.

You guys know the song?

Blessed be your glorious.

And I'm bands playing, I'm playing, and the Lord says, Stop what you're doing, back away from the keyboard, do it now.

I'm like, get thee behind me, Satan.

You know I'm right in the middle of worship.

Why why would you interrupt me right now?

Blessed be the name of the and again it came.

Back away from the keyboard, do it now.

I'm like, sir, yes, sir.

The drummer was playing, and then do do everybody was clapping, and then and then everybody was looking at me just like you're looking at me right now.

I'm like, okay, Lord, what are you doing?

And I stepped up to the mic, and all this song came out of me.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus just to take him at his word, just to rest upon his promise, just to hear the saith the Lord.

And then everybody started singing with me, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him.

Precious Jesus.

Oh for grace to trust him more.

I got to the end of the song.

The Lord said, You may continue.

Stepped up to the keyboard and like, one, two, blessed be them.

Like, it's so weird.

I'm like, Lord, what are you doing?

I don't get it.

I I didn't understand until after the service when a little old man, probably late 70s, early 80s, with a cane came up.

He said, Hey, you're the worship leader?

I said, Yeah.

Thank you.

I said, Thanks for what?

He goes, thanks for what you did.

I'm like, what do you mean?

He said, that song you sang.

He said, uh, I said, yeah, sure.

He said, no, you know, you don't understand.

He said, my wife died six weeks ago.

And he said, I wake up in the morning and I go to make eggs.

And when I make eggs, I make eggs for two because I forget.

He said, I sit down on the couch and I turn on the television and I start watching a show, and then I realize I don't even like this show.

Like I just watched it with her.

He said, everything in my life has been turned upside down to the point that I told the Lord, just take me home.

I don't want to live this way.

He said, I I just I just want to go be with her.

He said, I was on my way here, and he said I pulled up to a stoplight, and I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit told me, Why don't you sing a song?

I'm like, I don't want to sing a song.

And he said, Sing the song.

He said so I started singing.

It is so sweet to trust in Jesus.

And he said, I felt a little bit better.

He said, and then I pulled out.

I was driving on the way here, and I was like, Jesus, Jesus.

He said, but I didn't feel all that better.

He said, I I still was pretty down.

He said, but then I walked into the church and he said, right in the middle of the first song, you stopped and you started singing that very same song.

And he said, what felt like a thousand pounds rolled off of my shoulders.

And he said, I know I'm gonna be okay.

Thank you for what you did.

That's the power of praise.

That's the power of a lifting of the voice.

It's not just songs on a screen, it's not spiritual karaoke.

It pleases the Lord and it unleashes him to fight on our behalf.

It's not just songs.

It's not just songs, it's a lifting up, it is an enabling of the king.

It is a glorifying of the king.

He is all powerful, he is magnificent.

That's why when you sing, the Bible even speaks of us having a song of deliverance.

You ever been going through something?

And all of a sudden a song comes to your heart?

My Redeemer lives.

My Redeemer lives.

I'm gonna make it.

I'm coming back to life.

I'm feeling hope arise because of you, only you, Jesus.

You start singing, you start lifting up your praise.

Things happen, things change.

So I'm gonna do a shifting here.

I'm gonna cross a line.

We're gonna go from praise into worship.

Is that cool?

Not just praise.

I remember going into this huge church, 5,000 members.

I was the guest worship leader, and I'm walking in and I remember asking this worship leader, I'm like, hey, I said, uh, do you know the difference between what's the difference between praise and worship?

You know what he told me?

He said, Well, you know, praise is kind of peppy, it's kind of fast, and then worship's kind of slow.

I'm like, really?

I said, Do you really think that's the difference?

I'm like, wow, okay.

I said, There is a difference.

You know that praise and worship are two different things.

Remember I was telling you about the stars and the sun and the fish and the creatures, they all praise.

If we don't praise the rocks, what?

Cry out, right?

Let me tell you, when we don't worship, the rocks don't cry out and worship in our place.

Creation doesn't worship.

Creation praises, but it takes a very intimate, personal relationship to worship.

You know that there's things that I would tell you about my wife, I would praise about my wife, she's beautiful.

Man, and I might tell you that in my living room.

I praise her.

Like, yeah, she's beautiful.

I love her.

But when you go home and me and my wife go into the bedroom, and we're laying face to face in the bed, there's probably some things that I would tell her that I would never want you to know.

That's worship.

Worship is where you tune everybody else out.

You know, oh, praise the name of the Lord our God.

Oh, praise.

It's almost like we're we're in the living room together.

Come on, everybody, praise the name of the Lord our God.

Okay, it's boisterous, it's loud.

We're singing to each other.

Come on, praise him.

Isn't he great?

He's great, right?

But then we go into the bedroom and we tune everybody else out.

I love you, Lord, and I live my voice to worship you.

I don't care about you.

I've tuned you out.

This is worship.

Oh my soul, rejoice.

Take joy, my king, in what you hear.

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound.

Creation doesn't worship.

We worship.

We worship because we have a free will.

We worship because we have a relationship with him.

We worship because we know him and we want to lavish our love upon him.

Is it making sense?

Yeah.

Number one, why we worship.

Worship occurs naturally out of a relationship.

Dogs don't have a spirit.

Lions, tigers, bears, birds, they don't have a spirit.

We have a spirit.

There's three entities, there's three different types of beings that worship him: angels, seraphim, cherubim.

There's even these four living creatures.

Bible says that they have six wings.

They have eyeballs all over their body.

I really want to see that being.

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to seeing the four living creatures with all the eyeballs.

It's crazy, right?

They literally have eyeballs all over the body, the Bible says.

And to see him, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord.

So angels, cherubim, and angels have a free will, by the way.

They're like, no, they were, they're just angels.

They just worship.

Do you remember Lucifer turned his attention inward, became selfish, became prideful, and then a third of the angels were cast out?

No.

Angels have a free will.

And they choose, just like us as human beings, they choose to worship him.

We have a free will.

Number two is this worship is our spirit being awakened to the truth.

Here's what it says in John 24, I'm sorry, 4, 23 through 24.

But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in what?

Spirit and truth.

Our spirit, the real us, not just our mind, not just our intellect, but our heart connects with the Lord.

We worship in spirit, and then it awakens the truth inside of us.

Father seeks such to worship Him.

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in what?

Spirit and truth.

Number three is this worship is a belief system that causes us to live a sacrificial life.

Have you ever been in the middle of worship?

All to Jesus.

I surrender all to him.

I freely give.

A very familiar passage.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

And then this is what it says this is your true and proper worship.

Isn't that amazing?

We just come before Him and we worship Him and we want to give Him everything.

I want to lay my life down for you.

I just, I want more of you.

I want less of me and more of you.

Number four is this God chases worshipers.

God chases all the overwhelming, never rending, reckless.

I remember the first time I like reckless.

Huh?

No, he chases you down.

Bible says that he leaves the 99 and comes after the one.

How many of you would say this?

That's my story.

That's my story.

He he chased me down.

Worshippers don't have to work.

Have you ever been in a position where you're seeking heart after God and you're not not hearing his voice?

Remember hearing this message.

The teacher never talks during the test.

Have anybody ever been tested by the Lord?

Yeah?

And you're like, God, I just need an answer.

Crickets.

Can I tell you that if you'll become a worshiper, you don't have to chase him down.

He'll chase you down.

Here's what it says.

I read this passage earlier.

But the hour is coming, and now is here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

For the Father seeks such as these to worship him.

The father seeks those to worship him.

Can you imagine not having to search for him?

But he searches for you.

Become a worshiper.

Worship him in spirit.

Worship him in truth.

And he will chase you down.

He will find you.

He will come searching for you.

The Father seeks those to worship him.

Number five is this we worship God because He is worthy.

God used to mess with me.

Has He ever messed with you?

I remember being a young worship leader and I was singing, holy, holy, holy, and God's like, what does that even mean?

I'm like, you know, you're holy.

Holy.

He's like, but what does it mean?

I'm like, I don't know.

Google, holy definition.

And then the same thing with worthy.

He's like, you are worthy of it all.

What does that mean?

I'm like, I don't know.

I found out that there's a lot of things that I sing that I don't know what I'm singing.

Here's what it worthy means.

Weight, weighty, a value, worth, or deserving.

That's what worthy means.

When we declare he's worthy, which means that when we come in and we're not having a good day, and we're like, I don't feel like praising today, it doesn't matter.

He's still worthy.

He's worth it.

He has the value.

He's still deserving.

He still holds weight.

He still needs and longs for our praise and our worship because he's worthy.

He has that kind of value.

Thank you for listening to the Born for War podcast.

We hope today's message has empowered you to make a difference in your world.

To connect with Pastor Steve's sermons, books, and blog, visit steveholtonline.org.

God bless.