Worship Essentials

Okay guys, today I will be sharing on worship.

The Bible says that we're going to be worshipping even in heaven.

So you know, we better talk about it now, right?

Worship is something which we all know.

But the sad part is that we have professionalized worship.

We have started to depend on a team, a worship team.

And they are responsible to lead us into worship.

And we, I think it's both the parties.

We have empowered them that it is their job, it is their responsibility.

And on the other hand, the worship leader and the team thinks that it's their job.

But the sad reality is that it's not one or the other.

The Bible talks about priesthood of all believers, yeah?

Everybody is meant to be a worshiper.

We are invited to worship together.

And so the intent for today's sharing is not really a teaching.

But it is more on sharing.

Sharing and a reminder of what is worship, why worship, and how we can worship.

So I'll cover three aspects of worship today.

So the first one, what is worship?

When we say that, oh yeah, you know, today we're going to worship.

Or say, you know, Lord, I worship you.

We sing, Lord, I worship you.

But what does that really mean?

On one hand, everybody knows what is worship.

And yet, if I ask the room, you know, if I ask you, how do you define worship?

I'm sure I will get different definitions, yeah?

Can we have an example?

How would you define worship?

Anybody?

If someone says, what is worship, what would you say?

Say it again?

A hard attitude, yeah.

Okay.

What else?

Say it again, louder.

An agreement of who God is.

Yeah.

So, you know, there is no universally agreed upon definition on worship, yeah?

Different peoples have tried to define worship in different terms.

And like for instance, you know, Oxford Dictionary defines worship as the practice of showing respect to God or a God, right?

By saying prayers, by singing, and etc., etc.

You know, Cambridge did a little better.

They said to show or to have or show a strong feeling of respect and admiration for God, yeah?

And then, you know, Merriam-Webster, you know, dictionary says, reverence offered to a divine or supernatural power.

These are three definitions.

But why I'm sharing these three is that they don't even come close to the true essence of worship, yeah?

The more common agreed meaning of worship is to bend down or to bow down, right?

The, you know, the etymology of the word worship comes from an old English word worth and ship, right?

Like worth, worth our admiration, worth, you know, honoring.

So it describes a gesture of reverence.

It describes a gesture of admiration and, you know, our adoration and awe and submission to God, right?

So, you know, we read in Exodus 34, verse 8, where Moses bows down with his head toward the ground in worship, right?

Exodus 34:8

And worship is when we give our deepest affection and our highest praise to God.

Worship is when we praise God above everything else.

It is when we love him with our heart, with our mind, with our soul, yeah?

With our strength.

It's when we praise God above everything else.

That is worship, yeah?

So it is giving our total devotion, our love, like honoring, celebrating, you know, obeying and deserving,

and, sorry, and obeying God who deserves our highest regard.

So in simple word, worship is, you know, acknowledging God and celebrating his personhood,

his nature, his presence, his power, his glory, his awesomeness with our body, with our mind, with our spirit, yeah?

So it is all of you.

You know, in simple words, it is all of you, right?

You know, I love how John Piper defines worship as he says,

The inner essence of worship is, one, to know God truly, to know God truly,

and then respond from the heart to that knowledge of knowing God by valuing him,

by treasuring him, by pricing him, by enjoying him, by being satisfied with God above all earthly things.

Beautiful, eh?

So, you know, I'm not going to spend so much time on worship because we all have a fair idea about what worship is.

So, you know, worship is not just about, you know, playing some songs before, you know, the preacher steps up, right?

We worship with our life.

We worship with our life.

And so worship is expressed through words, through works, and through service, right?

The Hebrew word for that is avodah, A-V-O-D-A-H, right?

And this Hebrew word, avodah, means work, the blue R-K, and then worship, and then service, right?

Work, worship, and service, all combined as one word, which is avodah, right?

So, you know, today when I say worship, for the sake of today's teaching, my focus will be on personal and corporate gathering like today,

where we gather and we have different expressions for worship, like singing, dancing, declaring, interceding, decreeing, praying, with our heart, mind, and soul, with one voice.

Yeah? So, you know, I'm going to focus on that, worship from that aspect, the individual and the corporate worship.

So, I'll quickly move to the second aspect, which is why worship?

And, you know, I want to spend most of my time here. Why worship?

And, you know, instead of simply answering why we worship, which we all know, but I think if we understand the power of worship,

if we understand the results of worship, if we understand the benefit, the blessing of worship, then we will know why we should worship.

Yeah? So, there are so many points that we can go on, but I'm just going to share four things here, four things.

And the first one is worship invokes presence.

Worship invokes God's presence. That's the first one.

You know, Matthew 18 says, where two or three gather, that's where the presence of the Lord is, right?

So, worship is never one-way traffic.

Worship is never one-way traffic. When we worship, it always gets the attention of God.

It always gets the attention of God. God cannot remain silent.

When his people worship, it immediately gets the attention of God.

It always invokes God's presence. And so, you know, remember that story in 1 Kings 18.

We read about the story of Moses at Mount Carmel, right? In chapter 18.

You know, the prophets of Baal, they were crying out from morning till noon and saying, Baal, answer us, answer us.

And verse 26 says, but there was no voice, no one answered.

There was no voice, no one answered. It's an idol. It's a dead God.

It's an idol. It's a dead God. No answer.

When Elijah cries out to God, fire came down.

That's the kind of God we worship, eh? He's a living God. He doesn't just keep silent.

He responds. You know, unlike, you know, other gods, it always gets the attention of God.

Worship always gets the attention of God. I, you know, I am repeating myself, but I know this is too important.

You know, over the years, my wife and I have learned how to worship in our own, you know, private rooms.

I know what it feels like.

I know what it feels like.

When there is presence, I know what it feels like.

When I worship, I know when the presence manifests.

Sometimes we literally feel the tangible presence of God. Sometimes we even get goosebumps.

Sometimes I feel the warmth of His love.

And I cry for no reason.

Sometimes I am pierced. My heart cuts through because of just His overwhelming presence.

Yeah?

Worship invokes presence. Why? Because as you and I genuinely worship, God doesn't remain silent.

And so this is why.

I know what presence is in my private room.

So this is why when I come here, I know what presence feels like.

And presence always resets. Presence always resets you.

Presence always resets you.

When I go into my room, there are times when there are a hundred and a thousand ideas, a thousand thoughts, yeah?

Things that I need to do, things that are bothering me, things that are requiring my attention.

So many things. And priorities mixed up.

But as I enter worship, as I engage in worship, His presence, His presence just resets me.

Resets my life. And now I am able to prioritize what I need to. Yeah?

So worship surpasses our mind. Worship always surpasses our mind.

It resets our mind and it always brings in its proper place. Yeah?

So that's one. Presence invokes, sorry, worship invokes presence.

The second one is in worship, God empowers you. As you surrender in worship.

There is this beautiful exchange of worship in surrender.

Beautiful exchange of surrender. Beautiful exchange of surrender in worship.

It's like, you know, surrender and empowerment. They're like synonyms.

You learn how to surrender, you will always be empowered.

It is not a maybe thing. It is a guarantee.

Why you and I are not empowered is because sometimes we rely on our own strength.

As long as I'm saying I'm okay and God won't intervene. Why?

Because God has given me free will.

But when I am in need, when I acknowledge my need for Him,

when I surrender control, God shows up.

This is why God would ask Gideon to trim the army so that in his littleness, God will show his might. Right?

So this is the kingdom principle.

The more we surrender, the more we yield to God, the more He exalts you and me.

The more we yield to God, the more He exalts you and me.

There is power in yielding. There is power in yielding.

You know, I remember listening to a sermon by one of the worship leaders that I love watching.

And that had stayed with me till this day.

He was sharing about his experience of leading worship in a church.

And then this pastor would wait for him to finish all the set of songs.

And so this worship leader comes up and leads all the songs that he needs to.

And the pastor is still waiting.

You know, the intent was, the pastor was waiting whether after finishing all the set of songs,

will the worship leader still take them deeper into the presence of God.

You know, I had a similar test when I first came to Acts 29.

You know, I remember one time having four songs on my list.

And then within no time I finished them.

And so it feels like one more song needs to be added.

Finished that song. Five or six songs.

And then my voice is almost gone.

And you know, at that time, it was just a warm up for Jacob.

And you know, that day we ended up singing 13 songs.

So the next time, I came with seven songs.

And then he said, oh, you know, don't worry about the list.

Yeah? Let's go a different direction today.

And then the seven songs that I have, we sang none of them.

Yeah?

You know, why I'm sharing this is because he's someone who knows presence.

He's someone who knows the presence of God.

He's someone who knows presence.

He's someone who knows presence.

And in the process, it has changed me.

Because, you know, there are times when I would come home and share, you know, things with my wife and say, man, it didn't go well today.

I could have done better.

You know, it was messy.

I wish things were more organized, things were better.

But what I have learned over the years is that it has undone me.

It has undone me.

And it has helped me to be in total surrender to God.

Now I try my best, but I don't care.

I don't care.

Now I try my best, but I don't care about how it will sound, how I will feel.

I care about what the spirit is doing.

I care about where the spirit is leading.

And I know I have learned this from all of you.

Because I know there are genuine worshipers here in this house.

There are genuine worshipers in this house.

The Holy Spirit is the architect for worship.

The Holy Spirit is the architect for worship.

He knows.

He knows the deep things of the Father.

He knows the mind of Christ.

He wants to glorify Christ.

He wants to take us deeper into the throne room.

The Holy Spirit is the architect for worship.

He's the one who always wants to glorify Christ.

And it has completely rewired me in worship.

The Holy Spirit has completely rewired me for worship.

When I partner with him.

When I now surrender to him.

Showmanship, showmanship disappears.

Control for outcome disappears.

Self exaltation disappears.

There's no room for showmanship when the Holy Spirit begins to take over.

The shift changes.

The shift changes from worship leader to God.

Worship leaders have the tendency to shift the focus from God to themselves.

And I myself am guilty of that.

Because you want to sound good.

But what I have realized is that allow the Spirit to lead you.

It shifts the focus from you to him.

There's no room for showmanship.

So, this message is not just for worship leaders.

Because worship is something that you and I need to learn.

You and I are called to worship.

Let everything that has bred praise the Lord.

In other words, let everyone of you learn how to worship God.

Yes, there are days when our energy levels are higher.

There are times when we are not able to worship God.

There are times when we are low on energy.

But I don't remember a single day coming here and giving my second best.

I don't remember a single day.

I may not be at my best physically, emotionally, psychologically.

But I try to give my best.

And what I want to encourage you guys is that you may be tired sometimes.

You may be waiting for a breakthrough.

There are words spoken over you.

And the complete opposite happens.

We have experienced that.

Words were spoken over our lives.

And what we are experiencing was the complete opposite.

It was a struggle.

But we changed the struggle to wrestle.

And God has seen us through.

In such moments, in such moments, can we learn to surrender?

In such times, can we learn to surrender?

This is an open secret.

It's an open secret.

A life of total surrender always gives place for the empowerment of God.

There's this beautiful exchange in worship.

I've practiced this in my private room a hundred times, a thousand times.

And I know it works.

I know it works.

As we surrender, God empowers you and me.

I think I've said this again.

I mean, I've said this in the past.

But surrendering enlarges and it increases your capacity to receive him.

So one worship leader said, consider a gift when God becomes your only option.

Consider a gift when God becomes your only option.

Learn to surrender in worship.

Learn to surrender in worship.

You will always benefit from this.

It's an exchange.

The third one.

Worship is a weapon and God fights for you.

Worship is a weapon and God fights for you.

It's a weapon.

God fights our battles.

This is why learn to use the word of God.

Learn to use the word of God and learn to use words of your own.

Yes, there are times when we are silent.

There are times when we are in awe of who God is.

And so there are moments of reverence where you keep quiet.

But there are also moments when you need to speak, when you and I cannot be silent.

Yeah.

So learn to use the word of God.

Learn to use words of your own.

Because our words become seeds.

Our words become seeds.

Our words, we can decree things here on earth.

We can declare heavens, plans, and purposes here on earth.

We can bind things in the spiritual realm.

We can speak the oracles of God.

We can make words become flesh in our words.

Because God has given us that authority.

So learn, learn, learn, learn to use words.

It's a weapon.

It's a weapon.

You know, I don't know how good Moses sings.

Yeah.

Because the Bible says that Moses is slow to speak.

You know, he stutters.

But after what God has done for the Israelites by hurling the riders and horses into the Red Sea,

he immediately jumps into writing a song.

Yeah.

I think it's in Exodus 17.

It's a long, long one.

He and Miriam, you know, begins to write a song and sing.

And, you know, it was a long one.

And I think if we are to contextualize that song, it might have seven or eight verses.

Yeah.

You know, if you don't believe me, just go and read Exodus 15.

But a classic example of worship being a weapon is also found in Exodus 17,

when Moses was leading the Israelites to fight the Amalekites.

And, you know, I find this very interesting, especially verse 9, where it says,

you know, Moses said,

Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.

Moses said,

Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.

Moses did not say, I will go into the battlefield and fight.

He says, I will be on the hill.

He's not on the battlefield.

He's fighting his battle in a different location.

Yeah.

This is critical for us, guys.

In the physical realm, you and I may be just raising our hands.

In the physical realm, you may be just, you know, declaring one word or two,

or your need for him saying, Abba.

Maybe just one word.

Maybe in the physical realm, you are doing that.

But in the spiritual realm, things are shifting.

Things are shifting.

It always happens, eh?

Because the word of God says, our battle is not against flesh and blood.

Meaning, you and I need to learn how to wage spiritual battles.

And words are powerful.

Because, you know, in the Bible it says,

the word of God is like a double-edged sword, right?

It's the sword of the spirit.

It cuts the enemy.

It is powerful.

It gives life.

It judges.

It decrees things here on earth.

So, know that God has given you and I a very powerful weapon,

and that is worship.

So, let us use it.

Let us use it.

I think I said last Sunday where I said, change your sound if you want to change your sight.

Right?

Change your sound if you want to change your sight.

And I think that is very, very important.

Hi.

For everyone in Israel, they saw the power of God.

The giant Goliath.

Everyone saw.

Everyone saw Goliath the giant.

David saw an unsurcompsized Philistine.

And he said, this giant will fall today.

The Lord will deliver me into my hands.

He begins to speak before he even fights Goliath.

Right?

This is why it's important for us to speak before things happen.

There is no faith if God does something and then now you put your faith in him.

That's not faith.

Faith is when there are obstacles.

Faith is when it is quite imbalanced and yet you know and you're confident.

Yeah?

We've got to change our sound.

We may not be joyful.

We may not be happy.

Our moods may vary.

But as we come, start with the truth.

Change your sound.

Suddenly there's this rush of joy.

Now the wind blows and it changes the atmosphere completely.

Change your sound.

The fourth one.

Worship triggers the manifestation of his glory.

Worship triggers the manifestation of his glory.

Worship triggers the manifestation of his glory.

It brings healing.

It brings deliverance.

It brings joy.

It releases freedom.

Let's go to Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 16 verses 26 onwards.

Acts 16:26

22 onwards.

Acts chapter 16 verse 22 onwards.

Acts 16:22

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.

After that they had been severely flogged.

They were thrown into prison and the jailer was commanded to guard them.

When he received these orders, he put them in an inner cell and fussed their feet in the stocks.

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 and the foundations of the prison were shaken.

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

It is a very interesting passage.

Very interesting passage. Why?

After such a beating,

after such flogging, the scripture says severely flogged.

And not just that.

They were put in the inner cell and then their feet were chained to the stocks.

And about midnight, these two guys,

meaning since they are chained and even their feet,

what we get to be beaten with is a very strong blow.

And even their feet, what we get a picture is that they can't even raise their arms.

Yet, in such a scenario, they were raising hallelujah.

They were praising God. That is the context.

We don't fully understand the scenario of this.

And you know, when they started singing,

this passage says the other prisoners were listening to them.

The other prisoners were listening to them.

And you know what?

A violent earthquake came and all prison doors flew open

and everyone's chains came loose.

Not just their chains.

Everyone who was listening, their chains fell off.

Isn't that crazy, eh?

Because of their worship, others benefited.

Because of their worship, others were set free.

Not just them.

What a crazy story.

This is your portion. This is my portion.

This is not just a story of Paul and Silas.

This has to be your reality and my reality.

I've been in meetings where we were worshiping and then healing happens.

Where there are breakthroughs.

And I know things do happen here.

You may be beaten with iron rods.

And as in with assignments, with deadlines,

with heavy workload, high demands, and unrealistic expectations from your boss.

You are being flocked like Paul and Silas with responsibilities and duties.

But still, can you and I have the courage?

Can you and I gather up?

And praise and worship God in such moments.

If God delights in our worship, it's a test for us, eh?

Can you and I worship when we are at our worst?

Because the reason is we become what we worship.

We become what we worship.

We become what we worship.

Some people worship money.

Their life, their thoughts, their career, their ambition, everything revolves around money.

If we worship God, His nature, His plans, His purposes, His truth, His power, His justice, everything becomes ours.

We worship, we become what we worship.

Not that we are seeking after these things in worship,

but because we worship this living God, it's a byproduct of who He is.

Yeah?

Bring every dark area of your life.

It can be your addiction.

It can be your struggles.

It can be your habits.

Whatever it is, bring anything that is dark in your life to God's marvelous light.

Darkness will flee.

Your addiction will flee.

Your lack of joy will be gone.

Why?

Because darkness and light, they do not coexist.

They cannot coexist.

Yeah?

This is what worship does, eh?

So this is why there's no professional worshiper in this house.

There's no professional worshiper.

This is why you and I, how can we get better in this?

Eve, I just shared four points, and this is just a tip of an iceberg.

Worship invokes God's presence.

Worship invokes God's presence.

Worship invokes God's presence.

Worship invokes God's presence.

Worship, in worship, there is a beautiful exchange in surrender.

As we surrender, he empowers.

Worship is a weapon given to you and me.

And if we use worship as a weapon, God fights for you.

The fourth one.

Worship triggers his manifestation.

The manifestation of his glory.

So, some practical ways to practice this one.

Okay, so how can I worship better?

How can I go a little deeper?

First one is learn to express yourself in worship.

Learn to express yourself in worship.

Learn to express yourself in worship.

Because we are dealing with the God of the universe.

We are dealing with, we are engaging with the God of the universe.

Learn to express yourself individually, at home or here.

If it's hard to practice here, learn.

At home, when you are on your own.

Or if that is more difficult, then start here.

Because like I said, there are genuine worshipers in this house.

Start here.

A very good place to start.

Especially with words.

Yes, there is quietness and reverence for God.

But, learn to express yourself with words.

Because your words do matter.

You know, I think it was in Mark 10.

Jesus, you know, he was a man of God.

You know, Jesus comes and meets this blind man.

You know, obviously Jesus knows he is blind.

But he says, you know, what can I do for you?

Sounds like a silly question.

Here is a blind man and Jesus obviously knows that he is blind.

And he says, what can I do for you?

And of course, you know, the answer was, I want to see.

And you know, Jesus said, your faith has made you well.

He was instantly healed.

What Jesus is looking after is to voice out.

And so this is why there has to be an expression of worship, right?

You know, Proverbs 3.12 says, from the fruit of their lips, people will enjoy good things.

From the fruit of their lips, people will enjoy good things.

Learn to have an expression of worship.

Learn to express yourself.

You know, it can start with just one word, Abba.

That's enough. Or I need you. Or let me hear you.

I seek your face. Start from there.

We've got to learn how to express ourselves in worship.

Second, you know, a few practical ways.

Second is linger. Linger long enough. Linger long enough.

Try out new ways.

Pass that awkward moment. Please pass that awkward moment.

Because I know we all go through that.

You know, as a musician, there are moments when, like, you finish a song,

and then you're unsure whether, and Jane knows better.

But, you know, should I move on to the next song? Should I just wait?

We all go through that awkward moment.

And, you know, as a musician, my tendency is to start playing, or to speak, or to change song.

Just to feel that awkward moment, right? To feel the gap.

But what I have learned is that, as I linger in that,

sometimes I don't even know what to say. But I don't give up.

I linger in that presence. And then suddenly a word comes.

Suddenly a prompting of the spirit comes. And then things just explode. Yeah.

I've experienced that many times.

It's okay to be awkward.

It's okay to be awkward when you're worshipping.

It's okay to be awkward.

But please let us linger long enough to pass that awkward moment.

Because you will. You will receive. You will receive what you need.

Yeah? Because the Holy Spirit is a, he's a master craftsman in this.

For those who seek him, for those who want to partner with him,

for those who just linger and are seeking him, he always shows, yeah?

Here or there or this or that. And you and I are able to catch that.

And then one word from the Spirit is enough. It just changes the entire atmosphere.

The entire atmosphere for worship.

Sometimes the Spirit manifests just for our sheer enjoyment.

Sometimes he directs to a new direction. Sometimes he wants to heal.

Sometimes he wants to decree things here on earth.

And if you and I are able to do this, we will not miss out on the things of God.

And yet it requires training. It requires practice.

If you and I are not familiar with presence, even if the Spirit is moving back and forth,

you and I will not be able to recognize the Spirit.

It requires practice, yeah? And that practice is that we need to see through that awkward moment.

We need to linger long enough.

The third one. This might sound weird, but I say this.

Do not be easily satisfied. Do not be easily satisfied.

Because if you are easily satisfied, you will not see much glory.

If you are easily satisfied, you will not see much glory.

If you are easily satisfied, you will not see much glory.

If you are easily distracted, you will not see much glory.

No matter how harsh that sounds, it's true.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Hunger, they shall be filled.

The hungrier you are, the better you are when it comes to these things.

If you are easily satisfied, you will not see much glory.

Do not settle for ankle-deep. For those of us who know how to worship, do not settle for ankle-deep.

Let Him immerse you. Let Him baptize you in the Spirit.

Let Him fill you with His goodness, with His joy, with His favor.

And for those of us who know how to worship, please, please model this for others.

Please model this for others. Because the world doesn't know how to.

Many of these expressions are caught. They are caught.

You know, Moses would do it for Joshua.

They are caught. You know, Moses would do it for Joshua.

He would take him inside the tent.

That's how Moses trains Joshua. Whom are we taking along?

Please model it for others, because the world doesn't know how to worship this living God.

The world doesn't know.

And for those of us who are new in this, learn from people who truly worship. Learn from them.

There are things that you can catch. There are things that you can observe and know and learn.

Because like I said, there are genuine worshipers in this house.

Learn from them.

The world is hungry to see the real God manifest.

The world is hungry, hungry for a real God to manifest.

And God is seeking true worshipers who will worship Him in truth and in spirit.

God is seeking for those places.

God is not looking for good singers.

God is not looking for good singers.

We all know, nobody sings better than Derek here.

Nobody sings better than Derek here.

Nobody.

God is not looking for good singers.

God is looking for genuine worshipers who are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

And I do believe that genuine worshipers can be reproduced.

I do believe that genuine worshipers can be reproduced.

And to reproduce genuine worshipers is paramount.

Let X29 be a greenhouse where we birth genuine worshipers.

And let those churches that are connected with us, be it Houston or LA or New York or Bahrain or India or wherever it is,

let them reproduce genuine worshipers in their own regions.

And let us inhabit the entire universe, the entire world with genuine worshipers.

Because God is seeking after these kind of people.

God is not seeking after good singers, but God is after these group of people.

Can you and I be genuine worshipers?

And not just for yourself, but can you and I reproduce genuine worshipers?

Yeah?

Yes.

And the last one.

Very simple.

Give your best.

Give your best.

Give your all.

Give your all.

Give your best.

Because the word of God says,

He's a jealous God.

He doesn't allow choices when it comes to God, say.

He doesn't allow choices.

You and I only have one God, one true God.

So if we all have one true God, why should we hold back?

Why can't He have the best of me and you?

Yeah?

Yahweh demands exclusive covenant loyalty.

Yahweh demands exclusive covenant loyalty.

Yahweh demands exclusive covenant loyalty.

As the one true God of heaven and earth, Yahweh cannot tolerate worshiping any other gods.

We read that in Exodus again and again and again, 22, 23, 24.

You shall have no other gods.

There's no god beside Yahweh.

Daniel refuses to worship any other god beside than Yahweh.

Daniel refuses to worship any other gods.

And the consequences was,

He was delivered, His friends were delivered,

and the pagan king acknowledged one true God.

If there's no other god besides Yahweh, why should I hold back?

Why should I hold back?

Yeah?

If God delights in my praise, if God delights in my admiration,

if God delights in my dependence on Him,

if God delights in my admiration,

if God delights in my dependence on Him,

then He will have the best of me.

He will have the best of me.

So, you know, in the end,

let us protect the heart of worship in this house.

Let us protect the heart of worship in this house.

Let there be no showmanship in this house.

Let us banish showmanship in this house.

Let this house be a greenhouse where we are birthing and reproducing genuine worshipers

because that's what God is after.

Yeah?

Let us establish a house, a house of worship that is known for purity.

A house of worship that is known for passion for God.

A house of worship that longs for revival.

Let us protect this house.

Let us build this house.

In doing that, it will set this generation on fire, and it will set generations, a fire

for generations to come.

You and I are at a critical point of history in our lives to pave the way for generations

to come because it took just one generation.

Moses taught Joshua how to linger in the presence of God, and then the generation after Joshua,

they walked away from God.

It took one generation to walk away.

The responsibility is for you and for me.

The responsibility lies in you and in me to be able to learn because if we don't learn,

we cannot teach what we don't know.

What we don't have, we cannot give.

I pray that we get better at this.

Not that we sing better, not that we have a certain style of doing things, no.

But our hearts be sincere and may we find our own ways of expressing our worship and

our thanksgiving to this living God.

Because like I said, this worship, this God doesn't sit idly.

I will let them worship how they are.

He doesn't sit passive.

As people release his worship, he begins to act.

He begins to act.

So I think we'll end with a song.