My first point, is that worship opens the doors to divine comforting. It's no secret that none of us live perfect lives, so everyone can use a little comfort sometime in our lives. Paul and Silas could relate to that. These guys we're sharing the love of Jesus, when all of a sudden they get thrown in prison. The slammer. The rock. I'd say they could use a little comfort right about then. So the two started singing praises to God and worshiping His name, when all of a sudden, the prison gates flew open. To make a long story short, they we're released, and a prison guard came to salvation. The men found comfort in their time of need when they gave everything to God, and surrendered all control to him. A friend of mine, Erin Cox, said to me once, "Worship is when you get intimate with God fully, and you block out everything from the day, and everything from the world."
Second, worship gives us unlimited access to God's blessings. When I think of my dream life, I start off with a nice car. After thinking about my 1968 Shelby GT, I then start dreaming up this three story mansion, and then finish up with tons of sweet tech gadgets to fill my time up with. Well guess what: King Solomon already stole my dream. That's right. He's a dream stealer. This guy had a heart after God, (much like his father, David) and so therefore, when God asked Solomon what he wanted from Him, this guy said wisdom. So because Solomon was humble enough before God, and didn't ask for extravagant things that might have made him look like a god to his people, he was given tremendous wealth.
Finally, my third point is that worship allows God's protection to run rampant in our lives. I'm sure we've all heard about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. In Joshua Chapter 6, we see just how powerful, and effective our praise can be. But there has to be some deep, spiritual system they must have done. Let's look: The priests blew the horn, the people marched, and they all offered Jericho as a Holy Offering to God. That’s it. No secret meetings, no fancy techniques, just worship to God. If they pulled down walls with their worship, imagine what God-centered worship can do in your life.
Thanks Taylor, interesting reading. For me, worship is all about responding to revelation. It's something I learnt from Grace Fellowship Church over the last couple of years (www.gfc.tv). I always used to think that worship was just something we 'did', but since hearing Buddy's teaching, I really changed out outlook and approach to worship. Another thing that really shaped how I do worship leading (1/2 praise songs at the start of service, but the bulk of worship, including offering, after sermon) was a study of the meanings of the different Hebrew/Greek words for worship used in the Bible. For example, there's 'Shachah' in the Hebrew, which means to bow in reverence. In the NT, we find its Greek equivalent, 'Proskuneo', which means to 'turn and kiss / prostrate oneself in homage'. To me, these paint a picture of worship as a responsive act, which is why I lead worship as I do. I guess that also complements your CUP picture - after all, God's comfort, blessings and protection are most likely to be encountered as we respond to the revelations of /his truth. Thanks for giving me something to think on today :)
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