Hands Up, Face Down-Part A

Worship is the one activity. The church does on earth that will do forever and ever. There's a lot of activities we do now. We will not do. Remember you will never evangelize anyone in heaven. You will never share the gospel tract in heaven.

You will not pray in heaven you'll be needed prayer as we know it now. No need for discipleship in heaven, but you worship here and you will worship there. Welcome to correctly Skip weekend edition today we begin to look at worship as we start a new teaching or series about the church since 2002 American Idol is better TV favor as people across the nation.

Determine who will be the next music superstar that we take a closer look.

It seems that American Idol is an example of worship at its most forensic territories joist years. Shouts of adoration all hallmarks of passionate and oddly about things like that are often missing during worship at church. The church worship should be a writers concert, but it seems some people don't get that excited about your well to the hearing correctly Skip weekend edition Skip takes a closer look at how and why we should worship. But before we begin, we have an excellent resource for you this month@connectwithskip.com. Imagine the challenge faced Skip writing is taught over 3500 through the Bible messages we had to pick the top 10 for special resource offer you simple bookshelves are we in the last days. Yes, but we been in the last days for 2000 years.

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Call 892 1888, give or visit connect with.com open your Bible select chapter 2 in Revelation chapter 4 is return there will join Skip as he explains the title of today's that the title of this message is hands up, face down, simple work picture to paint a picture of worship anticipation and expectation with the hands up humility the face down picture in Old Testament worship in the temple that would be a typical position that one would assume, but this morning what I'd like you to do is to think about what worship means to you personally. But that's just the first level and then think what worship means to Jesus Christ personally see that's often where we don't go often we think about what worship means to me. I like the worship I enjoyed the worship but what I want you to think about is what worship means to Jesus Christ. I was given that some time back an unknown author penned something called visiting day goes like this.

He had been looking forward to this moment all day long. After six days of labor and it finally arrived visiting day. The man with the keys arrived to swing open the large heavy doors. The cold gray hall sprang to life in the warm glow of light he could hardly control his emotions. The families began to arrive. He peers from the corner of the room longing for the first glimpse of his loved one. He lives for the weekends. He lives for these visits as the cars arrived. He watches intently then finally they arrive for home he would do anything they embrace you to light lunch and reminisce how things used to be in one point they break in the singing with interruptions of laughter and applause.

But all too soon is over. A tear comes to his eye as they depart, then the men with the keys close the heavy doors he hears the key turn in the lock marking the end of a special day. There he stands alone again, he knows the most of his visitors will not contact him again until next week as the last car pulls away from the parking lot. Jesus retreats into loneliness as he waits till next Sunday visiting day. What do lot of churchgoers.

That's what Sunday is the time we packed everybody up and we go visit Jesus for an hour, but it is certainly more than visiting day. We could call it victory day. It's the day we culminate all of our private praise during the week and anticipate further episodes of worship and praise for the days ahead as we experience God's faithfulness today working to do is consider the worship of the early church as well as the worship of the eternal church to take just again a quick snapshot of the church on earth in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.

Then fast forward to the eternal church in heaven far from now.

So here we are sandwiched in between those two realities. The reality of past history and the reality of future prophecy church on earth church in heaven and were in between were far removed from the Jerusalem church of 2000 years ago, but we want to see again. Their priority list.

Fast forward to heaven because it ought to be one continual anthem of praise. So let's look at acts chapter 2. To begin with and I'm in a gift to you. Six.

Observations about worship because our six today I am knocking to spend an enormous amount of time in any one of them want to go through them quickly number one worship is fundamental. It is absolutely basic to who we are and what we do as Christians and I like you look at acts chapter 2. The very last verse, something we've looked at before. In the series verse 47. Notice the first two words praising God, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Now you remember do you not that this last paragraph of chapter 2 in acts around verse 40 or 41 down to verse 47 is a synopsis of the life of the early church is what they valued what they prioritize what they practice and verse 47 is the summary statement of the paragraph dividing if you will all of their activity into a vertical axis and a horizontal axis vertically. They were praising God horizontally. They were having favor with all the people so that is the summary statement and it shows us that one of the most important things that define them.

All of the other activities can be summed up by it is they were praising or worshiping God why because worship is fundamental, basic member. Jesus said to the woman at the well of Samaria. The father is seeking those who will worship him in spirit and in truth will guess what, he found them here in the early church of Jerusalem. The very thing Jesus said the father wanted the father has found in a group that is praising God or worshiping God. Now let's fast-forward Revelation chapter 4. And look at the eternal church will spend the bulk of our time here not take it a chapter for Revelation I'm in a sum up several things and take you into verse eight John is in heaven. He sees the throne of God is on the throne there is a sea of glass. There are four crazy looking creatures living creatures there 24 elders representative of the church in verse eight, the four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within, and they do not rest day or night, saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever. The 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying you are worthy of the Lord, by the way worthy is the word we get worship from the original word was worth ship worth ship the ideas to ascribe the worth or value to someone. You are worthy of the Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created. So it's a pretty straightforward story, God is on the throne.

He is the center of everyone's attention. John is immediately struck with God. That's the one. Everybody notices he is the central being of interest not somebodies relatives or pets or Angels or saints, but God there's no mention of Peter being there with a clipboard letting people in.

After you answer four questions is just bone heaven God and he is worship, not III show you this to point out that worship is the one activity. The church does on earth that will do forever in heaven as the one worship we do now that we will do forever because there's a lot of activities we do now. We will not do in heaven. You will never evangelize anyone in heaven. You will never share the gospel or give out a tract in heaven. You will not pray. In heaven you will be no need to have prayers we know it now be no need for discipleship in heaven but you worship here and you will worship there is one activity that follows us.

In fact, you can sort a look as now as being a time of practice this where we practice for heaven is what we practice for eternity. So worship is fundamental. The second thing I want you to notice is that worship is intellectual. Let me explain that worship is based upon who God is and what God has done, we see that clearly here in verse eight. They worship him for who he is holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.

So who is God is holy is Almighty is eternal, but we also worship God, and they worship God based on not just his character, but his conduct, not just his attributes but his activity. What he does. So verse 11. You are worthy of the Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for or because you created all things. God is worthy of our praise. Our worship because he did what nobody else can ever do.

He created everything and he deserves worship based on that, but there's more. Look at chapter 5 verse nine. You are worthy. They sing a new song, saying you are worthy to take the scroll and open it seals taking the title deed of the earth.

Full redemption is in view for or because you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood. So he created us, he redeemed us. That's what he did so God is worshiped for who he is and therefore we have to know who he is because we respond. And for what he is done. Therefore, we have to know what he's done so we can respond. The point of this all is that worship is an intelligent response to God that involves the mind we think about who we as we think about what he is done. Worship is not working ourselves up into some emotional outburst or frenzy. Once we get into the movie going out that worship. It involves the mind. Jesus was said the father was looking for those who worship in spirit and in truth, or according to truth, I found an author that wrote something that I thought was very helpful on daily basis for y'all at times throughout the day as I work in my office. I find myself on my knees, thinking God for his goodness. When I eat a meal with my wife or talk with a friend or take my dog out for a walk. I worship God for his goodness.

The world is full of praise, prompters, and heaven will overflow with. I like that phrase.

Praise prompters with the point of it is, is that God's action prompts my reaction appraised.

The problem is we don't always see the praise prompters.

We can never had so low, so be down that we fail to realize all of the things God has done and who he is to us and render him praise what Jesus said were to love the Lord our God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength so it involves the intellect that involves the mind. It involves knowing what Jesus said to that Samaritan woman you don't know what you worship. We know what we worship.

The apostle Paul rebuke those who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, so worship should engage the mind as we dwell on the greatness of God. Limit this at one footnote before I move on and I'll say this is from personal experience.

There never is a time in a person's life or an experience where God can't be worshiped. There is no valley. There is no depth there is no darkness where God is not worthy of all praise and all glory.

I read the writings of Job or David in the Psalms or Paul in prison and I discover that sometimes there praise was the sweetest and most genuine in those dark times God is worthy to be praised for who he is and what is done. Third, worship is physical worship is physical look with me at chapter 4 verse 10 notices the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before his throne. There's a lot of physical activity and the adverse chapter 5 verse eight when he, the Lamb had taken the scroll, the 24 or the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. What is going on but that was going on they are awestruck. They understand what redemption means they understand what the title deed to the earth means when the Lamb takes the scroll and opens in peals those seals off and they are so awestruck being in the presence of the Lamb and the father God, upon the throne that they are grateful and respond treating God as if anybody on earth would treat royalty by bowing by bowing if you've ever read through the Old Testament. This is pretty common whenever royalty a king of Prince would enter the room or province.

That's how people treated them.

They would bow and did you know that of all of the Old Testament words used for worship. The most common word used 97 times in the Old Testament, translated into English worship is the Hebrew word Shaka which means literally to bow down to inclined to do obeisance to Psalm 95 or 60, let us worship and bow down its respect that's honor. They show that the God so that is a physical form.

You can, should you choose.

Maybe I should use the Christianize form of that feel led to bow before the Lord even in a time of worship like this Iis limited.

But if you got the space around you to do it.

It's perfectly biblical to do so. Just don't draw attention to yourself all the attention is drawn to him.

That's one form of physical worship.

There are other forms the Bible speaks about the raising up of the hands like me saying just a moment ago in first Timothy chapter 2 verse eight Paul writes, whenever you assemble.

I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God.

Member the first time I saw somebody do this. Honestly, I thought that's goofy. I can never see myself doing on this, not that kind of person that I sent and I often try to figure out what that was about maybe rethinking Skip help me out on this. What's the deal with the raising of the hands here is first of all raising up of hands as a sign of welcome. What is a little child doing his or her parents entered the room. I haven't seen him for a few hours.

Do that reaching out to embrace them. What do adults do when they first meet somebody they put out their hand to welcome them.

We do that with people. It's also a sign of surrender. Your hands rub come out with your hands up your surrendered your hands are visible because when your hands are up. You can't do anything else.

You can't text a friend you can't talk to somebody next to you is very difficult to do that when your hands are sort of covering that availability. It's a sign of welcome. It's a sign of surrender. And Paul said I want men and women to do it. Also, the Bible speaks about kneeling down Psalm 95, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord, like bowing, it's a sign of humility. It simply says I am pre-occupied with God. I am not thinking about school or work or problems or finances preoccupied with God is another form of the Bible speaks about will raise a few eyebrows dancing dancing is a form of worship.

Psalm 149 verse three.

Let them praise his name with the dance they did that, did they not in the Old Testament of some of the great festivals of the Jews it would gather together, they still do it by the is a form of worship. They dance of this is in the hip-hop. This is a holy a worshipful dance picture. Exodus chapter 15 when they crossed the Red Sea and Miriam. I took a tambourine out and got a few gals in the worshipful Manor did a dance expressing their joy for the victory God had given standing is also mentioned in the Bible as a form of worship with the body.

Psalm 135 praise him, all you servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord dislike again royalty would stand up when God enters the room and I think you see where I'm going with all this in the West where the West in Western culture we have so guarded ourselves against any type of physical expression in worship, except for one sitting that we say is acceptable that I can do is most comfortable to us, but all of these other forms are acceptable and biblical. Also, the lifting of the eyes is another one Psalm 123 and to you I lift up my eyes. Oh you who dwell in the heavens. Just what closing your eyes and folding your hands, not in the Bible. Sorry that share that with you doesn't mean it's bad. It just didn't make God's top five people do it and it's fine. It's really a matter of the heart but the body can correspond with the hard and here in heaven it was perfectly acceptable.

Fact was right for them to cast their crowns and bow before the Lord.

So how do you express your joy for the victory God is giving you.

You worship the God who gave everything to save you, simply because he loves you idols are fleeting, but our God is forever.

It is, and that an excellent reason to give him all our worship is all the time we have for today and don't forget to pick up a copy of today's teaching hands up, face down, it's available on CD for just four dollars plus shipping. When you call us at 1-800-922-1880 when you visit connect was good.com and join us next up as we take a closer look at what worship is and what it is right here on connect to Skip weekend division presentation of connection so you guys never changing and ever-changing time