Lesson 4 – Expressing Worship Biblically - Overcoming Hindrances to Worship
Last lesson, we discussed coming into the presence of the holy God, and compared this to entering into the various courts of the Biblical temple. We know that we can come boldly or confidently before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), but we also know that we should be careful in the presence of the greatest of all kings.
Outward Expressions of Worship Found in Scripture
To help us keep out of trouble, here is a listing of outward expressions of worship.
· Singing -
· A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; (Psalm 92:1)
· I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. (Psalm 104:33)
· Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. Psalm 149:3
· Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. (James 5:13)
Clapping
· For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. Psalm 47:1)
· "For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)
Dancing
· And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6:14)
· You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, (Psalm 30:11)
Shouting
· Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. (Psalm 33:3)
· For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. (Psalm 47:1)
· For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm. Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; (Psalm 66:1)
· O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. (Psalm 95:1-2)
Lifting Hands
· Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. (Psalm 28:2)
· Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. (Psalm 63:3-4)
· Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. (Psalm 63:3-4)
· Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless the LORD. (Psalm 134:2)
Kneeling, Bowing
· "But the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. (2Kings 17:36)
· And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him. (Psalm 72:11)
· Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. (Psalm 95:6)
Laying Prostrate
· As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. (Ezekiel 1:28)
· So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. (Ezekiel 3:23)
· While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." (Luke 5:12)
· and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. (Luke 17:16)
Playing Musical Instruments
· Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals. (2 Samuel 6:5)
· Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. (1 Chronicles 15:16)
· When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions), and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, "He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:11-14)
· Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. (Psalm 150:4)
· "The LORD will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of the LORD." (Isaiah 38:20)
New Songs (7 times in Psalms)
· Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. (Psalm 33:3)
· He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:3)
· Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them. (Isaiah 42:10)
· Rev 5:9 and14:3 both mention heaven's citizens singing a new song to God.
When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions), and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, "He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
(2 Chronicles 5:11-14)
Limitations on Worship
1 Corinthians 14:40 states “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner,” or as the KJV puts it “decently and in order.” Some things just are not proper or fitting as forms of worship. Examples are:
Wrong Practices
· Snake-handling and drinking poison. These practices come from taking Mark 16:17, 18 out of context. People handle poisonous snakes and/or drink poison to show that they are true followers of Jesus. Aside from the serious physical dangers involved, there is a real issue with spiritual pride here.
· Not taking turns. Multiple people speaking at once or interrupting each other is just plain rude and confusing (1 Corinthians 14:27-33
Wrong Motives
· Worshipping in order to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1)
· Going through the motions. (Isaiah 29:13-14)
Hindrances to Worship
1. A Lack of Knowledge
2. Pride
3. An Independent Attitude
4. Critical Attitude
5. Apathy
6. Legalism
7. Worldliness
8. Unforgiveness
9. Busyness
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