Praise and Worship
ICS Daily Devotions
Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
There are two segments in the worship segment, namely vibrant praise and worship. Just like Ruth Ward Heflin said in her book “Glory: Experiencing The Atmosphere Of Heaven”, we should learn to “praise…until the spirit of worship comes. Worship… until the glory comes. Then… stand in the glory”. It takes time for us to enter into the presence of God because we are easily distracted and so used to being dictated by our flesh and emotions that some of us may be even be uncomfortable with loud praise and worship, and subconsciously drag our feet in coming to participate in the worship segment.
Therefore, we need to deal with the flesh when we come for worship, learn to prepare our hearts and intentionally enter the service with a heart ready to praise God. Some of us may come from backgrounds where we find it improper to shout and praise God loudly, or we may be reluctant to be seen as being emotional because of our social positions, but even King David wasn’t concerned with what his servants thought when he danced before the Lord and praised Him joyfully.
2 Samuel 6:14 (NKJV) Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod.
Others might find it difficult to worship the Lord when they are bogged down by worries, stress and the different distractions in life. We have a natural tendency to focus our attention on what’s urgent rather than what’s important, but instead of allowing our flesh to dictate us, we should dictate to our flesh what to do. Therefore, we need to discipline our flesh to praise God intentionally! We need to know that there is power in vibrant worship and allow ourselves to be stirred up through it.
Psalm 26:7 (NKJV) That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works.
We are made in the image of God and God’s Word carries power, so words and what we sing can either build up our faith or tear us down by keeping us in oppression or depression. Praise is the voice of thanksgiving. Our words of praise can shore up courage and take a fearful man to victory. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. When we sing vibrant praise songs that declare of God’s wondrous works, almightiness and victory, faith rises up in us because we get to hear these declarations with our own ears.
Praise is just the beginning, because it helps us to enter into the presence of God, but if we don’t even decide to praise, it will be difficult for us to really worship. In a corporate setting, praise and worship break boundaries between people and bring us into oneness as we make it a point to worship Him rather than concentrate on our differences, but we should also make it a habit to worship privately at home. It truly prepares us for heaven.
Sermon Series: ICS Worship Culture
