Worship In All Seasons

Worship In All Seasons

Bill Johnson

Psalms 8 & Matthew 21 - Jesus quotes Psalm 8. “Ordained Strength” and “perfected praise”, Jesus gave us an insight into what the psalmist was really talking about. Praise is the way to personal strength. The word “praise” in Matt 21 actually means “story”. In the New Testament worship, we are actually unpacking the complete story of God’s goodness in decrees.

The bible is full of our “family stories” that go back through the generations. God’s is looking for people to tell these stories too, who will tell/proclaim these stories. We need more people who will write songs about the nature of God, the person of God, the presence of God.

Jesus is the exact expression of God. His glory exceeds every ability we might have to comprehend glory. It is impossible to make God any bigger than He already is, but the phrase “magnify the Lord” actually refers to that as we praise we make Him bigger in our circumstance. Nothing happens in the kingdom except through decree. Praise is the decree that invites Him to come and do something that otherwise might not be done.

God is in charge of everything, but that doesn’t mean He is in control of everything. We have free will. Not every decision we make is His perfect will. This is not a violation of God’s sovereignty. He wrote our free will into His sovereign plan. If we don’t preach the gospel, Jesus is not coming back to do it. Jesus gave us a responsibility.

The story of feeding "the 5000" with a boy’s lunch. When it seemed impossible to feed the crowd, Jesus didn’t change the assignment. Sometimes when you’re willing to do what you’re not qualified to do, that’s what qualifies you. In the command of God is the ability to do the very command He gave, even if it seems impossible. The Word of God is a creative force. Whenever he speaks to you He creates capacity. Our life is in His voice.

“Nothing is impossible with God” - No freshly spoken word of God will ever come to you that does not contain it’s own ability to perform itself.

Miracles will start happening more and more in worship because of the decrees made while we worship.

Jesus says strength will be found in praise - while we are telling of His goodness. You cannot exaggerate the goodness of God. This is the cornerstone of all theology of God - He is good. Jesus came to reveal the Father. Our job is to learn the story of His goodness. Put it into songs, into stories. Don’t do it for performance, do it because it is right and true. You can sing a prophetic word that will never be repeated but that’s ok, it’s alive at that moment! Perfection is religion, excellence is Kingdom.

Isaiah 62:10, Isaiah 60:18 & Psalms 102:18 Psalms 102 prophecies a people that have yet to be created. Throughout history, people have only been created once - Adam and Eve. Then they multiplied/reproduced and humanity grew. The reason for this new creation of people is to release prisoners. Somehow the release of prisoners is connected to the praise of God’s people. Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 5 - “you are a new creation”. The Bible declares that as a born again Christian, you are a new creation, a new race of God’s.

Isaiah 62:10 & 60:18 Pay attention to context in scripture. Praise is road-building equipment. It removes obstacles that exist between people and God that exist in the Spirit-realm. Gates are formed in conflict e.g. there is loss… But God is still good. Praise Him through it.

Bill shares the story of his father’s death, and how he turned the pain, disappointment, and confusion into fragrance for his worship. We will never offer that same sacrifice in Heaven because there is no loss, pain or confusion in Heaven.

The gates these verses are talking about are the gates you create through your praise whilst in conflict. Celebrate the goodness of God at all times. Give Him thanks in all things, big or small. His goodness is never lowered to our experience. As we go through those gates of praise we create the ability for others to enter in too.

Praise has become popular, and our musicians work hard. But we can’t let it shift from the One who is wonderful to the artistic expression itself. Don’t dumb down excellence, just make sure you can worship when no one is watching too. Get the breakthroughs when you’re by yourself.

Worship is an extraordinary weapon of war. When your reason for worship is warfare, it’s no longer worship, it’s flattery. And when you flatter, you do something nice because you want something back. When we worship because we are looking for a result we’re doing nothing more than flattery. Worship needs to be an acknowledgment of worth. It needs to be honest. If you worship only when you feel like it, that’s not honest worship. He is worthy of it in any circumstance. We worship based on who He is not based on how we feel.

Bill leads students in praise.

Bill shares his own story of attempting to use praise for a result. And as he repented, the Lord actually did the work he had wanted all along.