Expressing Ourselves In Worship

[Minister Connie]

Psalm 47:1 O clap your hands, all you peoples! Shoutto God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy!

Psalm 150:4-5} Praise Him with tambourine and dance: praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes! Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!

I grew up in a Catholic church which always led us in how we should religiously react to praise and worship while in church. So when I decided to find a church that was Holy Spirit filled I was almost in shock as to what was going on in this church. But studying the word showed me that what they were doing was biblical. We're not to be sitting there reserved and quietly worshipping God. Quite the contrary. Don't get me wrong, we aren't to misbehaving in ways that are disrespectful to God. Yet it's ok to get up and dance in praising God. It's ok to shout at the top of our lungs when we are praising Him. They never taught this in Catholic churches. Why? Good question. A lot of denominations today do not praise and worship the way the Word of God tells them to. They are following their own traditions and their own thoughts on how things should be done. Sadly enough they are missing out on many blessings. Not only does the biblical way of praising God pleasing to Him but it surely drives the enemy away. Which is why we shouldn't be doing this just in church time but every day in our own homes.

It's not enough to say that we know God and that we know how God feels about us and feel we do not have to make a big display. I don't know about you but just the fact that Jesus saved me is enough to make me want to sing and shout praises to my God. Saying that we don't have to make a big display is like saying that we're sorry for our sins but see no need to admit and repent of our sins. Sadly not all denominations teach about the outward expression of praise and worship. Most teach that quiet reverence is the way to go. Not so! Not according to today's Scriptures anyway. We need to sometimes be reverent and quiet when we are in the presence of the Lord but He wants us to be expressive about the love, the joy and the appreciation that we feel towards Him. Salvation alone should excite us knowing that we are not going to hell. God gave us those emotions to show how enthusiastic we are about Him and about this walk!

On the other hand we have people who are ''emotional'' all the time in worship and that can get out of order and be very distracting. We need balance in everything we do. We need to remember that God is a God of order. Personally, I don't step out in the dance all the time, I wait for the invitation from the Holy Spirit. We should never be controlled by emotions, but by the Spirit of God. If we have our ears finetuned to the voice of God we will know when it's proper to step out. Our emotions can be untrustworthy. In other words, we will do things when we're not supposed to or say things we shouldn't say. We don't take time to pray or think things through sometimes, we react too quickly and then damage is done. Many people today think they hear the Holy Spirit when most times it's their own emotions. God is never in a rush. If we react too quickly we really need to look at that. We should always take a step back and test what is going on. If we're not sure, then we don't move out. We need to learn to go to God before we do or say anything.

We need to allow God's people the freedom they need to worship and praise God and not cut them off. It's also a bad thing to do the same things over and over again because we need to be open to spiritual growth. God's word says not to pray repeated prayers and the same is true of actions. God is always doing something new. God's ways involve change. We grow from glory to glory in Him, we must never forget that. God said in His word that we are not to pour new wine into old wineskins. We sometimes need to let go of ''old things'' and take hold of the new, fresh things. If our worship is not moving forward in our lives, then it is at the point of dying.

I would encourage each of us to be expressive in our praise and worship towards God. In this way we will worship God the way He deserves to be worshipped. Read about David and how he danced before the Lord. He was very much in the Spirit when he did this. There's a lot we can learn from God's word if we will just take the time daily not just to read it but to study it. Be expressive in your love and appreciation towards God. You will be amazed as to how it will heal you, deliver you and change you. Praise and worship drives the enemy away in many directions. Make it a habit. God bless you. I love you, but Jesus loves you so much more than I ever could.