7 Words of Worship – Page 5

Class 2 “Creation”

“Each of us was created by God for relationship with Him.”

Let’s begin to connect with this class by reviewing the following:
• From our last class, recall the following realities in the process of experiencing God:
• God is always at work around you.
• God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
• God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
• God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
• God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
• You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
• You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.
• Reflect on Psalm 22:3: But You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. What understanding did you gain about God and how He works from this passage of Scripture?

Watch and listen as Mike sets the stage for our study on worship by explaining the purpose of God’s “Creation”

Engage by reflecting on the following questions from the Word of God and Mike’s message:
• Has God revealed Himself to you in a time of sorrow or pain? Did it result in worship or are you still hoping to get to that point?
• Has anyone ever given you or someone close to you something symbolic like Buddy’s Bible? Tell us about the significance of the gift and the impact it had on you.
• Try to think of something that you can pass along in a similar way.

Prayer:
Father, thank You that I am not an accident; we are not accidents. Thank You that You planned and purposed that we would come to know You and learn to walk with You. Restore my heart to Your image, I pray. Teach me just how important I am to You and just how much You delight in me. Amen.

Preparation:
Think about any terms or concepts that are new to you for this class.
• God created us in His image so that we might have a relationship with Him and fulfill His purpose on the earth.
• God inhabits the praises of His people. He will always meet us there.
• Worship requires faith, and God always responds to faith-filled worship.
• Spending time with God to gain revelation is essential for worship.
• God is in us and among us, and His presence is available every time we worship Him.

Lesson 1 The Heart of Worship

LESSON 1: THE HEART OF WORSHIP

MAIN IDEA: Worship is the key to experiencing God in our lives.

There is a real hunger in the church today—a growing hunger to know and experience God in a personal way. Truth is, we were created to know God in this way—to have a relationship with God. He made us this way because He has desired an intimate relationship with us from the beginning of time.

God Desires a Relationship with Us All lasting relationships are based on mutual interest, trust, and understanding. By choosing to create us in His image—with a mind (the ability to reason), a will, and emotions—and by providing everything we need for life, God created and equipped us for a lasting relationship with Him.

From beginning to end, the Bible makes it clear: God desires a relationship with us. He wants us to know who He is, who we are in relationship to Him, how we should respond, and what we can anticipate in return. We will examine these aspects of God’s desire and plan for relationship with us in greater detail in this class, but for now, consider what these verses tell us:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” John 15:5

“In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you.” John 14:19-20

This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given to us from His Spirit. And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 1 John 4:13-15

These few Scriptures alone leave no room for doubt: God loves us and deeply desires a personal relationship with each of us, and all we have to do is respond! God wants to reveal Himself and His will in every situation of our lives, and as we respond we can experience God each and every day as He works through us to accomplish His will.

Worship Is the Key to Experiencing God A number of years ago, Henry Blackaby and Claude King provided us with wonderful insights and principles on how to experience God and discover His will in our everyday lives. Their bestselling workbook Experiencing God, gave us clear instruction to help us fulfill our purpose on the earth: see what God is doing around you and join Him as He works through you. It all begins with God’s offer of a personal and intimate relationship. And as we respond, we really can experience God!

Experiencing God delivered a tried and proven message for the church, and I’ve seen the results in an up close and personal way. You see, I’ve spent my entire adult life serving in churches, from some of the smallest to the largest churches in America, and I’ve seen many of God’s people embrace God’s mission for their lives—the plans God prepared for them before they were even born. I’ve also seen many, many others miss their opportunity to experience God.

For years I wondered what it would take for more of God’s church—ordinary folks like you and me—to fully embrace His love for us, step beyond our distractions and doubts, and truly join God as He works right where we live. I believe with all my heart that the key to breakthrough, the key to experiencing God in our own lives and having a personal relationship with Him, is found in developing a lifestyle of worship. How would you define or explain a “lifestyle of worship”?

We are His creation— created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:1

Worship Is Our Response to God’s Revelation I love “The Andy Griffith Show.” Like so many others, I have learned a great deal about life watching the reruns of this old program. In one episode, Deputy Barney Fife starts dabbling in psychology and decides to try his hand with the town drunk, Otis. After showing Otis a series of inkblot cards and noting his responses, a bewildered Barney covers his lack of discovery from the process by proclaiming, “I hate to think what you just revealed about yourself, Otis!”

Barney didn’t have a clue what those inkblot cards revealed, but our God has given us a clear revelation of who He is and what He has done—and we don’t have to study inkblots to figure it out! Throughout our study, we will use this working definition of worship: Worship is our response to God’s revelation of who He is and what He has done.

[Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

Simply stated, we are called to respond to all that God has revealed about Himself and to His never-ending desire to enter a deeper relationship with each of us. Through the ages, God has been in the constant process of revealing His character and essence. Yes, God is mysterious in many ways, but He is never a mystery. He has gone to great lengths to reveal Himself throughout history—including sending His Son, Jesus, into the world—and He continues to reveal Himself today in a variety of ways: God reveals Himself in creation. God reveals Himself through His Word. God reveals Himself through the Holy Spirit.

God created us for relationship with Him and deeply desires to reveal Himself—who He is and what He has done—to us. He has promised to meet us as we worship. In fact, as we understand and embrace all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus, our only reasonable and adequate response is worship. Our response to God always requires faith and corresponding action, yet God never forces us to respond; it is always our choice. How has God revealed Himself to you? What were both the immediate and long-term ways in which you responded to these revelations?

Worship Invites God’s Presence As Blackaby and King emphasize in Experiencing God, God deeply desires a personal relationship with each one of us and is at work around us at all times. Just as God fellowshipped and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, so He desires to fellowship and communicate with each of us. God has promised in Psalm 22:3 to inhabit the praises of His people, and God is always true to His promises. Our worship provides a place of meeting with God—a place for us to encounter His very presence and embrace His invitation to join Him as He works.

As we focus our time and attention on the Lord in worship, proclaim His place of honor in our lives, and thank and praise God for His eternal promises in our lives, we can expect God to intervene in our circumstances. God has promised to inhabit our worship, and He will. And when the King is present, all things are possible!

That’s why we must worship through the good times and the bad—when we’re waiting for God’s merciful touch in our circumstances and when we’re standing in awe of His power at work around us. Worship invites God’s presence, enabling us to experience God in our lives.

God’s Word is filled with example after example of those who responded to God’s revelation with worship and experienced Him. You’ll find their names throughout Scripture—names such as Abraham, David, Daniel (and his friends), Mary, Joseph, Peter, Paul, and so many more. As we study together, we will soon understand how absolutely vital worship was in their lives. These great Bible heroes had a clear revelation of God—of who He is and what He has done. They responded to that revelation with worship, and they experienced the presence and power of God in their lives. Their lives are confirmation: you and I can experience God in worship!

Psalm 22:3 is a cornerstone verse for our study. Many times it is helpful to look at a passage of Scripture in different translations to fully grasp the meaning of each word or phrase.

•   Thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3, KJV
•   You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3, NKJV
•   You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered]. Psalm 22:3, AMP

Let’s take a look at the meaning of several key words in that passage from the King James Version, the New King James Version, and the Amplified Bible. Holy— sacred, spiritually pure, sinless, deserving deep respect and awe Inhabit—to live in Enthroned—placed on a throne and exalted

Our God does indeed deserve our deep respect, awe, and worship! And He has promised His holy presence as we worship. Simply put, our worship expression creates a “place” for us to encounter and experience God.

As we study together, you will be encouraged and released to offer up your own unique expression of worship—an expression of appreciation, adoration, desperation, and expectation that is reserved deep within you for God and God alone. Whether your worship tradition includes three verses and a chorus, liturgical litanies, a capella hymns, banners and dance, or loud, exuberant praise, God is waiting to hear from you. And as you respond to His great love and sacrifice for you—whether you are worshiping corporately or in the privacy of your own home—you will experience God. He is ready, willing, and able to meet you right where you are as you enter into worship.

LESSON 1 REVIEW • What statement or Scripture you read in this lesson was most meaningful? An example is, “Worship is my response to God’s revelation, and He always wants me to know Him more intimately.” • Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response. For example, “Lord, I want to know You more—I want more revelation of who You are—and I commit to listen for Your voice more intently throughout the day.” • What does God want you to do in response to this lesson? For example, “He wants me to really focus on who He is and what He has done as I am worshiping—to change my perspective.”

Lesson 5 Seven Words of Worship

LESSON 5: SEVEN WORDS OF WORSHIP
MAIN IDEA: Learning to experience God in worship is a process that can be aided by seven simple words.

Every good contractor knows that the foundation is crucial if a building is going to stand the test of time and fulfill the vision of the architect who designed it. During this class, we have laid a good foundation. Together we have begun the process of understanding these foundational truths:
• God really does want a real and personal relationship with us.
• In light of who God is and all He has done, our only reasonable response must be worship.
• As we worship, God has promised to be present.
• Worship is vitally important to our lives.

God has promised to meet us as we worship, and we are completely worthy of His holy presence because of His great sacrifice in Jesus Christ. God has always been the initiator, and all we have to do is respond. And this is what worship really is: our heartfelt response to God’s revelation of who He is and what He has done. And as we respond, He really will be present. We truly can experience God in worship!

Building on the Foundation Together
The foundation is set, and now it’s time to start the building. It’s time to build together our understanding of worship so that we can experience complete freedom to honor God more fully with our hearts, our individual voices, and our everyday lives. Consider these words from the apostle Paul:

We are God’s co-workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to God’s grace that was given to me, as a skilled master builder I have laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it, because no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid—that is, Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11

Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working. 1 Corinthians 3:8-9, MSG.

How does this passage make you feel about having to do “menial servant jobs” sometimes? Do you truly feel like those tasks bring God glory?

As we study together, Jesus Christ is indeed our focus. He is the One who is worthy of our worship, and He is the one we will worship throughout all of eternity. Jesus is the reason we worship; He is the recipient of our worship and the One who responds to our sacrifice of praise. Jesus is the cornerstone of everything we will say and do together in this course. Now it’s time to build!

Seven Simple Words
As we learn to experience God in worship in the coming classes, we need a good blueprint to follow. Even the most talented builders are only as good as the blueprints in front of them.

Our building process will be guided by these seven simple words and the biblically based summary statement that follows. Each of the following seven classes of study will have one of these words as its theme. You have heard these words before, but perhaps not in the worship context:
• Creation
• Grace
• Love
• Response
• Expression
• Presence
• Experience

Each of us was created by God for relationship with Him, but we can only enjoy that relationship by God’s grace. God’s great love for us, demonstrated in Christ Jesus, initiates our response. The only reasonable and adequate response is our expression of worship. As we worship, God has promised His presence. We can always experience God in worship!

These Seven Words of Worship provide the blueprint for our study together, and they can become your guide to experiencing God throughout a lifetime of worship. God has made us to worship Him in every part of our lives. Because of His great sacrifice in Christ Jesus, we are free to come boldly before the throne of God and expect a loving encounter with our God and King. The Cornerstone is in place.

Read each of the seven words and the definition that follows each word.
• Creation — anything caused to come into existence; made, originated
• Grace — undeserved goodwill or favor
• Love — a strong, passionate affection for someone or something
• Response — something said or done in answer or reply
• Expression — putting into words, stating, or demonstrating
• Presence — the fact or state of being at a specified place
• Experience —the act of living through an event, anything and everything observed or lived through training and personal participation

Now is the time to get familiar with the meaning of each word. These seven simple words will guide each class of our study together. We are on our way to experiencing God in worship! Which “word of worship” do you look forward to understanding more deeply and seeing God bring to fruition in your life?

Points to Ponder
• Worship is the key to experiencing God in our lives.
• Worship is our only reasonable response to God’s revelation.
• We are free to worship God because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
• When we worship, God has promised to be present.
• Learning to experience God in worship is a process that can be aided by seven simple words: Creation, Grace, Love, Response, Expression, Presence, and Experience.

LESSON 5 REVIEW
• What statement or Scripture you read in this lesson was most meaningful?
• Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response.
• What does God want you to do in response to this lesson?

Resources used for this class:
• Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Revised and Expanded (Nashville: LifeWay Press, 2007), 21.
• Dewitt Jones, “Use Me.” © 1993 Deinde Music/BMI (Adm. by Integrity’s Praise! Music) and Integrity’s Praise! Music/BMI c/o Integrity Media, Inc. 1000 Cody Road, Mobile AL 36695. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
• “Jesus Paid It All.” Words by Elvira M. Hall, music by John T. Grape. Public domain.

Lesson 4 God Inhabits Our Worship

LESSON 4: GOD INHABITS OUR WORSHIP
MAIN IDEA: When we worship, God has promised to be present.

As Blackaby and King emphasize in Experiencing God, God is at work around you right now, and He wants a deeper personal relationship with you. A very important key to that relationship is having a correct view of God in relationship to mankind.

Throughout the ages, God has been in the continual process of revealing to us His character and His essence. Almost everyone on planet Earth believes in some kind of god; and our God, the great I AM, has gone to great lengths to reveal Himself to us through creation, through His Word (both the written Word and the Living Word, Jesus Christ), and through the Holy Spirit. Consider what the Scriptures say:

Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20, NIV

[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God. Colossians 1:15

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:1,14, NIV

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I told you that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you.” John 16:13-15

God has revealed and continues to reveal Himself to us—who He is and what He has done—and His presence is real and available to us today. Worship is our only reasonable response to God’s revelation!

Worship Invites the Presence of God

As we will explore in greater depth in the next lesson, we were created to have a relationship with God and to respond to His great love for us with worship. And something wonderful happens as we worship: we make a place for God to dwell in our midst. When we worship, we actually invite the presence of God to be manifest among us:

You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered]. Psalm 22:3, AMP

As we spend time in God’s presence, He directs us and empowers us to respond, and we experience Him in new and glorious ways. Entering into worship, whether individually or corporately, is a surefire way to experience God!

Abraham is a good example of a man who spent time worshiping God— inviting God’s presence. Throughout his journey from his childhood home in Ur to his season of failure in Egypt, Abraham met regularly with God, experienced God’s presence, and faithfully responded to God’s direction. When he ultimately received the promise—his dear son, Isaac—he must have thought his journey of faith was fulfilled. But God had further revelation and breakthrough planned for Abraham’s life.

One day God called Abraham to literally sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise, the joy of his life and the hope for future generations. Abraham was empowered by God to climb Mount Moriah and place Isaac on the altar. As we will study in more detail in the next lesson, Abraham’s response to God’s revelation was worship—and God answered! God inhabited Abraham’s worship, and Abraham experienced God. Have you ever sensed God’s presence in some situation in your life—beyond your normal assurance that God is always there? What was your response to the situation? Did you worship God, or did you respond in a different way? If you didn’t consider your response “worship” at the time, what do you think now that you’ve begun this course?

Abraham and Isaac experienced God in worship in that private and intimate moment on the mountain, and it changed all of our lives forever, because Abraham’s faith in action set the example for every generation to follow.

Just as God was present with Abraham on that day, so also God will be present when we worship, whether we’re alone or gathered with other believers to express our worship. God has promised, and He is always faithful.

Something Special Happens When We Worship Together

Though God is always present whenever and wherever we worship, I know from personal experience that something very special can happen when we come together to worship corporately—particularly when a stadium full of believers gathers to worship!

A few years ago, I joined 15 men from our church at a Promise Keepers event in Texas Stadium. Honestly, I didn’t really want to go. I had so many details pressing in with my role as music minister at our church; but I had made a commitment to the guys, and so I went. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had an appointment with God Almighty that day.

We were late to the stadium and ended up in the end zone, about as far from the platform as you can get. But it really didn’t matter. God was there. He was all over the stadium. As the hearts and voices of over 60,000 men rose toward heaven that day, our God responded—He truly inhabited the praises of His people.

The speaker’s message really didn’t make a difference for me that day. The only thing that mattered was God’s amazing presence in the midst of our uninhibited worship. As the speaker proclaimed God’s call for ministers to move forward in their calling, those precious brothers laid hands on me and prayed me “forward in ministry” right there on the Astroturf at Texas Stadium. I could never describe the overwhelming power of God’s presence that day as I knelt and wept my way to the very throne of God. He was there! God always inhabits the praises of His people.

The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: For He is good; His faithful love endures forever; the temple, the LORD’s temple, was filled with a cloud. And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the LORD filled God’s temple. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14

What happened as the people worshiped God in 2 Chronicles 5? Consider how the priests “were not able to continue ministering” when confronted with the glory of God. Does this speak to you about taking time away from work to spend time in worship? How might you apply this teaching? Why not join the worship in heaven right now and shout: For the Lord is good! His faithful love endures forever!

LESSON 4 REVIEW
• What statement or Scripture you read in this lesson was most meaningful?
• Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response.
• What does God want you to do in response to this lesson?

Lesson 3 Free to Worship

LESSON 3: FREE TO WORSHIP
MAIN IDEA: We are free to worship God because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

In spite of all the reasons we have been given to worship God, God still gives us the freedom to choose whether or not we will express our worship. He knows that worshiping the invisible God does not come naturally to us. In our human condition, we are more inclined to turn our affections toward something or someone we can see, touch, understand, and control. We are more likely to worship carnal things. That was certainly the case for God’s people in the day of Moses:

The LORD spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” Exodus 32:7-8

The Israelites were so desperate to have a tangible experience with God that, even while Moses was on Mount Sinai meeting with the great I AM, they crafted a counterfeit image to worship. In this act of disobedience, they demonstrated not only their very deep, human need to experience the presence of God but also mankind’s natural inclination to meet that need in an illegitimate manner.

A Matter of Life and Death
In Moses’ day, God’s presence was not available to every person. Based on the fact that it was dangerous to encounter God’s holy presence without appropriate preparation, we can’t blame the people for not seeking God’s presence! You see, the priests were the only ones who ever had access to God’s presence, and their preparation to meet with God was literally a matter of life and death. That preparation was detailed and meticulous. Even the holiest of priests could not survive an encounter with the one and only righteous and holy God without sufficient cleansing and sacrifice. Here are just a few of the requirements they faced:
• They had to be consecrated in a very specific manner to serve as priests (Ex. 29:1-46; Lev. 8:1-36).
• They had to wear the sacred garments whenever they entered the tabernacle of meeting so they wouldn’t incur guilt and die (Ex. 28:2-43).
• They had to burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning and evening (Ex. 30:7-8).
• They had to wash their hands and feet with water from the sacred basin (Ex. 30:19-21).
• They had to make atonement annually with the blood of the “sin offering of atonement” (Ex. 30:10).

There was a pretty stiff penalty for the priests if they did not comply with every one of these regulations. For example, in Leviticus 8 we see that Aaron and his sons were ordained as priests and did everything just right. In Leviticus 9 they launched their ministries. However, in chapter 10 they missed the mark, and God literally sent fire to consume two of Aaron’s sons, eliminating them from the ministry!

Aaron survived his sons’ mistakes, but only after God provided a way out of their disobedience—what became known as the Day of Atonement. Of course, that meant there were more rules and regulations that had to be followed on this special day in order for the priests to enter God’s presence.

The Perfect Sacrifice
There just had to be a better way for God’s people to enter His presence—and there was! Everything changed when God made the supreme sacrifice in Christ Jesus. Through His life, death, and resurrection, we have been given freedom to enter God’s presence:

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:11-14, NIV

Now it is no longer necessary for God’s people to send a representative or priest to enter the holy of holies—the place where God resides. There is no need for the veil of separation to protect us from His glorious presence. There is no need for us to wait for some contemporary Moses to “come down from the mountain.” By the blood of Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, we have been made righteous—worthy to encounter God personally.

The Bible makes it clear that no one is able to come to the Father on his or her own merit: “ ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’ … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:10,23).

None of us is righteous of our own accord. But through the loving sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we have been made righteous. To consider ourselves anything other than righteous and worthy of the presence of God disagrees with what God has said and done. How does it make you feel when you read that you are righteous in God’s sight? Have you tried to “prove” to God that you are righteous through your own acts sometimes? Think of some examples.

Slaves to Righteousness and Free to Worship!
If you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, there is nothing more you can do to make yourself righteous. By faith in Christ Jesus, you are no longer a “slave to sin” but have “been set free from sin” and have become a “slave of righteousness” (Rom. 6:17,18, NKJV).

A slave simply has no choice—he or she must obey the master. Before Jesus redeemed our lives, sin was our master. But now we have a new Master, and as the Scriptures affirm, we can live a righteous life that He alone provides and requires:

He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 3

What are the implications of us becoming “the righteousness of God in Him”? If you have been living under condemnation for your sins, past or present, now is the time to believe the Word of God and gain victory over sin and self-condemnation. The apostle Paul explained it this way:

No condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

Reflect on these personalized adaptations of Scripture.

Having been liberated from sin, I have become enslaved to righteousness. Romans 6:18

He made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for me, so that I might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 5

How do you feel about being “enslaved to righteousness”? Does it make you want to run and hide, or does it make you feel free? Now is the time to confess what God says about you, not what your mind and emotions have been telling you. As you confess or speak God’s Word, it will take root in your heart by faith and change the way you think and act. You do not have to live by what you see or be moved by what you feel.

Believing what God says more than what you think or feel is an act of your will. You are free to worship God because Jesus paid the price for your transgressions. You are free to worship because He says you are! No matter where you have been or what you have done, His sacrifice is always sufficient.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

To conclude this lesson, read each of the following Scriptures aloud; then read the comment that follows.

No condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2
The word condemnation as used here comes from a legal term referring to a verdict of guilty and the penalty that verdict demands. As a believer, no sin you commit—past, present, or future—can be held against you by the judge, since the penalty was paid in full by Christ and righteousness has been imputed to you. You must believe by faith that Christ has paid the price for your sins. You are free to worship Him without hesitation!

The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
When you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you received the indwelling Holy Spirit as well. That same Holy Spirit liberates every captive of sin, including you and me. As you continually focus your heart and mind on Jesus, the Spirit transforms you more and more into His image—from one level of glory to another. As you continue to surrender every part of your life to Him, you can come boldly before God and worship Him with a pure heart.

LESSON 3 REVIEW
• What statement or Scripture you read in this lesson was most meaningful?
• Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response.
• What does God want you to do in response to this less

Lesson 2 God’s Revelation and Our Response

LESSON 2: GOD’S REVELATION AND OUR RESPONSE
MAIN IDEA: Worship is our only reasonable response to God’s revelation.

In Experiencing God, Blackaby and King suggest there are seven realities in the process of experiencing God:
• God is always at work around you.
• God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
• God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
• God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
• God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
• You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
• You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

If you have chosen to join God as He is working around and through you, then you know what experiencing God is all about. The message of Experiencing God is not just a good idea. It is a powerful guideline for believers. God wants to reach you and use you to impact those around you. And as I have discovered in my own life, worship is an integral part of this process.

A Personal “Experiencing God” Story
My journey to become Director of the Worship Department at LifeWay Christian Resources is a good example of the link between worship and experiencing God. Just a few years ago, I was the music minister at First Baptist Church in Carrollton, Texas. My wife, Teresa, and I were so happy there; the friends and church family God gave us in Texas had become home for us and our three children. My role at the church was fulfilling in every way.

“But God …!” Have you ever encountered those two words in your own life? We truly loved our time in Texas. It was a great place to live, and we were surrounded by some of the most wonderful people God ever created. But God began to invite me to join Him in a new work at LifeWay. I still remember the day He made His invitation completely clear.

I had arrived at the LifeWay Conference Center in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, for my final round of interviews with LifeWay leadership. In the midst of the first evening there, I found myself wandering through the empty 2,000-seat auditorium—just me and God in a darkened sanctuary that had been home to the heartfelt sounds of worship for so many over the years.

As I walked across the stage, it occurred to me that I had been on that very stage 27 years earlier when, as a 16-year-old boy, I had been invited to Ridgecrest to perform one of the first songs I had written. Although I hadn’t been back to that auditorium in all those years, I vividly remembered the excitement and anxiety of that moment years ago. And I realized that God had been with me all along the way, guiding my life all the years since, leading me to this very opportunity to join Him in a new ministry effort!

God was there on the stage that night, just as He had been with me in that very spot 27 years earlier. The frightened 16-year-old child had become a grown man who was still filled with childlike excitement and anxiety at the possibility of leading my denomination’s worship efforts.

At that moment, I knew. I had a clear revelation of God’s desire for me to step out of my comfort zone in Carrollton and join Him as He impacts the worship life of congregations and His dear children across the globe. I surrendered to God’s call and began to weep as I sang:
If You can use anything, Lord, You can use me,
If You can use anything, Lord, You can use me.

On that cool April evening in Ridgecrest, I sensed God’s presence so strongly. God’s invitation to join Him at LifeWay was real and personal. As I sang, I clearly experienced God in worship.

My journey to serve at LifeWay had begun. Over the next few weeks, my wife, Teresa, and I worked through the inevitable crisis of belief that always comes as we respond to God’s invitation—when doubts and questions creep in and we must make some adjustments in our lives in order to be obedient to God. We planned our move and put our faith in His call into action. God had revealed Himself and directed our steps once again!

Do you have an “Experiencing God” story to tell—a story of a time when you experienced God’s presence and call to join Him in His work? Think about how the work God invited you to join Him in accomplishing. What adjustments were required of you to join God in His work? What was the result of your willingness to obey God and join Him as He worked through you?

If you don’t have an “experiencing God” story yet, don’t be discouraged. Just spend time asking God to show you how He is at work around you, and He will. God deeply desires to reveal more of Himself and His activities to you because He loves you. God wants a real and personal relationship with you above all else. And He wants to reveal Himself to you in very tangible ways.

He is the great King of kings. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. He is our Provider, our Salvation, our Strength. He is our All in All. And He is waiting for you to respond to who He is and what He has done!

As we continue our study together, we will see that worship is our only reasonable and adequate response to God’s revelation. Regardless of our current or past circumstances, we have so many compelling reasons to set aside all else and worship Him. Your “experiencing God” story is on the way!

Take a few minutes to contemplate each of the following descriptions about God and His activities in your life. You may go directly to the Scriptures referenced to confirm what God’s Word says about His character and His actions. Verbally thank Him for each one.

Who God Is:
Almighty God (Gen. 17:1)
Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)
King of kings (Rev. 19:16)
Lord of all (Acts 10:36)
Savior (1 Tim. 4:10)
Redeemer (Titus 2:14)
Counselor (John 14:26)
Friend (Jas. 2:23)
Healer (Isa. 53:4-5)
Comforter (2 Cor. 1:3)

What God Has Done:
Created the earth and everything in it (Gen. 1)
Overcame the Enemy (Col. 2:15)
Died for our faults and sins (Rom. 8:3-4)
Chose to dwell with us and in us (John 16:7; 1 Cor. 6:19)
Loved us with an everlasting love (John 3:16)
Justified us (Rom. 5:18)
Called us children/heirs (Rom. 8:16-17)
Gave us new life (Rom. 6:4)
Set us free (Heb. 2:14-15)
Forgave us (1 John 1:9)

Remember, God loves to hear your voice of thanksgiving and praise!

LESSON 2 REVIEW
• What statement or Scripture you read in this lesson was most meaningful?
• Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response.
• What does God want you to do in response to this lesson?

Class 1 “The Heart of Worship”

“The key to experiencing God is developing a lifestyle of worship.”

Let’s begin to connect with this class by considering the following questions:
• What is the largest event or gathering of people in which you’ve participated? What impact did it have on your life?
• What worship experience was particularly meaningful to you? It could be a sermon, a great song, the Lord’s Supper, a baptism, or a music event. What made that worship experience so meaningful for you?
• When you think of worship traditions, which ones do you most easily practice (singing choruses, responsive reading, lifting hands, etc.)? Why do you think that is?
• What is your background as it relates to worship music: traditional, contemporary, blended, or something else altogether!
• What are you hoping to learn or experience through this course?

Watch and listen as Mike Harland sets the stage for our study on worship by explaining “The Heart of Worship.”

Engage by reflecting on the following questions from the Word of God and Mike’s message:
• Read Matthew 21:9. Do you think these words shouted by the crowd were authentic worship words? Why or why not?
• Name the seven words from the “hat rack” that Mike described. Which of those words are you most excited about studying?
• Read Colossians 3:16. Which of the activities listed in this verse do you think we would typically characterize as worship?
• Mike makes a comparison between a football game that he attended and a worship event. What similarities do you see between the two and what concerns do you think that raises for us?
• In the video, Mike describes worship as “the key to a lifetime of experiencing God”? Do you agree or disagree with that statement? Why?

Prayer:
Father, thank You for who You are and all that You have done for us. We do want to experience You for our entire lifetimes. Thank You for giving each of us unique expressions of worship and for being present when we worship You. We pray that we will experience You this week in a way that brings about real change in our lives and glory to You. Amen.

Preparation:
Think about any terms or concepts that are new to you for this class.
• Worship is our response to God’s revelation—who He is and what He has done.
• Worship is the key to experiencing God in our lives.
• Worship is our only reasonable response to God’s revelation.
• We are free to worship God because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
• When we worship, God has promised to be present.
• Learning to experience God in worship is a process that can be aided by seven simple words: Creation, Grace, Love, Response, Expression, Presence, and Experience.

Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

Welcome to the Course

COURSE INTRODUCTION

“An hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him.” John 4:23

There is a deep and growing interest in worship these days, and that makes perfect sense. After all, worship is the primary reason we gather as the body of Christ each week. We gather to focus our attention and energy on giving glory to God; and when we do, we encounter God in powerful, life-changing ways. As a result, we are challenged and empowered to join God as He works in the world.

There are many forms of worship and certainly many different styles of worship. The body of Christ is a broad and diverse family, and the form of our worship can often cause confusion and division. God is never the author of confusion, and His Word gives clear guidelines that empower and liberate all believers in their own worship expression. Authentic worship is simply a genuine expression of praise, adoration, celebration, and thanksgiving to God in response to who He is and what He has done in our lives.

Seven Words of Worship explores what this means for us as the body of Christ and as individuals, including how we may pursue authentic worship—not only in our weekly worship services but also in our everyday lives. Over the course of the study, you will be introduced to seven simple Words of Worship that can serve as a guide for knowing and experiencing God. As you apply these teachings in your own life, you will be inspired and equipped to develop a lifestyle of worship, which is God’s desire for every believer.

We are passionate about helping individuals and congregations develop a consistent lifestyle of worship. As you increase in understanding of who God really is and what He has done in your life, consistent and fervent worship will be your natural response. And as you worship, God will inhabit your praise and impact your circumstances.

You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3

Our Threefold Purpose
Seven Words of Worship is indeed a course initiated by God and birthed through years of effort by my coauthor and friend, Stan Moser. Although this is a collaborative work, I (Mike) will serve as the “voice” throughout this study, representing our collective insights that, we hope, will accomplish our threefold purpose:
• To help you gain a clear revelation of God and His desire for worship to be the focal point and passion of our lives (Rom. 12:1);
• To give you a solid understanding of the biblical foundation that leads us to become true worshipers (John 4:23-24); and
• To encourage you to enter into increased freedom in your worship expression as you respond to God’s revelation (2 Cor. 3:17).

I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. Psalm 119:15

About the Course
To achieve these goals, we will present some simple, foundational truths about biblical worship in a format of five short lessons for each of eight classes.

Each lesson combines Bible study and biblical narratives with real-life stories and practical application. The practical application questions and activities are in bold print. Please don’t skip over these questions and activities. They are designed to help you clarify, process, and apply what you are learning.

Another important personal-application tool is the Daily Review. Here you will be asked to review the lesson and pray, asking God to identify for you one or more statements or Scriptures from the lesson that He wants to make a part of your understanding and practice. The same three questions will help you to complete this process after each lesson.

Keep in mind that there are no wrong answers to this personal-application process. As God uses the lessons to draw you to some personal revelation or interaction, pray about how He would have you respond. Though you will sense a logical progression in the material, you also will revisit some core concepts along the way, exploring them from different angles and considering subtle nuances in order to maximize understanding and application. You’ll encounter several key Scriptures more than once along your journey to reinforce biblical truths central to our study and to help hide God’s Word in your heart.

Consider the following suggestions for making your journey through Seven Words of Worship more meaningful:
• Trust the Holy Spirit to be your teacher. Ask Him for guidance as you seek to gain greater biblical understanding of authentic worship and develop your lifestyle of worship. Open your mind and heart in ready obedience to all He will teach you.
• Be consistent in your personal study. A lifestyle of worship is a radical change for many, and diligent attention to the Word of God is the key.
• Take time each day to express your worship and appreciation to the King of kings! If possible, begin or end your classes with a time of worship.
• Before beginning each class, pray for revelation and breakthrough.
• Be sure to read and meditate on each Scripture. After all, this is a Bible study!
• Take time to respond to each practical-application question and activity (printed in bold).
• Record the statements or Scriptures that were most meaningful to you, as well as how God is calling you to respond. When God speaks, it is important to record it.
• Write down questions that arise during your study. Then, as the study continues, watch for God to provide the answers.
• Share one revelation or new understanding with someone. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and share freely with others what the Lord is teaching you about worship!

Our Hope and Prayer for You
As you make your way through the study, our hope and prayer is that you will be filled with a refreshing and clear perspective on authentic worship and challenged to fulfill God’s desire for you to lift your voice and your life as an expression of worship. Here are two biblical promises to encourage you:
• God has promised to inhabit our praises.
• God rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Focusing on these promises will help you begin each day with the expectation that God desires to meet with you and reveal Himself more completely to you.

As you believe and receive God’s great and precious promises in your life, you will encounter Him and experience Him in ways you can only imagine right now. You really can experience God in worship!