Introduction

On May 30, 2020, Pastor Eric began a new series on the revival of the church. He spoke on what the congregation should do before it meets again as a group.

Something wonderful happens when a congregation worships the Lord in person. As we see the Covid-19 restrictions lift, there is a strong desire to get back to business. We should use this opportunity to refresh – to start anew – to make our meetings more meaningful, and to glorify God more than ever before.

Churches are a place of worship. When all members of a church are in agreement and worship God together, it edifies the body of believers. What happens when we worship? When we meet together and worship with gladness and heartfelt praise, the Holy Spirit works through us. 

When we sing songs but our heart is not in it, we worship in vain. The Lord does not just want us to spectate, He wants our active participation.

Matthew 15:8 says:

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 

God does not care if we sing off key, He looks at our heart. When we sing to the Lord with heartfelt praise, it’s true meaningful worship. 

Pastor Mamadou Karambiri said, “The danger that awaits the new generation of servants is to seek the spectacular anointing without wanting to touch the heart of God.”

We can’t let worship become routine or a chore. To worship is a privilege. Worshipping on earth is nothing like worshipping in heaven. Our earthly praise is a dress rehearsal. Let’s get this right, now.

What happens when we collectively worship God?

We are boasting in the Lord.

In Psalm 100:1, the psalmist says,

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Boasting in the Lord means praising God extravagantly in speech with words, lyrics and verses. Worship songs like How Great Is Our God praise the Lord’s goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy, and so much more. Through our singing, we thank our Saviour for what He has done for us, what He is still doing, and what He is going to do. We boast in the Lord when we worship. Worshipping is our testimony. When we open our mouth and sing, it elevates God in our hearts. When we boast in the Lord, our faith increases. Likewise, when we boast about God, we stop boasting about ourselves.

We truly surrender to God.

When we worship the Lord, we proclaim that He is God and we exalt Him in praise. We surrender our entire life to Him. We are not to worship God only when everything is going well in our lives. We are to worship Him even in difficult times, like Paul and Silas did. Paul and Silas were captured, beaten and imprisoned. In Acts 16:25, we read,

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Some people may criticize you for worshipping the Lord i.e.: David’s wife, the expensive parfum… If our worship is focused on God and not on others, we are pleasing God.

It encourages other people.

Congregational singing inspires others.

Ephesians 5:18-20 state,

…Instead be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:16 also states,

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 

Worshipping the Lord together gives us a surge of faith. Heartfelt singing edifies people.

There is an awakening.

When we give ourselves to God proclaiming His holiness and exalting Him in praise, He rekindles our faith.

There’s Warfare.

In 2 Chronicles, we see that the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites came to start a war with Jehoshaphat. As he, the people of Judah and Jerusalem sang and praised God, their enemies who had come to attack them, died.

In 2 Chronicles 20:22, we read,

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Corporate worship is also a battlefield. When we sing together as a congregation, it dethrones the kingdom of darkness. We live in a fallen world. When we praise God together in worship, it’s more powerful than we may think.

Let’s make our reunion meaningful. Let’s be extravagant in our worship!

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