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 (Part 1)
赞美和敬拜
诗篇100:4 当称谢进入他的门，当赞美进入他的院。当感谢他，称颂他的名。
敬拜部分有两个环节，即充满活力的赞美和敬拜。正如路德-瓦得-贺福琳在她的《荣耀：体验天堂的氛围》一书中所说，我们应该学会“赞美……直到敬拜的灵到来。敬拜……直到荣耀来临。然后……站立在荣耀中”。我们进入神的同在需要时间，因为我们很容易分心，习惯了被肉体和情绪支配，以至于我们中的一些人甚至对大声的赞美和敬拜感到不自在，下意识地脚步拖沓着进来参加敬拜的环节。
所以，当我们来敬拜时，我们需要对付肉体，学习预备好自己的心，有意识地以赞美神的心来聚会。我们中的一些人可能来自这样的背景，我们认为大声呼喊和赞美上帝是不适合的，或者我们可能不愿意因为我们的社会地位而被认为是情绪化的，但即使是大卫王，当他在耶和华面前跳舞，以及欢欢喜喜地赞美祂时，他也不关心他的仆人怎么看的。
撒母耳记下6:14 大卫穿着细麻布的以弗得，在耶和华面前极力跳舞。
另一些人，当他们被忧虑、压力和生活中的各种干扰所困扰时，可能会觉得很难敬拜主。我们有一种自然的倾向，即把注意力集中在紧急的事情上，而不是重要的事情上，但与其让我们的肉体支配我们，不如让我们来支配肉体去做什么。所以，我们要约束我们的肉体，有意识地来赞美神！我们需要知道充满活力的敬拜是有力量的，并且允许我们自己受它激励。
诗篇26:7 我好发称谢的声音。也要述说你一切奇妙的作为。
我们是按照上帝的形象造的，上帝的话语带有力量，所以我们所说的话语和我们所唱的，既可以增强我们的信心，也可以使我们处于压迫或沮丧之中，从而摧毁我们。赞美是感恩的声音。我们的赞美之词可以增强勇气，把胆怯的人带向胜利。信道是从听道来的，听道是从上帝的话来的。。当我们唱出充满活力的赞美之歌，宣告上帝奇妙的作为、全能和胜利时，我们的信心就会升起，因为我们可以亲耳听到这些宣告。
赞美只是开始，因为它帮助我们进入神的同在，但如果我们连赞美的决定都没有，我们就很难真正敬拜。在团体环境中，赞美和敬拜打破了人与人之间的界限，使我们合而为一，因为我们把敬拜作为重点，而不是专注于我们的差异。我们也应该养成在家里私下敬拜的习惯。它确实让我们为天堂做好准备。
讲章系列：ICS的敬拜文化（第一部分）