Psalms 95 - 97

Click HERE to read the passage.

In these three chapters, David shouts praises to God and provides for us an instructional lesson on how we should worship God, why we should worship Him, and the benefits we receive in doing so.

In fact, taking the time to worship God is one of the most important things we can do! We often think that the three most important things in the life of a believer is to go to church regularly, pray, and read the Bible. Those are incredibly important and GREAT things we should be doing. However, do you have any idea how important worship is to God?

In Heaven, we won't be going to church. We won't be praying. And, we won't be reading our Bibles. Why? Because first of all, God tells us that "we" are His church, and when we're in Heaven the church is in Heaven. Secondly, there's no need to pray because God will take care of our every need. And thirdly, we won't need Bibles because God tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that in Heaven God will reveal all things to us - His plan, purpose, everything!

So, what's left?  Worship!

In Heaven, we will spend eternity worshiping the Lord. In His presence, the angels continually worship Him. It's the automatic response to His glory. It's hard for us to understand that while living on the earth, but you'll understand fully in Heaven.  The Bible even tells us that ALL wicked people will one bow before Jesus in the Judgement Day and worship Him claiming Him as Lord.

Worship should be the automatic response to the Lord in our every day lives!

Let's look at David, one of the best worshipers of God, and glean some lessons.

Beginning in chapter 95, David tells us:

HOW TO WORSHIP GOD PRIVATELY!

1) Sing to the Lord - I'm not a singer at all, but I try!
2) Shout joyful praises to Him. Why? Because He's the Rock of our Salvation!
3) Come before His presence with Thanksgiving!  There's MUCH to be thankful for...right?

These are all elements of worship - singing, shouting joyful praise, and articulating your gratefulness to Him. How often do you do these things?  It should be daily.

Here's the reason why David says worship should be so important to us:

1) He's a great God!
2) He's above all other gods!  In fact, there is no god besides Him.
3) He's the creator of everything - even you and me!

Think about these three things for a moment.

- How has God been great in your life? Maybe write down a few things.
- Have you ever praised Him about His power over the Satanic forces that come against you?
- In all that you see in God's creation, what are you giving Him thanks for?

In the last part of chapter 93, David talks about how our body posture in worship is important:

1) We should bow before Him!
2) We should kneel before Him!

In the next chapter, David tells us:

HOW TO WORSHIP GOD PUBLICLY!

King David tells us that we should be so excited about Him that we should:

1) Proclaim the good news of His salvation to everyone we know!
2) Declare His glory to every nation on earth!
3) Declare His wonders to all people!

Are you that excited about God?  Right now, would you be willing to drop everything you're doing and go tell the world about Jesus...IF that was what Jesus was telling you to do?  Just how excited are you about God?  Unfortunately, if not too excited, you don't know Him well. You need to spend much needed time in God's Word getting to know your Creator!!!

Why?  Because as David says in the end of this chapter (96), one day God will Judge the world.

It's better to learn how to worship God now, rather than later!

WHY WORSHIP GOD?

Besides the fact that we are commanded to worship God in numerous verses throughout the Bible, David offers a couple of good reasons why.

1)  His protection!  We all want to be protected...right?  Worship brings you into the presence of God where you can develop an intimate relationship with Him. He loves to protect His own.

2) Gladness of heart!  Everyone wants to be happy in life or at least be glad in heart. Worshiping God creates that. It can change a bitter heart to a happy heart. 

Let's start worshiping God!!!