Series — “I’m Ready!” Sermon — Pick Your Playlist
by Bobby and Sheryl Sullivan
Ephesians 5:18b-19 “…be filled continually with the Holy Spirit. And your hearts will overflow with a joyful song to the Lord. Keep speaking to each other with words of Scripture, singing the Psalms with praises and spontaneous songs given by the Spirit!” TPT
Filled is an action word, a work of the Holy Spirit and means to be soaked in, the continual state of being filled. It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit is doing the action of the filling. The disciples are simply receiving from Him.
Tilt your head back and drink!
NIV “And your hearts will overflow with a joyful song to the Lord. Keep speaking to each other with words of Scripture, singing the Psalms with praises and spontaneous songs given by the Spirit!”
When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you have the anointing of God dwelling in you. TO ALL HE HAS APPOINTED-HE HAS ANOINTED The verse says “be filled continually” which means keep it functioning, as the source of everything in your life. It’s not a new filling, it’s letting that filling continuously manifest in you. The natural outflow will be that you have a joyful song to the Lord. And there’s something about joining together and declaring the goodness of God, and breaking into spontaneous songs given by the Spirit!
After the day of Pentecost, Praise was a practice for the disciples because they heard, they saw, they spoke as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. BIG QUESTION is, What’s missing? A personal expression of an inner explosion of your experience with God. The uninterrupted, unadulterated, public announcement of your relationship with the creator of the universe!!!!!!
When you have that encounter, you have your own public and private ping pong match of praise! (me) PRAISE GOD (you) PRAISE GOD (them) PRAISE GOD
Psalm 69:30 “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”
The power of song echoes throughout the scriptures. In amazing moments men and women lifted a song instead of a cry or a scream. They sang in their dark and challenging moments.
Psalm 50:23 (AMPC) “He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God.”
Napoleon “Give me control over he who shapes the music of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws.”
Martin Luther “The devil takes flight at the sound of music, just as he does at the words of theology…After theology I give the highest place and greatest honor to music.”
Performance comes from a place of practicing in and from His presence. I can tell when people are just singing songs. I can also tell when people are performing just for the public and the applause. As a worship leader, spontaneity in worship is a result of what has been brewing in your spirit.
How many can tell the difference in a worship leader and a song leader?
The worshippers go into battle first!
2 Chronicles 20:21 New International Version
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”
But see how it worked, for the God that they praised acted on their behalf and as for the enemies, “they were smitten . . . every one helped to destroy another . . . none escaped,” The victory was so complete that “the people were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.”
David is in a bad situation, hiding in a cave, being chased by Saul. He chose this moment to write a song of worship to the Lord.
Psalm 57 Triumphant Faith to the Pure and Shining One. King David’s golden song of instruction composed when he hid from Saul in a cave To the tune of “Do Not Destroy”
“Please, God, show me mercy! Open your grace-fountain for me, for you are my soul’s true shelter. ….
I will hide beneath the shadow of your embrace, under the wings of your cherubim, until this terrible trouble is past. I will cry out to you, the God of the highest heaven, the mighty God, who performs all these wonders for me. From heaven He will send a father’s help to save me. He will trample down those who trample me.
Pause in his presence He will always show me love by his gracious and constant care.
I am surrounded by these fierce and brutal men. They are like lions just wanting to tear me to shreds.
Why must I continue to live among these seething terrorists, breathing out their angry threats and insults against me? Lord God, be exalted as you soar throughout the heavens. May your shining glory be seen in the skies! Let it be seen high above over all the earth! For they have set a trap for me. Frantic fear has me overwhelmed. But look! The very trap they set for me has sprung shut upon themselves instead of me! Pause in his presence My heart, O God, is quiet and confident. Now I can sing with passion your wonderful praises!”
Study 2017 McGill University: Brain imaging studies show that our favorite songs stimulate the brain’s pleasure circuit, which releases an influx of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and other neurochemicals that make us feel good. The more we like a song, the more we get treated to neurochemical bliss…
(KJV)vs. 7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
David chose to fix his heart on God, and then He was able to fully worship the Lord. Choose today to fix your heart on God.
(Message) I’m ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe, Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:
Vs. 8 Awake, O my soul, with the music of his splendor-song! Arise, my soul, and sing his praises!
My worship will awaken the dawn, greeting the daybreak with my songs of praise!
(Start your day with a song, praising him, fixing your heart on Him!)
“I raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies, I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief, I raise a hallelujah my weapon is a melody, I raise a hallelujah, Heaven comes to fight for me!”
Vs. 9-11 Wherever I go, I will thank you, my God. Among all the nations they will hear my praise songs to you. (That’s happening now! Here’s a guy in a cave, in a horrible situation, and he’s writing a song and we’re talking about it 3000 years later! He prophesied that in the song.)
Your love is so extravagant it reaches to the heavens; your faithfulness so astonishing it stretches to the sky
Lord God, be exalted as you soar throughout the heavens. May your shining glory be shown in the skies!
Let it be seen high above all the earth!
Elements of A Golden Song:
- It’s Honest
Be real — Express yourself! 1“God, show me mercy!” 6“Frantic fear has me overwhelmed me”
8 “Awake, O my soul.”
David was real and shared when he was afraid or struggling. David said, “When I was afraid, I put my trust in God.” He also said, “Why so downcast oh my soul, put your trust in God.” He was struggling with fear and discouragement but he said, “Awake, O my soul!”
God is not afraid of our struggles. We can be honest about how we feel and then say but “Awake, O my soul! I choose to worship you in the midst of my struggle”
- It’s Pointed
Directed to God Himself. 2“I will cry out to you … The Mighty God” 5“Lord God, be exalted.”
David knew where his help came from.
In the song “The Heart of Worship,” Matt Redman sings, “I’ll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required. You search much deeper within, through the way things appear; You’re looking into my heart.”
(1) I think Worship is so much more than singing a song, the style of music, or our even own preferences; it’s about our heart-attitude before God. Redman continues to sing, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship and it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus.”(2)
Hopefully today, we’ll be able to declare of worship as Matt Redman: “I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it; when it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus.” I think we should learn to prepare for worship, what does the Lord require?
In John 4:23-24, Jesus said, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
By “spirit,” Jesus meant that those who worship Him should do so with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30); and by “truth,” Jesus meant that He wanted His followers to sincerely desire fellowship with Him.
Stephen Newman Founder, ExperiencingWorship.com & Author of Experiencing Worship comments, “In John 4:23, the word ‘seeking’ is zeteo in the Greek. It could be compared to carrying the same tone as ‘require’ or ‘demand.’ What does this mean? Our Father is requiring or demanding us to worship Him in spirit and truth.”
This means that when we come to church and attend the service, worship has more to do with God than us. Newman says, “When we enter a worship service, the question in our minds and hearts should always be; what can I give today in worship through my singing, listening and participation that will be pleasing to the Lord?”
He also says that when we come together for corporate worship, we need to prepare ourselves. “If we have all the ingredients of worship but do not properly prepare . . . it will be difficult to truly worship. We must spend time before the services to prepare our hearts and minds for worship.”
Rick Warren states, “Worship encourages, strengthens and changes us” Worship serves to edify other people – believers and seekers alike – as our passion for God becomes both encouraging and attractive. Warren says, “More people are won to Christ by feeling God’s presence [in meaningful worship] than by all our apologetic arguments combined” (p. 241, The Purpose Driven Church, Zondervan, 1995), or our preaching.
People are impacted by how, when and why we worship as it all stems from the heart
- It’s Grounded
Rooted in God’s nature and purpose. 10“Your love is so extravagant it reaches to the heavens; Your faithfulness so astonishing it stretches to the sky! … Your shining glory … be seen high above all the earth!”
Our worship songs should be grounded in His word and truth. Know who your God is; his character and integrity and sing that to Him. Attach your breakthroughs to his eternal purpose.
“Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with thee, Thou changest not Thy compassions they fail not, As thou hast been thou forever will be. Chorus: Great is thy faithfulness great is thy faithfulness; Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me.”
- It’s Expectant
I’m the object of God’s affection. 3“From heaven He will send a father’s help to save me. He will trample down those who trample me. … He will always show me love by his gracious and constant care.”
David expected God to come and help him. Our worship should be full of faith expecting God to move!
- It’s Transformative
Singing to God Changes Everything! 8b-9“My worship will awaken the dawn, …Wherever I go, I will thank you, my God. Among all the nations they will hear my praise songs to you.”
Worship really does transform you; body, soul, and spirit
Worship shifts the atmosphere and brings heaven to earth! It breaks chains, releases joy and freedom. It brings transformation!
The presence of God comes with power when we worship him with abandonment.
“The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instrumentsm they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: He is good! His faithful love endures forever! At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.” 2 Chronicles 5:13,14 NLT
Transforms:
- Me— Spirit Soul and Body . A merry heart does good like a medicine. When you choose to sing with joy to the Lord, you are bringing healing to yourself
- Others— Will hear and be glad.
- Circumstances— Magnify God instead of your problem, and suddenly your problem gets introduced to the vastness of God! (ex. Paul and Silas were in the bottom of the prison with rats, have just been whipped and are put in stocks. Instead of complaining they chose to praise God! The earth shook, and the prison bars fell off and the jailor and his family accepted the Lord that day. Their circumstances changed when they chose to praise God in spite of their chains.)
- Creation— Exercise Governance. When we worship and pray in Jesus name, we can literally shift things in creation. We are called to govern.
- Culture— Your Kingdom Come
“I’ll Overcome Some Day”, a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley became the song of the whole civil rights movement that shifted and changed culture.
This Hymn was quoted by – Dr. Martin Luther King and it became an anthem for a whole peaceful movement.
Dr Martin Luther King … Memphis … short time before he was killed.
Deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome.
Now I join hands often with students and others behind jail bars singing it: We shall overcome.
Sometimes we’ve had tears in our eyes when we joined together to sing it, but we still decided to sing it! We shall overcome. Lord before this victory is won some will have to get thrown in jail some more, but we shall over come. Don’t worry about us, before the victory is won some of us will lose jobs, but we shall overcome.
Before the victory is won, even some will have to face physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent psychological death, then nothing shall be more redemptive. We shall over come. Before the victory is won, some will be misunderstood and called bad names and dismissed as rebel-rousers and agitators. But we shall overcome. That’s the place true worship that is pleasing to God will take us. It will take us to jails, to lost jobs and even to death. It will be called rebel-rouser and agitator. It will sing the words of wholeness where the spirit and the body are at peace.
Bono from “U2”
Bono from U2 became a world statesman, and he used his songs to bring change.
“One man come in the name of love, one man come and go, one man come here to justify, one man to overthrow. In the name of love, what more in the name of love.”
December 20. 1987 Tempe Arizona … Sing pride and it will be the last song you sing … He sang it and when he opened his eyes … Adam Clayton the Bass player was standing in front of him. Jesus is always standing in front of you.
Psalm 104:33 “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!”
Praise Overcomes Your Preference …. I don’t feel like it right now …. I prefer to complain and whine “I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm, louder and louder you’re gonna hear my praises roar!”
Don’t declare the problem introduce it to your great God. — Suddenlies will happen!!!
Pick your playlist. Choose to worship God. You’re created to worship. You are always worshipping something. What is your song? God is good all the time; His grace and his mercy have been poured out upon me.
