“Howto Worship, Insteadof Worry”, Worship From A to Z, Part 1of 4 – July 8, 2012 at SBC (6/22/08, BRBC)

2 Chronicles 20 & Psalm 105:4

Have you ever, had one of those days, when nothing, goes right? It seems like, every single thing, in your life, that day, just goes wrong, and you go, “Let’s just,. . go back, to bed!” Have you ever, had a day, like that?

When you do, . . . when you feel overwhelmed, . . . when you’re stressed out, . .. when you’re at the end of the rope,. . . you’ve got one, of two alternatives. Worry,. . . or, worship. You’re going to do, one or the other. If you worry, . . . you’re not, going to worship. If you worship, . . . you’re not, going to worry.

Philippians 4:6– “Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God, what you need, and thank Him, for all, He has done.” The Bible says,. . . you’ve got two alternatives – worry,. . . or, worship.

You can decide, what you’re going to do. You’re going, to have problems – I guarantee you. You’ll have, . . . problems. You’re going to, either worry,. . or, you’re going to worship. The antidote,to worry,. . . is worship. The antidote, to anxiety,. . . is to adore God. The antidote, to panic,. . . is prayer, and praise.

*** Today, we’re starting a new series, that we’re calling,“Worship,. . . from A to Z.” We’re going to take, the 26 letters of the alphabet,. . . and, look at, different aspects, of worship, . . over, the next 4 weeks.

Most people, when we say, the word, “worship”,. . . they think, of music. Like “First, we have the worship, . . . then, we have, the sermon.” As if worship, is just,. . . music. Yes, singing, . . . is one kind, of worship.

But,worship,. . . is an entire,. . . lifestyle. The Bible tells us, to worship God,. . . continually. You can’t sing, continually. But, you can worship, . . . continually. Worship is far more, than just music, than just singing, than, just praise. Literally,. . . every aspect of your life,. . can be, an act of worship,. . . to God.

In this series, we’re going to look at,. . . what does it really mean,. . . to worship. How do I, do it? Why do I, do it? What are the benefits, of doing it? How can every area, of my life, everything I do, . . how can that, . . . become, an act, of worship?

Each week, we’re going to look, at different words. Today,. . . we’re going to look at words,. . . from A to F. Worship is Asking, . . . worship is Believing, . . . worship is Confessing, . . . worship is Depending, . . . worship is Expressing,. . . and,worship is Finding.

The first six aspects, of worship,. . . Asking, Believing, Confessing, Depending, Expressing, Finding – can all be seen, in one of my favorite stories, in the Bible. It’s found, in the Old Testament book, of 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. It’s the story, of when three enemy nations, ganged up on Israel, to defeat it, . . . to annihilate,. . . the nation of Israel. There was a king, . . . King Jehoshaphat.

How do you, like that name, “Jehoshaphat”? What do you call him, for short? Let’s call him,. . . King J-Phat. King J-Phat, is pretty ticked. He’s pretty upset, because three enemy nations,. . . are coming, against him.

In this story,we find the six aspects of worship, that will eliminate worry, out of your life. If you will do, what we’re going to do, today,. . . you’re not, going to worry. You’re going, to choose worship,. . . over worry. And, it’s a whole different way,. . . of looking at worship,. . . than, you’ve ever, thought about.

**** Before, we actually look at this story,. . . I want you, to think in your mind,. . . of a battle, you’re facing.

Can you think of something, that’s really a struggle, you’re facing? Maybe, it’s an interpersonal conflict. If you can’t think of a battle, . . . let me say it like this,. . . “What’s, got you,. . . worried?”

I want you, to get something specific, in your mind, that you can go, “Yeah, I’m worried, about that.” Health, finances, relationship – whatever. “I’m worried, about that. Am I ever, going to get that job,. . . I want?”

What are you, worried about? Get that, in your mind. Because,if you will do these six things, that King J-Phat did,. . . we’re going to see a dramatic reduction, of worry,. . . and, a dramatic rising of peace, in your life. A to F,. . . in the A to Z’s, of worship. ****** What do you do, . . . when, you’re overwhelmed?

A – Ask God, for help.Before, you do anything else,. . . you go directly, to God. Do not,. . . pass go.

Do not,. . . collect $200. Go directly,. . . to God.2 Chronicles 20:1-2 – “The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites, joined forces,to make war, on King Jehoshaphat. He received, this intelligence report: ‘A huge force, is on its way, from beyond the Dead Sea, to fight you. There's no time, to waste.’”

Get this: The odds, are now, three to one. Three enemy nations, line up and say,. . . let’s just, annihilate Israel. They’re going, to come against you. Have you ever had, one of those kind of days,. . . where you think everyone, . . . is ganging up on you? Everything’s piling in, on you. This is the way,. . . Jehoshaphat feels. Three enemy nations, say,. . . “Our goal in life,. . . is to take you out.”

What do, you do? A – You ask God,. . for help. Before, you do anything else,. . . you turn, to God. Verse 3, says this: “Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided, to ask the Lord, what to do.” Notice,. . . two or three things.

His first reaction, was fear. That’s,just normal. Considering the odds, fear is reasonable. Let me say this,. . it may shock you,. . . but, fear is not your problem. Fear, is a normal reaction, in life. It’s quite, normal. In fact, in some situations, if you’re not afraid,. . . there’s something, wrong with you. Fear, is a normal reaction.

Your problem, is not fear. Your problem,. . . is what you, do with it. When you face a problem, and you begin to be afraid,. . . don’t let it, intimidate you,. . . let it motivate you. Let it motivate you,. . . to pray more.

Let it motivate you,. . . to worship. It’s not fear,. . . that’s, the problem. It’s what you,. . . do with it.

Do you,let it discourage you? To cause you, to want to give up? To throw in, the towel? To be afraid, to try to do something, that you think you couldn’t ever do,. . . and, you’re ready to give up,. . without even trying, and, let yourself down,. . . without any effort? Or, do you let it,. . . motivate you?

Fear is a good thing,. . . if it causes you,. . . to turn to God. Fear is good, if it causes you, to pray. If it causes you, to ask God, for help. You let it, motivate you. So, his first reaction, is fear, but, his response, . . is to pray.

Notice he says, he’s going to, . . .ask the Lord, what to do. Too often, when we pray,. . we treat prayer,. . like it’s, . . . the last resort. Like it’s, the last thing you do,. . . instead of, the first choice, the first thing you do. Sometimes,we’ll be with people, who have a loved one, who’s sick, and they say, “All we can do, is pray.” Then, somebody will go, “Has it, come to that?” Like now, that it’s hopeless,. . . let’s start, praying.

It should have been,. . . our first choice, . . . not, our last resort. There’s no problem, too big,. . to pray about,. . . and, there’s no problem, in your life,. . . too small, to pray about. You just,. . . pray.

What Jehoshaphat wanted was,he wanted, . . . God’s perspective. He said, he’s going to ask the Lord, what to do. What you do,. . . when you pray, is you say, . . . “God, how do You, want me,. . to think, about this?”

There are different, kinds of prayer. You pray one way,. . . when you’re sad. You pray another way,. . . when you’re happy. In this chapter,we’re taught how to pray,. . . when you’re, overwhelmed. We learn, six things,. . . that, we are to pray. The first thing, is say, “God, what do You, want me to do? I need,. . Your perspective. Help me, to see this problem,. . . from, Your viewpoint.”

Not only, did Jehoshaphat pray, when he was overwhelmed, but,he got other people, to pray. You need to, ask others, to pray. That’s why we share, prayer request, with each other, . . . so, our church family, can pray for us.

Verse 4– “The entire country of Judah united, in seeking God’s help. They came from all the cities, to pray to God.” So, the first aspect, of worship, is asking. Did you know that, when you’re asking God, for help, that’s, worship? Anytime, you’re asking God for help, you’re worshipping, because you’re saying, I’m trusting you.

B – Believe God, can handle, your situation. This is what, Jehoshaphat does. In verse 5, he went and stood before them, the whole nation, . . . and, he prayed aloud. In the next six verses, verse 6-12, he gives us a model prayer,. . . on how to pray,. . . when you feel, stressed out, . . . when you feel, overwhelmed. There’s two real big keys,. . . that you want to remember, when you’re stressed. You want to remember,. . . who God is,. . . and, remember,. . . what He’s done.

1) First, I remind myself,. . . of who God is. That’s the first thing, I do in my prayer. I remind myself,. . . of who God is. I focus on His strength, and His character, and how big God is. God is,. . . all-powerful.

There’s nothing, too big, for Him. He can handle anything, including the problem,. . . I’m facing,. . right now. The Bible tells us, that with God, all things are possible. So, the first thing,that Jehoshaphat prays, “I’m just, going to remind myself, of who God is. That, I serve a big God. He’s much bigger,. . than my problems.”

In verse 6, he says this “Are You not the God, who is in heaven? You rule, over all the kingdoms, of the nation, and power, and might, are in Your hands. No one can, withstand You.” Already, he’s feeling a little bit, . . better. He’s got an enemy, coming against him, he’s under pressure, he’s under a deadline, he’s stressed out. He takes his eyes, off the problem,. . . and, he puts his eyes, on God’s strength,. . . and, God’s power.

He sees the enemy coming,. . but says, God, aren’t You going to be able, to take care of me? I know, who You are. You created, the entire universe. This is nothing, to You.” So, he reminds himself,. . . of who God is.

2) Second, I remind myself, of what God’s done. He recalls, times in the past,. . . when God has helped, other people,. . . and, even times, when God has helped him. (That’s why, . . . we, share testimonies.)

Jehoshaphat’s prayer, talks about “God, didn’t You help people, in the past? I know what You’ve done, in the past. I know who You are, and what You’ve done. This is giving me confidence,to handle this situation.”

Verse 7, he says this “Didn’t You drive out, those who lived in this land, when Your people arrived.” He goes back, remembering when Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt, to the Promised Land of Israel, when God said this, is going to be your home. When they got there, . . . there were enemies, who didn’t want them, to come in, and live there. God said it’s ok, . . . I’m going to take care of you. They had previous battles, and God helped them win all those battles,. . . and, they were able to settle, in the land of Israel.

So he says, “God, didn’t You do this, before? Didn’t You help other people,. . . with their battles? Didn’t You, drive out the enemy, before? I need You,. . . to do it again.” Didn’t you, . . . help me, before?

This is very important. When you pray, when you’ve got a problem, in front of you, . . . you go, “God, here’s the problem: A) I’m asking, for help. B) I believe, You’re going to help me, because I know who You are, and, I know what You’ve done, in the past,. . . and, I’m going to ask You, to do it again.”

Does that, make sense. “I know, . . . who You are – You’re, all powerful. I know, what You’ve done. You’ve helped, a lot of other people. Now, God, . . . repeat performance! Instant replay. Will You, do it again?”

Later on, in this passage, he mentions several, specific areas, in the past. He says, You’ve helped people, with the sword of judgment. You’ve helped people,. . . in tragedy. You’ve helped people, with their physical needs, in times of shortage. You’ve helped people, with material needs. You’re faithful,. . . in every area.

**** So, after I have asked God for help, and after I have reminded myself,. . . and, actually reminded God, of what He’s done,. . . of who He is,. . . then, I come to, the third point. C – Confess my inadequacy.

I was thinking, the other day, about all the problems, I’ve ever had. All the challenges, I’ve ever faced. Every crisis, every conflict, every relational problem. Every financial problem, I’ve ever faced. And, then, I realized, they all have one thing, in common – me. They all,. . . have me. So, I might just, be the root cause,. . . of some of these things. I have to confess,. . . my inadequacy. That,. . . takes humility.

Verse 12– “We are, powerless.” Remember, in verse 6, they said, . . . God,. . You’re powerful. Now in verse 12, they’re saying, “We are powerless, against this mighty army, that is about to attack us. We don’t know, what to do.” We’re confessing, . . . our, inadequacy.

This can be,. . . a hard thing, to do. Confessing inadequacy,. . . is humbling yourself. And,it’s never fun,. . to humble ourselves. But, we have to humble ourselves, and it’s better,. . . to just, get it over with. Because, if you don’t humble yourself now, . . . God’s going to give you, a lot more opportunities, in the future,. . . to humble yourself. You’ve just gotto, . . . get it over with.

Why does God, want you to humble yourself? What is so important, about that, to Him? Is it like, you’re some kind of a threat, to His self-confidence? Of course, not. God wants you, to humble yourself,. . . because, the Bible says, that“God resists the proud,. . . but, He gives grace, to the humble.”

The Bible is telling us,. . . that pride, is a repellant,. . of God’s grace. But, humility attracts, the grace of God. God wants to pour His grace, into your life. But, He won’t do it,. . . as long as pride,. . . is in the way. So, you’ve got to, humble yourself,. . . and, confess, your inadequacy.

Here’s the great thing, about confession, . . . about confessing, your inadequacy. Confession, is just telling God, . . . what He,. . . already knows. When you confess, to God, “I can’t, handle this,” . . . it’s not, like you’re telling Him, something,. . . that’s, going to surprise Him. This is not news,. . . to Him.

Confession literally means,. . to say, the same thing. That’s what that word, “confession” means. What you’re doing, is you’re saying to God, what He’s already been saying, all along. In fact, Jesus told us, in John 15, “Apart from Me,. . . you can do nothing.”

But, Philippians 4:13 says,“I can do all things, through Christ, who gives me strength.” I can do all things, . . . through Christ. But, apart from Him,. . . I can do nothing. He is powerful, . . . I am powerless. There’s no middle ground, here. It’s all,. . . or, nothing. I just have to confess,. . . my inadequacy.

I have to say, “Lord, I cannot do this, apart from You. So, I’m looking, to You. I don’t know, what to do,. . . in this situation.” God’s never, going to force Himself,. . . on you. If you think, you can go through, your problem, . . . if you think you can face your challenge, without God,. . . then, you probably will.

That’s,. . a scary thought. I don’t want to face anything,. . without God. But, He’s not going to force Himself. But, He will respond, to an invitation. If you say, “Lord, I can’t do this. I’m powerless. I need,. . . Your help.”

God allows these hardships, into our lives, to teach us things, about ourselves,. . . and, about Himself. So, . . . when you feel, overwhelmed – A, I immediately, turn to God. I ask God, for help. B, I believe He can help me. I know who You are, and I know what You’ve done. C, I confess, I don’t think, I can handle this, on my own.

D – Depend on God, to save me.1 Chronicles 20:12-13 – “ Jehoshaphat prayed, ‘We don’t know what todo, but, we are looking, for Your help. All the men, stood before the Lord, with their little ones, and their wives, and their children.”

Notice, that the men, set the example,. . of dependence, upon God. “We’re depending on You,. . to save us.” The guys,. . . who,are supposed to be, the strongest,. . . are showing, the most dependence.

Guys, if you want your wife, to feel secure, . . . if you don’t want, your wife to worry, . . you want your wife, to feel secure, in your leadership, and you want your children, to grow up feeling secure, and not insecure, . . . here’s how you do it. As a father, as a husband, the quickest way, to make your wife, and your children, feel secure,. . . is for you to personally, and publicly,. . . express your dependence,. . . upon God.

Why? Because, they’re not then,just trusting,. . . in your leadership. They realize, that you’re trusting,. . . in God’s leadership, who’s much bigger than you,. . . and, that doubles,. . the impact. If you want your kids, and your wife, to feel secure,. . . you publicly demonstrate, your dependence, . . . upon God.

But, here’s the point. When you depend on God,. . . to save you, and the problems, you’re having – financial, relational, career, whatever – God’s response, to your dependence, is this, “Good! Relax! I’ll help you with it.” The moment you say, “I’m depending on You, God,” . . God says “That’s what I’ve been, waiting for. Relax!”