David the Worshipper

David the Worshipper
We have been looking at the life of David the past two weeks and have seen him as a shepherd and a warrior. Tonight I want to look at another very important aspect of David’s life as a worshipper of God. David initiated worship like Israel had never worshipped before.
Worship flows from a heart of intimacy with God
Worship for David was first and foremost an expression of his heart for the Lord. David had developed an intimate relationship with the Lord and his desire to express himself in worship flowed from his relationship. Early in his life he learned how to play instruments skillfully and when Saul was being tormented by evil spirits David was called up to play music to sooth Saul’s soul and drive the evil spirits away from him. God had given David a skill in playing instruments and he must have practiced a lot when he was in the fields shepherding the sheep. David used this talent to worship God. David’s heart was filled with praise to God and it was natural for him to express himself to the Lord by composing songs of praise to him. Worship must begin with our hearts filled with love and a sense of awe of God. When we worship God we are giving God the honor and praise He alone desires and deserves. We are acknowledging who He is and recounting what He has done for us because of His great love. David’s heart was filled with praise to the God he loved and knew intimately. I know for me personally I never understood worship and praise while growing up. I simply sang the songs and hymns of the church service but never really entered into true worship because my relationship with God was not one of intimacy. When I began to really seek God and live for him worship and praise took on a whole new dimension for me. From a position of intimacy the songs I sang came from a heart that had been drawn to God, a heart that understood more clearly God’s love for me and what He had done for me, a heart that desired to praise Him through song and physical actions. I believe today that the level of worship people are willing to enter into depends greatly on the level of intimacy they have with God. The other aspect of worship is being taught what is involved in true worship of God. Our spirit must be born again to truly enter into the worship that God desires and as Jesus said we worship in spirit and in truth. Our hearts must be first transformed so we can truly worship in spirit and truth. David’s heart was transformed by God. He was one who pursued the heart of God, one who desired intimacy with God. As you read through the Psalms he wrote it is obvious that David had an intimate relationship with the Lord.
Psalms 18:1-3 is a good example of David’s relationship with God.
Lord, how I love you! For you have done such tremendous things for me.2The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull. 3All I need to do is cry to him—oh, praise the Lord—and I am saved from all my enemies!
Psalms 27:4 4The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory.
Psalms 63:1-67 O God, my God! How I search for you! How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. How I long to find you! 2How I wish I could go into your sanctuary to see your strength and glory, 3for your love and kindness are better to me than life itself. How I praise you! 4I will bless you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5At last I shall be fully satisfied; I will praise you with great joy.
6I lie awake at night thinking of you—7of how much you have helped me—and how I rejoice through the night beneath the protecting shadow of your wings.
Worship is expressed in many forms
David’s worship sprang from intimacy and was demonstrated in many ways. I think the story found in 2 Samuel 6, that most of us remember about David’s worship was when the ark of the covenant was attempted to be returned from the house of Abinadad. The ark had been captured by the Philistines and then sent on to the house of Abinadad. David took 30.000 of his best soldiers with him to bring it back. He wanted to make sure it returned to Jerusalem. David determined to bring it back to Jerusalem where it belonged. This was a festive time for Israel and the people were “…joyously waving branches of juniper trees and playing every sort of musical instrument before the Lord—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.(2 Sam 6:5) It was a joyous celebration but the party came to a sudden halt when tragedy happened.
In his zeal to bring it back, David thought it would be a good idea to build a new cart to transport it. At one point during the move the oxen pulling the cart stumbled and the ark began to sway and one of the men close by named Uzzah thought it would fall so he placed his hand upon it to steady it only to be struck dead. This was a real bummer for David as well as all the people who were involved. The great celebration was over and David was anger with God. David dashed his plans to return the ark to Jerusalem and instead left it with Obed-Edom for three months. The mistake David made in his first attempt to bring it back was the ark was not to be carried by a cart but was to be carried by the priests using the poles and carrying it on their shoulders. David was not following God’s instructions for carrying the Ark of the Covenant that played an important role in the life of Israel and especially in the tabernacle and future temple. David did what he thought was right but did not consult the Lord and the instruction He had given for carrying the Ark. After three months David heard how the house of Obed-Edom was blessed by God and he decided it was time to bring it to Jerusalem. This time David did it as he was supposed to and again it was a joyous celebration. David was jubilant in his worship of God. He was whirling and twirling and shouting praise because the ark was being returned. This was not a private worship session but was done in public in front of God and everyone else. David was not inhibited in his praise to God. I wish I could say that about myself that my praise was not inhibited by what I thought about myself or what others were thinking about me. David did not care because he was not worshipping to be seen by people but was expressing himself only to God. Our true audience is an audience of one and that is God. David’s worship was marked by freedom of expression in dance which included leaping, twirling, and spinning. David was caught up in his worship to God, his focus was on God alone and he was able to block out what others may have thought or said to focus on the only one who was worthy of his worship. He wore priestly clothing which was designed to not cause one to sweat. It was pretty light clothing and perhaps a little risqué for the time but David did not seem to mind as it gave him freedom to dance before the Lord. What hinders us from dancing like David danced? Is it our culture, our insecurity, our fear of man, our status, or just the fact that we have never felt like we have been given permission to express ourselves in this way? David’s wife thought he made a big fool of himself in front of all the women but David saw things differently. He knew his true motivation and he was willing to make himself look even more undignified in his worship of God. His wife should have been dancing with him but she could only find disgust for her husband’s behavior. God help us from becoming critical of how people worship!!! If their heart is like David’s we should not judge but be willing to join in! You don’t have to dance and twirl or shout to worship God but I think you will find it liberating if you can do it. Maybe that is too emotional for you at this point but I would encourage you to do it in private if you are not able to do it in public. There is something satisfying when you can worship God with body, soul and spirit and not feel intimidated or self conscious. David’s worship was marked by freedom. Is your worship the same?
Worship must come from our heart that is transformed by God’s Spirit. Our worship finds expression in many forms. David organized the worship in the tabernacle and made use of many different instruments. He formed groups of worshippers to provide 24 hour praise to the Lord. God was worthy of receiving praise every minute of every day. Worship was not restricted to an hour per week as we commonly see in many churches today. It was in David’s heart to create instruments of praise, write songs of praise and constantly worship God. David understood the greatness of God, the grandeur of God, the majesty of God, and the holiness of God that caused him to respond in heartfelt worship. When you read the book of Revelations you will notice that worship is an ongoing, integral part of the activity of heaven. There are at least 15 different scenes marked by worship in the book of Revelations. Praise is constant, worship is continually happening. We were created by God to be worshippers. God inhabits the praises of his people. David understood that worship was part of the DNA of the believer. He made provision for it to happen and organized the priesthood to ensure that praise would always be offered in the tabernacle and temple. We are witnessing a resurgence of 24 hour praise, worship and prayer being offered to the Lord in several areas in the world. The International House of Prayer in Kansas City has been doing it for years. They have 12 groups leading worship and prayer for 2 hour segments throughout the day and night. This is in part a fulfillment of Acts 15:16-17; 16 ‘After pthis I will return. And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD WHO DOES ALL THESE THINGS.
David established worship and placed the Levites in charge of conducting the worship. It was a very detailed plan with specific tasks given to specific groups and it involved a variety of expressions. As you read through 1 Chronicles 15, 16, 25-28 you will discover how important it was to David and how he structured the worship services. Here are some of the ways worship was conducted.
• Singers and singing (1 Chronicles 15:16-27 & 25:1-7)
• Musicians and instruments (1 Chronicles 23:5, 5 Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have made.
(1 Chron. 25:1-7)
• Ministry of Levites before the Ark (1 Chronicles 16:66 The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God’s Covenant.
1 Chron. 6:37)
• Recording (1 Chronicles 16:4 (4 David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.)
28:12, 19 12 David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind* for the courtyards of the LORD’s Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the LORD.)
• Thanking the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:4, 8, 41) 41 David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and the others chosen by name to give thanks to the LORD, for “his faithful love endures forever.” 42 They used their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments to accompany their songs of praise to God.* And the sons of Jeduthun were appointed as gatekeepers}
• Praise (1 Chronicles 16:4, 36) [36 Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the LORD.]
• Rejoicing and joy (1 Chronicles 16:10, 16, 25, 31)
• Clapping hands (Psalm 47:1, 98:8, Isaiah 55:12) Ps 47:1 Come, everyone, and clap for joy! Shout triumphant praises to the Lord!
• Shouting (1 Chronicles 15:28, Psalms 47:1, 5; Isaiah 12:6) 28So the leaders of Israel took the Ark to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the blowing of horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on the harps and zithers.
• Dancing (1 Chronicles 15:29; 2 Samuel 6:14, Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4)
• Lifting up hands (Psalms 134: Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve him as watchmen in the Temple every night. 2Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.) (Ps141:2) (Lamentations 3:41)
• Worship (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalms 29:1-2, 95:6)
• Seeking the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:10-11, 2 Chronicles 7:14)
• Spiritual sacrifices (Psalms 27:4-6 4The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory. 5There I’ll be when troubles come. He will hide me. He will set me on a high rock 6out of reach of all my enemies. Then I will bring him sacrifices and sing his praises with much joy. 1 Peter 2:3-5, Hebrews 13:15,16)
• Saying Amen (1 Chronicles 16:36 36Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, Forever and forevermore.”And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

The restoration of the tabernacle of David includes the restoration of worship. God is birthing in the hearts of His people a desire to worship Him like never before. He is worthy of our worship and He delights in our worship. John Piper in his book, “Let the Nations be glad..” stated “Missions is not God’s ultimate goal, worship is. Missions is the means to achieve the goal. “ God is seeking people who will worship him in spirit and in truth. God is doing something in Guatemala today to bring the reality of 24 hour worship. There will be a center established and God will raise up the people to bring in the worshippers to offer 24 hours praise to Him.

Worship is warfare
David saw the power of worship at an early age when he ministered to King Saul when he was attacked by evil spirits. Worship strikes at the heart of Lucifer who was the worship leader of heaven before he fell and was cast out. When we worship the Lord we are doing more than glorifying His Name and giving Him the honor He alone deserves. Our praises are destroying the work of the enemy. The Mardi Gras celebration of human debauchery will end next week on Ash Wednesday. I have been there three times with a ministry called, “Answering the Cries”. Hundreds of Christians are there ministering to the lost during this time. It is as though the devil turns loose all the demonic forces on the city of New Orleans to incite people to rebel openly against God. One of the ways the enemy is pushed back is through praise that is offered by visiting groups from churches and other organizations. Bob Mason in his book, “The Praise of His Glory” writes about an experience he had while ministering at Mardi Gras.
“When I was at Mardi Gras recently, “Living Praise” ministered at Jackson Square. We had diligently sought the Lord, fasting and praying for weeks. The brass section of our group was very good, and I thought in my natural mind that we should do all the songs with brass to draw the people. We had great crowds of people literally two or three thousand, on the corner of Jackson Square listening to us. But the moment those songs were over, the people would scatter. We would start to share the gospel with them, and they were gone. I said, “God , we have to get through to these people. We are wasting our time here.” The Lord answered, “Just worship Me. Don’t sing about Me , sing to Me.” To be honest, I felt a little bit foolish. I closed my eyes tightly so I could not see anyone. I lifted my hands and began to worship with all my might. We began singing warfare songs about leaping walls and tearing down strongholds. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the people were stunned. They were hooked. They could not leave. They were wondering what in the world these guys were going to do next. We were just, worshipping God. We started dancing around the stage letting go of our control and letting the Holy Spirit take control. As we did that, many people started receiving the Lord. Approximately 1,850 people were born again in the five day period as we ministered with others from Christ For the Nations.
A few months later, a dear pastor friend told me this story. He had a man come into his church who as absolutely filled with demons. He went through a glorious deliverance. Several weeks after at a backyard picnic, some tapes were playing. The man perked up and he went over and asked who was singing. When told that it was “Living Praise “he answered, “They were at Mardi Gras, weren’t they. I knew; I recognized that spirit.” He had been in the Satanist church for ten years traveling all around the country and sitting in churches sending “fiery darts” at the pastors. He would either plant lewd thoughts in their minds, or cause confusion so they became lost in their sermons.
He said that when he went to Mardi Gras with his coven, a demon stopped them as they started getting close to Jackson Square, where our group was singing . It spoke very clearly and said, “Do not dare go near them. If you see one of them coming down the street, you turn and run the other direction. Don’t even get close to those people. Run as fast as you can. Don’t have any contact with them, and don’t’ get within earshot of their music,” He had thought that the devil was the ultimate power, be he realize there’s was something that the demons feared, when he went into a church in New Orleans and could not disrupt the pastor, he knew something had happened to him when he heard the praise and worship. Consequently, he was saved and delivered. Beloved there is awesome power in our worship.
When we worship God from our heart we are also entering into warfare against the devil and we are driving him away. Worship is important as it prepares the way for the Holy Spirit to minister to people. Unfortunately it has become a formality in many churches or just a feel good time for people and they do not understand its true importance and power when done with a heart that seeks after God. David understood the power of praise and that is why he instituted 24 hour worship. I pray that you will look at worship in a new perspective and take advantage of opportunities to join in with other worshippers at organized or spontaneous events. We invite you to join us each week at our regularly scheduled times of worship on Monday night at 630 p.m.; Tuesday morning 930-1130 a.m. and Thursday morning from 7-9 a.m.
Each of us is now a part of the royal priesthood and we like the Levites have access to the holy place where we can experience the presence of God. We can do it individually in our secret place with God or corporately with other believers. Worship is vital to our relationship with God and it is important that we spend time daily in adoration of God. Worship must become a lifestyle not an event. All of our life is to be to the praise of God’s glory. So often we come asking God to do things for us and seldom to we simply offer praise and worship to him. David saw the importance of worship and developed a very organized structure to make it a reality. No matter what hour of the day it was you could hear praise coming from the tabernacle. Being in an atmosphere of praise lifts our spirits and draws us to the Lord. It is my prayer that each of us will make worship and praise a greater part of our life and ministry unto the Lord.