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Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. In Psalm 22, I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly. That's what this is today, an assembly. I will praise you. Psalm 68.
Bless God in the congregations. The Lord from the fountain of Israel. Psalm 111. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Psalm 116.
Don't worry, I won't keep this up. This is the last one for this Point. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people. You see, there's great value. in corporate worship, in public worship.
Yes, we need private worship. And yes, what we do privately. is what spills out publicly. But what we get When we gather together like this, is a little thing called inspiration. I get inspired by others' relationship with the Lord.
And I'll confess something to you. When we are singing at the beginning of our service for about thirty minutes.
Sometimes I close my eyes. Oftentimes I open my eyes and I look around. And I see people with their hands raised or They're really into it, and that inspires me. What is around me inspires me. In a very, very different way.
By the way, that is what the reformers. Beginning with Martin Luther and the others, that's what the reformers wanted. They wanted to take worship that was done only by the priests. In the Catholic Church, going through the weekly Mass, the drama of the sufferings of Christ that they alone did. And he wanted to take that worship and move it into the congregation.
So that all the congregation was experiencing and worshiping and singing. Dr. D. James Kennedy wrote this. Most people think of the church as a drama with the minister as the chief actor.
God is the prompter, and the laity or the congregation is the critic. What is actually the case is the congregation is the chief actor, the minister is the prompter, and God is the critic.
Now I'm told And I have asked this. to confirm it. But I'm told that singing in this room diminishes. The further you go back in the room.
Now, I just heard somebody say that's true.
So, um, And somebody even said, when you get to the very back, it's silent back here.
Now, there's probably a number of reasons for that. Maybe all the Bad singers congregate in the back. I'm not sure. I don't think so. But Could it be?
That Participation. encourages more participation. And lack of participation. Conversely. Produces more lack of participation.
I remember a story about a guy who was driving in a country road. And he was far from town, and his car lost, he lost control of his car, ended up in a ditch, couldn't back it up. A farmer who lived in the area came by with his strong horse. to pull them out. Your horse was named Buddy.
So Farmer John with buddy came to We'll pull out that car and he. tied a rope to the car and to the harness of buddy. And then the farmer Yelled. Pull Nellie Pohl. Nellie.
Horse's name is Buddy. Pull, Nellie, pull. Nothing happened.
So he yelled again, Pull, Buster, Pull. Nothing. And again, Paul thunder. Po. No movement.
Finally, he yelled out, Pull, buddy, pull. Actually, just said it nice and calm. Pull, buddy, pull. Horse, pull that car out, no sweat. The driver was thankful, but he said, now that was very interesting.
And I gotta ask. Why did you call your horse by the wrong name? Three times. Farmer said, Well, you see, Buddy is blind. And if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't even try.
Perhaps some of you don't even try to worship because you feel like you're the only one pulling. In your row.
Now just another quick word to worship leaders. When you are asking people to sing with you in worship, and you are on the platform leading in worship, make sure. that the load isn't too heavy. What I mean by that The song isn't too hard to sing. If it's a new song, make sure it's an easy one they can catch on to and sing it.
So, their worship was thankful, their worship was communal. Oh, by the way, remember I told you about the health benefits? gratitude.
Well, uh did you know there are health benefits to public worship?
So I just looked this up. This just got my fancy going.
So I started doing some research, a number of studies. Noted that those who participate in regular communal worship often experience better mental and physical health than those who do not. Benefits in your immune system. Better cardiovascular health, lower cortisol levels, that's the body's stress hormones. Reduced depression and anxiety, increased Satisfaction in life.
better coping mechanisms in life. And the study ended by saying people who attend church weekly reduce the risk of premature death, very similar to. The last study.
So their worship was thankful, it was communal.
Next, their worship was powerful. Go to verse 42. It says also, and look at that: hard name, hard name, hard name, hard name, hard name, hard name. Not even reading these names. Then it says, the singers sang.
How'd they sing? They sang loudly. The actual Hebrew says, They made their voice to be heard. You know what that's like when you enter a room and you speak up.
So people grab your words.
So they sang loudly. With Jezariah Their director. Verse 43. Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God made them rejoice with great joy. The women and the children also rejoiced.
And this is the part.
So that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. It was pretty loud that day. The Bible says in Psalm 47 and Psalm 66. Shout to the Lord. That's loud.
Psalm 150, praise him with loud cymbals. We actually take that. Quite literally here. David picked singers and musicians who could play loudly on musical instruments. 1 Chronicles 15.
Jehoshaphat, when he worshipped It says the Levites stood to praise the Lord with voices loud and high, 2 Chronicles 20. And then let me take you to your future. In heaven, Revelation chapter 5. And I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000. thousand That's a hundred million In acquire.
And thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.
Now, why do you think it was important to these people in Jerusalem in Nehemiah's time? To make it loud. I think there's two reasons. At least. First reason is they want their neighbors to hear.
Right? It says, so it could be heard afar off. I remember when I was in India one time and The church there made it. Almost a requirement that you sing so loud that the neighborhood hears it. And when they would do a baptism, they would parade in front of people's homes and the streets and go down to the river as loudly as they could.
Because they wanted people's attention. looking at people whose lives had been changed. They wanted the neighbors to hear. When I lived in Huntington Beach, I used to keep my windows open and I would sing praise songs at night. And I had a neighbor lady who lived right next door come over to my house.
I thought, uh-oh, I'm going to hear about this. She said, you know, every night I notice that you get on your guitar and you sing those praise songs. I go yes ma'am. And I'm waiting for the shoe to drop now. And she says, keep doing it.
It means so much to me. I'm a believer. My husband is not. I'm hoping he hears the lyrics to those songs, but they comfort me. When'd you do it?
So they did it so their neighbors would hear. It could be heard afar off. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, friends like you help bring clear verse-by-verse Bible teaching to people searching for truth in a world that often feels confused, divided, and uncertain. And this month, we want to thank you with a powerful resource designed for times like these.
When you give, you'll receive City in Shambles, Pastor Skiff's complete 18-message study through Nehemiah on CD plus digital download. In these messages, you'll discover how God works in seasons of spiritual and cultural collapse, how prayer and obedience become the starting point for renewal, and how ordinary believers can respond with faith instead of fear. We'll send this resource as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skiff Heitzing. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskiff.com/slash offer.
Now, let's return to today's teaching. There's a second reason I'm convinced that they wanted to sing loudly. I think they have discovered that God is not too excited about secret admirers. That if you're going to sing, you should sing it like you mean it. Again, I refer you to the words of Jesus in Mark chapter 12, where he said, You are to love the Lord your God.
With all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. And Oh Your strength. I'm guessing that if you're going to worship with all your strength, It wouldn't be a it would be something much better than just a whisper.
Now, some people are going to say, because I've heard this before, I can see the wheels turning, by the way. People will say, well, I'm not the emotional type.
Well, you sure are on the golf course. When you get a good shot, you get really emotional. You sure are at a lobo game. When our team makes a good move or a score. You are when your child gets an achievement award.
You get very emotional about that. When you go to a concert of your favorite band and they're playing those tunes, you get so emotional. Why is it that we think That enthusiasm for the most worthy thing in the universe has to somehow be carefully contained. John Wesley, you know about him, he wrote a little piece called. Directions for singing.
And one of the things he wrote is this: sing lustily, that is, mightily, loudly. Sing lustily with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead. Or half asleep but lift up your voice with strength. And As you would suspect, there is indeed a correlation to physical health.
And singing. Exuberantly. I'm not going to go into the stats of that, but I did. Look it up.
Now just a word to worship leaders once again before we move on, or should I say sound engineers. If you're mixing worship, make sure people can hear the lyrics. The words, the voices. over the music. Make sure that is bumped up more so than the music itself.
Just a thought.
Now, finally, their worship was physical.
So their worship was thankful, communal, powerful. And now physical.
Now, you will notice, and we don't have to go back to it, but you'll just, if you look in verse 40. The singers stood up to sing. Got to their feet. Just like we do at the beginning of a service, we often stand throughout our worship. A service So the singer stood to sing.
Then go down to verse 45 where it says, The singers. kept the charge of the purification. It means they had to physically go through a purification process of immersing themselves in the waters of baptism called a mikvah in Hebrew. The mikvah was the baptism pool, it was a ritual. purification exercise that they went through.
Okay. Then in verse 43, back up a couple of verses. It says, and they offered great sacrifices. These are animal sacrifices. What I'm showing you is this.
These are all physical acts. They are acts that involve not just their minds and not just their vocal cords. but their bodies as well.
Some churches have very few opportunities for any physical action except. Setting You're allowed to sit. Anything else? could be frowned upon. If you raise your hands, well, that's...
It's too emotional. If you kneel down, well that's That's too formal. But you can set. Though we emphasize that worship is a matter of the heart, I think that true worship must be demonstrated. Physically.
Just like love, just like a relationship. What if I were to tell my wife, what if she came in for a hug and I were to say, wait, wait. You know, that's a little too formal. Um I hugged you 15 years ago. I meant it then.
It still stands now. I think she'd slug me if I said that. Or if I were to say something like, Look, I said I loved you when we got married. No, you gotta say that every day, right? Every day.
Their worship was physical.
Now there are several expressions in Scripture. about physicality of worship. For example, standing, as we just read. Psalm 135, praise him, O you servants of the Lord, who stand by night. in the house of the Lord.
Another one is to bow down. That's Psalm 95. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. That shows humility, that shows submission, that shows dependence.
So you got standing, bowing. You have kneeling, Psalm 95. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. You have the raising of the hands. spoken about a few different times.
I think the best verse on this is 1 Timothy 2.8. Paul said, I desire that men everywhere, I'm guessing this constitutes. Part of everywhere. I desire that men everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath. And doubting.
First time I experienced people raising their hands, I was filled with wrath and doubting. People raise their hands around me. I was a young Christian. I go, I'm not going to do that. That's just a little weird for me.
What are they gonna you know tuning into a frequency? I just it just didn't sit well with me Until I read this verse, I desire that men everywhere pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath. or doubting. And here's what I discovered. I started looking at little kids coming up to their parents with their hands raised.
It's welcoming them into their space. I also noticed that in the movies, people would say, come out with your hands up. Why? Because when your hands are up, you can't do anything else. with those hands.
You can't look at a phone, a text message. You can't get involved in anything but that.
So it's a sign of surrender.
So standing, bowing, kneeling, raising hands. The Bible speaks about clapping, that's a sign of joy, gladness. Psalm 41. Oh, clap your hands, all you people. Notice how kids, when they get happy, just start clapping those hands, they get so excited.
Bible even speaks about dancing. Dancing.
Now, some of you are getting real nervous about now, but Psalm 149: let them praise his name with the dance. Guess what? In all that the Bible speaks about using our physical bodies in worship or prayer. Bowing your heads, closing your eyes, folding your hands, not in the Bible. I'm not saying it's bad.
Just didn't make God's top 10 list. All those other things did. Standing, bowing, raising your eyes, raising your hands, etc. And I should add that I did look this up here. Physical worship.
Physical worship adds or promotes your health. There is a positive correlation, I read in this study, a positive correlation. Between Physical acts of worship like standing, kneeling, raising hands, and improved mental health. I am not saying that you should worship God so you can be healthy physically. I am not saying that you should go home and take two scriptures three times a day.
And make sure that you praise God for 15 minutes a day, and you'll be a healthy specimen of humanity. What I am saying is that At least mental health. If not physical health, Happens to be a byproduct of a good, solid, worshipful relationship. with God. That's how God made us.
That's how God made us. You remember Proverbs chapter 3? It says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, you know this. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
We all know those verses. What most people don't Is what it says right after that. If you trust in the Lord with all your heart, you don't lean to your understanding, you are leaning on Him, you are consumed by Him, you are worshiping Him. It says this, this will bring health to your body. and nourishment.
to your bones. What I am saying is that when you're joyful, thankful, worshipful. There are benefits. That's how God wired us.
Now I want to just give you a couple takeaways. He said, Skip, you've given us eight points here. I have, but let me just... As you go. Two bottom line issues, just two bottom line ideas.
Number one. Worship rebuilds what the world erodes. Just think about that. Worship rebuilds what the world erodes. Look at what you are subjected to five or six days a week.
The messaging, the filth, the value system of the world. the media that you hear. Worship rebuilds, but the world erodes. Your faith is challenged. in the work week.
You come here and that gets Rebuilt. Second, Worship refocuses what the world blurs. It's called truth. The world, you go out into the world, and truth is blurred. The lines are blurred.
You come here, and there are songs that are filled with truth. And immediately, when you begin singing, your spiritual perspective becomes. Clear. In line once again. And It makes you want more.
First time I experienced worship, I didn't say. Good, I'm done now. Never have to do that again. I said that was so good. I want more.
I want to do it again and again. Is it next week yet? Can we do it again now? It keeps you coming back. And it keeps worship.
from becoming Visiting day. What it becomes is the first. Visit of the week. Just the first visibility. It introduces you in a new way, and then you go, okay, that was so good.
So, tomorrow, And the next day and the next day, I'm going to continue in this. Lifestyle and worship. Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God's word with people around the world, offering biblical truth and hope in a time when many feel discouraged or overwhelmed. And this month we'd love to thank you for your gift of fifty dollars or more by sending you City in Shambles, Pastor Skift's complete eighteen message study through Nehemiah on C D plus digital download.
These messages will encourage you to respond to brokenness with prayer, repentance, and courageous faith. and remind you that God still rebuilds what's been torn down. Give today at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922. 1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzig.
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