Psalm 8 – O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic Name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. 2 You have taught children and infants to tell.

• Psalm 8 – O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic Name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. 2 You have taught children and infants to tell of Your strength, silencing Your enemies and all who oppose You.

• Children have such a simple faith in God!• Sometimes I think that when we become adults we

are so educated that we become idiots! • What is so obvious to a child is hard for us as adults

to grasp.

• God’s Truth is so profound yet so simple that we have to become like a child to understand it.

• Yet, it is deep enough to meditate on for eternity. • His truth is so simple that it is profound! • Many times the educated stumble over it looking

for something that is profound and deep.• (Understand that I am not against education.)

Psalm 8:2 –You have taught children and infants to tell of Your strength, silencing Your enemies and all who oppose You.

• What does God use to silence His enemies? – An intellectual giant? – A rocket scientist? – No, a child!

• God can take an eternal truth and make is so simple that a child can understand it and use it to confound the wise.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—4 what are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that you should care for them?

• Our solar system is around 11-12 trillion miles across! • To count that high at a rate of 1 number per second

would take 380,000 years to complete. • It is 93 million miles from Earth to our Sun. • It is all incomprehensible!

• What are we that God would even consider us? • That is how valuable each of us is to the Lord. • If there had been no one else on this little speck we call

Earth, He would have sent His Son to die for you!• Think about this—not only is He is the God of the Big

(macro), but He is the God of the Small (micro)! • Same as profound yet simple.• In an atom, the distance between the nucleus of an atom

and the electrons which circle it is the same as the distance of the sun and planets that surround it in our solar system!

• To me, that’s an incredible thought!

Macro Micro

• God knows how many hairs that are on your head, He even knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, and He loves you just the same.

• He is that infinite and that personal at the same time (profound yet simple).

• That is reason enough to praise Him.• O, Lord, who am I that you are mindful of me?• Yet, He is, and He is intimately acquainted with each

of us!

• If you have ever wondered if you have any reason to worship the Lord, then watch this video.

• It is set to Psalm 8 using actual footage from the Hubble Telescope.

• Consider the greatness of our God and that He is even mindful of you.

• Just watching that makes me stand in awe of Him and how magnificent He is.

• And, how incredibly wonderful it is that He would want to have a personal relationship with me!

• How Great is Our God!• Yet, many believers still give excuses as to why they

will not praise the Lord. • Excuses as to why they do not want to sing and lift

their hands when we worship God.

• Let’s list some here:1. I’m not the emotional type. • Why not? God made you with emotions. • We are emotional about what we want to be.2. I’m Shy!• Most shy people are really only self-absorbed. • It is all about them. • But, who is worship about? • Not you! JESUS!

3. I am embarrassed to raise my hands and be demonstrative in my expressions of worship.

• Jesus was not embarrassed about spreading His hands out to die for us! Once again, it’s not about me!

4. I can’t sing very well!• So? And, what’s your point?• God never said to sing with a good voice. • No, He said to sing with a joyful voice!

5. It’s just not me! I’m much more reserved and quiet in my expression of worship.

6. I am the quiet type in worship.• That’s fine, but change! • There is time to be quiet and there is a time to be

expressive. • The important thing is knowing when to do either

and not being closed to the other.

7. I’m not a fanatic!• You know what a definition of a fanatic is?• Someone who loves Jesus more than you do, and

they are not afraid to show it! Ouch!8. I was not raised that way!• Neither was I. Change!• Isaiah 43:19 – For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? (NLT)

9. I went to a church service, and they were hanging from the chandeliers and rolling in the aisles!! I am afraid things might get out of hand if I let go and worship freely. The next thing you know, they will be breaking out the snakes!

• If anyone breaks out a snake while I am the pastor, I am rebuking some devils!

• The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet.• The Holy Spirit will not make you do something that

is contrary to the will of God!

• As long as I am leading the service, we will not get out of hand.

• Everything is to be done decently and in order. • If it is Holy Spirit directed and in line with the Word

of God, we will allow it.

• 2 Points 1. Worship is not about me or you or Becky or

anybody, but Jesus! Our focus is to be on Him. • Jesus is the object and focus of our worship.2. Hebrews 13:15 – Through Him [Jesus], therefore,

let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. (AMP)

• In my mind, a sacrifice is something we give or do when we don’t feel like it.

• It costs us something, and it may even hurt to give or to do it. Right?!

• We often only think of it in terms of financial giving—we give sacrificially.

• For example, I wanted to buy a new TV, but I gave the money to missions instead.

• That was a sacrifice.

• How does this apply to a sacrifice of praise? • We do not always feel like praising God. • Think about all the excuses that we discussed –

– I am shy! – I am embarrassed!– That is not me! – I am much more reserved in my worship! – I am not a fanatic!

• For any of those people to offer outward expressions of worship is a sacrifice.

• Even when you don’t feel like it or don’t even want to do it, say something like this to God:

• Lord, you know my heart. I love you, but I am not used to lifting my hands or singing out loud to you. But, because I am to offer a ‘sacrifice of praise’ to you, I will do it.

• Don’t let your pride hold you back from worshiping the Lord.

• There are times when I don’t feel like worshiping God.

• It feels hollow or sounds flat, but I do it anyway. • It’s amazing when I offer that sacrifice of praise how

often my attitude changes and my heart melts in the presence of God.

• Paul & Silas’ Sacrifice of Praise – Remember the time that Paul and Silas offered up a sacrifice of Praise to the Lord?

Acts 16:23-26 – 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!” (NLT)

• This story begins with the arrest of Paul and Silas because they had cast an evil spirit out of a girl.

• The local authorities had them severely beaten and thrown into a jail cell.

• Besides the beating, they were fastened in stocks which clamped their arms and legs in an immobile position, causing cramps and loss of circulation.

• The atmosphere alone in that jail was depressing. • In their day, a prison was more like a dungeon. • It was a dark, damp, stench-ridden place, with no facility for

waste.

• Despite their pain and the depressing atmosphere around them, Paul and Silas were heard praying and singing praises to God!

• What a strange sound this must have been to the other prisoners, who were used to only hearing the groans of those who had been beaten.

• There was an earthquake that shook the prison! • The doors flung open, and amazingly, the bonds of

Paul, Silas, and every other prisoner were released!• What caused this mighty discharge of power?• Paul & Silas knew the secret of praise & worship. • They lifted their voices up to God despite their

circumstance and began to praise God! • This created an atmosphere where God could easily

work and perform a miracle of deliverance.• No one left! Why? The Presence of God was so strong!

Excerpt from Fire in My Bones by J. Lee Grady: Just hours after the Earthquake in Haiti – “Unable to drive to the orphanage, the pastor took the women to a church where about 2,000 people were singing and praying in a crude shelter that had survived the quake. Later that evening the women relocated to a soccer field where people were sleeping on sheets under the stars. Injured people were everywhere, but still the sound of praises filled the air.

"I've never felt the presence of God in such a tangible way as I did that night," said Linda. "They were singing songs like, ‘Our God is an Awesome God.' People were praying in small groups, and then a wave of God's glory hit us around 2 a.m. Everyone was shouting praises."

• This is a true modern day example of offering a sacrifice of praise.

• These Haitian believers were providing God something to work miracles on their behalf.

• Let’s conclude this morning with Psalm 95:1-7. – As we read this, I want you to notice what our

response to God’s greatness should be. – How many different forms of worship are listed.

Psalm 95:1-7 – Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come to Him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to Him. 3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.

4 He holds in His hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. 5 The sea belongs to Him, for He made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, 7 for He is our God. We are the people He watches over, the flock under His care. (NLT)

• Forms of Worship1.Sing to the Lord2.Shout Joyfully3.Come with Thanksgiving4.Sing Psalms of Praise5.Worship and Bow Down6.Kneel before the Lord our Maker

• Songs, shouts, thanksgiving, praise and bowing down all flowing from those gathered to worship the Lord.

• This is the Biblical norm for worship!• While there are examples of silence in God's

presence taught in the Bible, there are more examples of lively worship demonstrated.

• Both awed silence and enthusiastic praise are appropriate expressions of worship to our great God.

• Is our God worthy of our praise?• Is He Great?• YES, our God is Great!• It is so awesome to be able to serve a God that we

can honestly say is Great and Good!• What then should be our response?• Worship Him in spirit and in truth!• How majestic is Your Name in all the earth!