"When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Matthew 2: 10-11

When the wise men found Jesus, they bowed to worship Him. My Pastor's message Sunday was so good! I wanted to share it with you. 

Josh said, "Praise is not praise until it's vocalized. Worship is love expressed. We know we are supposed to worship God, but we think we can just do it in our hearts."

He gave the example of in a marriage. What if you told your spouse you loved them once, and then you never expressed it again? You did not say it nor did you show you loved them. How would that work?

When we are in love with someone, or something, we show it. So why do we struggle with God?

Is it because we can't see Him?

Can I just be honest for a moment? I know we can't see God, but I know I can feel Him. And I see what He does all around me. He created this world. I see other people growing in their faith, I see prayers answered, and I just know that He's real. So, I want to worship Him. He's worthy of our worship and praise.

Here are 6 ways we should worship:

1. Clapping: this is a sign of victory over the enemy and it shows joy. (Nahum 3:19 & Isaiah 55:12)
2. Shouting: this is an act of faith, you shout BEFORE the victory (like the Israelites and the fall of Jericho, I mentioned that yesterday), Some people wait and think they should shout AFTER God does something, but we should shout BEFORE. (Psalm 47:1 & Isaiah 54:1)
3. Singing: this is lifting words to God in praise, worshiping who He is and what He's done, it makes things flourish in Numbers 21: 16-17 they sang and a dry well produced water. God can defeat your enemies through worship.
4. Bowing and kneeling: these show submission (bowing) and honor (kneeling). Just as you would do this to a king, you should do these to THE KING of all Kings. (Psalm 95:6)
5. Lifting of hands: this is one we are most familiar with. Sometimes we desire to lift our hands, but we are afraid to. We worry about what people around us will think. If you want to, lift your hands. It's a huge sign of praise. The Hebrew word, "Yadah" means to lift your hands, 2 out of the 7 praise words refer to lifting of hands.
6. Dancing: this is not something most churches do. Especially some denominations. King David danced. (2 Samuel 6:16)

One other big thing Josh said is this: "Feelings should not dictate or guide your actions. Principles should. You should do things even when you don't "FEEL" like it."

As a Christian, we are worshippers. It's who we are. Therefore, we need to worship our Savior and King for who He is and all He's done for us even if we don't "feel" like it.

Humble yourself and worship. Praise, shout, lift your hands, dance, do it as unto God. He's done so much for you.

God bless you today and always!