Scripture
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
~Psalm 149:2-3, NLT
Quote
Satan desires worship and he is constantly enticing the world to give him homage. He does not mind people being religious so long as Jesus is not the One who they worship.
~Warren W. Wiersbe
Steven Lawson, the author of the Holman Commentary, believes that the Jews used this Psalm to prepare for battle. If you read the entire Psalm, you will see why. The Psalm seems to go hand in hand with Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 6:2, Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? I get the same impression from this Psalm; one day God’s servants will judge the world. I must confess, this is quite a mystery and I certainly can’t sort it all out but it is something to think about. Laying that thought aside, worship is still connected to warfare, spiritual warfare. Satan hates no one more than he hates Jesus. The Father has decreed that Jesus be worshiped and praised above all others and this infuriates Satan who desires to be the center. Thus he hates Jesus and Jesus worshipers.Let me ask you some questions: do you struggle to keep your mind on Christ in worship? Or you often distracted by the things that are going on around you? Do you sing songs by rote without thinking about what you are singing? Is it hard for you to respond to an invitation? Do you watch the clock during worship {nursery workers excluded}? What if you were attending a military briefing just prior to being sent into combat. You are about to step into a war zone with live bullets and bombs: would you give your commanding officer your full attention? We gather for worship in order to scatter for witness. The purpose of worship, at least in the present, is to equip us for battle. This is one place where evangelicals and reforms butt heads. The reforms believe that worship is an end in itself; it is the purpose for which we are created and our greatest duty and highest privilege. Evangelicals believe that Christ commission to get the gospel to the world is our present priority and worship prepares us for this exercise. For us, worship is a mean to an end. Worship is edifying, it builds us up but there is more to life than worship. If we are not careful, we will become a cake unturned; well done on one side and raw on the other. God wants balance: WE GATHER FOR WORSHIP and then SCATTER FOR WITNESS.
One other note: the Jews worship with song and dance. Look at verse three, Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. It was not a sensual dance: actually the men dance together and the women dance together. When a person is overjoyed, they are going to express it one way or the other: it could be a song, a shout, hand clapping or they may dance a little jig. Do you think it is possible that King David may be a worship leader in heaven? I know some baptist who are going to have a hard adjustment if that happens. The bottom line is: Satan does not want you to worship Jesus and he is going to do his dead level best to keep you from doing it. He does care what keeps you from worship: football, hunting, fishing, camping, NASCAR, etc. His goal is to keep you from worship by whatever means necessary: it could be company or a grandchild–he doesn’t care so long as you neglect worship.
Well it was a disappointing night. I didn’t comment last night because I was hoping they had called it prematurely but I reckon abortion crown won. This is what someone told me yesterday on the phone, “They won.” I said no, “They think they won. In reality they lost. Jesus will have the last word and they will not like it.” ROY MOORE says, “It’s not over,” but I think he is wrong: for him, it is over but he is not completely wrong because the Supreme Judge will make the final ruling. One friend consoled me with the fact that it is only for two years. The News folks are hilarious. Now they are talking about the good campaign Jones ran and he won because of disenchanted conservatives who voted with liberal and blacks. That is pure horse manure: no true conservative voted for Jones or a write in: it was fence straddlers. Anyway, Jesus is still running the shooting match. It may not have turned out the way I wanted it to but He has not lost control. He will make sure it all comes out in the wash. I am very disappointed in a lot of people but Richard Shelby is at the top of the list. He is a disgrace.
