How Should I Worship with Thomas Delp

How can we worship God? What does worship look like? 

I'm thankful to have my dear friend, Thomas Delp on the podcast tomorrow! His fiery spirit and passion for the Lord are contagious and I'm blessed to call him friend. 

Tune in, as our friend gives us some wonderful Bible truths about church music and personal worship.

Transcript

Hello friend. My name is Tom Delp. And I serve here on staff with pastor Kevin Broyhill at the Calvary Baptist Church of King, North Carolina. I've been here for 10 years and the Lord sure has been good and sure has been faithful. I appreciate brother Tyler so very much. He's a great friend and he's also one of our graduates here in our Bible College and proud of him. And for how God using him there in Durham North Carolina and a his precious family, and I'm very thankful that He's giving me this opportunity to come on the podcast today today and share you some thoughts on the topic really of corporate worship. If you have a Bible handy, I want to encourage you to go with me to the Old Testament book of second Chronicles chapter 5 Second Chronicles chapter 5 and the Bible does all the speaking. 

 I may share some thoughts. But I pray you really don't take anything from me, but take it from God's word and the Book of second Chronicles chapter 5. This is an exciting moment and the old Estimate the temple has been completed and is now being prepared to be dedicated to the Lord. I want you to look with me at chapter 5 and verse 11 and it came to pass when the come out of the Holy place for all the priests that were present. We're Sanctified and did not then wait by course also the Levites which were the singers of all them of asaph of Haman of Jetsam with their sons and their Brethren being arrayed in white linen. Lennon having cymbals psalteries and harps stood at the East End Of The Altar and with them and 120 priests sounding with trumpets and it came to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one. to make one sound to be heard and praising and thanking the lord and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals instruments of music and praise the Lord saying for he is good for his mercy endureth forever that then the house was with a cloud even the house of the Lord the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house. I want to speak to you on this topic today the audience of one the audience of one. I want you to think back with me to the beginning of covid- 19 the pandemic of 2020 and I'll never forget our first service that was livestream. Only our pastor was there of our musicians were there are sound and media team. Is there just about 10 of us and we literally stared a camera and led people in the Worship the Lord in our pastor preach the word of God. It was unusual moment, but it was a lesson for me spiritually. Here's what it was so many times as a musician as a singer as an instrumentalist we sing and we pray and we play for the Applause of the approval of others and not for the Audience of one and it was a visual reminder for me on that day in March of 2020 as I looked out to an empty Auditorium that this is literally the picture of what God wants us to view the worship of him like just singing for the Lord just singing for God and here in the Old Testament God interrupted the order of service. Hey Pastor were music leader. Go ahead and change your order of service tomorrow and see what happens people know when to they know when to stand they know when to say Amen they say. Oh, maybe they know when to clap they know when to stop they know when to talk or not. They know when to shake hands go ahead interrupted the order of service. We often are critical of the Catholics Doctrine. But as his Baptist, we we follow the same traditions and and if we're not careful done the same thing for decades and decades and often times we get on autopilot and God interrupted the order of service here in the the Old Testament Temple. 

I want you to have if pen handy to write down this first point number one. These were Sanctified worshippers. These were Sanctified worshipers worship is literally bowing down to the Lord bowing down to the Lord Our God, me back verse number 12. Number one. They were Sanctified worshippers verse 11, and it came to pass when the priests were come out of the Holy place. Look at this next phrase for all the priests that were present were Sanctified and did not then wait by course also the Levites which were the singers all of them ASAP Jet soon with their sons and their Brethren being a raid white linen having cymbals harps stood at the east the end of the alternate and with them and hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. Hey Christian listening today, these worshippers. Will says in First Peter chapter 1 and verse 15 be holy in all manner of conversation. I heard a pastor say one time. I love the music because when the music is over I can preach I think that's a incorrect view of worship. Of course God exalts his word above his very name, but what if we viewed the worship of God as an entirety of the service, I don't know of a single Pastor that love to preach to a crowd of prepared people. I don't know of a pastor that like to preach this crowd. They were Sanctified they were pure we won't spend Much time here, but verse 12 of our text implies that there it shows us that their dress imply that this was a formal occasion on a casual one the worst of God requires our best don't you agree and the dress in verse 12 it implied. This was a formal occasion. Not just a casual one Christian or Pastor. Imagine if all People that came to your church on Sunday, they came prepared with a clean and heart that came with a pure heart. I enjoy running several miles from time to time each week, but I'm dripping sweat when I'm done running one of the things I enjoy is getting into a shower getting the soap getting the shampoo and cleaning myself off. I become clean become pure from that sweat that was pouring off of my face and that's the picture of the Lord. Wants us to give and so number one. These were Sanctified worshippers. Can I ask you are you clean? Are you pure When you entered the Lord's House the local church on Sunday. Will you be clean we be pure God wants us when we sing when we play when we worship corporately the people of God to sing play with a Sanctified heart. Number two. They were unified worshippers. Number two. They were unified worshippers look with me verse 13. It came to pass even and it came even Passes the trumpeters singers were as what's next word? They one to make what's next word one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the lord and when they lived the voice with a trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music and praise the Lord saying, oh continue our thought and just a moment. I believe first they were unified in their music. They were unified in their music. The Bible says in Psalm 33 verse 3 Sing unto him a new song play skillfully with a Loud noise. I had a lady one time encouraged me to play the organ when I was a teenager. And so I practiced I learned and she told me something one time a very elderly lady. She said God does not sponsor a flop and I want to encourage you musician or singer don't have Hast early go into worship of the Lord. God says in Psalm 33. just read they played skillfully with a loud noise. There was some sense of preparation of practice here. They were unified in their music they were Paired God help us and God rid us of of order services music programs that are not prepared. Y'all pray for us. We haven't practice is not a good way to Worship the Lord. I believe they were unified in their music. But also they were unified in their Spirit Philippians 1: 27 says striving together for the faith of the Gospel ever walk into a service can cut the tension with a knife and that service Christian. We must corporately worship God in the Audience of one with a unified heart and with a unified spirit is there division in the house of God is there division with another believer in Christ? God won't hear our worship. They were unified. I like what pastor Wayne Hardy said in his book The Great exemption. I'd encourage you to buy it. He said a good congregational song service is not measured by whether it employs songs with him books or screens rather. It should be measured by the participation and express passion of those. The congregation there's so much debate and needless debate over I use him books we use screens, but that shouldn't be the debate. It should be measured by the participation and express passion those in the congregation. And so these were Sanctified worshippers, they were unified worshippers, but lastly number three, they were focused worshippers look with me verse 13 the end of the verse they were playing with one sound. They one heart but then says at the end the verse 13 They lift up their voice with a trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music and praise the Lord saying for he is good for his mercy endureth forever that then the house was filled with a cloud even the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand in Minister by reason of the cloud for the glory of the Lord had filled the house. They were focused worshipers. What was the focus of the worshippers gathered here today? They were focused on the Lord. May God Rest. of professionalism and dignity for ourselves, but may the Lord help us to sing in the presence of the Lord and to minister in the presence of the Lord. The most important part of a song is the message that it conveys John 3: What John the Baptist say Christ he must increase but I must decrease and our world needs to see less of us and more of God. Who did they sing to these? Worshippers they sang to the Lord. What was their song for he is good for his mercy endureth forever. What happened when they praise the Lord what happened? When they Worship the Lord. Well the end verse 13 gives us what happened. The house was filled with a cloud even the house of the Lord God's presence was real God's presence was there and so much so that the priests could not stand verse 14 the priests could not stand to minister by reason the cloud the priest the leaders. Could not even stand talk because the presence of God was so real. And child of God. Here's the truth. There's so many churches coming up this Lord's day that they'll gather they'll sing their songs, they'll preach their message. But God's presence won't be there. How will God's presence be there. I believe based on scripture that there must be sanctified people. There must be Sanctified worshippers. There must be unified washers worshipers and there must be focused worshippers to the Lord. May God help us to get Out the way, may the Lord be preeminent. One of my favorite groups is the Collingsworth family. I enjoy hearing them saying they're a blessing. I remember hearing Kim Collingsworth. She's the mother of this group and they're a family that's things together, but I'll never forget something. She told an audience one time. I'll never forget it. She said when our family was very young and just start out traveling. I remember we rented out a large Auditorium a couple thousand seat Auditorium Our family was there we pulled our trailer. We got to the location to the several thousand seat Auditorium. We prepared walk out to the platform to sing in there was maybe 50 people in that Auditorium hardly anybody there and mrs. Collingsworth gathered their children together and brother misses Collinsworth. They sat their kids down and they looked him in the eyes and they said this boys girls. I want you to picture Jesus sitting and every one of those seats. Don't worry about who's not here worry about who could be here. And that convicted me if Jesus were setting in the auditorium. How would you sing if you knew that Jesus was next to you in the congregation. How would you sing It would sure change how we would sing how we would play and may we this week determine that we will be Sanctified unified of worshippers that will be focused worshippers to the Lord. May God help us today to sing and play for the audience. of one