As soon as Sis. Gallimore asked me to speak about Soaring in Praise and Worship, I started thinking and praying about what I wanted to say. We arrived in Hawaii on Sunday, August 4th. That Tuesday morning I went out for a run and came back with inspiration!
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| My spot on Saturday morning as I prayed and reviewed my notes. |
I decided to use the word SOAR as an acronym and teach from that. This
isn't my complete lesson, but here are my four main points:
S =
Sacrifice
This means as
a slaughter, the flesh of an animal. In the Old Testament sacrifice always involved death. In the New Testament Jesus was the
ultimate sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service."
Albert
Barnes commentary said this, “A sacrifice is an offering made to God as an atonement for
sin; or any offering made to him and his
service as an expression of thanksgiving. It implies that he who offers it presents it entirely, releases all
claim or right to it, and leaves it to be disposed of for the honor of God.
In the case of an animal, it was slain, and the blood offered; in the case of
any other offering, as the first-fruits, etc., it was set apart to the service
of God; and he who offered it released all claim on it, and submitted it to
God, to be disposed of at his will. We must devote ourselves to God, as if we
no longer had any claim on ourselves; to be disposed of by him; to suffer and
bear all that he might appoint; and to promote his honor in any way which he
might command.”
O = Oblation
This is not a word we use these days. It is only found in the Old Testament, but the concept of an oblation is very interesting. It means something
brought near the altar. It denotes any
offering that is not a “bloody” sacrifice - a thank-offering; an offering of
incense, flour, grain, etc.
In Numbers chapter 31, the children of Israel went to battle against the Midianites. Twelve thousand men of Israel went to battle. All the men of Midian were killed, but not a single Israelite was lost.
Numbers 31:49-50 says, "And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of
war which are under our charge, and
there lacketh not one man of us. We
have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of
jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an
atonement for our souls before the LORD."
This was a
freewill offering, out of the spoil, over and above what was expected. If we really want to soar in praise and worship we need to go over and above our reasonable service of sacrifice and bring an oblation.
A = Adoration
The words adore and adoration are not found in the Bible, although one of the definitions of worship is adore.
From
Webster’s dictionary:
to worship
or honor as a deity or as divine
to regard
with loving admiration and devotion.
to be very
fond of
Mathew 8:2 says, "And behold, there came to him a leper and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The leper worshipped before the need was met
Mathew 14:33 says, "And they that were in the boat worshipped
him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God." Those in the ship worshipped after Jesus calmed the storm
It doesn't matter if you're in a storm or just coming out of a storm, it's always the right time to adore Him!
R = Rejoice
To brighten
up, be gleesome, joyful, exceeding gladness, to shout for joy, to spin around
Full of
cheer, calmly happy
I thought calmly happy was a very interesting definition. It's not what we normally think of when we think "rejoice," it seems deeper than an outward demonstration.
1Samuel 2:1-2 says,
"And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in Jehovah; My horn is exalted in Jehovah; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God."
Mathew 2:10 says,
"And when they saw the star, they rejoiced
with exceeding great joy." The definition of this word rejoice is calmly happy.
Conclusion:
To SOAR in
worship and praise we must:
Bring the
sacrifice of our lives,
Bring an
oblation that is beyond what is expected
Adore Him
because He’s worthy
Rejoice for
all He’s done!
