Worship Without Fear

[00:00:00] Should acts of worship only be done in private? How should we worship when we are out and about in our community?

[00:00:10] Let's discuss.

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[00:01:01] Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I'm Steve McDonald. Today we explore the topic worship without fear as we continue our series The Power of worship.

[00:01:18] Today we explore the intersection of acts of worship and how we engage with our communities. Certainly there are many forms of worship, praise and prayer are popular forms of worship, giving and performing acts of service or also ways we can worship God.

[00:01:36] While many forms of worship can be done in private, others will most certainly involve our interactions with others. Others in our family, others in our circle of friends and even others in our workplace.

[00:01:50] Performing acts of worship in particular in front of others can be an endeavor that stirs up fear in our hearts. Exposing our faith especially in front of strangers can be a source of anxiety.

[00:02:04] What is at the root of our anxiety in these times? Fear of judgment, fear of rejection, maybe it's fear of criticism. In today's message I would like to explore three opportunities to worship without fear. Let us learn how we can worship God with confidence knowing that our intention and acts of worship is not to please others.

[00:02:29] But to honor, recognize and express our gratitude to God. Before we get started why don't we take a quick break? I'll be right back.

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[00:03:37] Welcome back. Let's continue in our discussion of three opportunities that we can worship without fear.

[00:03:45] 1. Serving or giving to others in our community. Our communities are filled with opportunities to serve others in need.

[00:03:55] Giving and serving others is a powerful way to worship and be used by God in ways you never imagined.

[00:04:03] While there are certainly opportunities to give and perform acts of service when we are alone, I want to encourage you to consider ways you can serve in such a way that you are interacting with others in person.

[00:04:15] Consider ways that strengthen your confidence in serving others and serving God. For example anyone can press a donate button on their phone but it takes much more to approach someone homeless and offer them a meal.

[00:04:31] I want to share a story with you about a time early in my walk with God when I faced my fears of serving someone in need.

[00:04:41] One day I was exiting a grocery store, hurrying to my car as I passed through the exit someone was holding out their hands asking for financial help.

[00:04:51] Yes, my inclination was to smile and keep walking like everyone else but something stirred in me.

[00:04:59] I did hesitate at first but decided in a few moments to turn around and approach her.

[00:05:06] I offered to pray with her. She fervently shook her head yes in agreement.

[00:05:12] I put my groceries down and we stood next to the exit of that grocery store held hands and I prayed for her out loud.

[00:05:22] Being a shy and private person, I will admit I was riddled with feelings of fear from the eyes of those exiting the store.

[00:05:32] I believe my thought was I bet they are saying how can they be doing that right here.

[00:05:40] But then again, I could say that same thing in a tone of joy as others consider the lengths we are going to standing at that exit in plain sight to worship God in prayer.

[00:05:56] By the time we finished the prayer a minute or two later, the woman was in tears. I asked her name and I told her I promised to pray for her from now on.

[00:06:07] I continued to pray for her to this day many years later.

[00:06:12] Yes, I felt the anxiety and discomfort of being so bold before God that day but that act took me to an entirely new level of boldness with my faith

[00:06:22] and equipped me to approach many others without fear in the months and years that would follow to this very day.

[00:06:32] If you have never served someone or given to someone in need in public or a group setting, I encourage you to ask God to send that opportunity to you.

[00:06:43] Doing so will strengthen your faith and give you courage in a way that reduces your fears for future opportunities to serve in plain sight.

[00:06:56] Number two, praise, prayer and fellowship with others.

[00:07:02] When we gather in groups of like-minded believers, there is an opportunity to be our authentic selves in our praise, worship and even prayer with others.

[00:07:13] In this setting we may have feelings of anxiety similar to those that we feel in displaying acts of worship in public but we need not fear.

[00:07:23] As we praise in our places of worship and pray alongside others, God is not concerned with the quality of our voice and song or that we know the exact words to say.

[00:07:36] God knows every one of us including our strengths and weaknesses and knows when we are sincerely and genuinely in a posture of worship.

[00:07:47] I feel that when I first started this ministry, I felt afraid of what others would think when I prayed in each one of these messages.

[00:07:54] I have others in my family that I consider skillful prayers and I still have a little hesitation to this day but I recognize that the Holy Spirit is with me even as I speak these words so I need not be afraid.

[00:08:10] I fellowship and pray with you without fear.

[00:08:14] Number three, private time with God.

[00:08:19] When you worship and prayer or have quiet time with God there should be no fear in your heart.

[00:08:25] In our private time perhaps we feel fear at anxiety because we have racing thoughts or distractions getting into way of our prayers.

[00:08:35] Perhaps we wonder if we are praying the right way. Perhaps we wonder if we are not doing enough of something or too much of something.

[00:08:43] Perhaps we feel fear that we are not presenting ourselves to God in the correct way.

[00:08:52] What I would say is this.

[00:08:54] We have human relationships in our lives where we honor, love and respect one another.

[00:08:59] Our relationship with God is no different.

[00:09:02] We honor and love and show respect for our Heavenly Father.

[00:09:06] God knows our hearts and I believe He will see the sincerity in trying to worship Him in our private time with Him.

[00:09:14] Do not get caught up on worshipping God with perfection instead approach Him with love and respect.

[00:09:23] Ask Him to help you and show you how you can have a strong and meaningful relationship with Him.

[00:09:30] Over time the methods in which you worship Him in your quiet time will evolve into a way that He knows is best for you.

[00:09:43] In today's message we discuss three opportunities to worship without fear.

[00:09:52] We discuss the fact that displaying our acts of worship in a way that is visible to others can be uncomfortable at first but the more you do it, the less fearful you become.

[00:10:04] We explore the fact that worship with others is an opportunity to fellowship, pray and praise without fear of judgment.

[00:10:12] We learn that when we are around other like-minded individuals in worship, we should not feel that acceptance from others is the most important thing.

[00:10:22] We should know that our intentional presence before God is most important.

[00:10:28] Lastly, we discuss private time with God as an excellent opportunity to worship.

[00:10:33] When we have private time with our Heavenly Father we should not be worried about prayer and praise being perfect.

[00:10:41] We need not worship in fear.

[00:10:43] Our priority in acts of worship is not what others will think but what God will observe in our actions.

[00:10:50] Are there areas of worship in your life that you feel fearful of?

[00:10:55] Ask God to equip you with the wisdom and courage to pursue the acts of worship that will please Him today.

[00:11:05] Let's close out in prayer.

[00:11:07] Dear Lord, we come before you this day acknowledging that sometimes we feel nervous when we worship you in public places, when we want to worship you by assisting others.

[00:11:20] We may be embarrassed or we may feel shy or we may feel hesitant.

[00:11:24] We come before you today just to ask you to equip us with the courage and equip us with the wisdom and equip us with the discernment Lord on how we can worship you, not just in private but also out in public within our communities.

[00:11:38] We pray that you will put on our hearts just the peace and calm that we can hold within us as we come before you.

[00:11:50] That we need not be afraid of what eyes are looking at us, we need not be worried about people thinking we are not singing pitch perfect.

[00:12:00] We just need to know that you see us coming to you, we just need to know that we have the intention to worship you Lord and we know that you will see us in our hearts and you will know our intentions.

[00:12:14] Thank you Lord for just all the two bless upon us and these messages and all the wisdom that you bring.

[00:12:20] We pray this trusting and believing in you. Amen.

[00:12:30] Are you interested in learning more about the sources guiding this message?

[00:12:42] I invite you to stay tuned after the break for our going deeper with the word segment.

[00:12:47] Here we examine how God's Word provides clear guidance and direction about worshiping without fear.

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[00:14:05] Welcome to Going Deeper with the Word. In this segment we welcome people of all backgrounds, religious or not.

[00:14:13] To review the Word of God. The Word of God provides guidance, direction and instructions for living out our lives and walking with God.

[00:14:22] Today we examine how God's Word provides clear guidance and direction about worshipping without fear.

[00:14:30] Let's review examples of God's Word that can lead and guide our steps and back up the principles we learned in today's message.

[00:14:36] I'll be reading scripture today from the amplified Bible. Here's our first verse.

[00:14:42] Romans 8, 26 and 27. In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness, we do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should.

[00:14:55] But the Spirit Himself intercedes on our behalf with size and groaning too deep for words.

[00:15:04] And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of God's people in accordance with God's will.

[00:15:19] In this verse we reveal that there is no need to fear. We are not praying correctly when we bring ourselves in prayer before God.

[00:15:29] I know I have certainly felt this way many times wondering what I should pray for and what I should not.

[00:15:37] We learn in this verse that the Holy Spirit knowing what we need will intercede on our behalf.

[00:15:44] I believe the most important thing is to be sincere in our hearts as we become before God.

[00:15:51] God knows our hearts and intentions and the Holy Spirit will be with us and our petition before God.

[00:15:59] Have you ever felt you didn't know the right words to say in prayer?

[00:16:04] When you look back do you feel as though God provided science that He understood what you needed? Let us know in the comments.

[00:16:13] Let us have a look at another verse. Hebrews 11 verse 6.

[00:16:20] But without faith it is impossible to please Him for whoever comes to God must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

[00:16:34] In this verse we see the importance of coming before God with faith it is existence.

[00:16:40] In doing so we need not worry what others will be thinking in our acts of worship.

[00:16:45] We should not be afraid of praying in public.

[00:16:48] We should not be afraid of fellowship with another where other people can hear words about our faith.

[00:16:56] Have you experienced a situation lately where you hesitated to display evidence of your faith to other people in the room?

[00:17:06] What did you fear? Let us know in the comments.

[00:17:11] Let us look at one last verse.

[00:17:15] 2 Timothy 1 verse 7.

[00:17:18] For God gave us a spirit not a fear but a power in love and self-control.

[00:17:26] In this verse we are reminded that God did not create us to have fear but to know we have power through Him.

[00:17:35] We have the capacity to love and have self-control over our actions.

[00:17:40] This verse reveals, once again, that we should not be fearful in our acts of worship.

[00:17:46] Let us walk forward in faith knowing the power of our worship and the power God provides to us.

[00:17:52] Ask God to equip you with the courage, discernment and wisdom to carry out the acts of worship most important to you.

[00:18:01] Thank you for your time in reviewing these verses with me today.

[00:18:06] Please share in the comments how these or other examples of God's word have helped you to worship without fear.

[00:18:12] Thank you for the opportunity to share encouragement.

[00:18:15] Here at Walkin' and Stuff With God, we truly appreciate your support.

[00:18:19] We are fully committed to Christ and the community.

[00:18:22] We invite you to join us in fellowship and to seek opportunities for fellowship in your local community as well.

[00:18:28] Have an amazing week and we will catch you next time.

[00:18:33] Bless you.