The Heart of Worship = His Will

Happy Anniversary
WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY celebrated its 2nd year Anniversary with WOWgroup Global Fellowship NJ.

Our focus today was on our outward expression "Praise" to the Lord. Minister Tanya Merced focused on three points:
Why do we sing at church?
Why should we create a record?
Why should we give thanks?

Do you know that the bible mentions to "Sing to the Lord 104 times?" Singing in the bible is a form of giving God praise for what He has done. The focus is on the heart of the singer. God wants us to sing to Him. Okay, if you are like me and don't have a performer's voice you might be self-conscious, but God doesn't care. The Lord takes pleasure in your praise when it comes from your heart. Remember the heart of Worship = His Will.

Another reason why we should sing praises to the Lord. When we sing to the Lord something happens in the spirit realm.

2 Chronicles 20:21 "And when he had consulted with the people he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and to say, Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever."

Jehoshaphat sent the choir out in front of the army. Now you know they must have been saying this is crazy. (But singing praises changes the atmosphere ~ spiritual/natural. Praise brings total confusion to the things that are not of God.

Jehoshaphat's army won. The enemy became confused and started killing each other.

Why Should we record our services, takes notes, prophetic words?

We need to capture and understand what God is saying.
We need to make it a habit to take notes and not rely on our memories to retrieve information, so that we can go back and reread it, pray over it, pass it down to others. When we record the Lord's word we are honoring God.

Benefits of Note-taking

1. Clarify and structure your thoughts and actions.
2. Keep track of what has happened.
3. Plan what needs to happen next.
4. Keep good and correct records of ideas, facts, and information.
5. Reinforces your understanding of the information.

Thanksgiving

In the Old Testament some of the jobs of the priest were to stand and thank God for all the things He had done and what he was doing. We too must have this ministry in place in our church, our homes and in our private times with the Lord.
We need to begin thanking God for everything instead of complaining. We need to develop an attitude of gratitude and be thankful for all the things that we have.

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord".

When we focus on all the things that God has done for us it prepares our heart to enter in and worship.

To worship You I Live

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had a great time examining the meaning of " WORSHIP". Before we began today's message we each gave our own definition of what worship meant to us.

Some of the things that were mentioned at the meeting was that worship meant being thankful to God and showing it without pride. Another word that was used was death to self, and to surrender our very best. Everything that we are " our soul, mind, and spirit".

We then watched a clip from the movie " There Be Dragons". If you would like to see the clip Click Here. After we watched the movie we shared what we felt the movie was saying about worship.

After the discussion Minister Tanya Merced shared on what worship and praise is all about. Praise in the bible refers to some sort of outward expression: lifting the hands, shouting, dancing, kneeling, singing, playing an instrument, etc. Praise is something you can see or hear. Worship on the other hand, is a form of sacrifice or humility.

In the Old Testament Genesis Chapter 22, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and Abraham considered it to be worship unto God. Psalm 95, "come let us worship and bow down." Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, and that is considered our spiritual act of worship.

John 4:24 " God is Spirit, and those that worship Him will worship in Spirit and in truth." Jesus told us that we must come to the Father in Spirit, because He is Spirit. In other words, when Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. God is spirit, and Jesus is truth. John 16 also tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Now that we have access to the Father we must come and worship as He is.

As Christians we must understand that Jesus was telling us and showing us that the Father is looking for those who truly worship. Is worship about singing, praying, studying the word, etc? The answer is that is just part of it. The kind of worship the Father who is Spirit is looking for is a living sacrificial one. We need to come to God in complete humility and lay aside our will so that God can have His perfect will.

The Heart of God = His Will

Humility has everything to do with the breaking down of our will. The will is the hardest thing to break, but David said "...the sacrifices You desire are broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart." (Psalm 51:17).

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY at the close of the meeting understood that in order to please and honor God we must get out of the way and say just like Jesus " not my will, but Yours be done".

You Can Do Anything with God by your side!

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY had an awesome time learning and studying God's Word.

Minister William Merced Jr. brought a timely message about how we can become more effective in our walk with God. Not only are we to read His word, but we are to truly be doers of God's word. Minister William Merced Jr. gave personal accounts on how we can be instruments of God. At times sharing the gospel is enough, but clothing, feeding, and helping those in need is the heart of God. Moreover, we must be compassionate like Jesus. God is all about love and we too must be love.

John 3:16-17 (New King James Version)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY also had the privilege of having Andrew W. Merced teach Sunday School. Andrew W. Merced first began his lesson with a Sunday School Song called Clap Your Hands. After the song he told the children the story about a giant and a shepherd boy named David. Andrew handed out coloring pages and asked the children to point to the boy and the giant.

Andrew then read the following Memory Verse: " And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:47

Andrew asked the children what they learned and they said they learned that a little boy named David defeated a giant. Andrew told them yes, but the most important thing for us to remember is that it doesn't matter how old we are or how we look. God looks in our hearts. God fights our battles and therefore we are not alone. We can do anything with God by our side. Andrew then showed the children a special God Rock film with David and Goliath. What a fantastic lesson.

WOWgroup Global Fellowship NY is so proud of Andrew W. Merced. Andrew does not allow autism to stop him from achieving the very best. God wants our best.