How Worship Gives God Access by Dr. Myles Munroe: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The King's Environment Expresses His Nature

A king's environment expresses his nature. That is why a king would not build a small house — visually, you are supposed to know what a king is like just by looking at his environment. You can tell how wealthy a king is by how his workers look, those who work around him.

The atmosphere of a king's environment expresses what the king is like — so you can actually know what a king is like before you meet him. The place he lives, the people who work for him are supposed to express his nature.

The word nature is the same word for glory. The word glory comes from the Hebrew word meaning weighty. Glory is not smoke in a room with light in it. Glory is the full weight of something — the true essence of something. The glory of an orange is actually the orange juice. The orange is the container, but the glory — the true essence — is what comes out when you squeeze it.

When something is in its full-blown, full-weight expression, it is called its glory.

The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God simply means this planet will be filled with what God is like. His nature will show up in business, education, politics, marriages, homes, parenting. His kingdom nature will come to everything. It is not some mystical thing — it is very practical.

The Queen of Sheba and the Glory of a King

When the Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon — she never saw him, she just heard about his glory, his nature — she traveled from Africa all the way to Israel to see this so-called great king.

The Bible says that when she entered the grounds of his palace, she became weak in the knees. When she saw his servants dressed in fine linen, she knew she was in trouble the minute she saw them. Then she saw that the plates were silver and the serving utensils were gold. She saw the meat on the plate — the highest cut, the finest — and the servants were eating fine meat.

Who gave them the linen? The king. Who gave them the silver and golden plates? The king. Why? To represent him. This is why kingdoms are completely different from democracies. In a democracy, you have to buy your own clothing and you only get what you can afford. You do not represent your president. But in a kingdom, everything the citizen has represents the king.

The reason why a king needs to be rich is to protect his reputation. A king wants you to have so much that when people see you, they know he is a king of plenty.

Asking the King for Basic Needs Is an Insult

Nothing is more insulting to a king than asking him for clothes, food, or shoes. That is an insult to the king.

Now you understand the words of Jesus: Matthew 6:25-33. Why do you worry about what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear? He said, "Stop that. Take no thought for these things." Why? He said, "Seek first to get into the kingdom. Once you are in the kingdom, the king is responsible for putting all these things on you — because he has to protect his reputation."

The blessings are not a personal gift to you. They are a protection of the king's reputation.

We keep praying for God to bless us. Wrong prayer. The Lord keeps saying he will bless you — he never asked you to ask for that. Everyone who associated with God in the Bible either became rich or powerful. Because you represent a king, and all other kings measure your king by how you look. If you claim to worship a king, then the king is obligated to bless you — to protect himself.

So God will prosper you not for your sake. In Christianity, people become Christian so they can get blessed. In the kingdom, because you are in the kingdom, you get blessed. Two completely different things — and you do not ask for these things. He said do not even pray for them. That is an insult to him — it implies he is not a good king.

He used the term these things shall be added — meaning, "I am going to put this on you because I have to protect my name."

Benefits of Worshiping a King — Seven Benefits

Exodus 23:24 says these words: Worship the Lord your God and his blessings will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life.

Everything you are looking for is in that one list. Notice what attracts it — the first statement is: Worship. Acknowledge that I own it, and I will take care of your food, your water, your health, your ability to bear children. You will never be barren. And all your investments will keep prospering.

The word full does not necessarily mean long. It means you live out your complete days — everything you were born to do will be done before you die. And it is all contingent on worship.

1. Worship of the King Attracts and Activates His Obligation

   When you acknowledge constantly that he owns everything, it makes him obligated to take care of you. It activates his obligation. It puts pressure on the king when you keep telling everybody who he is and what he owns.

2. Worship of the King Attracts His Favor

   Favor is a private law the king makes just for you. There are laws in his kingdom, but a favor is when he creates a new law just for you. You need to be close to him all the time — because you do not know when he will turn around and say, "This is for you."

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   Dr. Myles Munroe

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   Favor can do in one day what takes you a year to do. He can cancel all your work in one day with favor. This is why Esther positioned herself close to the king — if she could just get into the room, the king might say something. And he did, and he canceled the enemy's plan entirely.

   Daniel worked in the king's courts for the same reason. Being prostrate before the king — worshiping — puts you in an environment of favor.

3. Worship of the King Motivates Him to Action

   When you tell the king how great he is, it makes him prove it. True worshippers describe the king. Whatever you tell a king, it activates the king to prove it. Kings like to prove their greatness.

   If you tell the king you are awesome, the king will do something awesome. My God is great — God says, "Okay, I have to do something great to show that is true." If you say the Lord God rules over everything, he starts taking things and giving them to you — just to prove that he rules things.

   When you shout things to a king, it motivates him to prove it. When John was in heaven and the angels were shouting "power, dominion, honor," a voice came up from the throne saying, "Say it again." God wants you to tell him what he is, who he is, so he can keep doing it.

   Do you know what Rafa means? Healer. So when you are sick, do not talk about the sickness. Just say Jehovah Rafa. When you tell him he is healer, he has to prove it. You take the sickness off by declaring who he is.

4. Worship of the King Ignites His Responsibility

   A king owns everything in his kingdom, so he is responsible for everything in his kingdom. When everything submits to him, he has to secure it and take care of it. The lower you bow to a king, you are telling the king: I am totally your responsibility — and that activates the king's responsibility to take care of you.

   So worship makes the king responsible for you.

   God told the children of Israel: you stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. He was saying — you told the nations that God is your God. Let me prove that I am. You stand behind me and let them see the salvation of the Lord. Why? You make God responsible when you say he is your God.

   Christianity is built on the idea of convincing God to be nice to you — doing things so God will like you. That is not the kingdom. It is your acknowledgment that he owns everything that positions you for blessing. It is not what you do that makes him bless you. He sends rain on the just and the unjust — so it is not your behavior. It is your acknowledgment of his ownership.

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5. Worship of the King Activates His Protection

   When you claim him, he has to protect you. God told Moses: bring the people out. He said, "Now tell them I will be their God, they will be my people, and I will make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." He said, "Tell them that I am the king" — the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Why? Because if something is his, he protects it.

   Moses told the people, and they said: whatever you say, he is our God. God said, "Good. Now that is sorted out."

   Now when God's people went and told other nations they had a king named Jehovah, and Pharaoh questioned it, God sent signs and wonders — not for the people, but for his name's sake. Everything a king does is for his name. It is not for the citizen. It is for his name. Nothing is more important to a king than his reputation.

   So God says to Egypt: you are stiff-necked, and I will show you that I am Lord. He sent the plagues — blood in the water, flies, locusts, death of the firstborn. He did it for his name's sake.

   When Moses prayed and said to God: these people are stiff-necked, but you told the nations they are your people — Moses said, "You are going to mess up your reputation if you kill these people." And the Bible says the Lord changed his mind. Moses understood kingdom. He reminded God of his reputation.

   The key is: you worship him and you expose him. Tell everybody. I serve Jesus. He is my king. Put pressure on him.

6. Worship of the King Preserves the Worshiper

   Worship does not actually do anything to the king — it does something to the worshiper. When you acknowledge him and declare that he owns everything, you basically make him totally respond to your presence. He takes care of you because it protects himself. There is nothing you can do to make God bless you. He blesses you for himself.

7. Worship of the King Makes Him Prove His Glory

   When you tell a king how great he is, he has to prove it. You tell him how powerful he is, he has to prove it. You tell him how awesome he is, he has to prove it.

   That is why God has so many names:

   • Jehovah Shalom — when you call him that, he has to give you peace
   • Jehovah Jireh — when you call him that, he has to provide for you
   • Jehovah Rafa — when you call him that, he has to heal you
   • Jehovah Shama — when you call him that, he has to protect you

   What is his name that you need today? That is kingdom — completely different from religion.

Five Principles of Kingdom Worship

1. Worship is the expression of the citizen's gratitude and appreciation to the king for his favor. Never let anyone have to ask you to worship. Do it because you understand that you should always be giving thanks and gratitude.
2. Worship is an indication of the perceived worth of the king to the citizen. If he is worth everything to you because everything you have is his, then he is the most valuable person in your life. If someone is most valuable to you, you give them the most valuable thing you can.
3. Worship is the response of the citizen to the awareness that all things he enjoys are at the pleasure of the king. Because the king owns it — he is allowing you to use it. Whether it is eating, drinking, living in your house, using wood to build — everything is at the pleasure of the king. You take a deep breath: if the king be pleased, I will use your oxygen now. Attitude of gratitude changes your altitude.
4. Worship is the acknowledgment by the citizen that all things belong to the king.
5. Worship is the expression of dependency on the king for sustenance. Democracy is built on independence and individualism. The kingdom is built on dependency and corporate worship. You never pray in a kingdom for yourself to be blessed alone — you pray for everyone to be under the commonwealth. That is why Christ says pray like this: Our Father — never your Father. Because in a kingdom it is a commonwealth — everyone is equally accessible to his blessings.

Worship Always Involves the Offering of Gifts

You can never come into the king's presence without giving something back. You give it back, and he says, "It is fine. I give you back seven times more — because you know it is not yours."

Giving to a king is acknowledging the lordship of the gift and the giver. He owns both.

When the wise men heard that a king was born, the first thing they got was a gift — because they knew you do not visit a king empty-handed.