WORSHIP FOR THE BATTLE | Pastor Matthew Johnson

"Worship invites God's presence into our circumstances and God's transformation into our hearts." — Pastor Matthew Johnson

Pastor Matthew Johnson closed out a multi week series on worship at The Tree Church with a message that felt personal from the very first minute. He had spent weeks walking the church through what worship really means. Now he wanted to leave the congregation with one truth that has shaped his own life as a pastor for nearly three decades. That truth is simple. Worship brings blessing.

Throughout the series, Pastor Matthew and the other teaching pastors kept returning to a single working definition. Worship is responding rightly to who God is. That means worship is not limited to the songs sung during a Sunday service. It stretches into every decision, every conversation, and every quiet moment of an ordinary day. Each week built on this idea. The team looked at worship as something physical, not only mental or emotional. They looked at worship as a living sacrifice, a willingness to give God whatever he asks. They looked at worship as continual, present even in mundane or painful seasons. They looked at how worship cannot be divided between God and anything else without becoming something else entirely.

Pastor Matthew explained that this dynamic runs through the whole series. True worship honors God. At the very same time, it transforms the person doing the worshiping. God is not just glorified in the moment. He is actively shaping the heart of the one who worships him.

Before diving into his main point, Pastor Matthew addressed something he sees often in church culture. Many Christians carry an unspoken belief that wanting to be blessed somehow cheapens their devotion to God. He pointed to a popular worship song with a line that says the singer is not there for blessing. He understands the heart behind that line. Jesus has already given us more than enough, even if he never gave another gift. That part is true.

But Pastor Matthew pushed back gently on the idea that desiring blessing is somehow wrong. He walked through the Gospels and showed how Jesus consistently frames his commands in terms of blessing. In the Beatitudes, Jesus says the poor in spirit receive the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn will be comforted. The merciful receive mercy. The pure in heart will see God. Jesus tells his followers to lay up treasure in heaven. He tells them that when they give, it will be given back to them, shaken together and running over. He promises that those who forgive will be forgiven and those who seek will find. Time after time, Jesus ties obedience directly to blessing, both on earth and in eternity.

To illustrate why desiring blessing is not dishonoring to God, Pastor Matthew used an example from his own family. He asked what it would sound like if his kids explained their obedience to him. If they said they obey him because doing so always makes their lives better, he would not feel dishonored by that at all. As a father, his deepest desire is to better his children's lives. He suggested God feels the same way toward his own children. Trusting God because he blesses our lives is not a lesser form of faith. It reflects exactly the kind of relationship a loving father wants with his children.

Once that foundation was set, Pastor Matthew introduced his central idea for the message. Worship was given to God's people as a weapon for battle and a tool for everyday life. He acknowledged that the language of battle can feel distant to people who are not facing physical danger. In the Old Testament, battle language usually meant literal war. In the New Testament, writers like the Apostle Paul reframed that language around spiritual struggle, the ongoing tension between the flesh and the spirit that lives inside every believer.

Pastor Matthew explained that most people think of worship only as a response after something good has already happened. God provides a job, so we thank him. God heals someone, so we praise him. That kind of worship is healthy and good, but it is only part of the picture. Worship was never meant to be limited to something we do after the fact. It was designed to be used before a difficult season even begins and all the way through the middle of it.

To make this point clear, Pastor Matthew asked a simple question. If a church knew a threat was coming and had to prepare to face it, when would be the right time to worship? Before the danger arrives? In the middle of the fight? After the victory is won? His answer was all three.

He walked through several biblical stories to show what this looks like in practice.

The first story came from 2 Chronicles 20. King Jehoshaphat learned that three nations were marching against Judah to destroy them. He was afraid, and he brought that fear honestly to God in prayer. God responded through a prophet, promising victory without Judah even needing to fight. In response, Jehoshaphat placed worship leaders at the front of the army instead of soldiers. As the people sang about God's steadfast love, God caused confusion among the enemy nations, and they ended up destroying each other. Judah collected spoils of war for three days afterward. Pastor Matthew pointed out that the people worshiped before they ever saw the outcome, simply because they trusted what God had spoken.

He also referenced the story of Jericho, where God instructed the Israelites to march around the city walls for seven days before shouting and worshiping on the final day, after which the walls came down. Even Jesus modeled this pattern. On the night before his arrest, he sang songs of worship with his disciples before going to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.

Pastor Matthew then moved to Exodus 17, where Moses stood on a hillside with his hands raised while Joshua fought against the Amalekites below. As long as Moses kept his hands raised in worship, Israel had the advantage. When his arms grew tired and dropped, the enemy gained ground. Aaron and Hur eventually held his arms up until the battle was won. Pastor Matthew described this as a physical picture of a spiritual truth. Worship in the middle of a struggle is an invitation for God to move on our behalf rather than trying to handle everything alone.

He also shared the story of Paul and Silas from Acts 16, who were beaten and thrown into prison for casting a demon out of a slave girl. Instead of despairing, they prayed and sang hymns in the middle of the night. An earthquake shook the prison, the doors opened, and their chains fell off. Yet instead of running, they stayed, and their presence led to the jailer's salvation along with his entire household. Pastor Matthew noted that worship in the middle of hardship does not always mean immediate rescue. Sometimes it opens the door for something even more meaningful to happen.

Finally, Pastor Matthew turned to worship that follows victory. After the Red Sea closed over the Egyptian army, Moses and Miriam wrote a song celebrating God's triumph. After an unlikely victory, Deborah and Barak did the same in Judges 5. King David, after years of hiding from Saul, finally received the kingdom God had promised him and wrote Psalm 18 in response. Pastor Matthew explained that these songs were not just personal expressions. They were written so future generations could remember God's faithfulness and carry that same confidence into their own battles.

Near the end of the message, Pastor Matthew shared something vulnerable. Since launching the Logan campus, he has faced more intense spiritual struggle than at any other point in his twenty seven years as a pastor. He was careful to note that things are going well overall. The staff is thriving, and there is real blessing in his life. Still, he has felt more insecurity and fear than usual, and he admitted it does not fully make sense outside of a spiritual explanation.

He shared that while preparing this message, God reminded him that the very thing he was about to teach, he needed to practice himself. That moment reframed the entire message for him. He was not simply teaching a principle from a distance. He was living it in real time.

Pastor Matthew closed by reminding the congregation that every person is always somewhere in this rhythm. Some are heading into a battle they can already sense coming. Some are in the middle of one right now. Others are coming out of a battle, whether with renewed faith or with wounds that still need healing. His encouragement was simple. Whatever situation someone is facing, the right response is to bring it to God in worship and ask him to move, both in the circumstance and in the heart.

He led the congregation into a time of worship and prayer, asking God to bring comfort, peace, healing, and empowerment to everyone listening, whether in the room or watching online from either campus.

The Tree Church is a growing community with two campuses serving Ohio families, one in Lancaster and one in Logan. Both locations gather for worship every Sunday at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. Whether you are searching for a church in Lancaster or a church in Logan, we would love to welcome you this weekend.

Lancaster Campus: 721 N Memorial Dr, Lancaster, OH 43130, USA 
Logan Campus: 36 Hocking Mall, Logan, OH 43138, USA