It is not a question if we will worship but what we will worship. We are created to worship. Ex 23:24-25. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,(NIV). Worship, serve = abad (Heb).
What worship is
Worship is to adore reverently, to feel deep devoted love for, to regard with respect and with great awe and devotion.Ps. 29:1-2, worship the Lord in holy array or in the beauty of holiness, 96:9What worship is
John 4:23-24,
Rev 5:11-14, Neh 9:6, the multitudes of heaven worship You.
When we worship we:
- reverence (fear), respect, give ourselves to totally, know (we can only worship to the degree we know), trust in totally, center of our lives, have full security in, adoration, love, is first priority.
- Worship is more than songs it is our lives, and heart attitude.
- Words and songs are not needed.
- Respect for God the Holy One and the Great One. Ministering unto God.
- To pour out ones love and adoration before Him.
- A heart attitude of humility. Humbling of yourself under God – has to do with worship.
- Worship is not a musical activity but a function of the heart.
- It is an outpouring of our whole being in the presence of God, it is an outflowing of our deepest love and adoration. Luke 10:27, to love the Lord with all your heart, Matt 4:10, Lk 4:8 to worship Him only.
- Worship is birthed out of our understanding of God as He has revealed Himself to us through His word and as we have experienced Him in our lives.
(Mt 2:1-2, 11, they came to worship Jesus. Mt 28:9, 16-17. Lk 24:52, Jn 9:38, Ph 2:10-11.) Heb 10:22, worship - draw near to God with true honest hearts in full assurance of faith and hearts purified from guilt.
John 4:23-24, God is calling His people into a greater intimacy with himself. God wants our hearts more than our service. He is not looking for worship as it is but He is looking for worshipers! A worshiper is one who lives worship, lives a lifestyle of worship! Lives lived in an attitude of worship in all that we do and say. Isa 29:13, Matt 15:7-9
2 Chr 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." (NIV)
- Have our mind involved.
- Be through Jesus who is the truth and in accordance with God's word – truth Jn 17:17.
- Our hearts need to be true to God, pure.
- Not hypocritical 1 Sam 15:24-31, the motivation wasn't right. It is not to show others how spiritual we are, we are not to put on a spiritual front.
- True worship gazes honestly into heaven and invites the cleansing presence of THS.
- It is not enough to worship in sincerity but also in truth, the revealed truth of God in His word. Not just with the symbols of the tabernacle but the reality of it.
- Our worship is no higher than our knowledge of God as worship flows our of a relationship with God which is strengthened by learning of Him through His word.
Matt 15:8-9, These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. (NIV)
Who can worship God?
Those who are born again can worship God as their spirits are alive to God.
Worship is for those who are childlike enough to just open up their hearts and respond to God in sincerity and honesty and enjoying a relationship of loving communion with Him
Where?
Jn 4:21-24, we can see here that worship is not bound to a certain place or time rather it is a function of the spirit of man reaching out to the Spirit of God.
 |
| We're Worshipers |
…and when?
Matt 4:10, Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" (NIV)
Worship the Lord everyday. It is first priority to sit by the feet of Jesus. Second to serve. We excuse our lack of worship by pointing out the many things we do for God. We are somehow in a hurry to serve God and we neglect to worship Him. The greatest service will never be a substitute for worship.
What happens?
Ps. 46:4, in worship we partake of the very river that flows from the throne of God. The waters of Siloam whose course ran underneath and through Jerusalem and supplied the city with water. THS provides us with renewing water as we worship from our innermost beings, cleansing and refreshment over our souls. Eze 47:9, as the river of God begins to flow during our times of worship, it brings life, abundance and healing, washing over broken hearts and restoring parched souls.
Attitude and Qualities that characterized Worshipers.
What attitudes should we have?
Luke 7:36-50
When we worship He will respond, He will turn to us and speak to us, He is eager to do it. A loving heart that cries out to God – that is what matters.
We will never grow to the point where we are "above" worshiping God. Spiritual maturity doesn't exempt one from being a worshiper. Because in heaven there is and will be worship, Rev 4:9-11.
- Guilt and condemnation are among the greatest hindrances in worship
- Never allow sin to stop you from meeting with God. Come before Him and let Him convict you of sin. He will convict us but not condemn us. Conviction will lead us to repentance, condemnation to despair. John 3:17, 8:11. Sin can't survive in His presence. So if we want to
get rid of it draw as near to God as you can, flee to His presence and confess your sins and receive His cleansing, healing, holiness, purity. - Wrongly formulated attitudes of the mind and of the heart:
- 2. A Lack of Knowledge- When we come into God’s presence, we must come with a heart filled with faith. Faith comes from knowledge of the Word of God. A lack of knowledge will hinder us from truly enjoying worship.
- In the Old Testament, David brought the ark of the covenant into the nation of Israel and into Jerusalem with a lack of knowledge. He carried the ark improperly by carrying it on a cart when God had given instruction for rods to be run through the ark and for the priests to carry it on their shoulders. Because of David’s lack of knowledge as to how to carry the ark, a man ended up dying when he tried to steady the ark. Your lack of knowledge can affect innocent people around you. God will forgive us for the lack of knowledge, but the further we walk with Him, the more accountable He will expect us to be. God’s desire is that we continue to grow in our knowledge of His Word.
- Often, people will try to separate worship from the study of God’s Word, but they cannot be separated. Whenever you study God’s Word, you are worshiping. The word “worship” actually means, “face to face kissing with God.” We should not treat the study of God’s Word lightly because again, it is a form of worship.In true worship, you always leave that place of worship changed. Not only is this true of worshiping God, it is also true of satanic worship. It is also true of the world. You will become more and more like the one you worship!
- Every time you spend time in God’s Word, you become more like God Himself.2 Corinthians 3:18........"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
- The phrase “…open face” actually means “unveiled face.” The entire essence of 2 Corinthians 3 is the comparison of life under the law versus life under the new covenant. The more of God’s Word we learn, the more we’re changed into the image of God and the easier it becomes to worship Him. A lack of knowledge will hinder our ability to worship the Lord. God is seeking worshipers who will put Him first place in their lives.
- 3. A Critical Attitude- We need to be removed from a critical attitude. The Word of God repeatedly warns against judging others. A critical attitude is really a manifestation of pride. When someone is critical, they are setting themselves up as a judge to look down on and speak evil of other people. The only person we have a right to judge is ourselves. The Bible tells us that we are to examine ourselves. But more often than not, we spend time judging others than we do ourselves.
- Matthew 7:1-2 "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it will be measured to you again.And why behold thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in you own eye?"
- Jesus is saying, “How dare you judge another person. How dare you criticize them when they have only a splinter in their eye but you have a log in your eye!”By criticizing others, you have reaped back a good measured, pressed down, shaken together, and running over splinter! Whatever you sow, you will reap. That is why it is so important to sow love! When you judge others, you are in worse condition than any sin they might be participating in.
- Romans 2:1 "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are that judges: for wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you that judge do the same things."
- The next time you feel the temptation to run someone down, remember—you have been guilty of the same thing. You need to treat others the same way the Lord has treated you. You need to sow mercy rather than bitterness. The Lord said that we are to be merciful as He is merciful. Quit judging others!
- Hebrews 3:16-18 "For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?"
- Those who could not enter into rest were those who were in unbelief. The root of criticism is unbelief. When you truly believe God and His Word, you will not criticize others. Instead, you will begin to see them through the eyes of God’s love and you will begin to sow love into their lives.
- 4. Impatience- Hebrews 6:12 "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
- You may be thinking, “There are things in my life that I have been believing for that still have not manifested.” Perhaps you have become concerned and tempted to think they will never come to pass. If you have been doubting that God’s promises will come to pass, ask God to forgive you for your impatience. It is not for the farmer to tell the seed when to sprout. Know that your promise is planted in the ground of faith and you may not see it yet, but it is producing. We will reap if we faint not!
- You may come into a worship service and begin thinking, “I have been praying and believing for my uncle,my mother,my child or any of your friends may be who're not saved yet to be born again for such a long time. I have quoted scriptures, I have prayed for laborers to be sent across his path,Complaining that I've been praying for my school performance,I've been praying to have a new job, but its like I'ven't seen things working. For the ones who are not saved I have done everything I can think of and yet they don't look any closer to receiving Jesus than when I started praying for them! In fact, they looks like they’re even farther away from God than ever!” While everyone else is enjoying the presence of God, you are missing out because of your impatience!
- James 1:4"But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
- You just keep on believing that everything is in control don't ever be doubtful , for God answers at a very right time he never later....always remember that He never sleep or slumber no matter what His love is always there for us ,he sees whatever we're go through...God is not a Man so that he can tell a lie, he promised that so whoever calls up on his name shall be will indeed see Him. All that we've to do is to wait up on him....for those who wait up on the Lord shall be renewed their strength...
- 5. Legalism- Legalism is a subtle hindrance. We can come to church proud of all the good we have done during the week. We might say to the Lord, “God, I won four souls! Four! Just count them! Not only that, I laid hands on a person the other day and they were healed! Aren’t you so proud of me? I bet You’re really proud of my works! You really need me, don’t You?” But Isaiah 64:6 says, “…all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Self-righteousness and legalism will keep you from truly entering into the presence of the Lord in worship.
- The purpose of worship is not to draw attention to our works, but to draw attention to the works of God! You did not win those people to the Lord. You may argue with that, but you did not win them! The Holy Spirit gave you the words to speak. The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible so you would have something to preach. If the Holy Spirit had not drawn them, all of your words would have been worthless. Regardless of how the Lord uses us, all of the glory goes back to Him
- 6.Worldliness-We cannot escape the world’s system. We are surrounded by it daily.But the Bible says even though we are in this world, we are not to be of the world. We are surrounded by human viewpoint all week, but man’s ideas are always opposed to God’s. The way man obtains money is opposed to God’s way. Man’s way of rising in business, position, and authority is always opposed to God’s plan. Man says, “Pull a few strings, smooth talk the boss, juggle the books, tell a few lies.” Man may rise in power this way but God’s way says to humble yourself under the mighty hand God and He will exalt you in due time. God says when you have an opportunity to take the best seat, take the low seat and He will exalt you. Watch God work for you.
- 1John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." What you do is always a product of what you think. You can have worldly, lustful ideas inside you. The Bible calls this “worldly” and “carnal.” Worldliness will prevent you from entering into the fullness of worship.
- 7. Unforgiveness- Unforgiveness will always separate us from worship—from face to face communion with God.
- Isaiah 59:1-2:"Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
When you come to church with unforgiveness in your heart, ask the Lord to forgive you.let us always give priority to forgive for the forgiveness draw us closer to God's face.
Mark 11:25
Mark 11:25
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
Matthew 6:15
Matthew 6:15
"But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
If we are unwilling to ask forgiveness from our brother, then God must stand in unforgiveness toward us. If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear me. God desires that we ask His forgiveness.
1John 1:9:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1John 1:9:
8. Wrong Priorities- Another name for wrong priorities is idolatry. You may say, “But Pastor, I don’t get down in front of wood and stone and bow down before idols!” That may be true, but how many hours do you spend in front of the television? How much time do you spend reading magazines or newspapers? How much time do you spend participating in your favorite hobby? Our priorities can be so misplaced. God becomes jealous. We may say, “Hey God, I’ve got 25 minutes on Sunday I’m going to squeeze you in so I can get back to my computer to get my ledger sheets balanced.” When we’re trying to fit God into our schedule because other things are more important, this is idolatry. You cannot truly enter into worship if your priorities are not right.
Let make sure we give God time for the more we give him time , the more we get to know him and the more he speaks to us ......and remember that in Matthew 6:33 the bible says "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." The world things will soon come to pass but God will forever be there....as we obey him we make ourselves ready for an everlasting life with Him
9. Presumption- God is Looking for Worshipers,In chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, Jesus told the woman at the well, “God is looking for those who will worship Him.” 2Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…”
God not only wants converts in the earth, He also wants people who will spend time in fellowship with Him. However, His desire is that we come to Him with a willing heart. He will not force us to worship Him. God delights when His people seek after Him. He delights when people desire to worship Him with all of their hearts.
Numbers 16 illustrates the results of false worship and the results of true worship. False worship ultimately resulted in the children of Israel murmuring against Moses and Aaron and a plague that killed 14,700 people. However, true worship caused the plague to cease.Worship needs to be taken outside the four walls of the church. Worship needs to be taken into the world where the plague is running rampant. Our homes should be free of the plague. The Bible says, “No plague shall come nigh your dwelling.” We need to stand as a barrier, as a defense, as a dam that stops the onslaught of Satan. But the strength that comes to be that defense only comes from God.
A person can no more be a worshiper because someone beside him is a worshiper than a person can be saved because they are standing next to someone who is saved.
The Other Hindrance towards being a true Worshiper are ;
Spectatorism – How easy it is for us to get caught up in watching the proceedings of the worship and afterward find that we have done everything but worship or we have been like an audience at a performance. Worship is not performed by one part in behalf of the other. No one can worship for another. Rom 12:1, 1 Cor 3:16, 1 pet 2:5-6, Rev 1:6. We are all called to a spiritual priest hood t offer up thanksgiving to God. We are all participants in raising high His glorious praise. Watching everybody else doing it and not entering in our self.
Sentimentalism – we often become sentimental in worship when we become more taken up with the music or tune than with the message of the song. Overly familiar songs are in danger of becoming sentimental for us. We should not just respond emotionally, we need a complete response of our whole beings. God intended music to help us to open our hearts and become more receptive to Him not to worship music. Music is a vehicle not an end in itself. Eze 33:32 "When I am moved by the voice of him that sings more than by the words sung. I confess to have sinned" St. Augustine.
Lip service – while our lips are moving our hearts are not a part of the message, half heartedness, hypocrisy, in God's eyes, Amos 5:21-23
Fear of being manipulated – God is worthy regardless of any human foibles manifested by the leadership.
"We've never done it this way before"
Another hindrance to worship is because the devil wants worship. Isa 14, Eze 28, Mt 4:10.
"If it feels good I will do it" – If we allow our worship to be controlled by our feelings we will never gain victory in our Christian walk. We don't worship because we feel like it.
Have a fresh revelation about God's greatness! It'll change the way we talk, live our lives.
We need to know Him by experience not just head knowledge Phil 3:10. We can be taught things about God but who is He for you?Worship – reverence. You can't worship in any other way. If it doesn't have reverence in it it is not worship. There is reverence in worship because we see Him as He is. Worship is us giving of ourselves. Isa 29:13 their fear toward Him was taught by the commandment of men. He is saying that the people had reduced the glory of the Lord to the glory of corruptible man. They served God in the image they had created – not by His true image, but their own standards.
Ex 32:4 "This is your God o Israel that brought you out of Egypt.” The golden calf. They reduced God's greatness to a level they were more accustomed to dealing with.
If a king or a famous person goes to another country where he is not known, how will he be treated? As an ordinary man, as any foreigner, he will be given little or no respect.
John 1:10-11 His own didn't receive Him, the One who created the universe didn't receive the honor He deserved. His own didn't recognize the Awesome one they professed to serve faithfully.
Truly knowing God brings a fear of Him not afraid of Him.
Heb 12:28-29 worship in awe and fear.
Lev 10:3, And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.' "So Aaron held his peace. (NKJ)The Lord never comes where He is not reverenced.
Seek God's face ask Him to reveal Himself. Eph 1:17-21
We serve a great God, nothing is too hard for Him! Ps. 93, 95, 96
Ps. 96:4 "God is to be reverently feared and worshiped above all so called gods!”
We can only worship the Lord to the degree that we know Him, see Him, that He is revealed to us.
What image of God do you have?
Isa 6:1-3
Rev 1:10-18 (17); 4:8, 10-11, John saw Jesus in the spirit. Different degrees of God's glory revealed. In heaven complete glory! No man in the flesh can see God's glory and live.
- Is for our benefit
- Distant, about, to God.
- All creation praise God Ps. 148:3-12, and yet God has no relationship with any of these.
- Always seen or heard
- Horizontal in its purpose
- is often preparatory to worship, a gateway to worship, but singing or praise doesn't guarantee that we will cross over to worship.
- Normally faster songs, declaring!! As it fits with the character of praise.
- Sometimes we need to plunge into praise with an aggressiveness. It's often necessary to stir up our flesh and our soul to praise the Lord.
- Since praise is expressed through the flesh it requires a stirring up of the flesh. Is characterized by some form of physical manifestation.
- God seeks worshipers
- Intimate, with God.
- Relationship is required, worship brings us close to the heart of God. It is a 2 way street – giving and receiving, communion and fellowship.
- Not always seen, evident to an observer
- Vertical interaction, private, preoccupied with the God head.
- Normally slower songs – to complete silence. It is not a musical activity but a function of the heart.
- Worship is more characterized by a quiet and unassumed basking in God's presence. Our spirit is always willing to worship – have communion with God.
- But since worship is more a function of the spirit, what is needed is an unlocking of the spirit. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
When we come to Him and bow ourselves down before Him – He will meet with us. A change of our focus from ourselves to God. In His presence is all we need. You might be in a need of healing, deliverance, you have problems etc., when we start to worship Him. Remember worship is not singing songs just. People can get healed, set free by His Spirit as they are worshiping God. Worship was a sacrifice and it still is a laying down of our lives, our wills, feelings and we say by bowing before Him. Heart attitude, the outward action should be a reflection of what is going on on the inside that He is our king, we are not our own.
Worship a laying down of our lives.
Close your eyes, forget about the people around you for a moment. Let's talk to God. Here I am Lord. I make a decision right now to lay down my life at your feet and I will exalt you, I will praise you. Instead of looking at myself I'll look at you Lord. You are the great one you are the majestic one the exalted one. I'm coming to you Lord. Talk to Him not to me, or your neighbor. If you want to meet with God remember who you are talking to. You don't want the secretary (somebody working for God) but you want the king, the boss himself. If you come to me and say to the person standing next to me that you want to meet with me, but you keep on saying this to the person next to me saying you did a great job ullis etc. God is standing right here saying "I'm here!”.
He is waiting for us to come to Him.
So change your focus from being conscious of what the others might think. Who you are conscious of is in reality who your are talking to. When you pray are you praying to the people or to God?? Sometimes people pray nice prayers without having touched the heart of God. It is like a performance. When we sing – sing to God! I don't care what people around me will think. See Him make a decision to come to the king of kings.
When we really worship God His power will flow, life will flow. Don't be discouraged nor give up. Just yield all of you to God. I'm for you Lord, all of me to You. You can tell me anything but what are you telling God from your heart what have you made a decision about in your heart. You take the first step. Remember who you are coming to. You are coming to Father God the Holy and almighty God. We come as a child because of His grace and we are coming to the King Lord of our lives as well. We can come as a child because of the blood of Jesus into His Holy presence. Bowing before Him telling Him He is the King, not just a word but in reality, He is your Master and our King The eyes of my heart focused on God not on the crowd around me nor my problems. I say I come to you Lord.God wants to refresh you challenge you take you higher in His presence. It's all in His presence. He wants you to be able to worship Him wherever you are not just in meetings. That there'll be a constant flow of His presence, refreshment hearing from God. If you want to hear His voice spend time in the word and in His presence worship Him.
Your spirit always want to worship God. It is your mind flesh feelings that says otherwise. Deep calls to deep. Learn to listen to your spirit not feelings mind etc. To get the mind on the Lord – listen to your spirit – it cries out abba father. What are we listening to? It is not important how many times we sing each song or how many songs we sing, if you are standing before God it doesn't matter what matters is Him!!!
Challenge them to give it all! Don't let anything hold you back from having all that God has for you/His presence.
- Get into God's river and flow with, it be sensitive.
- The first responsibility of every worshiper is to minister to the Lord.
- It is our responsibility to make our songs a praise from our hearts unto God. .
- Pray and stir up the gift in me..
- We ought not to come for a hand-out but should rather bring an offering..
- We are to make His praise glorious. Ps. 66:2.
- A worshiper worships at every opportunity and does not demand an encouragement from a worship leader before entering into praise..
- Put on the garment of praise, a smile and lift your hearts to God in thanksgiving and praise. Cast off concerns. Fix your mind on the Lord not on what to do afterwards, who to talk to, where to go, etc..
- Looking around the congregation is a big distraction during P&W. How can you overcome that distraction? Shut your eyes..
It is not to perform, fill time, because of tradition, or because we like singing.But because God's word tells us to do that. Ps. 68:26, Heb 2:12
Hope God has something for you through this article , as in Jeremiah 29:11 the bible says "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." that is he has good plans for us ...now as you're reading this article may My living God meet your needs and give you the desire of your heart mostly get you transformed through this article....Amen
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Be blessed
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