Worship! What is it and how do we do it? Much confusion swirls around the subject. Many very different kinds of “activities” and “behavior” are described as “worship.” The purpose of this “message” is to examine the issues and prayerfully “shed some much needed light of understanding” upon the subject. Let’s begin “at the beginning!”
WHO DO WE WORSHIP?
We are to worship The One True God and no other! We are commanded in both the Old Testament and the New Testament to “Worship” GOD alone. In Exodus 20:3-4, the first of the “10 Commandments” states, “You shall have no other gods before ME.” The second of the “10 Commandments” states, “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” In the New Testament Jesus states in Matthew 22:37, “You shall love The Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It becomes very clear that we are commanded to love GOD alone. Note the use of the word “all” in referring to loving GOD with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all your mind. Clearly the use of “heart,” “mind,” and “soul,” encompasses the totality of our “person.” Now, the question becomes, if we are to worship “The One True God, who is The One True God.”
WHO IS OUR GOD?
Our GOD is GOD of all, there is no other god! He is not just a god among many but HE is THE ONE TRUE GOD! He is not first among many, HE is the ONE and ONLY GOD of ALL. It needs to be said over and over. So many today (even many Christians) seem to think it is proper and right to have many gods as long as they have JEHOVAH GOD in FIRST PLACE. It is neither proper nor right! HE alone is GOD! There are to be NO OTHER gods before HIM -- no other gods around HIM. There are to be NO OTHER gods AT ALL IN OUR LIVES. We are to HONOR, ADORE, LOVE, AND WORSHIP ONLY THE ONE TRUE GOD -- THE GOD OF ALL CREATION, THE GOD OF ALL THE UNIVERSE – THE GOD OF ALL THERE IS, THE GOD WHO IS “THE GREAT I AM!”
HE is THE GREAT I AM -- THE ETERNAL ONE! HE IS THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA -- THE FIRST AND THE LAST! HE is Elohim -- GOD! He is YHWH -- Jehovah -- LORD! He is El Shaddai -- GOD ALMIGHTY! He is El Elyon -- GOD MOST HIGH! He is El Olam -- ETERNAL GOD! He is Adonai YHWH -- SOVEREIGN LORD! And this is just a sampling of the names for OUR ONE TRUE GOD! HE IS OUR ALL IN ALL!
For the sake of clarity let me simply state that GOD IS TRIUNE! This simply means that HE IS GOD IN THREE PERSONS -- FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT! Are there three Gods, then? NO! There is ONE GOD -- TRIUNE IN NATURE -- THREE PERSONAGES, YET ONE GOD! Yes, it is beyond our present ability to comprehend -- it is beyond our understanding as humans. However, this in no way negates this truth. We must accept the fact that some things are to be held by faith alone!
AS SUPREME -- AS SOVEREIGN -- AS ALMIGHTY -- AS GOD, HE is to be celebrated, enjoyed, honored, praised, loved, adored, and worshipped by those of us who have been “born again” -- “made a new creation” -- “adopted into HIS FAMILY”! These “spiritual facts” when properly understood and applied in our daily lives of worship lead us into a relationship with GOD that is mutually beneficial to us and to GOD. THE INDWELLING GOD, (FATHER -- SON -- HOLY SPIRIT) produce in us “fruits of the HOLY SPIRIT” as described in Galatians 5:22-23. One of these fruits is “JOY.” JESUS HIMSELF told us that HIS desire is that “HIS JOY be in us and that our JOY might be made full” (John 15:11). As we Yield ourselves to GOD and allow HIM to work HIS WORKS in us and through us, we find “an exceeding great JOY,” -- a boundless joy -- one, which must be expressed in the process that is collectively called “WORSHIP”!
THE PROPER ATTITUDE FOR WORSHIP
Before we discuss the various stages of “Worship” let me take a moment to discuss the “attitude” with which we approach worship. This is the first and vitally important requirement. To really worship GOD when we attend a “Worship Service,” we must be emotionally, physically, and spiritually prepared to worship. I’m concerned that most of us as “Christians” approach the “worship service” without preparing ourselves in any of these three areas. If so, the result is a wrong attitude and consequently a very dry, unfulfilling worship experience that really is not worship at all -- just a form of worship without the substance.
Notice that we usually speak of going to “church” instead of going to “worship.” We focus on a physical place -- a building, rather than worship. We focus on an “order” of the service as reflected in the “church bulletin.” We “perform” to and for the “congregation” instead of focusing on GOD and directing our worship to HIM. We are not to “spectators,” we are in fact to be “participants” in the process of “worship.” Too often we attend the “church service” out of an “obligation” or we come to “get a blessing.” How often we focus on “seeking the blessing” rather than truly “seeking the BLESSOR.” We “go through the motions” of a service. We participate in “a form of worship, while denying the power thereof.” We so need to gain a new insight into the importance of worship! We need so desperately to come to see the “worship service” as the vitally important, life-giving experience God wants it to be for us!
SECONDLY, WE MUST TRULY SEEK HIM.
Yes, we must come into the true worship service earnestly seeking HIM. Otherwise it will never be a true worship service and worship experience for us. So often we come to the “worship service” with the wrong attitude, that is, we come seeking to “be ministered to” instead of seeking to “minister” to God. We must come with the attitude and intent to “minister” first to GOD in Worship – to thank Him, to Praise Him, and to honor Him. We must come to the “Worship Service” with an attitude of great “D-E-S-I-R-E to worship HIM!”
D -- Desiring to seek HIM,
E -- Expecting to meet GOD,
S -- Seeking to worship HIM,
I -- Intent on praising HIM,
R -- Ready to adore HIM, and
E -- Eager to honor HIM!
In short, we must come to worship prepared and ready to worship HIM!
GOD states in HIS WORD, “if you seek me with all your heart, you shall surely find me!”
THE THIRD REQUIREMENT IS THAT WE MUST ALSO COME IN HUMILITY!
We must be willing and ready to humble ourselves before HIM in the spirit of Philippians 2:3-11. Yes, we must humble ourselves before HIM in order for HIM to even be present to receive our worship. We are all to often like the “Laodicean Church” of Revelation 3:14-22. In verse 20, we hear JESUS saying that HE is outside -- knocking on the door -- offering to come in and fellowship with whoever will open the door. GOD (FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT) are all to often excluded from the worship service! If we are engaging only in a “form of worship” then GOD will not be present! Remember, GOD tells us in II Chronicles 7:14 that HE will “hear” if we humble ourselves, pray, seek HIS face, and turn from our wicked ways.
THIS BRING US TO A FOURTH REQUIREMENT. WE MUST CONFESS OUR SINS!
Oh, how difficult it is for us to confess our sin! Our sin of pride keeps us from recognizing and admitting our many sins. And it is our pride that keeps us from humbling ourselves before GOD and confessing our sins to HIM! It is vital that we humble ourselves! We must confess our sin of pride and our ever-present sin of unconcern before we can truly enter into worship. And we must confess our sin of selfishness. We are steeped in a “self-centered-what’s-in-it-for-me” culture that has permeated the “Church.” Our focus is on ourselves, on what we need, on what we want, and what we don’t have. Our focus must change to be on GOD -- FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. We must not only confess our gross and many sins as THE CHURCH (THE BODY) OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, but we must also repent of these many sins. We must have a “Godly Sorrow” for our sins! We must confess them and turn from them to our “Merciful GOD.”
Remember the promise of God, Our Father. In I John 1:9, God has promised to forgive our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness – if – we will confess our sin! We must come into God’s presence cleansed of all unrighteousness before we can enter into true worship!
Let us pray for ourselves --
for THE HOLY SPIRIT to convict us of our many sins,
for us to “recognize” our many sins as SIN,
for us to be willing to “own” our sins,
for us to be willing to “admit” our sins
for us to be willing to “confess” our sins,
and finally, for a “GODLY SORROW” to be
given to us by THE HOLY SPIRIT so that we will truly humble ourselves, pray, seek HIS face, and repent of our sin.
Have you noticed the four requirements. They should not be strange to us, for we have heard them so often. In summary these requirements are that we come to GOD our FATHER
(1) genuinely humbling ourselves before HIM,
(2) honestly praying and confessing our sins to HIM,
(3) truly seeking HIM, and
(4) sincerely repenting of our sins in HIS presence.
We see these requirements set forth in the very familiar scripture in II Chronicles 7:14. If we do the first four things, GOD’S promise to us is that HE will then hear us, forgive our sin, and heal our land. If and when we approach the “worship service” with this kind of attitude, we will meet GOD and we will experience “true worship.”
INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE WORSHIP
Another important point to understand is the difference between “individual worship” and “corporate worship.” We hear the statement frequently that sounds something like this -- “I can worship GOD anywhere, at any time.” This is a true statement. Yes, if we are truly HIS Children, HE is in us all the time. HE never leaves us nor forsakes us. We can (and should) worship HIM anywhere -- everywhere -- all the time. But, just because we “can” worship Him at any time and anywhere, doesn’t necessarily mean we do or that we will!
While we must be individual worshippers before we can join together in “corporate” worship, we need to grasp the important added dimensions that corporate worship gives to individual worship. When we gather together with others of like mind to worship GOD, the Bible clearly tells us that GOD is in “the midst of us.” As we worship individually, GOD is in us. As we worship corporately (together), GOD is also “in our midst.” God’s Word makes it clear that we only experience GOD “in our midst” as we worship together with others of “like mind” in HIS Name!
Another important effect occurs when we join together for corporate worship. The effect of our joining together in worship is not just addition but multiplication. Somehow in GOD’S economy of worship HE multiplies, He sanctifies, He purifies, He magnifies our feeble efforts as we join together in praise and worship. In the secular world this concept is called “Sinergy.” However, this is not “natural,” this is “supernatural! This is from God! It is defined as a condition or situation where the result is greater than just the arithmetic sum of the parts. Remember that our Bible tells us that “Where two agree, as touching anything, it shall be done.” Collective praying and collective worship both bring about a multiplying effect that goes beyond our intellect. It goes beyond any human reasoning and any human ability to understand.
THE FOUR LEVELS OF WORSHIP
With all of this said, let’s look at the four main levels of the corporate worship service. These are Fellowship, Celebration, Praise, and Worship!
FELLOWSHIP:
The first stage of WORSHIP is horizontal in nature and we experience it as “fellowship”. In this first stage we are appropriately “enjoying” one another in THE BODY OF CHRIST! Many of our beloved hymns and songs of faith are “fellowship” songs. In other words, they tell about GOD and HIS wonderful works. These songs are about GOD and are “sung” to one another rather than “to GOD”. Let me say here that these are fine, wonderful songs but they should not be where we begin and end our worship experience. The old wonderful songs like Amazing Grace, What A Friend, and Tell Me The Old, Old Story, are about GOD and about HIS Love. These songs and hymns share this wonderful news with “us” and we share the news with “one another” and as such these are “fellowship” and “horizontal” in their expression. Let me say again that this is a natural and wonderful beginning stage of the worship experience, but it should not also be the end! As we share the wonderful news about GOD’S GRACE resulting in our salvation, WHO GOD IS, HIS greatness and HIS goodness -- our worship should naturally flow into the second level of CELEBRATION AS OUR FOCUS CHANGES FROM WHO WE ARE TO WHO HE IS.
2. CELEBRATION:
The second level is CELEBRATION. “WORSHIP” begins with an overflowing joy in the expression of celebration. We need to recognize who we are in Christ Jesus Our Lord. We are the “redeemed” -- bought by the precious blood of Jesus. We are “the chosen” of GOD, “born again” of the HOLY SPIRIT, “adopted” by GOD THE FATHER into HIS FAMILY, made “joint heirs” with JESUS CHRIST, declared by GOD to be “HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” “A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD,” “A HOLY NATION,” and “SAINTS.” We are destined for Heaven itself for all eternity. Romans 8:29 tells us that GOD HIMSELF is working on you and me “conforming” us to the very Image of JESUS. Philippians 1:6 promises us that nothing will keep OUR FATHER from completing the wondrous work HE has started in us. We will be perfected – We will be made “JUST AS HE IS” – I Corinthians 15, tells us that we will have bodies that are IMMORTAL and PERFECT – We will be PERFECT just as JESUS is PERFECT, lacking NOTHING! Yes, my dear brothers and sisters in CHRIST, we have much to celebrate in who we are and in WHO HE IS!
In addition, we now are children of GOD. We are a “new creation” in Christ Jesus! We are “more than Overcomers!” We are “Overwhelming Conquerors.” We are “Sealed” by The Holy Spirit! Nothing can ever separate us from The Love of GOD in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD! We are citizens of Heaven. We are destined for eternity in Heaven – In that place where all is Perfect Peace, Joy, and Love – Forever more! We have so much to “Celebrate” and every reason to “Rejoice!”
3. PRAISE:
In this third level of the worship experience, our focus is upon GOD to the exclusion of all else. We tell HIM that we praise HIM and honor HIM. It is not singing songs like, “Let’s just praise the LORD.” This is really speaking (or singing) to one another about HIM. This is “singing” about what we are intending to do. This is still fellowship! However, we can turn this into true Praise to HIM by making a seemingly small change. If we change the expression from “Let’s just praise The LORD” to “I praise you, LORD” or “we praise YOU, LORD,” we have changed our focus from ourselves to HIM! We thank HIM for HIS blessings, HIS Mercy, HIS Love, and for who HE is by simply saying, “Thank YOU LORD.” We need to take great care at this level that we are directing all our praise to HIM. Whether we are shouting “Hallelujah”, raising our hands, clapping, dancing, or bowing in HIS PRESENCE; we are directing every word --every expression of praise -- our very being -- to HIM. (I believe that we need to take care to express our appreciation to others for allowing themselves to be GOD’S instruments. But, we need to also take care to express our thanksgiving to the “GOD OF ALL BLESSINGS.” In short, our thanksgiving – our praise -- should always be to GOD!)
I should point out that prayer is a natural part of both the Praise and Worship stages. Prayer is simply communication with GOD. We communicate with HIM and HE communicates with us. The best and most intimate areas of prayer occur when we praise, worship, adore, and love our GOD! It is a maturing child of GOD who experiences the intimacy of this communication and understands that it is the very “life” of our growing relationship with GOD! The maturing child learns with delight that GOD enjoys our “ministering” to HIM and desires to spend time with us as HIS Children.
4. WORSHIP:
The flow of our praise should lead us quite naturally and smoothly into the fourth stage, which is “Worship.” This differs from praise simply in that it becomes deeper and increasingly more “intimate.” It is very personal! It is between the “worshipper” and GOD. True “Worship” requires that we go deeper than our emotions, deeper than our intellect, to the very “Core of our Being” to the depth of “our spirit.” Jesus stated that “God is Spirit, and those who Worship Him must Worship Him in ‘Spirit’ and in ‘Truth’!” Worship involves our complete surrender to GOD, yielding to HIM, becoming totally absorbed in HIM, totally “lost” in HIM, in our devotion to Him and our adoration of Him to the exclusion of all else. “Worship” is truly “ministering to GOD” and as we minister to HIM we will always find that HE “Ministers” to us. In this sense, TRUE WORSHIP is never one-sided but is always a mutually beneficial experience. As we minister to HIM, GOD has promised in HIS law of sowing and reaping that we will reap ministry from HIM. In other words, GOD will minister to us. And remember, HE multiples the blessings we sow – we always receive more than we give! (Isn’t it literally amazing to realize that we can “BLESS GOD and MINISTER TO HIM” in our worship!)
A FEW CLOSING OBSERVATIONS: (Pitfalls to avoid!)
I observe that many of us are very uncomfortable with this final stage of the worship experience and will withdraw from it. It seems that the “intimacy” with GOD that is involved at this level is “foreign” or even “frightening” to many. Entering into this deep level of “intimacy” is especially difficult for men in our culture. After all, we’re taught that “big boys don’t cry.”
Also, there is a comfort level that is attained and maintained by individuals and by local church bodies. To often this comfort level is reached at the very first level of “fellowship” or the second level of “celebration.” Such services may more closely resemble a “high school pep rally” than a True Worship Service. In such situations the “service” rarely, if ever, is permitted to enter the third or the fourth stage of worship where the focus is really on GOD and our expression of praise and worship is to GOD!
I have also observed that many individuals and congregations will begin the transition from “fellowship” into “praise” and/or “worship” and immediately pull back to the more comfortable “fellowship” or “celebration” stage.
Another common occurrence is a mixing of the fellowship songs with praise and/or worship songs with a switching back and forth among them. Many of our songs are written in this way. This results in artificially starting, stopping, and even reversing the natural flow from “fellowship”-- to “praise”-- to “worship”. The end result is usually a frustrating, confusing, and disappointing “worship experience” where no true worship of GOD takes place. It’s all too easy to walk away from such a service feeling empty -- like we missed out on something very important, and without a doubt -- we did!
May GOD ALMIGHTY, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, GRANT YOU GRACE AND BLESSING AS YOU PROCEED WITH YOUR DESIRE TO WORHIP HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIND, AND SOUL!
Additional Thoughts
What is Worship? God makes it clear that HE does not want us to “have any other gods before HIM.” Paul states that he has forsaken all else and considered it as “worthless” for the sake of “Knowing” Christ! Jesus states that God is Spirit and those who worship HIM must worship HIM in “Spirit” and in “Truth.” We’re told in the Bible to “submit to GOD.” We’re told to “Seek” GOD with “all our heart.” We’re told to “put on the Mind of Christ.” We’re told to be “not conformed to this world”, but to be transformed by the “renewing of our minds.”
Worship then must be the total abandonment of “self” to GOD! It must be the complete submission of “self” to GOD! It must involve the totality of the person. As Jesus stated, we must love GOD with all our heart, our mind, our soul – with everything and all that we are! Worship then becomes the expression of all of this to GOD! We, who are created in the very image of GOD, voluntarily bow before HIM. We submit to HIM! As Paul stated, it is no longer I who live but JESUS CHRIST who lives in me and through me!
I have often heard individuals say that, “I cannot worship unless I am with others who are worshipping.” I question that. It seems to me that any child of GOD must we willing and able to worship Him individually and privately before one can engage in “corporate worship.”
Is there any particular form or expression of worship that is more acceptable to GOD than another form? I doubt it! I believe that what GOD is interested in is worship that is genuine, honest, and from the depth of our spirit. It doesn’t have to loud, although it can be. It doesn’t have to be emotional, although it can be. It doesn’t have to be intellectual, although it can be. My point is that worship, by its very nature, must be an intensely private, intimate matter between GOD who is being worshipped and the one doing the worshipping. Our own expression of worship must be that which is uniquely suited to us.
However, we are not “islands” alone. We are instead part of the “Body of Christ” and as such are suited to “corporate worship” with others who are also of the “Body of Christ.”
It strikes me that what some call “worship” may not be that at all. I have seen “services of worship” that resembled a high school “pep rally” more that anything else. Is this worship? Maybe and maybe not. Yet while it is not my style of worship, I must acknowledge that for some it may be a very legitimate form of worship. Therefore, let me not “judge” the worship of another. Let me instead tend to my own worship and be sure that what I am doing is “right, honest, and true” for me!
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Pastor J. Gilbert Hammond