TRUE WORSHIP - PART ONE

I am teaching a class tonight on worship and in preparing my notes and lesson I was reminded about a mini lesson that I had recently from the Lord. One evening as I was observing a church service on TV not too long ago, the congregation was singing an old hymn that I cannot recall the name of. I watched as the camera panned the sanctuary and showed the faces of those that were singing. As the people stood there and sang the words, I could not help but notice the faces as they lifted up their voices to God in song. After the song was over, they sat down in their pews and the rest of the service went off like clockwork. As I watched the singers, I could not help but wonder, if they were enjoying what they were singing and if they were truly meeting with God for even a moment, in real worship and surrender. Many, many times, I do believe that we lose sight of what worship really is and means. Jesus told the Samaritan women in John chapter 4 what real worship was. He said that true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. For they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. He told her that God is spirit and He must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. So, to understand what true worship is, we need to recognize two very important elements of worship from what Jesus tells us, spirit and truth. Because God is spirit and upon salvation our spirits are quickened or made alive to know, understand and even feel His presences and truth, we are to worship Him through and in our own spirit.   We can do this in 3 steps. We first humble ourselves in humility, then allow our faith to be the vehicle that leads us into a spirit of worship and finally, be willing to be obedient as we prepare to come into His presence. Jesus Himself has set up the system of worship for us to follow. As we enter into worship, we are entering His territory and at that point we must be willing to submit ourselves to God’s will and not our own. This is where humility comes into play. Humility is the first key to any successful time of worship. Throughout the entire Bible, the primary Hebrew and Greek words for worship mean, humility. Without humility you cannot truly worship. Humility means to lower yourself and submit yourself to the will of another. So when you worship, you are coming under submission of the Holy Spirit, and allowing Him to fill you and move in and through you according to what He wants to do. By doing this you are giving Him the liberty and freedom that He needs to inhabit your worship of and to Him. The scriptures tell us in Psalm 22 that God inhabits the praises of His people.  Romans 12 says that you should present, or submit, your body to God as a living sacrifice. So very often in our Churches real worship never happens because the church does not come under the submission of the Holy Spirit during a worship service. More often than not, the worship leaders themselves are not guided or under the influence of genuine worship. There are many distractions that can cause this to happen for all of the worshipers. Whether it be a busy or hectic morning, schedules to keep, announcements to be made, the pastor’s need to be done on time.  All the while the Holy Spirit is waiting His turn to get in on the worship service.  As long as we stay in control, we will have church as usual. But when we let the Holy Spirit takes control we will stop having church and start being the church. When the Holy Spirit is actually involved in the services, watch out, you never know what might take place. A marriage may be restored, God’s people will be truly refreshed and joy will reign in the hearts of the true worshiper. God’s people will love each other, have a stronger desire to serve God and by doing so, the lost will come to Jesus. When that happens, will the services go past noon? Probably, but no one will care! When we choose to worship, we will expect the Holy Spirit to take control of us as well as the service and by doing so, we release to Him the authority and power which is His anyway, to show off, allowing us to see His handi-work. When we do this, the lost will see Him in us and come running to receive what we have. The broken will see Him and shout because they have been healed or restored. The proud and stubborn will see Him and weep in humility. That is true worship my friend! Worship in spirit and in truth! You will know that you have experienced true worship when God has had the freedom to have His way in your hearts. God inhabiting our praises is a principle that works, when we apply it with the right heart attitude and once you have experienced real worship, everything else falls short of the real thing. When the enemy comes at us to strike his blows at our joy, our confidence and our hope and we feel guilt from our doubts, fears and even despair, slipping away in our spirits to worship, will bring relief and refreshment to those that hungers for God. There is a story in the book of Acts about Paul and Silas being in jail. They didn't leave their situation but they sang...and their singing became their weapon ….He never fails sweet friend, we just fall short of seeking Him the right way!

Loving you today,

Bren