“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23)
If you’re anything like me and you’ve been around church for longer than 5 minutes, the word worship will not be unfamiliar to you. There’s the worship set, the worship team, the prayer and worship nights, the worship leaders…
But what is worship really all about? What is the nature of the “true worshippers” that John 4 is referring to and how do we become one of them?
“Therefore I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship”. (Romans 12:1)
It is clear from the above verse that worship cannot be confined to the various expressions of worship that we are so familiar with in our church services; that there is more to it than just singing a few “praise and worship songs”.
It is clear that there is much more to it than that. Psalm 96:9 says “Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness; tremble before him all the Earth.” I have heard this verse time and time again and yet it isn’t until now that I have realised that this verse is a perfect explanation of the true nature of worship. Worship is our expression of love for our God, in all of his splendour and holiness, and the commitment to submit ourselves to him and his will – tremble before him – acknowledging the majesty of who he is and having a healthy, reverent fear and respect for the God of everything! It is the act of placing God on the “throne” of our hearts and giving him the permission to have his way.
We worship God because he is God. Our worship flows from the love that we have for our creator because he first showed us extravagant love. We worship God to thank him for all that he has done for us but more importantly we worship and praise him because of who he is, all powerful, all wisdom, and ever present. We must worship God for all that he is, not just all that he does and all that he has to offer.
Worship is a lifestyle. We were created to worship God “at all times” in everything we do. And it is only when we grasp this truth that we truly can become the worshipper God created us to be. As Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
We worship because it is through this expression, through this loving submission that we come into line, into deeper relationship with the God of the universe. And when we align our hearts with his, when we draw near to God, he promises to draw near to us (James 4:8).
So how do we ‘achieve’ true worship:
- Acknowledge who God is and the extravagant love he has for you and express your love for him in return.
- Praise God for his mighty hand and that his ways are better than our own
- Submit yourself to his will – say this out loud if you need to “not my will but yours be done”
Final Note. Singing, musical worship is still clearly an important expression of worship – God created us with the ability to sing and make music and throughout the bible, verses highlighting this importance can be found. These times of jubilant worship are a tool to help us to express the overflow of love that we experience.
“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things … Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song … make music to the Lord with the harp … and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn — shout for joy before the Lord, the King.” (emphasis added)(Psalm 98:1-6)
Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done On Earth as it is in Heaven
For you are God, You are mighty and Your ways are better than my own
Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done.
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