True Worship
John 4:23 – God is a spirit, and his worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
I have heard preachers say that if Jesus was living in the 21st century, he would have road in Limousines instead donkeys Matt 21:7. I beg to differ on this point as it only occurred to me recently that in Jesus’ time there were chariots and horses which would have been a better choice than that of a donkey as He was King. Instead He still chose to ride on a donkey which demonstrates His humility and humbleness of mind.
My point here is that if we are to approach the throne of grace in worship to know the will of God for our lives, we have to do in the same frame of mind in all humility. Jesus made himself of no reputation and humbled himself. This then tells us that there is more grace made available for the humble.
Worship these days has been approached with the wrong motives which is affecting the church and our experience with God. We are now doing things that get’s God out of the picture which is what the devil wants. May the Lord have mercy upon us. It has been adorned with entertainment that affects our focus on God. Worship should be about the awesomeness of this most divine being that we acknowledge as God over our lives. It is not about what would make the people happy or comfortable dance. All these things are needed but should be done in order to please God and not man. The Creator and Sovereign Lord. To appreciate Him for whom He is, there needs to be knowledge of His word and an experience of Him through our relationship with Him.
We need to move away from the selfish contents of our mind which demonstrates a whole lot of canal behaviours that deprives God of what He really desires. Attitudes like ‘It’s my turn to shine in the church hence please allow me to lead praise and worship’, ‘I know how to sing the latest songs on the Gospel chart’, ‘I would look good on the camera for your church hence please allow me to sing’ and many more other fleshly displays when the main and true essence of what we should be doing is missing. We are to realise that we are instruments of praise and worship unto the Lord. Our voices, our mouth, our hands and feet are instruments that produce sounds for praise and worship unto the Lord. Creation was created to worship. (Rev. 4:9-11)
The Father is seeking for those that would worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Jh 4:23. Have you been able to fulfill His desire? In fact I believe that we spend our times doing things that don’t move God. Solomon’s worship caused God to appear to him in a dream. True and sacrificial worship would cause God to appear to us. When God appears then all problems would be sorted. The woman in Luke 7:47 did not need to ask for forgiveness. Her act of worship caused Jesus to pardon her sins. So what are you busy doing in church?
These are days when people play computer games during a worship session in church, facebook is checked, twitter is updated, latest gossips (so news) is shared, we tend to catch up as people walk in to the service. Lord forgive and help us. I ask the question again. What are you busy doing in church?
To worship God in the Spirit means your spirit man is connected to God who is a spirit not your flesh. When your spirit is connected to God, your worship will begin from within you. You will enter into His gates with thanksgiving in your heart; with a heart of gratitude that is filled with all the good things that God has done for us. You would not have to be hyped by the worship leader or the music even though these two components play a great part in our worship. You would have no time for distractions. What is sister B doing or what is bro A wearing. You would become irrelevant to yourself, people would become irrelevant to you, and your problems would become irrelevant to you because of the greatness of our God that has been revealed to you.
Nothing would hinder your worship, not even your moods. You would actually set everything aside to ensure that your most high King is satisfied because you are His bride. Just thinking of the goodness of the Lord will cause your mouth to open with thanksgiving knowing that it had to be God for you to be able to stand in His presence.
That thankful heart will take you to the place where you would begin to praise God for those things that you have been thinking about. The testimonies that he has given to you would stir up your heart in adoration unto him. At this time, if you are really concentrating on God your hands will begin to be raised up in surrender to His awesomeness. Your feet will begin to move, your body will begin to respond to His creator because you have brought it all to the consciousness that it is in Him that we live and move and have our being. Act 17:28
Isaiah 55:12 tells us’…..that all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Ps 98:8 tells us that the waves clap their hands. In fact the book of Psalms shows us a lot about how creation responds to the awesomeness of God, He is mighty, mighty in battle, mighty to save, mighty to deliver, to set free, to heal, to show forth his loving kindness in the morning and His faithful at night. Psalm 92:2.
Isa 40:12-30 describes the God that we worship. No one can be compare to Him. He is God all by Himself; He is all knowing and all seeing. He is bigger than the biggest, greater than the greatest, He is the beginning and the end. The One who lives and who is to come. Jehovah is his name. He spoke and it was done He commanded and it stood fast. Psalm 33:9
My God by this time every song that is sang in true praise will have a great meaning to you, the atmosphere will begin to charge up with the glory of His most powerful presence and all you have to do is to bow down, prostrate in his presence because we cannot behold His glory. Remember what happened in Solomon’s time when the temple was filled with the glory of God, they all prostrated in the temple. God is greatly to be feared, honoured and worshipped in truth. 2Chron 5:14.
True worship is not just about songs, some fast, some slow. It is a lifestyle. It’s about a demonstration of your acknowledgements of the most holy being that we recognise as God over our lives on a daily basis. He does not share his glory with any man because He is a jealous God. Isa 42:8. If you as a person or a congregation during a time of worship does not get to see experience the presence of God during that time, then someone or something has stood in His place. Then the job of the worshipper leader has not been done properly, then we have to revisit our purpose for being called to worship ministry.
Jesus said, abide in me and I would abide in you. Jh 15:4. Jesus should be seen in us. We should desire to enter into the presence of God with no reservation. Worship leaders should also desire to take people into the presence of God in all trueness.
The Spirit of God brought something vital to my attention, that when John described Jesus in the book of Revelations we end up seeing Jesus in his glory not even having the writer in mind.
Revelation 1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
Revelation 4:9-11 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Isaiah’s description does the same. Isaiah 6:1-3 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
What is the last impression on the mind of people after a worship session? Are they talking about their encounter with God are they talking about the person that was leading them during the worship. Did you as the worship leader have an encounter with the presence of God that took you to another level in your experience with Him? After Moses left the presence of God there was so much glory on his face that it had to be covered with a veil. Exodus 34:35
True worshippers must desire to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It is time for us to return to what God desires so that the church will experience the true glory of God.
Praise Asemota 2014©
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