THE ACT OF WORSHIP – Part I: Worship Starts In the Heart

“Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to revere and worshipfully fear the Lord.”  Ps. 34:11 AMP

Webster’s Dictionary states that worship as a noun is “religious exercises; reverence; loving devotion”, and as a verb it is “pay divine honors to; and idolize”.

Most Christian churches call their Sunday morning church service the “Worship Service”.  This is where Webster’s “religious exercises” come into practice.  We go to church, sing songs and hymns and call that worship but could there be more too it than that?

To get an understanding and feel for worship I encourage you to read Psalms and see how they reflect what the writer was going through.  These are not just nice songs composed by people who know how to write songs.  They are “heart-felt” cries to God and praises of Him.  They reflect the very nature of God and how even in the midst of trial and turmoil He works mightily on man’s behalf (Psalm 138:7).  They stir our hearts to reach out and touch the heart of God.

Let us examine the life of a man that God Himself said was “a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14 AMP).  King David is accredited with composing a number of Psalms.  These songs to and about the Lord sprung from his heart and relationship he had with the Lord.  What did King David say worship was?  He stated that worship was to bless the Lord at all times, continually praise Him, and that His actual life would be a boast in the Lord (Psalm 34:1-2).  He then encourages the reader of Psalm 34 to do the same (vs. 3) as he goes on to tell of how he sought the Lord “of necessity and on the authority of His Word” (vs. 4 AMP) and that God heard him and delivered him from ALL his fears!  Just think of it, ALL OF THEM!

King David never did things halfway and he worshiped with the same focused attitude:  “I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praises to You.”  (Psalm 138:1 AMP)

With these things in mind what about the church member who, goes to church every Sunday, sings the songs, gives 10% of his income, attends Bible studies, and joins in numerous church activities.  He says and does all the right things.  Is he worshiping?  Most people observing him would say so, but we know that God does not look at us the way most people would.  “…For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  (1 Samuel 16:7b AMP)  Unless he is worshiping with his “whole heart” then there is no truth to his worship.  It is just a façade.

“A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.”  (1 John 4:23 AMP)

Let us apply that to ourselves.  When you go to church do go to “feel” the blessing of God or do you go to bless God?  Are you genuinely worshiping, or are you going through the motions?  Are you the type of person that the Father is seeking as His worshiper, or are your actions just a façade?

Worship starts in the heart.  Examine yours today and make a choice to be the type of person the Father is seeking as His worshiper.  The choice is yours, you know.

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident! I will sing and make melody.  Awake, my glory (my inner self); awake, harp and lyre! I will awake right early [I will awaken the dawn]!  I will praise and give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.”  (Psalm 57:7-9 AMP)

COMPLETE

Would you like to be a complete and whole person?  What would you do to find completeness?  What would you give? 

I struggle in my walk with the Lord.  Does that surprise you?  I have had people share with me that I always seem to have it “all-together.” “Linda, you always dress well and are well groomed.”  “If I had your beauty I could have gone far.”  “You always have a smile on your face; I wish things went as well for me as they go for you.”  They turn to me to ask about scriptural things.  “Is there a scripture in the Bible about _______?”  “Ask Linda, she probably knows.”  They also comment about my singing.  “I love to hear you sing, you have such a beautiful voice.”  People see me for how I look, what I do and what I know, but they do not know that all this is just the ongoing manifestation of my struggle as I walk with the Lord.  You see, like you, I am a work in progress:

“So then, my dearest friends, as you have always followed my advice—and that not only when I was present to give it—so now that I am far away be keener than ever to work out the salvation that God has given you with a proper sense of awe and responsibility. For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.”  Philippians 2:12-13 (Phillips Translation)

This verse used to confuse me but now I understand it.  When I accepted Jesus as my Savior He redeemed me, saving me from the death sentence my sins required.  But there is a part of me that the redemption is not completed in yet.  That is my soul (mind, will to do, intellect, and emotions).  Therein lies the struggle of walking with the Lord, for as He calls me one way my emotions often tug me the other, or my logical mind does not grasp the way of His Spirit, or my desires (will to do things) are opposite of what He wants.  Struggle I will until I yield to Him in each area that finds itself in opposition to God.  You see, every area people see as a success only became so because I yielded each and CONTINUE to yield each to the Lord.  He is my success Maker.  He is making me complete.  Ah for the day when it is finally accomplished and I stand before Him complete.

So, I ask you again, would you like to be a complete and whole person?  What would you do to find completeness?  What would you give?  A man asked Jesus how to accomplish something similar:

“And behold, there came a man up to Him, saying, Teacher, what excellent and perfectly and essentially good deed must I do to possess eternal life?  And He said to him, Why do you ask Me about the perfectly and essentially good? There is only One Who is good [perfectly and essentially]—God. If you would enter into the Life, you must continually keep the commandments.  He said to Him, What sort of commandments? [Or, which ones?] And Jesus answered, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.  The young man said, I have observed all these from my youth; what still do I lack?  Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me].  But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions.”  Matthew 19:16-22 AMP

Are you ready to start your successes.  Again I ask, what would you do?  What would you give?  What is it that is hindering you from that complete walk with Jesus?  What is so precious to you that it stops you from going “all-out” for God?  Do not go away “sad (grieved and in much distress)”; quit struggling and give it to him.  Start your journey to completeness today.

PROCRASTINATION

What do Pharaoh, J. Wellington Wimpy, and America’s youth have in common?  They all love to procrastinate.  I even venture to say that we all have become a society struggling with procrastination.  Give me a moment to explain:

Pharaoh

We have heard the stories about Moses asking Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.  Of course Pharaoh would not, so God sent the first plague upon Egypt:  all the water (streams, rivers, pools, and ponds) were turned to blood.  This plague lasted seven days, and then because Pharaoh would still not relent God sent the frogs.  There were swarms of frogs going in and out of houses, into bedrooms and even onto Pharaoh’s bed!  They were in their ovens, in their cooking bowls and pots and even in the bread dough!  They also hopped onto people, their servants as well as right on Pharaoh himself.  Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and asked them to beg God to take away the frogs from him and his people, stating he would let the people go.  Now here is the part of the story that surprises me.  Moses said, “dictate when I shall pray [to the Lord] for you, your servants, and your people, that the frogs may be destroyed from you and your houses and remain only in the river,” (Exodus 8.)  If it had been me, I would have said, “Right now!” but Pharaoh did not say that.  He said, “Tomorrow”.  Why not right away?  It sounds like Pharaoh still wanted to have a chance to work it out on his own.  We tend to want to do the same as Pharaoh with the unpleasant things of our lives, “I’ll probably figure it out on my own by tomorrow.”  Waiting until tomorrow is procrastination.

J. Wellington Wimpy

I enjoyed Popeye while I was growing up.  I read about his antics in the comic strips and watched them on television.  One of my favorite characters was Popeye’s best friend Wimpy.  Since I love food I guess I could always relate to him.  He loved hamburgers.  I mean he REALLY loved them, but he was also a cheapskate.  He was always saying, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."  He wanted instant gratification without having to pay the price, or at least without having to pay the price right away.  It seems very evident that society today deals with this form of procrastination, especially when we look at how much is bought on credit in our country.  “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday….”  Putting off paying the price is procrastination.

America’s Youth

Young people today have an ingrained philosophy that they do not have to “get right with God” because they are young with long lives ahead of them.  They reason that there will be plenty of time later to “do the religious thing.”  They really have no concept of mortality, no context with which to truly understand the finality of it, so they just do their own thing and enjoy life.  I felt this way when I was a teenager, but one night it dawned on me that I could be killed by a drunk driver and then I would have to stand before God face-to-face.  I was not ready for that so I accepted Jesus as my Savior.  Putting off becoming a believer is procrastination, and is eternally dangerous!

“Do not boast of [yourself and] tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth.”  Proverbs 21:7 AMP

Rich Wilkerson once said that “Procrastination produces a nervous weariness, and in the midst of that the devil comes in.”  When a person procrastinates, that thing they are putting off tends to hang over them just enough to nag a little at the back of their mind.  When you procrastinate long enough you become hardened toward that nagging.  Once you have done that, it is easier to become hardened toward other things, especially the voice of the Lord.

I share this subject with you because I have struggled with procrastination all my life.  It was not until I asked God to help me deal with it that I started changing.  Am I perfect?  Have I “arrived”?  No, but like us all, I am a work in progress, longing for that day when I am complete and never have that nagging voice in the back of my mind ever again.  Until then I remind myself, there is too much to do for God’s Kingdom for me to be procrastinating, so I cry out for His grace and get on with the work He has set before me.  If you are struggling with procrastination I encourage you to cry out to God for His grace to enable you to change.  He will help you, you know, and it will be all for His glory.

“In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self.”  Psalm 138:3 AMP

SORROW AND AFFLICTION

“My eye grows dim because of sorrow and affliction, Lord, I have called daily on You; I have spread forth my hands to You” Psalm 88:9 AMP

“How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day?”  Psalm 13:2a AMP

If you are going through a tough time I want you to know THERE IS HOPE, but you cannot just sit and wait for things to change.  The more you sit and consider your situation the more the darkness of your situation looms over you.  There are some things you can do.  The first thing is to cry out to God.  I am not talking about you asking God in prayer to fix things; I am talking about an absolute cry of need from the depths of your soul to the only One Who can work on your behalf.

Consider Hanna, a woman who could not have children and was ridiculed because of it.  She went to the Temple (tent of the Lord) and “…in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly.”  What was the end result of this cry from her soul?  God granted her petition and she became pregnant and had a son.  (1 Samuel 1)

Another person to consider is David.  Before he was crowned king of Israel he had to flee and run away from King Saul, his own father-in-law, because King Saul wanted to kill him.  Hiding in rural townships, deserts, caves and even in Israel’s enemy territory you can read how he felt deep down inside his soul when you read the psalms like Psalm 13:3-4 “Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes of my faith to behold Your face in the pitch-like darkness, lest I sleep the sleep of death.  Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.”  After penning this cry to God he must have felt better because he was able to write, “But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.”  Psalm 13:5-6 AMP

The Second thing to do is to read the Psalms.  They speak of hard times and how God can help you through them, “You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day.”  Psalm 91:5 AMP

The third thing to do is to seek out someone who has gone through tough times themselves and come out the other side in victory and stronger in the Lord.  Ask them to share their story about how God delivered them.  Ask them to pray with you for your own deliverance or need (Matthew 18:18-20).

The most important thing to consider is that God’s deliverance is the best.  We may have our own idea of what would be best for us but in the long-run what God chooses to meet our needs with is the best.  Just remember though, He may choose to not deliver you out of the circumstance, but THROUGH it instead, as evidenced by Paul’s thorn in the flesh.  God did not remove the thorn but made His grace sufficient for Paul to live with it (2 Cor. 12:6-8).  In other words, God’s grace enabled Paul to not be distracted or bothered by the thorn in the flesh so that he could continue his ministry.

“In the multitude of my anxious thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!”  Psalm 94:19 AMP

“For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39 AMP

THERE IS HOPE; reach out and grasp it!