“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.
