Considerations on Worship
John 4:20-24; I Kings 10:4-5
Brethren, we have met to worship
And adore the Lord our God…[i]
To worship is to literally fall down before God; to humbly bow in heart, mind, soul and body in awe, reverence, and keen awareness of His holy presence. It is to praise and glorify Him for who He is and what He has done. Worship is to perform acts of devotion out of a heart of affection. It is to extol in song and prayer offering to almighty God that of which He is infinitely worthy. I Chronicles 16:29 says, “Give unto the LORD the glory [due] unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” God seeks true worshippers to come before Him and His eye is upon them (John 4:23; James 4:7-8).
Worship must not be Self-focused. In today’s culture, worship is a misunderstood concept. Blazing lights, loud bass-thumping music, adrenaline filled singing, waving hands, jumping up and down, and all out sensual dancing are all considered to be forms of worship. No doubt, there ought to be an out pouring of heart and soul in genuine expressions of praise; “David danced before the Lord.” But we must be concerned about God’s expectations in our worship. Much of today’s worship has become man-centered, based upon feelings and experience, with little regard for the actual character of the worship or the required singular focus on the Being worshipped. It has been redefined according to man’s thinking, and not evaluated according to the manner outlined in God’s Word. The aim of worship is not merely to make us “feel good”.
Worship must first be Scriptural. It must be offered according to the criteria which God sets forth in His Word. Jesus expounds the manner of worship to the Samaritan woman at Sychar’s well. Samaritan’s worshipped their “God” according to self- discovered, traditional and cultural ritual and there was controversy as to even the location of their worship. Jesus reminds this woman that worship is not relegated to a place, but rather it is a spiritual act from a true heart. All biblical worship must be practiced in spirit and in truth. It must never contradict the truth of the Word of God. How sad it is that this Samaritan woman worshipped, “…ye know not what.”
Worship must also be Spiritual. God is a Spirit and worshipping Him can only be experienced by those who have the same Spirit. Our worship must not be done out of perfunctory duty, but rather the outflow of a Spirit-filled life. Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” True worship can never truly emanate from a carnal heart nor is it acceptable to God when we are not sensitive to His Spirit or when we are grieving, resisting, or quenching the Holy Spirit. Unregenerate people cannot offer true worship to the Lord because they do not have the indwelling Spirit of God, the agent of worship.
Worship must be Sincere. Most people claim sincerity in their worship, but we know that God is not pleased by carnal, worldly worship even though it may be sincere. Spirituality, not sincerity is the first litmus test for our worship although genuine worship must be characterized by both. God is never honored by insincere worship. Saul the king fell into this trap of insincerity when he desired Samuel to honor him by offering a sacrifice to save face before the people. Consider Ephesians 5:18-19, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Almighty God must be the scriptural focus of our worship while spirituality sets the character of our worship, and sincerity must be at the heart of our worship. Psalm 5:7 says, “But as for me, I will come [into] thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: [and] in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.”
Worship ought also be Spontaneous. The more one meditates upon the salvation of his soul, the goodness and faithfulness of his God and the Word of His God, it ought to stimulate deep joy in his soul and praise from his lips. Worship is not something planned only for Sundays, but it is a lifestyle of spontaneous expressions of thanksgiving and joy as well as acts of service before the Lord. As it flows from our souls in unconstrained praise directed to the Lord Jesus Christ, it ought also to provoke other believers around us to unite in declaring the great things God has done for us. Colossians 3 again describes how our personal worship stirs and edifies God’s people assembled together in unified adoration of God. Worship may be private, interpersonal with others, or public in the assembly. Perhaps we ought to cry out with David, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. O magnifies the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 95; 34). True, heartfelt, spontaneous worship will not be hidden or reserved to one’s self. It will flow out in evidential manifestations. No song leader will have to squeeze worship out of our hearts and lips if we have been meditating all week on the Word of God. The assembled worship of God’s people on the Lord’s Day should be the climax of Christ focused fellowship and praise that’s been on-going daily in our lives.
Worship as well must be Separated. Beware when our worship is mirrored after the world, raucous not reverent, entertaining and not Christ extolling. We do not look to the worship of the world for our model. Godly worship must be separated in manner. King Ahaz made a grave mistake in seeking to imitate pagan patterns when implementing worship of Jehovah God in Judah, “And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof “(II Kings 16:10). When God’s people borrow from the culture of the world to form acceptable worship, they are in trouble. God is not pleased when our worship resembles the sounds, styles, sights and spirit of this lost world. People of God offer a “distinct”, “different” form of worship because it is directed toward the one true and holy God of the Bible. We cannot bow before the secular gods of this world and the sovereign God of the universe (I Cor. 10:21). We cannot bow before the god of materialism and pleasure and think we are honoring the God of the Bible. King Nebuchadnezzar testified of the three young men who made a choice to remain separated in their worship and not bow with the crowd. “[Then] Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed [be] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.”
Consider Solomon’s worship. His careful ascent in the temple was not defined by the physical set of stairs or the other resplendent adornments in the House of the Lord, but rather the manner in which he approached God’s presence. He carried himself with honor, reverence, humility and with intense excitement. It must have been an “awesome” sight to observe this man worship his God. It left the Queen of Sheba without spirit. Oh that our worship life before the Lord would be of the same caliber.
“And when the queen of Sheba had seen….the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.”
Sadly, contemporary worship has become misinterpreted, misunderstood, and misguided in this generation. It is neglected, falsified and replaced with cheap substitutes. How far we have come from daily lifestyles of true worship. Let us seek the Lord that our worship might not be sensual and self-focused, but rather be scriptural, spiritual, sincere, spontaneous, and separated.
Never Deemphasize Worship—Worship is not to be relegated as unnecessary, rejected or downplayed by any means. Some choose to minimize it for fear of man, or fear of compromise with the world, or for lack of obedience, while some neglect it because of a shallow relationship with and small view of their God.
Never Overemphasize Worship—At first glance this might seem impossible. How can we have too much worship? The point is that God desires “worthy” worship and therefore an eccentric, singular worship focus offered while compromising other areas of obedience to God’s Word is obnoxious to the Lord. When worship becomes our only focal point or an end unto itself even while disregarding clear, God – given directives it is vain. Worship alone is not the answer, just as the Gospel alone is not our measure of unity.
Never Underestimate Worship—Biblical worship is not a backburner for the Believer, but ought to consume every minute of his walk with the Lord. It is that which the Lord expects and deserves. It should be the normal and continual practice of each day of our lives. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
Never Overcomplicate Worship—Worship is made up of all of the heartfelt acts of devotion. It ought not to be ritualized, formalized, mechanicalized or overly organized. It must be spontaneous, sincere and flow with praise, giving, testimony, prayer, and obedient, willing service.
Never “Replicate” Worship— Let us refuse to pattern worship after the design and methods of the world. We cannot worship God according to our own ideas but must conform to Scripture and be offered in spirit and in truth. Jeroboam the son of Nebat got himself in trouble when he made golden calves and designed a feast which he thought up in his own heart (I Kings 12:33).
Never Relegate Worship—How sad if we limit praise, reverence and devotion to Sunday mornings. Real worship flows out of a lifestyle of passionate love for Christ. Our entire week should be one flowing worship service.
Never Separate Worship—Worship can never be separated from conformity to the Word of God. It is not an island unto itself, for without the Word we worship in ignorance. We can’t worship and wear long hair, smoke cigarettes, defile our minds, embrace tattoos, listen to rock music, or entertain the flesh. Behold to obey is better than sacrifice. We can’t worship and neglect separation from sin unto Christ.
[i] George Askins, Brethren We Have Met to Worship, 1819