Understanding Worship

Studying worship, what it is and what it means, has been very interesting and at times overwhelming. So while I thought I would write a weekly post on “True Worship” I am finding it impossible. One reason that it’s so difficult is that much of my earlier thoughts on worship have been wrong or not quite thought out fully. So instead of a weekly post I have decided to just post as God leads with the hope that maybe it’s bi-weekly, but don’t hold me to it.

One of the thoughts that have really challenged me is this, “We think that as long as we are worshipping the one true God rather than some false god we are worshipping properly.  We think that as long as we are worshipping the one true God it no longer matters how we worship.  We are free to express our religious devotion to God by whatever means we wish, just as long as the object of our worship is the right God.” ¹ I do not know for sure if this is what most believe, but to me it seems as if it’s the majority mindset. I mean if you attend one church after another, you will find all kinds of worship expressions.  I personally have seen  anything   from stage performances, drama, hymns, well crafted sermons, dancing to rocked-out music with smoke and flashing lights.

It all makes me wonder  “What does God desire from me?” when it comes to worship. I know worship is not about me. It is about God. I cannot stress that enough. But if I am worshipping according to “my preference” then how is this about God? Doesn’t it then become about me?

I am beginning to see, to understand, that no worship is proper worship unless it is in accordance with God’s instructions for worshipping Him.  But how do we know what true worship is? Are we  free to make up any approach we wish to worship? Does God specify a way to worship?

I don’t know about you but I desire to worship God in a way that brings Him glory, in a way that pleases Him. I don’t want to do it a certain way just because I think it’s right, or even what the pastor or worship leader thinks.  To me it’s important to understand what God thinks in this area called worship.

Understanding worship is not simply knowing the object of who were are to worship, it is also the method of worship. 

The object of our worship is without a doubt to be God. The One True God, Jehovah, Creator of the earth. The One who created you and me in His image. We are to worship NO other image besides Him.

I can’t image that we would disagree on the object of our worship, it’s pretty black and white. The method of worship gets a bit more challenging. What I’ve already read is quite interesting and totally thought provoking and I can’t wait to to dig into what God has to say about the method of worship.

 

¹Dave Moen

Worship Means to Serve

When I began studying what the word worship means I quickly realized that there isn’t just one word in the Greek and Hebrew. So the first part of our journey in understanding true worship is to look at each of the words individually.

The first word we will look at is Abad (aw-bad) which is a verb. It means to work or serve. To make oneself a servant, serve another by labor, or as subjects. This is found in the Old Testament.

Latreuō is the Greek word in the New Testament for worship which also means to serve. It also means to minister to, to offer gifts, perform sacred services and to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for His Worship.

Worship is to serve God. To serve means to be a servant; to be of use. To be favorable, opportune, or convenient. To be worthy of reliance or trust.

Here are some examples of verses where the word Abad are used.

“do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God ; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 6:12b –15

"You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” Deut 13:4

“Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.” Psalm 2:11

“All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name. Psalm 66:4

Here are examples of latreuō:

“To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” Luke 1:74-75

“And there was a prophetess,Anna …She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. Luke 2:36-37

“for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,” Phil 3:3

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;for our God is a consuming fire. Heb 12:28-29

I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. 2 Tim 1:3

If I am truly worshipping God then I will serve Him. I will serve Him with reverence and without fear. I will serve Him in holiness and in fasting and prayer. I will serve Him by offering my service to His purposes and His will.

Notice that it’s not just on Sunday, our service (worship) to Him is a way of life. It is apart of our daily living before Him. Serving on Sunday as helpers, teachers, ushers etc is good and apart of our worship to God. However if it is the only way we serve God then we might want to ask ourselves if we are truly living a life of worshipping God?

We will serve that which we worship. If we are living a life of daily worship we will also live a life of daily serving God in various ways as we live and move among the world.

How are you doing in this area? What thoughts do you have about worship in this context? Would love to hear from you!

For more on the series True Worship click here.

True Worship

I read a quote recently that said something along the lines of “If you want to know what your idol is look at what makes you angry”. It has stuck with me over the last couple of days and wish I could find where I saw it! Anyway, it keeps coming to me as I have noticed a certain thing that makes me angry to the point that it interrupts my worship of God through song. I realize this thing, which is a preference of style, has nothing to do with the root issue of my anger, or idolatry. Once again it comes back to my idol of self. I want to do things my way. I want to control the circumstances, but I know I can not.

I can not insist on my preference of a certain style of song  or music just as you can not insist on your preference. When we begin to demand our preferences in order to worship, we begin to walk a thin line of making it more about me (or you) than God.

So once again I find myself asking the question, what is worship? I know it’s more than the songs we sing on Sunday. It’s more than anything we do on a Sunday during “worship” services. But so many people, including myself at times, insist that the worship service must be a certain way. We all have opinions and preferences.

I want to know what God wants. How does He define worship? What does it look like according to His desires?

In John 4 Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, who believes in God and worshipped him according to the her traditions, that her worship is wrong. The Jews worshipped in Jerusalem, but even their worship had become apostate. He then says in verses 23 and 24, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

What does it mean to worship in Spirit and Truth? What is true worship? If true worshippers will worship both in spirit and in truth, does that mean those who don’t worship this way are false worshippers? Is there a right way and a wrong way to worship?

As you can see I have a lot of questions. I want to worship in spirit and truth. I want to worship in a way that brings glory to God and allows me to totally focus on Him.

As I journey to seek answers I thought it would be fun to allow you to walk with me. Hopefully together we will answer these questions by searching scripture to see what it says about worship.  

Here is just a taste of some of the questions I hope to answer, not necessarily in this order.

• How do we worship?
• Who do we worship?
• Is individual worship different than corporate?
• What does worship in spirit and truth look like?
• Does God care how I worship as long as my heart is right?

I hope you join me as I would love to hear your heart and what God has taught you about true worship.