CREATED TO WORSHIP

Worship is defined as “the response of an adoring heart to the magnificence of God”.
The five-fold premise of worship is summarized in the reality that God created man for one main thing —- worship. And the act of redemption through Christ is basically with the intent of restoring man to such a relationship that worship and fellowship can again take place.
I then used five quotations from Ron Owens and Henry Blackaby to identify some principles of worship?
1. “All true worship is transformational.”
2. “When our knowledge of God is poor, our worship will be poor.”
3. “Poor preaching produces poor worship.”
4. “Ever since the fall in the Garden, the battle has been over worship . . . . God, Satan, or Self.”
5. “In leaning over to speak to the world, we must be careful not to fall in.”
  You and I were created to worship. The Bible is clear on that; it is a command made often, and no substitute will ever be sufficient for our neglect or disobedience of this matter.

Near the end of our stay at the missionary learning center, I was able to fit a few short segments of “otherwise” reading. I had taken John Piper’s book, Let the Nations Be Glad and found it to be a perfect match for where our hearts have been taken by the Holy Spirit in recent months. John basically said the same thing Ron Owens did in his lectures on worship that first week of our training. Ron also says that in his amazing book on worship, Return To Worship: A God-Centered Approach. I cannot say enough about these two books, because they epitomize the intended sum and substance of our relationship to God.

Worship is to be the intent of our existence, the purpose of our being, and the expression of our witness. Piper’s statement in the Introduction of his book that true worship is the main thing, and that all else flows out of worship, makes complete sense if you really think about it. I have said for over thirty years that God created man with an instinctive God-given drive to worship. The most natural thing for a person to do is worship. The problem is not in our capacity to worship, because we do that instinctively. That capacity is inherent.

There is never to be a question as to whether or not you and I can worship. But, ever since the fall in the Garden, the battle of life has been over who or what we will worship . . . . God, Satan, the World, Others, or Self. The issue is whether or not we worship God, and whether or not we Truly worship Him. As Ron Owens says in his book, “The real issue is not If we will worship, or How we will worship, but Whom we will worship. Everyone worships someone or something, for worship is built into the very fiber of God’s creation.”

As I’ve thought about that reality, I began asking myself just what that divine purpose touches in my own life. Based on what I feel the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, I found three simple words that illustrate both that I was created to worship, and who it is that I may truly worship.

The two primary words in the Bible to define and describe worship are the Hebrew word “Shaka” and the Greek word “Proskunao”. “Shaka” is found some 170 times in the Old Testament and clearly identifies actions of bowing, kneeling, and prostrating. “Proskunao” is found over 60 times in the New Testament and it always translates out as bowing, kneeling, prostrating, AND kissing the hand.”

My mind quickly went the scenes we’ve seen so often since September 11, 2001 of the people of Islam. That picture is so vivid in my mind.

Then I remember the Buddhist, the Shintoist, the Native American, the African. All of them bow, kneel, or prostrate themselves before idols, icons, or artifacts. Even certain elements of the Christian faith include prostrating and bowing by those being ordained.

So the thought occurred to me . . . . “why is it that those of us who truly know God through Jesus Christ and we claim to love and worship Him, have such a hard time bowing, kneeling, and most especially prostrating ourselves before the One who created us, loved us, sacrificed for us, and saved us? That tells me many of us have some major problems in understanding what worship really is.

Another Old Testament word is “Abad”, which interestingly attaches the idea of bond-service, work, or service as a form of worship. That is certainly in keeping with Paul’s instruction in Romans 12:1-2 when he admonishes us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds which is “your reasonable service of worship”.

ELEMENTS OF OUR CREATION:

Jesse Penn Lewis once wrote in her book on warfare, “The only choice man has the capacity to make is to choose his master.”

That’s a troubling thought, . . . . but it’s true. If indeed we were created to worship, we must recognize that whoever or whatever we worship, we do so because it holds a most high position in our esteem . . . . so high, in fact, that we bow, kneel, prostrate,or kiss before it.

Worship is expressed through things like giving honor, praising, respecting, yielding, submitting, giving, sacrificing, etc. However, all those varied expressions of worship I believe can be condensed down into three fundamental elements, the first of which is . . . .

1. Affection. It is impossible to worship something or someone for whom we have little or no affection. If we have trouble responding to the needs and demands of people, it is because there is no affection there. This is true in marital relationships as well as parent-child relationships. We respond to others on the basis of whether or not we love them . . . . and how much.

The same is true with God. Our capacity to worship God is directly linked to our level of love for Him. And our level of love depends on how well we know Him. Subsequently our knowledge of Him is determined by how much time we spend with Him. The more time we spend with Him, the better we know Him. The better we know His, the more we love Him. Affection is a fundamental element of worship. We will worship highest what (or whom) we love most. And, it’s our choice.

Genuine worship is impossible apart from deep love and affection. Otherwise we’re not worshipping the person . . . . we’re worshipping the benefits we get . . . . or the status we gain . . . . or the symbols we cherish . . . . or the methods we prefer. One thing is sure . . . . we’re not worshipping God.

This leads me to the second element, which is . . . .

2. Adoration. It’s one thing to love; it’s another to adore. To adore something is to be infatuated with it to the extent of it having control over us, and to express that feeling with great demonstration.

Did you ever see a woman who just had to buy that dress she really didn’t need? What was her rationale? “I just adored that color and style; I just couldn’t do without it!”

The shepherds in Bethlehem understood that. They didn’t know the baby; they probably didn’t even know Mary and Joseph. But they did love God, and they longed for the promised Redeemer. When they heard the message of the angels, they were inexplicably drawn to that hillside cave where they bowed down . . . . and worshipped the Christ child.

Our great hymns and praise choruses are filled with divinely inspired revelations that worship incorporates adoration . . . . being beside one’s self in overcoming and overwhelming praise and worship. “We worship and adore Thee; bowing down before Thee.” “O, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!” “Sweet Adoration.” “Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of grace and God of love!”

True worship . . . . TRUE worship, I say . . . . is impossible without deep affection, and it is impossible without pure unhindered adoration . . . . being infatuated with and overwhelmed by God. Anything short of that reveals we’ve not really entered the Holy of Holies and His intimate presence.

Finally, the third element of genuine worship is . . . .

3. Allegiance. One thing that haunts me about so many other religions is the level of allegiance I see demonstrated by many of their adherents . . . allegiance that leads to self flagellation, long journeys and pilgrimages, forsaking family, blood sacrifices, . . . . even death by self-inflicted martyrdom. True, that allegiance may come about because of tradition, fear, respect, or a number of other things. But I am convinced such allegiance does not come from the one thing that sets Christianity apart from all other religions, and that is love . . . . God’s unconditional love toward us that, once received and experienced, draws us to love, adore, and submit fully to Him based on that love expressed to us.

When Jesus taught His disciples about following Him, about loving others, about demonstrating their love toward Him, He always tied allegiance to the situation. It is manifested in His parables, in His teachings, in His commandments, and even in His own sacrifice. If other religions get that kind of allegiance based on fear or fanaticism, how much more should Christians have such an allegiance because of God’s love!

Just think about it, my friend . . . . what kind of worship would it be if that worship did not have embedded deep within something that would keep a person loyal and faithful, persistent and persevering? Now that I think about it, some of our churches have people just like that therein. . . . which helps explain how so many who name the Name of Christ can so easily absent themselves from worship and from service over some of the most trivial things.

True worship is characterized by allegiance . . . . an allegiance that is fed by adoration and emanates from deep affection and love for the One Whom we worship. Love and affection is what draws us to worship. Adoration is what drives us to worship. Allegiance is what keeps us in worship.

So it stands to reason that someone who calls himself a Christian but has no sense of allegiance and loyalty and feels no particular sense of praise and adoration for simply Who Jesus is, is in such a condition because they don’t really love Him. And they don’t love Him because they’ve spent little if any time getting to know Him through prayer, spending time in His Word, and simply meditating and contemplating on Who He is and how much He loves them.

It’s no wonder we have so few genuine worshippers among us today.

But what about the two of us? Where are you and I numbered when it comes to pure and genuine worship?

FINALLY:

I’m just wondering, my friend . . . . how would you describe your worship? . . . not where, or how, or even when. Not even If, because I’m sure you do. And so do I.

The question is . . . . “Who?”.

Why would I ask a question like that?

It’s simple . . . . I’ve personally been grossly guilty of unknowingly worshipping something other than God. I’m a performance, task-oriented person, and it is still so very easy to worship the style, the form, or even worship itself. I can easily worship my preaching and teaching skills (or at least those I think I might have!). I can worship our ministry, . . . even our calling.

A good rule of thumb to follow as a means of identifying just who or what is truly your God is to take a look at who or what it is that demands and to whom you yield your time, your allegiance, your affection, and your adoration. Often I’ve painfully discovered that I was worshipping another god than the One I thought.

Maybe this week you and I could covenant together that this will be a week devoted to taking whatever measures necessary to truly worship, and to truly worship our Jehovah God in Christ Jesus. We were created to worship; let’s be sure we worship Only the One Who loved us and died for us.