Quote from Forum Archives on June 8, 2001, 1:01 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

I write about matters of prayer, worship, and faith, both because
they are things I am personally deeply committed to, but also
because I believe that these matters are the solution to a wide
variety of issues and challenges that face each one of us. So
when I write about worship, some may wonder what that has to do
with relationship problems, or family matters, or dealing with
anger over something that is wrong, or a hurt, a loss, a sense of
hopelessness.

It may seem that worship does not directly relate to any of these
issues, but I believe that a good understanding of our
relationship with God is a crucial and necessary prerequisite to
solving any of the other matters in a permanent and lasting way.

That is not the only reason we worship, no, not by any means.
Personally, I worship God because I have realized (at least as
much as my feeble understanding allows) that God is most worthy
of my attention, my praise, my time, my devotion, and my love.
For one thing, He provides everything, beginning with everything
I need to exist. But even besides selfish needs and wants, God
meets my deepest needs: the desire to be significant, to make a
difference, to be accepted, loved, cared for, and forgiven when I
am less than ideal (which happens to be ALWAYS)! 🙂

Bob Kauflin has a long standing column entitled "Worship
Matters". Many of his articles concern corporate worship,
including dealing with questions about music, but the overall
series is about much more than that. This particular issue
really starts to get beyond those kinds of issues and gets back
to the heart of what worship is. You can look at his series of
columns at spiritual.crosswalk.com/worshipmatters/.

Your brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: Worship Matters <worshipmatters@lists.crosswalk.com>
Subject: Worship Matters: Wanting God More Than Anything, June 4, 2001
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 17:00:23 -0400

WORSHIP MATTERS, with Bob Kauflin of PDI Ministries
www.pdinet.org/

Visit the Spiritual Life Channel on Crosswalk.com:
spiritual.crosswalk.com

Wanting God More Than Anything

From the moment of birth, we become aware of wants. Our first
wants are genuine needs. We realize Mom is no longer supplying
oxygen, so we frantically flex our lungs, gasp for air and let
the world know we're not particularly happy about what just
happened to us. Soon we crave nourishment, and gladly receive
whatever is provided. But soon our wants move beyond basic needs.
As we grow, we increasingly desire a variety of things we don't
possess or think we don't have enough of -- toys, clothes,
friends, free time, cars, money, pleasure, prestige, CDs, tools,
hobbies -- the list grows faster than we do.

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It's not wrong in and of itself to want anything (as long as that
thing isn't inherently sinful). The real issue is how much we want it.
Any desire can compete in our hearts for the place that only God should
hold. The Psalmist, Asaph, expressed his unique affection for God in
these words: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I
desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalms 73:25-26).

This is the heart of a worshiper. The Bible knows nothing of a
worship that relates to God out of mere duty or performance. In fact,
the essence of worship is wanting God more than anything on earth. Or as
John Piper puts it, "I believe it can be shown Biblically that all our
behavior should be motivated by a thirst for more and more satisfaction
in God ...When our whole life is consumed with pursuing satisfaction in
God, everything we do highlights the value and worth of God. Which
simply means that everything becomes worship" (From the sermon "What is
Worship? - Part 2" by John Piper, delivered at the 1994 Philadelphia
Conference on Reformed Theology, Apr. 8-9, 1994).

In other words, wanting God more than anything shows that He is more
important to us than anything else that might appeal to us. Of course,
worship is about exalting, praising and honoring God. However, the glory
these actions bring to God is directly related to how much we WANT to do
them. And that depends on how much we want God Himself.

In the Old Testament, the primary sin confronted is idolatry. "You
shall have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:3). Time after time, God's
people are guilty of esteeming other people and things as more important
than God. In the New Testament, the focus shifts from addressing
idolatry to confronting sinful desires of the heart. "As obedient
children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in
ignorance" (1Peter 1:14). However, the root issue is the same --
desiring something other than God to rule or satisfy your life.

The idols we seek to worship in God's place are rarely as obvious as
a golden calf or a tottering wooden image. They surprise us with their
subtlety, pervasiveness and power. We find ourselves wanting the
silliest things more than we want God.

Over the next few weeks we'll identify some of the idols we most
frequently want more than God, exposing their inadequacy to fulfill
God's role, and extolling the uniqueness and desirability of the one
true God.

I trust your love for God and His all-surpassing greatness will grow
deeper in the process.

For His Glory,

Bob

Editor's Note --

Find out what's new on the Spiritual Life Channel. Sign up for
the weekly Spiritual Life Update to keep abreast of the latest
articles written to challenge your spiritual growth.

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