26. Being a worshipper  -  II

 

 

E. Worship qualities

 

                Worship involves prayer. Prayer births and matures a relationship with the Lord, and out of that relationship we worship the Lord.

                Worship is expressing admiration to the One we adore. Worship is an attitude, that recognizes the superiority of Christ and acknowledges our dependence on Him.

                Worship is varied expressions of different individuals loving and reverencing God all at the same time. Therefore, each one can express worship in his or her own manner. Sameness is not our goal in worship services. We are to be ourselves and communicate our own individual expressions of worship.

 

 

F. The Lord Himself calls us to worship Him

 

Worship is the first commandment God gave to Moses for the people of Israel   -   Ex. 20:1-3: Then God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

 

God’s second commandment dealt with worship too   -   Ex. 20: 3-5:  You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol…..You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

 

Not only does God claim the first place, but He reveals His intolerance of everything that would deprive Him of the highest position. Many things in our lives attempt to draw our hearts away from God as the supreme object of our affection. The apostle John warned: Little children, guard yourselves from idols  -  1Jhn. 5: 21.

 

Jesus showed the primary importance that worship should have in prayer. Luke 11: 2  -  …..When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be Thy Name…..”.  When we pray, worship is the first order of business. Exaltation of Him is primary. Then we can make petitions.

 

 

G. Wholehearted worship

 

When I fell in love with my wife, I spent every moment of the day thinking about and planning for her. When we were together, it seemed as if we were the only two people on earth.  It wasn’t so, that I gave away part of my heart and kept part for myself. I gave it all to her. She had my focus, my attention, my heart. We hugged and held hands as often as we could. We spent as much time as we could together. Our expressions of affection were not mechanical or dutiful, but packed with feeling and meaning. We were focussed intensely on each other.

 

Jesus described this kind of love when the scribe asked Him: What  commandment is the foremost of all? Jesus  replied: …..you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength   -  Mc.12: 28-30.

That’s all-ways kind of love. It is  not  long, ongoing love, but all-total-complete love.

It’s the first commandment of the old covenant and the greatest commandment of the new covenant.

 

 

Four ways we can show the Lord our love:

                with all our heart;

                whole-soul worship;

                whole-mind worship;

                whole-strength worship.

 

 

 

H. How should we worship the Lord?

 

Many times praise is a function of the will. We must will and determine to praise the Lord, even when we do not feel like it. Praise is not contingent upon our feelings  -  it is based upon God’s greatness, and that never changes!

Notice, how David spoke to his own soul: Bless the Lord, o my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name -  Ps.103:1. Sometimes we are “down in the dumps” or dry spiritually, and it is at those times that we must serve notice to our soul and say: “Soul! Bless the Lord!”  Praise must function according to our will, and not according to our emotions.

“But how can I praise”, you may ask, “when I feel completely deflated emotionally?”  We can find an answer in the Psalms, for they were written by men who, like us, experienced deep emotional valleys. One psalmist described his feelings in this way: My soul is in despair within me. So he asked himself: Why are you in despair, o my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Then he proceeded to get tough on himself: Hope in God. His next statement so beautifully shows the discipline of praise:…..for I shall again praise Him (Ps. 42: 5, 6). The Lord wants all of us to come to that same point where we determine to praise Him, regardless of our feelings and circumstances: “I will bless the Lord.”