Real Worship

Sunday, February 22, 2015

What gives us pleasure?  I find pleasure in looking into my grandchildren’s sweet faces and seeing those big blue happy eyes. I recently experience pleasure listening to an orchestra concert and heard plenty of old tunes from the big band era.

God created us for his pleasure. Our first purpose in life it to bring enjoyment to God. Bringing pleasure to God is called “worship.”  Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. Rick Warren tells us, “The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God.”

A. W. Tozer, once regarded as a prophet of the 20th century, said, “True worship is to be so personally and hopelessly in love with God, that the idea of a transfer of affection never even remotely exists.”
So…how do we do a good job of pleasing God and making him smile?

“He takes pleasure in those that honor him; in those who trust in his constant love.” Psalm 147:11 (TEV)

We please God by what we do and not only by what we believe.”  James 2:24

A.    We please God when we give him our whole being – our heart and soul and mind and strength.

“Love the Lord you God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  Mark 12:30 (NIV)

We please him when we obey wholeheartedly…when we love him supremely…. When we trust him completely…when we praise and thank him…when we use our abilities…when we enjoy his creation…when we use kind words…when we tell the truth…when we encourage others.

Question:  “How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?”

B.    The heart of worship is when we surrender all of ourselves to him.

A.W. Tozer said, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.”

We can’t fully surrender until we come to the end of ourselves. We fully surrender when we rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, control situations, and force our plan. Letting go and letting God have ALL is our challenge.

Surrender yourselves to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7a (GWT)

 

Question:  "How much have I surrendered to God?"

It’s comforting to know that we are asked to surrender to someone who wants to be our best friend.

C.    We please God when we make him our best friend.

We make Jesus our best friend by getting to know him. We read of him and we talk with him. We carry on a constant dialogue with him. What are the characteristics of a best friend relationship? We trust our best friend. We share secrets with them. We are honest with them. We often indulge them. We talk kindly to them and they talk kindly to us. We say good things about them. We praise them. We introduce them to others.

 That only happens when we spend time with them. Jesus wants to be that kind of friend. How can we worship him in our friendship? All that we say, think, feel and do throughout the day will be an act of worship toward our best friend.

 

Question: "What kind of friend am I to God?"

Real personal worship characteristics

A.    Comes from a desire to give God our heart and soul and mind and strength

B.    Comes from full surrender to God

C.    Comes through building a relationship with God.

 

To hear an audio of my lesson, Real Worship, click below:

 Real Worship

Passionate and Personal Worship

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

For the six years my son attended McCallie school I read the marker at their entrance each time I drove onto campus: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Our primary aim in life is to glorify God in everything we do and say and think and to enjoy our relationship with God forever. Isn’t that a wonderful way to view worship! Glorifying and enjoying God!

Warren Wiersbe offers this definition of worship, “Worship is the believer’s response of all that he is—mind, emotions, will, and body—to all that God is and says and does.” The Greek word for worship is proskuneo meaning to fall down and adore. It is used over 60 times in the New Testament to show acts of total reverence to God. Proskuneo is what Jesus describes in John 4:23-24: “…the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth.” God wants us to worship him from the inside out. He wants us to be consumed with him, to be on fire for him.

While I have attended worship services since I was two weeks old, I don’t think I really appreciated the full scope of worship until my faith was tested. You see, it seemed quite natural to go to church to worship God, but I learned through my darkest trials how to worship God with full surrender and in an intimate and personal way.

One of the darkest periods was in 1997. After a bout with cancer and painful divorce, I was moving forward with my life and began building a house. My brother Chuck had been so faithful to me during my crises. He was always ready to offer comforting words, financial help and plenty of construction advice, as well as hard labor on my house. He owned an air conditioning company and was installing my unit on that sweltering summer day. Using faulty electric equipment and sweating profusely, my dear brother was electrocuted. This was the most horrifying, tragic event that had ever affected my family. We struggled with our loss and questioned God for taking such a dynamic man, a husband and father of two children at an early age, 41. Under girded by the love and support of hundreds of friends, our family drew on our faith and our tight bonds to see us through.

Through these crises my spirit was crushed. I had to “work out my faith with fear and trembling” as Paul describes in Philippians. I seemed to have lost the joy of my salvation. It was during this valley that I learned to worship God despite my circumstance. God was present in all my circumstances offering love and hope and drawing me to him. Richard Foster says, “Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.” As I chose to move forward in trust and acceptance of an all-knowing, loving God, I became a real worshipper. I discovered that to worship God is to glorify him and enjoy him forever. I could claim Psalm 61:11, “In Thy presence, is fullness of joy…” Real worship of a very real God brings real joy.

The best way for me to demonstrate my worship is by living fully for God. One of the ways I worship God is through pouring out heart to God in prayer. I’ve found the ACTS model to be an effective way to express my worship.
A – Adoration –I begin by acknowledging and praising God. I call out names of adulation and love. “All-knowing, all-powerful God, you are the Good Shepherd, King of Kings, Holy One, Lord of Lords, Creator. You are my God.” Beginning prayer with adoration brings such joy to me and such honor to our Heavenly Father.
C – Confession –After praising God, I focus on my iniquities and frailties. I confess my sins and ask him to make me aware of unacknowledged sins. Then I ask forgiveness.
T – Thanksgiving – Jesus willingly gave his life as payment for my sin. Now it’s time to thank him for the many blessings of life, such as, family, friends, health, job, salvation, and church. A thankful heart transforms me and changes my attitude, as I face the challenges of the day.
S – Supplication – After thanking God for my blessings, I then pray for the needs of my inner world and outer world.

Worship is giving all of me to all of God in pure adoration.