 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Worship By Rabbi Esther Boucher |
Let's talk about worship. Hearts are focused on that which they worship.
Psalm 95:1-3, 6," O come, let us sing unto the L-rd...let us come before his
presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms..O
come, let us worship and blow down: let us kneel before the L-rd our maker."
From the time that man was created in the image of the Eternal G-d, it has
been both his privilege and responsibility to worship his Creator. In the
beginning, worship took the form of simple evening conversations as Adam
walked and talked with G-d in the cool of the day. Since that time, G-d has
always searched for men and women who would worship Him with the
concentrated intensity and consuming passion of the Holy Spirit and with the
divine order of truth communicated through His Word.
In biblical history, G-d progressively communicated to mankind His Word
and will, including the system of praise, worship and service that He found
pleasing. This system was designed to be a vehicle through which G-d's
people could commune with their Maker. It included prescribed commune
with their Maker. It included prescribed appointments (modim), symbols,
and rituals that would ever summon men from the routine of the mundane
into intimacy with the Divine.
Repeatedly, however, mankind has drifted away from G-d's design, that his
people commune with him in an intensely intimate, personal way. History
records man's wavering between truth and apostasy, between intense
worship and apathy toward G-d. Even the vehicles which G-d has designed
to bring his people into intimacy with Him have been perverted into lifeless
rituals of doing religious things when their hearts were far from G-d. This is
particularly true in the area of worship. Believers are being renewed in the
Holy Spirit to a passion for intimacy that transcends merely knowing about
G-d. This passion reflects a recovery for Christians of the Jewish concept of
Kavanah, the intense concentration on the Divine that transcends
understanding and thrust one in the realm of revering G-d. The past century
witnessed the greatest, most far-reaching renewal of the Holy Spirit in all of
human history. No longer content to follow blindly in the traditions of blind
leaders of the past and consequently finding themselves in ditches of
despair and confusion, believers are searching the Scriptures for
themselves like the noble Berean Jews. G-d is revealing His Word in a
clarity not witnessed since the first century as Christians are recovering the
faith of Jesus and learning to be true worshippers by revering the Father in
Spirit and in truth. "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of
worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
Worship of G-d is not entertainment for men. Far too often contemporary
worship services have been designed around what is entertaining to those
who are in attendance. While entertainment and things which please men
are important in their own setting, they must never be confused with worship.
Those meetings which are designed to appeal only to the excitement of the
human spirit by doing things that are entertaining to men are failures as
worship services. The important thing about worship is to discover the
elements that please G-d and to employ them to their fullest in our worship.
Worship is not simply what makes individuals or a congregation feel good,
but what makes glad the heart of G-d.
Incorrect perceptions of what church is or memories of what church was like
in the past have almost kept an entire generation out of the house of G-d.
We are the generation to change the poor image of the church. We are to
bring excellence back into the sanctuary. Worshipping parents will lead their
children into the presence of G-d. Worshiping neighbors will lead neighbors;
worshiping employees will lead their employers into His presence. Excellent
worship is contagious. Someone, somewhere, will notice if you are
committed to worshiping G-d or not. Be a radical worshiper who is sold out
for the Kingdom of G-d and not for your own agenda or motives. Worship
the King and bring excellence because you love Him. When you come to
worship bring your radical faith and expectation. Jesus loves faith in the
sanctuary. If you expect nothing you will get nothing. Some people fear or
worry that others will judge them when they publicly worship G-d. They worry
that someone will criticize their radical display of affection to the Lord and
disclose them as superficial or shallow. Don't let what others think rob you of
enjoying G-d's supernatural presence. True worship is not stirring ourselves
into an emotional frenzy. Jesus is real and what He has done in our lives is
worthy of all our praise and worship.
Praise is preoccupation with who G-d is and what He has done. It is
characterized by celebration and exhilaration and is expressed through
singing, shouting, clapping, playing musical instruments, dancing and
prophecy. In the face of challenge and persecution, G-d's people are to
unite and praise Him. Praise begins with a mind set upon G-d, but them
those thoughts must be put into action in order to qualify for praise. Folks in
churches who cross their arms and refuse to participate or who are
reserved before the L-rd are probably reserved spiritually as well. If we hold
back in our hearts, we limit the extent to which G-d is able to move in our
midst. We must be determined to praise even when we don't feel like it.
Praise must function according to our will and not our emotions. Praise is
about understanding the power of bringing thanks-giving into your worship.
Be tenacious in your praise and worship, especially when facing a trial. It
takes gutsy people to praise G-d in the face of opposition. It takes gutsy
people to walk away from the things that once bound them and move
forward. The enemy has no chance of winning against people who are
consumed with praising G-d. Praise is a declaration, a victory cry,
proclaiming faith to stand firm in the place G-d has given you. Praise is a
proclamation that the enemy's intent to plunder you will not rock you. Praise
invades hell and excites heaven! G-d makes his sanctuary among the
praisers. G-d has purposed to raise up a praising church in these last days
and nothing will hinder Him. Not until we praise Him are we able to come
into proper relationship with Him, G-d is enthroned in our praise, and there is
power in praise. When we stop trying to fight our battles and simply praise
G-d, He will fight for us, G-d is free to release His power and provision on
our behalf. G-d does not need our praises, we need to praise Him. G-d has
commanded us to praise because of the change it brings in us. Praise is
often preparatory to worship.
Worship is intimate involving giving and receiving. It is meant to be an
encounter, an exciting meeting place where love is given and received in an
unscripted manner. Worship is learned, it is the art of expressing oneself to
G-d. Worship is the deep within us calling out to the deep of G-d. The
Hebrew word for worship (segad) means to bow oneself down, to fall flat, to
pay homage and do reverence. The Greek translation (proskuneo), means
to prostrate oneself in homage or more graphically, to "Kiss as a dog would
lick its master's hand." Worship should be a romance with G-d, it is joining
with, and rejoicing in, all that G-d is, all that He has done and all that He is yet
to do. It is a way of life and a key to spiritual transformation. It is an outward
sign of an inward condition. Without emotion there can be no true worship.
John MacArthur states, "Worship is not giddy. It does not rush into G-d's
presence unprepared and insensitive to His majesty. It is not shallow,
superficial or flippant. Worship is life lived in the presence of an infinitely
righteous and omnipresent G-d, utterly aware of His holiness and
consequently overwhelmed by our own unholiness." To worship you have to
have a savior and your savior has to be the central figure in your life. We
have been given free will to choose. Every choice will present either an
obstacle or an opportunity for the Lord. Are we willing to respond to G-d. In
John 12:1-3 we read the story of Mary of Bethany. The expression of her
love and gratitude to Jesus cost approximately a year's earnings, but her
heart was so completely sold out to Jesus that the cost of her gift did not
matter. She desired no 1/2 measure with which to express her devotion but
gave her all. Dedicated worshiper's actions are often questioned and
misunderstood. By her unreserved act of love she was the only one to hold
the honor of having anointed Jesus for his burial. Can we like Mary give our
sacrificial best to Him? Jesus agonized, cried and wept for the presence of
G-d. Is it right to think we need do any less? We must constantly hunger
after G-d's presence and guard against becoming indifferent. Luke 7:36-38
Imagine the depth of this woman's tears being enough to clean the dusty feet
of Jesus. Imagine the gratitude that moved her to boldly display her devotion
and adoration of the man reclining at the table. She had heard him teach of
the Kingdom of heaven. She had understood the heart of the L-rd. She had
seen the miracles He had done. She had been delivered from her old way
of life through His loving acceptance of her. With tears flowing from a
sobbing heart, she washed the L-rd's feet, then in an act of intimacy she let
her tresses of hair down and wiped the soil off. The woman took out a costly
ointment in a stone jar. It may have been her entire savings. The jar would
have had to be broken to get to its contents and all the contents had to be
used. So in bringing the jar of perfume to Jesus, this woman knew there
was no way to give only part of it; it was all or nothing. She manifested no
hesitancy, her love for Jesus knew no bound.
We are to worship Him in truth. To do so we must ask ourselves, how big
are the debts Jesus cancelled for me? How much thanks do I owe Him for
canceling the consequences of my past? Am I merely doing what is
required? When we have come to know G-d intimately through Jesus, and
have entered into a committed covenant with Him, when our spirit has been
completely consumed by the fire of worship then He will lead us through the
veil into the most holy place. True worshippers let nothing hinder them in
their quest to glorify G-d, they never quit when it comes to adoring G-d.
Faced with opposition, danger or even death, they just keep going. There is
a cost to be paid for being a true worshiper. Entire churches have been split
over matters of worship. True worship invokes the criticism of the spiritually
barren. A choice is set before us, we can choose to please man or decide
to please G-d. The unfortunate fact is that many churches are inhibited and
stifled because of the negative attitudes of the leadership. Congregations
have become sentimental in worship using the same familiar songs, thus
causing the songs to lose their effectiveness in stimulating our minds to
worship. Others resist change because "we've never done it this way
before." That's all the reason to do it. Our worship will improve if we stir
ourselves to be innovative, be willing to try new things, be ready to
experiment and explore all that G-d has for us in worship. Becoming a
worshiper is a privilege and a challenge. The New Testament states we are
all priest and responsible to minister before and unto the L-rd. We must
begin to accept our proper responsibility in the congregation. Each of us
must prepare ourselves for worship. Prayer and meditation can be a
beautiful prelude to service. We need to deal with any known sin in our lives
before we get to service. We have the responsibility to be self-motivated to
make G-d's praise glorious, that requires us to invest energy. It is not a
compliment before heaven to be known as slow starters because we are
slow of heart. Our responsibility is to make our songs a praise from our
hearts unto G-d. We must worship despite distractions. To be a true
worshiper we must worship all week long, frequent the place of worship, and
when in His presence we ought not come for a handout but should bring an
offering. Rather than coming to see how much we can receive from G-d, let
us endeavor to give unto G-d, to minister to Him and to bless His Name.
G-d seeks obedience more than sacrifice, who says, "If you love Me, keep
my commandments." Worship, then, is a matter of lifestyle, of absolute
submission to the Word and will of G-d through the power of the Holy Spirit.
It transcends the all-too-short Sunday "worship service." Worship is unto the
L-rd, not men. It is an act of seeking G-d's face and enjoying His
magnificent presence. It is the one thing that delights the Father's heart
above all else. Traditional Christian worship patterns are taking on new
meaning as biblical worship is being restored. Diversity and unity are being
manifest. G-d is doing a new thing! As the end of all things draws near, G-d
is accelerating the intensity of passion and desire within the bridge of Christ.
We are recognizing that a radical gospel that is embodied by a radical
consecration. The Spirit is calling us to lay our lives in abandoned worship
before G-d Almighty.
Psalm 95:1-3, 6," O come, let us sing unto the L-rd...let us come before his
presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms..O
come, let us worship and blow down: let us kneel before the L-rd our maker."
From the time that man was created in the image of the Eternal G-d, it has
been both his privilege and responsibility to worship his Creator. In the
beginning, worship took the form of simple evening conversations as Adam
walked and talked with G-d in the cool of the day. Since that time, G-d has
always searched for men and women who would worship Him with the
concentrated intensity and consuming passion of the Holy Spirit and with the
divine order of truth communicated through His Word.
In biblical history, G-d progressively communicated to mankind His Word
and will, including the system of praise, worship and service that He found
pleasing. This system was designed to be a vehicle through which G-d's
people could commune with their Maker. It included prescribed commune
with their Maker. It included prescribed appointments (modim), symbols,
and rituals that would ever summon men from the routine of the mundane
into intimacy with the Divine.
Repeatedly, however, mankind has drifted away from G-d's design, that his
people commune with him in an intensely intimate, personal way. History
records man's wavering between truth and apostasy, between intense
worship and apathy toward G-d. Even the vehicles which G-d has designed
to bring his people into intimacy with Him have been perverted into lifeless
rituals of doing religious things when their hearts were far from G-d. This is
particularly true in the area of worship. Believers are being renewed in the
Holy Spirit to a passion for intimacy that transcends merely knowing about
G-d. This passion reflects a recovery for Christians of the Jewish concept of
Kavanah, the intense concentration on the Divine that transcends
understanding and thrust one in the realm of revering G-d. The past century
witnessed the greatest, most far-reaching renewal of the Holy Spirit in all of
human history. No longer content to follow blindly in the traditions of blind
leaders of the past and consequently finding themselves in ditches of
despair and confusion, believers are searching the Scriptures for
themselves like the noble Berean Jews. G-d is revealing His Word in a
clarity not witnessed since the first century as Christians are recovering the
faith of Jesus and learning to be true worshippers by revering the Father in
Spirit and in truth. "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of
worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
Worship of G-d is not entertainment for men. Far too often contemporary
worship services have been designed around what is entertaining to those
who are in attendance. While entertainment and things which please men
are important in their own setting, they must never be confused with worship.
Those meetings which are designed to appeal only to the excitement of the
human spirit by doing things that are entertaining to men are failures as
worship services. The important thing about worship is to discover the
elements that please G-d and to employ them to their fullest in our worship.
Worship is not simply what makes individuals or a congregation feel good,
but what makes glad the heart of G-d.
Incorrect perceptions of what church is or memories of what church was like
in the past have almost kept an entire generation out of the house of G-d.
We are the generation to change the poor image of the church. We are to
bring excellence back into the sanctuary. Worshipping parents will lead their
children into the presence of G-d. Worshiping neighbors will lead neighbors;
worshiping employees will lead their employers into His presence. Excellent
worship is contagious. Someone, somewhere, will notice if you are
committed to worshiping G-d or not. Be a radical worshiper who is sold out
for the Kingdom of G-d and not for your own agenda or motives. Worship
the King and bring excellence because you love Him. When you come to
worship bring your radical faith and expectation. Jesus loves faith in the
sanctuary. If you expect nothing you will get nothing. Some people fear or
worry that others will judge them when they publicly worship G-d. They worry
that someone will criticize their radical display of affection to the Lord and
disclose them as superficial or shallow. Don't let what others think rob you of
enjoying G-d's supernatural presence. True worship is not stirring ourselves
into an emotional frenzy. Jesus is real and what He has done in our lives is
worthy of all our praise and worship.
Praise is preoccupation with who G-d is and what He has done. It is
characterized by celebration and exhilaration and is expressed through
singing, shouting, clapping, playing musical instruments, dancing and
prophecy. In the face of challenge and persecution, G-d's people are to
unite and praise Him. Praise begins with a mind set upon G-d, but them
those thoughts must be put into action in order to qualify for praise. Folks in
churches who cross their arms and refuse to participate or who are
reserved before the L-rd are probably reserved spiritually as well. If we hold
back in our hearts, we limit the extent to which G-d is able to move in our
midst. We must be determined to praise even when we don't feel like it.
Praise must function according to our will and not our emotions. Praise is
about understanding the power of bringing thanks-giving into your worship.
Be tenacious in your praise and worship, especially when facing a trial. It
takes gutsy people to praise G-d in the face of opposition. It takes gutsy
people to walk away from the things that once bound them and move
forward. The enemy has no chance of winning against people who are
consumed with praising G-d. Praise is a declaration, a victory cry,
proclaiming faith to stand firm in the place G-d has given you. Praise is a
proclamation that the enemy's intent to plunder you will not rock you. Praise
invades hell and excites heaven! G-d makes his sanctuary among the
praisers. G-d has purposed to raise up a praising church in these last days
and nothing will hinder Him. Not until we praise Him are we able to come
into proper relationship with Him, G-d is enthroned in our praise, and there is
power in praise. When we stop trying to fight our battles and simply praise
G-d, He will fight for us, G-d is free to release His power and provision on
our behalf. G-d does not need our praises, we need to praise Him. G-d has
commanded us to praise because of the change it brings in us. Praise is
often preparatory to worship.
Worship is intimate involving giving and receiving. It is meant to be an
encounter, an exciting meeting place where love is given and received in an
unscripted manner. Worship is learned, it is the art of expressing oneself to
G-d. Worship is the deep within us calling out to the deep of G-d. The
Hebrew word for worship (segad) means to bow oneself down, to fall flat, to
pay homage and do reverence. The Greek translation (proskuneo), means
to prostrate oneself in homage or more graphically, to "Kiss as a dog would
lick its master's hand." Worship should be a romance with G-d, it is joining
with, and rejoicing in, all that G-d is, all that He has done and all that He is yet
to do. It is a way of life and a key to spiritual transformation. It is an outward
sign of an inward condition. Without emotion there can be no true worship.
John MacArthur states, "Worship is not giddy. It does not rush into G-d's
presence unprepared and insensitive to His majesty. It is not shallow,
superficial or flippant. Worship is life lived in the presence of an infinitely
righteous and omnipresent G-d, utterly aware of His holiness and
consequently overwhelmed by our own unholiness." To worship you have to
have a savior and your savior has to be the central figure in your life. We
have been given free will to choose. Every choice will present either an
obstacle or an opportunity for the Lord. Are we willing to respond to G-d. In
John 12:1-3 we read the story of Mary of Bethany. The expression of her
love and gratitude to Jesus cost approximately a year's earnings, but her
heart was so completely sold out to Jesus that the cost of her gift did not
matter. She desired no 1/2 measure with which to express her devotion but
gave her all. Dedicated worshiper's actions are often questioned and
misunderstood. By her unreserved act of love she was the only one to hold
the honor of having anointed Jesus for his burial. Can we like Mary give our
sacrificial best to Him? Jesus agonized, cried and wept for the presence of
G-d. Is it right to think we need do any less? We must constantly hunger
after G-d's presence and guard against becoming indifferent. Luke 7:36-38
Imagine the depth of this woman's tears being enough to clean the dusty feet
of Jesus. Imagine the gratitude that moved her to boldly display her devotion
and adoration of the man reclining at the table. She had heard him teach of
the Kingdom of heaven. She had understood the heart of the L-rd. She had
seen the miracles He had done. She had been delivered from her old way
of life through His loving acceptance of her. With tears flowing from a
sobbing heart, she washed the L-rd's feet, then in an act of intimacy she let
her tresses of hair down and wiped the soil off. The woman took out a costly
ointment in a stone jar. It may have been her entire savings. The jar would
have had to be broken to get to its contents and all the contents had to be
used. So in bringing the jar of perfume to Jesus, this woman knew there
was no way to give only part of it; it was all or nothing. She manifested no
hesitancy, her love for Jesus knew no bound.
We are to worship Him in truth. To do so we must ask ourselves, how big
are the debts Jesus cancelled for me? How much thanks do I owe Him for
canceling the consequences of my past? Am I merely doing what is
required? When we have come to know G-d intimately through Jesus, and
have entered into a committed covenant with Him, when our spirit has been
completely consumed by the fire of worship then He will lead us through the
veil into the most holy place. True worshippers let nothing hinder them in
their quest to glorify G-d, they never quit when it comes to adoring G-d.
Faced with opposition, danger or even death, they just keep going. There is
a cost to be paid for being a true worshiper. Entire churches have been split
over matters of worship. True worship invokes the criticism of the spiritually
barren. A choice is set before us, we can choose to please man or decide
to please G-d. The unfortunate fact is that many churches are inhibited and
stifled because of the negative attitudes of the leadership. Congregations
have become sentimental in worship using the same familiar songs, thus
causing the songs to lose their effectiveness in stimulating our minds to
worship. Others resist change because "we've never done it this way
before." That's all the reason to do it. Our worship will improve if we stir
ourselves to be innovative, be willing to try new things, be ready to
experiment and explore all that G-d has for us in worship. Becoming a
worshiper is a privilege and a challenge. The New Testament states we are
all priest and responsible to minister before and unto the L-rd. We must
begin to accept our proper responsibility in the congregation. Each of us
must prepare ourselves for worship. Prayer and meditation can be a
beautiful prelude to service. We need to deal with any known sin in our lives
before we get to service. We have the responsibility to be self-motivated to
make G-d's praise glorious, that requires us to invest energy. It is not a
compliment before heaven to be known as slow starters because we are
slow of heart. Our responsibility is to make our songs a praise from our
hearts unto G-d. We must worship despite distractions. To be a true
worshiper we must worship all week long, frequent the place of worship, and
when in His presence we ought not come for a handout but should bring an
offering. Rather than coming to see how much we can receive from G-d, let
us endeavor to give unto G-d, to minister to Him and to bless His Name.
G-d seeks obedience more than sacrifice, who says, "If you love Me, keep
my commandments." Worship, then, is a matter of lifestyle, of absolute
submission to the Word and will of G-d through the power of the Holy Spirit.
It transcends the all-too-short Sunday "worship service." Worship is unto the
L-rd, not men. It is an act of seeking G-d's face and enjoying His
magnificent presence. It is the one thing that delights the Father's heart
above all else. Traditional Christian worship patterns are taking on new
meaning as biblical worship is being restored. Diversity and unity are being
manifest. G-d is doing a new thing! As the end of all things draws near, G-d
is accelerating the intensity of passion and desire within the bridge of Christ.
We are recognizing that a radical gospel that is embodied by a radical
consecration. The Spirit is calling us to lay our lives in abandoned worship
before G-d Almighty.
| Ministry of Gates of Praise Ministries, Inc. © Copyright Gates of Praise Ministries 2007/2008 |