Worship

 

• Worship should not be confused with feelings. It is true that the worship of God will affect us, and one thing it will frequently affect is our emotions. At times tears will fill our eyes as we become aware of God's great love and grace toward us. Yet it is possible for our eyes to fill with tears and for there still to be no real worship simply because we have not come to a genuine awareness of God and a fuller praise of Himself in His nature and ways... True worship occurs only when that part of man, his spirit, which is akin to the divine nature (for God is spirit), actually meets with God and finds itself praising God for His love, wisdom, beauty, truth, holiness, compassion, mercy, grace, power, and all His other attributes.

- James M. Boice: One of the framers and member of the Presbyterian Church.^[5]

In 1996  There was a meeting in Cambridge Massachussetts, a group of  100 evangelical leaders.

At this meeting they were discussing a problem within the church, and trying to make a statement or reform mandate.

The Subject? Why the church has adopted the ways of the world in it's worship, versus changing the world to the views of the Word of God.

I do not know if you know the teaching of Dr James Boice, but he was far more eloquent and intelligent than I. He was a main driver behind this meeting.

They were trying to come up with a reformation of their own, the equivalent of Martin Luther's movement.

This was almost 30 years ago and now it lays in the dust of history, as far as I know there was no lasting change from this meeting, no impact culturally, no lasting impression. I am not trying to denigrate them or their efforts, I am just so very curious as to why it didn't change anything? 100 people, all with a voice, all with a heart for true change and revival in America. Yet no lasting results.

Did they find an answer to their question? Did they resolve anything in the hearts of men? Did they make a difference in Worship?

The true worship of God is not an emotional framed setting, but a setting where the spirit of man meets and joins in accord with the Spirit of God. 

Worship. Have we gotten away from that word? Have we gotten away from that mindset? Have we turned worship into an emotion fueled, forced event?

Do we instead go to church and lift our voices with those around us in song, singing how we praise Him and bless Him without really praising Him? In fact so impressed with what/who we are, what we are doing for Him that we forget Him and leave Him out?

are we truly understanding who He is?

Who we are?

Psa 8:1  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 

How excellent is the name of the Lord through out all of Creation. How greatly to be praised.

God has set His glory above the heavens.

God created the Heavens and the earth, God set into motion all life, all death, all movement, the seasons, the trees, the animals and man. God created all you see, hear, smell, touch.

God, the Lord of the Universe set it all, every little bit into existence.

Psa 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 

Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 

Psa 8:5  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 

Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 

Why did He give dominion to man? Why were we made a little lower than the angels but unlike the angels we are made in His Image, in His likeness..Why?

Why did God do this for us? Why did He give man this preeminence?

Why has man taken that dominion and turned it into a burden instead of the joy God created it for? Why has man made the creation greater than the Creator?

Why have we turned from the Worship of God to the worship of the creation?

God made it all and gave it to us, we are to praise Him for His creation, yet we have taken what He has given us and turned it into our object of affection.

Psa 8:9  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! 

We should be praising Him, Worshipping Him in thought, Word and deed.

True Worship comes from the heart and the mindset of thinking on Him. 

After all God gave us the earth, gave us life, gave His life that we might have eternal life, How we should be praising Him for that alone. However, He didn't stop there.

He not only took on the form of man, not only did He go to dark Calvary, suffered and died for us. Oh no, He didn't stop there.

He finds us, calls us to Him. He cleanses us from our sins, He gives us His Spirit, He gave us His Word, and He tells us when we err that we might restore our fellowship with Him.

There is nothing we can do for Him, nothing we have that He needs and He found us Worthy.

There is your praise. There is your worship, He and He alone should be your full focus every minute every hour every day.

That is what our Spirit should be communing with Him on, His Greatness, His purity, His faithfulness.

We can not contrive that Spirit, we can not make it happen with meaningless songs, trances, or emotions. It must come from a genuine outpouring from the heart of His greatness and our thankfulness, our gratefulness of Him, Who He is, What He has done, and the mere thought that we are nothing yet He has made us everything.

We can not force it. Yes the singing in the church service is so very important to set a tone, yes we need the fellowship of like minded people, but worship is so much more than that. Worship is not the solemn ceremonial citing of words and phrases, It is from the heart. Out of the heart shall pour the true character of man. So shall true worship pour out of the man to the God.

Joh_4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth

Worship in Spirit. How is that possible? How can we ,the created, find anything in common with the Creator? How can we ever hope to meet and match that purity, that Holiness that we might Worship Him truly?

Why because He made the way, He made it all possible. He did it all. 

For you.

For me.

Psa_29:2  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

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