Worship

Worship

So, last night I was at a Planet Shakers concert about an hour away from where I live. It was an amazing concert (well, what I caught of it…long story), but the most interesting thing that happened was when the pastor of the church hosting the concert got up and began to speak a little on worship.

It wasn’t really a “sermon” by any definition, but it definitely was thought worthy. He said “worship isn’t just raising our hands or clapping or on occasion jumping up and down because everyone else is…” He went on to talk about Acts 17 where Paul found the altar “To An Unknown God”. Those people didn’t even know what they were worshipping!

As I was driving home, I began to think about it. How many times do we do that? How many times do we go about our day, striving to get everything finished that we need to finish, just to go home and watch whatever show on whatever channel? How many times do we give our all into cheering on Mizzou (yeah, I know) UNC or whatever team, as we desperately hope they make it into the Final Four or better? How many times do we sit in front of the computer (or the TV) playing RPG’s or Call of Duty or Rock Band or whatever game just to pass the time? How many times do we put these things before God?

You may say “never”. I’ll call you “religious”…or a liar. The fact of the matter is that we do often put these things above God and we don’t even realize it. The Bible calls these things “idols”. Anything that we put above God is called an idol and we, in a sense, worship these things.

No, I don’t mean we sing songs of praise to the television or the Play Station, but sometimes they consume our thoughts, our reactions, our likes and our dislikes. We put all this time and energy into these material things and sometimes we tend to neglect our Creator.

Worship isn’t just doing what everyone else is doing and not knowing why you’re doing it. Worship is that time where you say “God, I love you.” Worship is that intimate, one on one time between you and God.

Webster says that worship is: “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion”. Someone else once said that worship is “the object of life’s most intense focus.” That is so true. Has it ever occurred to you that whatever it is that consumes your thoughts is actually what you worship? I was a kick in the head for me because it’s true. When we focus on whatever episode of the next TV show or the release of the next book in the series or video game in the series and that consumes our thought, then it takes our mind off of God and no longer is he the center of our everything. I’m not saying that’s you can’t look forward to any of that stuff, I’m just saying that when it’s consuming our thoughts and it’s all we can think about, then we probably need to get ourselves in check. Worship is what we give our time and attention to.

John 4:23-24 (MSG) says, “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

Worship is a way of showing that our relationship with God is not just a one-sided relationship. It’s one way that we give back to God.

We live in such a fast-paced, everything’s convenient world and with God it has to be more than that. You wouldn’t go to your husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, or even your best friend and talk to them for five minutes and then you’re done for however long. Your relationship wouldn’t last. I can’t help but realize that we wouldn’t do that to that person, but yet we do it to God all the time.

King David went crazy for God. He danced naked in the street to show his love for God, even at the expense of being ridiculed, but he was blessed. Worship is not about us. It isn’t about what your neighbor is doing. It isn’t about what God can do for us. Worship is getting up in the morning and saying “Hey, God. I love you.” Worship is sitting alone in your room with a guitar and singing songs of praise. Worship is driving down the road and just talking to God (yes, praying is a form of worship). Worship is giving up things like Coke or TV or candy or whatever to say “hey, God, you’re more important to me than that.” True worship is dying to yourself and saying “here I am, God.”

“All my delight is in you, Lord. All of my heart. All of my strength. And all my delight is in you, Lord, forevermore…”
--“None But Jesus”
Hillsong United