I heard a very profound statement recently and it just seemed to fire on all cylinders in my spirit. Actually, I didn't hear it, but I read it. This statement said,
"Worship is not something we do. It is what we are."
It also had Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) posted with it which says,
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.According to these verses it makes perfect sense that our worship to God should be so much more than just a mere action that we could perform for Him, so what is it then? What does God want from you? Simply put - all of you!
John 4:19-24 says,
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet 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. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."Today, each Church and each believer has an idea of what praise and worship means, but what is this True Worship that Jesus is speaking of? Does our attempts come close to what He is describing? Is worshiping God in "spirit and truth" just something we do, or is it really something we are?
What about our Praise & Worship? What does it look like? Standing up? Sitting Down? Laying down? Jumping up and down? Weeping quietly? Weeping loudly? Shouting? Singing? Quietly reverencing Him?
Maybe this is where the "truth" part comes in. In other words any of these actions are pleasing to God as long as they are done in truth, and not just to be seen, or with whatever other selfish motive that may be present in us.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a Church exploding into worship, jumping, dancing, lifting hands, running, and looking like a carnival so long as the people are doing so truthfully, being honest in their worship. There is also nothing wrong with sitting quietly in reverence to God as a church, so long as there is that same honesty with God.
I've actually felt God's presence in both types of church services. I've felt God's presence in large congregations, in a small group setting, and I've felt God's presence in my own personal quiet time with Him. All of these instances have had one thing in common - that is when there was honesty (truth) with God, He showed up! When we worship God from our spirit, and we are honest before Him, we are not allowing our personal ambitions to get in front of our worship to Him.
Personally, I have found that during times when I'm seeking nothing but Him, there are a few things that happen. When I would begin worshiping God just to know Him, and not out of any other selfish motivation it is different. It is a much deeper worship, and I begin to feel His presence in a more tangible way.
I, like others (if they are honest), would have to admit that it is easy to worship God with a wrong motive in place. For example, I've worshiped God simply because I was wanting something from Him. Other times in Church the worship music would begin and I would start worship out of feeling like it was only appropriate to do so since others were doing it.
In other words, I was guilty at times in my life of worshiping Him by going through the motions in hopes that something might kick in - so to speak. As if God needed a jump start like an old car battery - how ridiculous is that?
As I've engaged in worship, doing so in spirit and in truth, I've began to see the truth about Him. I would begin to see God's true attributes as I worshiped Him, but then in light of this I also would see the truth about myself, and just how hopeless and helpless I am without Him.
As I would dive deeper I would think of how Holy God is, but then how sinful I am. I would think of how God always keeps His promises, but how many times I've broken promises. His perfection and my imperfection. His light to my darkness. His everything to my nothing. His power to my weakness. God stepped out onto nothing and spoke the universe into creation, but also lives inside of me. How awesome is that? How can we not worship Him?
We worship God for Who He is, and not what He can give us. As we do this we see our own need for His forgiveness in our life. The Holy Spirit reveals things that are present in our heart that we may not had even realized was there.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10,
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.Paul realized that without God he could do nothing, but with the grace of god working through his life, he could labor even more abundantly! Paul knew where his Source of strength came from, for he knew God. Like Paul, and many others that have sought God - I believe this is something still obtainable for us today. That is if we seek to worship god in spirit and in truth.
Like Paul, if we are to grasp that "Worship is what we are" and not "what we do" then we will become a living sacrifice as Romans 12:1 tells us to. This way we can become "holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship."
