AUTHENTIC WORSHIP - PART 2

“The Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

AUTHENTIC WORSHIP
FROM THE HEART

When Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart and soul” (Luke 10:27) he meant that worship must be genuine and heartfelt. It is not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say. Heartless praise is not praise at all! It is an insult to God.

When we worship, God looks past our words to our hearts. The Bible says, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”
Since worship involves delighting in God, it engages your emotions. God gave you emotions so you could worship him with deep feeling, but those emotions must be genuine, not faked.
God hates hypocrisy. He doesn’t want showmanship or pretense or phoniness in worship. He wants your honest, real love. We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely.
Of course, sincerity alone is not enough; you can be sincerely wrong. That’s why both spirit and truth are required. Worship must be both accurate and authentic. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads.
Today many equate being emotionally moved by music as being moved by the Spirit, but these are not the same. Real worship happens when your spirit responds to God, not to some musical tone. In fact, some sentimental, introspective songs hinder worship because they take the spotlight off God and focus on our feelings. Your biggest distraction in worship is yourself – your interests and your worries over what others think about you.
Christians often differ on the most appropriate or authentic way to express praise to God, but these arguments are usually just personality and background differences. Many forms of praise are mentioned in the Bible, among them confessing, singing, shouting, standing in honor, kneeling, dancing, making a joyful noise, testifying, playing musical instruments, and raising hands.
The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God, based on the background and personality God gave you.
(an extract by Rick Warren)

THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP - KING DAVID (TRUE WORSHIP STARTS WITH A PROPER ATTITUDE)

Worship should be exciting. King David is portrayed in the Bible as dancing and singing and giving praises to God. Does exciting worship consist merely of such obvious demonstrations? In learning what the Bible has to teach us about worship, the example of King David’s attitude is instructive.

BRINGING BACK THE ARK (2 Samuel 6)
The first attempt was unsuccessful (2 Samuel 6:1-10) because the people failed to acknowledge God’s holiness. They treated the Ark, which God called sacred, as if it were just another piece of religious furniture. For one thing, they transported the Ark using a cart which was not the means prescribed by God for transporting the Ark (Exodus 25:14). Then, when the cart teetered under the pull of the oxen, one of the attendants put his hand on the sacred Ark to steady it. So disrespectful was the man’s action that “God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the Ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:7). The procession made it only as far as Obed-Edom. There the Ark stayed
Three month later, David finished building the tabernacles that would house the Ark. He decided to make a second attempt at bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. The king and his people were obviously excited! But something about their worship was different this time. This time David obeyed God’s instruction. Notice that the Ark was now borne by porters in the manner God had prescribed. A proper recognition of God’s holiness was also demonstrated by starting the procession with sacrifice. (2 Samuel 6:13-16)
What is the lesson in the two attempts? We have seen two instances of worship, both of which involved great excitement involving music, singing, and rejoicing. But one ended in disaster and the other in blessings. Both expressions were exciting but in only one instance did God accept the worship. What was the difference?
The difference was the ATTITUDE in which the worship was offered. In the first attempt to transport the Ark, God was disobeyed and His presence – symbolized in the Ark – was carelessly regarded. But in the second attempt God was obeyed, and through offerings and praises, His person was the focus of His people’s worship.
The ATTITUDE that made the difference can be seen in the song that David composed upon the Ark’s return. The Bible records what the heart of God’s man was as he participated in worship that was both exciting and true. David’s song, recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, is actually a compilation of three psalms David had written. The middle section of David’s song was based on what is now preserved in the Bible as Psalm 96. In this psalm we find the theme of the entire song, expressing the essence of true, joyful worship.
“O, Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” (Psalm 96:9)

1) THE PROPER ATTITUDE FOR WORSHIP
In this song David issue a call to worship, a worship that is joyful and fearful at the same time. Can this kind of worship really take place? How do we resolve this seeming contradiction of ATTITUDES? Fear stems from the fact that,, when we say God is holy, we acknowledge His complete separation from sin. He avoids contact with sin and is offended by our sins. God’s holiness leaves you and me in a difficult situation. To resolve this difficulty, some suggest that the Church today should not focus on God’s holiness; that focus might turn people away from God’s love. But David resolved the difficult by describing God’s holiness as “beautiful.”
Why beautiful? The person who loves sin knows in his conscience that that he offends God, and so he regards God’s holiness as austere and restrictive. But that same holiness is beautiful to the person whom God has delivered from sin’s power and penalty. The repentant sinner trembles at the thought of his position before a holy God, but he rejoices in the truth that only a God who is perfectly sinless could have the power to save him.
David’s call to worship is first of all, therefore, a call to fear. For if we see the holy God as all that He is, we will fear greatly. Fearing God is the first step. The second step occurs when our fear matures into awesome respect for the beauty of His holiness. Such maturation takes place when we understand God’s love and forgiveness more fully. In the third step, as our understanding of God increases, two things will happen. We will fear all the more at the thought of offending Him who loves us. But we will rejoice all the more as we contemplate the consummation of His deliverance.

2) THE PROPER ACTIONS FOR WORSHIP
David’s song before the Ark of the Covenant teaches that a proper ATTITUDE in worship will be manifested in proper actions in worship. Specifically, David describes three categories of actions: Singing, proclaiming, and offering.
He who worships truly must sing a new song unto the holy God. “Oh Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name” (Psalm 96:1-2a). A new song is a fresh song, a song that is different from the old kind of song that illustrates the effects of sin. The new song that God deserves is a song that blesses His name. It’s new song that is directed to Him and that exalts His character, which is rooted in His name.
A proper ATTITUDE in worship will be manifested in our proclamations. “Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations. His wonders among all peoples … say among the nations ‘The Lord reigns’ “ (Psalm 96:2-3, 10). True worship proclaims the inexhaustible good news of God’s salvation every day.
Finally, a proper ATTITUDE of joyful reverence in worship will express itself in acceptable offerings. “Give to the Lord, O families of the people, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts” (Psalm 96:7-8). True words of praise to God, in contrast, are backed by sacrifice.

3) THE PROPER ANCHOR FOR WORSHIP
True worship starts with a proper ATTITUDE that manifests itself in proper actions. But in the final analysis, worship does not begin with us at all; it finds its proper anchor in the worthiness of God.
"For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary"
(Psalm 96:4-6).
God's worth is revealed in His greatness and supremacy, honor and majesty, strength and beauty. Some people stop at this point; they contemplate God's worthiness and express their admiration. Their worship might include some excitement, just as did the worship of the people of Israel the first time they attempted to bring the Ark into Jerusalem. But a proper excitement in worship occured only when the people obeyed God. Their obedience was rooted in a proper fear of and reverence for Him.
(an extract from True Worship by David Whitcomb and Mark Ward, Sr.)

Worship - Offer Your Body (Part 2)

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. (Romans 6:13)

Do not make the mistake of thinking that God is only concerned with our spirits. It's true that Jesus said we are to "worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). But there's a context. We worship the God who indwells mortal flesh. We are His temple. And those who carelessly degrade His temple, either through immorality or irreverence, are being careless about their worship. Praising God with physical mouths and then treating our bodies with little concern for our health or morality is gross contradiction - Chris Tiegreen (Worship The King)

Here is a list of Scriptures (certainly not exhaustive, but enough to get you started) that will help you understand God's perspective on how you can offer your body to Him on a daily basis as a SPIRITUAL ACT OF WORSHIP. We will look at what the Bible says about your ears, your eyes, your mouth, and their relationship to your thoughts.

Your Ears

How can you offer your ears as a living sacrifice to God? Consider these words of instruction from Scripture:

- The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out. (Proverbs 18:15)

- Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

- Apply your heart to instuction and your ears to words of knowledge. (Proverbs 23:12)

-Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? (Job 12:11)

What do we allow ourselves to listen to? What kind of environment in which faith can be nutured? It is conducive to worship? We spit out foods that offend our sense of taste. What do we do with words that offend our hearing?

Your Eyes

How can you offer your eyes to God as a living sacrifice? Here is what the Bible says:

- I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (Job 31:1)

- Turn my eyes away from worthless things. (Psalm 119:37)

- I will set before my eyes no vile thing. (Psalm 101:3)

Vile means wicked, peverted, offensive to the senses, disgusting, cheap, degrading. What are we doing with our eyes? What do we allow ourselves to look at?

Your Mouth

How can you offer your mouth as a living sacrifice? Again, let's see what the Bible has to say.

- Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. (Psalm 34:3)

- I said,"I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." (Psalm 39:1)

-What goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean," but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean." (Matthew 15:11)

- Rid yourselves of ... slander and filthy language from your lips. (Colossians 3:8)

- Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. (Proverbs 4:23-24)

Jesus taught us that our lips reveal the content of our hearts. "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). What do your lips reveal about the content of your heart? What are you filling your heart with that overflows from your lips?

David prayed: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight. (Psalm 19:14) - May this be our prayers too.

Your Thoughts

I know that your thoughts are not physical parts of your body. But they are inseparable from your body. Your thoughts both reflect and direct what you do with your eyes, your ears, and your mouth.

- In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:2)

- Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, what ever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

- Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.(Colossians 3:2)

- Take captive every thoughts to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

One best ways I have found to take every thought captive to Christ is to develop the habit of turning self-talk into God-talk. You know what self-talk is? It is the silent and secret conversations you have with yourself. Some methods of turning self-talk into God-talk:

- Praying without ceasing

- Listening and singing praises to God

- Reading and meditating on the Word of God

Living sacrifices that offer to God as an act of worship ... "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

(an extract from - The Way of a Worshiper by Buddy Owens)

Blessings

TPWC