Post by runner4jesus on Apr 14, 2008 11:53:04 GMT -7
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Hello beloved,
"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."(Joshua 22:5)
As I was reading recently, from my daily Bible reading schedule, this verse stuck out to me. I have been doing an awful lot of thinking and writing on the subject of worship lately. A short while ago, I found myself writing, for hours and hours, on Romans 12:1, and this Scripture from Joshua perfectly backs up the conclusion I have come to. What is that conclusion? Well, read on and find out.
Joshua here, is blessing, and giving instructions to the Transjordan tribes, as he was sending them to take possession of the land that Moses gave them. This land was on the other side of the Jordan. (But make no mistake about it. Though Moses gave them this land, and the Lord allowed them to have it, these tribes were not in the perfect will of God. No; the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh; were riding comfortably in the permissive will of God: a very dangerous place.) But, anyway, let's talk about worship.
As I was reading, the Lord brought Joshua 22:5 to my special attention. What especially stuck out to me was the phrase "serve him with all your heart and all your soul." The Holy Spirit reminded me that, in Romans 12:1, the Greek word for worship is also service. (The greek word for service is latreia, which means the intelligent service of believers in presenting their bodies to God, a living sacrifice. It is interchangeable with "worship".) So, worship and service are one in the same. The Scriptures, here in Joshua 22:5, say that we must be careful to serve the Lord with all of our heart and soul. I say "we", even though he was speaking specifically to the Transjordan tribes, because the Word of God speaks to us all.
When I was writing, recently, about true worship, I used Romans 12:1 to show that the word of God's definition of worship is service. Basically, when you hit the streets to war against Satan, you are serving God. Therefore, you are worshiping him. Also, when an artist paints a picture for the Lord, that is a form of worship. When the ushers take up the offering, they are worshiping the Lord. The believer giving his or her offering is worshiping the Lord. A preacher delivering a sermon; a writer, writing for the Lord; a father reading the bible to his children; or a teenager lifting his or her hands in praise to the Lord; all of these people are worshiping the Lord.
My point is this; most Christians think that worship is something you do while listening to "worship music", or it's something that takes place for an hour or so during Sunday morning service. But, as usual, most Christians are wrong in their theology. Worship is not confined to lifting your hands, jumping around, playing music, singing, etc. Though these things can all be forms of worship, most don't understand that they are only some of the ways in which to worship God. They are, by no means, the best, or most important, way.
I'll say it again because it's worth repeating. Worship is serving the Lord! In Romans 12:1, worship is defined as offering your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. And Joshua 22:5 tell us to serve the Lord with all our heart and soul. That, beloved, is worship.
And finally, here is the point I feel so compelled to bring to you. A large majority of the charismatic church has come very close to making what they call worship into an idol. Here is why I say that. Most charismatic churches put their focus on worshiping the Lord more than anything. And I believe that is how church should be. However, not if the church does not understand what worship truly is.
We have already pointed out that most do not understand what worship truly is. Most would say that worship is what you do, as far as lifting your hands, singing, dancing, etc.; to show your love for Christ. This totally negates Psalm 24, which explains how important holiness is, when it comes to worshiping the Lord. Beloved, allowing God to set you apart and make you holy is both a requirement and a form of worship. Unfortunately, we think that, if a teenager is lifting his or her hands and dancing in a worship service, than he or she must be on fire for God. The parents are so happy to see their child dancing before the Lord, yet are not broken at all when this same teenager has no interest in reading his or her Bible at home. Beloved, this teenager is not worshiping God. He or she is either taking part in "what everybody else is doing", or is just in it for the adrenaline rush, much like a rock n' roll concert.
Anyway, my point is that the charismatic church has, for the most part, put "worship" as their main focus. Of course, they would never admit that they don't properly define worship, but, if you have eyes to see, you will have to agree that they don't. I would say that, what they call worship, is only a form of worship; and, in many cases, is not worship at all. And a major problem is that most charismatic churches make it more of a priority to have a good praise team and worship band, than to have a holy praise team and worship band.
So, to finish things up, let's go back to Joshua 22:5. Joshua is giving very important instructions to the Transjordan tribes so that they might stay under God's blessings, instead of his curses. He listed the following six things:
1. Keep the commandment and the law.
2. Love the Lord your God.
3. Walk in all his ways.
4. Obey his commands.
5. Hold fast to him.
6. Serve him with all your heart and all your soul.
Beloved, this is not the only scripture that backs up my following point. In fact, you will find this truth from Genesis to Revelation. My point is that, if singing songs and dancing before the Lord, were so important, Joshua would have certainly listed that. I would like to say that these are, by no means, bad things. They are, in fact, good things, as long as they are not made the focus.
Now you have to understand that I love singing to the Lord and engaging in joyful acts of Praise. But, the mistreatment of these things must be confronted. The church needs to repent. We need to get back to the truth of God's word. We need to serve him with all our heart and all our soul.
Well, let's close things up. I think we can all agree now, that a majority of the modern American church has no concept of what worship truly is. I hope that we now, can see that worship is not confined to acts of praise, which take place during a "worship service". The Bible is very clear that our spiritual act of worship is offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Now, that might mean something slightly different to each of us. I pray that we all seek God and search our hearts to find what God is truly seeking of us. But, no matter what, we all must die to ourselves. In doing so, we are truly giving God our worship. And it is this worship which pleases our Father, in Heaven.
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
