THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP

                                                                                              Vol. XIX, No. 6, August 2006

The first commandment says, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex. 20:2). The second continues, "You shall not make for yourself any carved image. . you shall not bow down to them nor serve them" (20:4, 5). Jesus, when tempted by Satan, replied, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matt. 4:10).

Virtually any Christian, devout or otherwise, would quickly say that we are to worship God. The question which is critical in our age is “Just what is worship?” A random visitation of a dozen different church “services” representing varying denominations, would likely reveal a dozen different concepts of what worship is. The atmosphere would vary from eerie quietness to a cacophony of voices; the music would range from rock' n roll to stately melody, and the instruments from drums and guitar to a majestic organ. The order of the service would spread from unpredictable variableness to liturgical specifics. Is all this worship? And one might ask, Is any of it worship?

The dictionary defines worship as: adoration, veneration, reverence, adulation, to exalt, to praise, to extol. If God is the object of worship, then it is He who is to be adored, revered, praised, exalted.

Unfortunately, much of what is called “worship” is primarily an effort to attract "seekers" in what is now called a post-Christian society. Some of it is even called “entertainment worship", which is an oxymoron, bordering on blasphemy.

Others look upon the activities called “worship” as actually "a celebration of the people of God" which most often is really the celebration and satisfaction of ourselves. When a musician performs or the choir sings, the applause is for the performance. If the sermon entertains and motivates, the preacher may be applauded. After all, that is what he is paid to do – keep the people happy.

What are the elements of worship? True worship has only one direction - toward God. In its roots, it means to pay adequate acknowledgment to the worth of God. If a human being is actually worshipping God, every motive, attitude, action, movement, and thought will be directed to God in recognition of His majesty, His greatness, His power, His gifts and goodness, His love, and His grace. And it will all be done in the name of and for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the atonement for our sins and the door through whom we come into the presence of God.

Every part of a true service of worship will be aimed in one direction – toward God, not toward ourselves. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. Surely that means the essence of worship is not physical. Physical activity of some sort is necessary since we have no other way to express our ideas, thoughts, feelings, desires. But any physical activity has no value except as it best expresses our inmost adoration of our God. Music, prayer, preaching, giving, reading of Scripture, or anything else we might do – these have no value in God's sight unless they are first motivated by a desire to say something that will express our humility before God, and our desire to truly worship Him. And the desire to say something to God will find no door through which to enter into His presence unless our spirits are in tune with His Spirit, and unless all we do is grounded in the truth as revealed in God's Word.

With few exceptions (maybe none) congregations today need to completely rethink this matter of 'worship.' The first question to ask is, "What will really please and honor God?"

Worship is never just an act by itself. Worship is an experience of the mind, heart, soul. If an activity has value as worship it must be rooted in the present consciousness of God. The relevancy or irrelevancy of anything that is done in public or private worship – music, prayer, giving, preaching, testimony, et at. – will be determined by that consciousness. Who will judge its value? In the last analysis, God will be the Judge. But in reality, the worshipper must be the judge. Is what I am doing making me more conscious of the reality and presence of God? Is what I am doing in worship done with the desire to please God, or the desire to please my own feelings, emotions, ego? If the members of a congregation would ask those questions honestly, candidly, intensely, what a difference it would make.

[Reprinted from The Watchman, January 2005. You can subscribe and contribute to The Watchman by writing to Owens Ministries, Inc.; P.O. Box 14787; Greensboro, NC 27415.]