I am interested to hear opinions on this... this has hit me personally
and deeply, and now I have to go reflect upon this more... all I can say
to this is wow, it is very long, but well worth your time.

THE HEART OF A WORSHIPPER

Many Christians today are talking about a renewed desire - even a new
desire - to worship the Lord in a deeper, more meaningful way. But what
is true worship?
What is the absolute essence, the common denominator, in all of worship?
I believe it is seen in the lives of men like Abraham and Job, who
worshipped
in the midst of the most life-shattering circumstances.
The fundamental essence of worship is this: Regardless of negative
circumstances or complete emotional turmoil, I bow my heart and life
before God Almighty,
acknowledging His supreme lordship.
The bottom line on worship is confessing God's lordship when everything
that surrounds your life screams, "God's unjust! He doesn't love you! He
has forsaken
you!" At such a time, the true worshipper says, "The Lord is God.
Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Perhaps this is what the Psalmist meant when he said, "Deep calls to
deep in the roar of Your waterfalls." (Ps.42:7). In the context of that
verse, the
writer was speaking of deep emotional turbulence in difficult times.
When everything is crashing down on us like a roaring waterfall, we must
resort to
the deep-down faith that we have in God.
When we feel overwhelmed and don't know why God has allowed a situation
to come into our lives, we must reaffirm our basic faith in God. "Though
He slay
me, yet will I trust Him!" (Job 13:15 NKJV). This is the deep within us
- that expression from the depths of our souls that affirms our trust in
God regardless
of the changing circumstances of life. Worship is the deep within us
calling out to the deep in God.
Sometimes this level of worship is best expressed in quietness. "Be
still, and know that I am God." (Ps. 46:10 NKJV). This verse has nothing
to do with
praise, but it certainly applies to worship. There are times when our
worship will not constitute the forming of words or phrases but will
involve the
humble prostration of our souls before God, revering His greatness in
silence and stillness.
Since worship is an expression of love, it frequently functions very
similarly to marital love. Love does not always need to be verbalized in
order to be
expressed or appreciated. Sometimes more is said through eye contact
than could ever be expressed verbally. Worship involves "eye contact"
with God. Worship
is staring at God!
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Never Postpone Worship
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When facing turbulent circumstances, we have a tendency to complain now
and postpone worship for later. But Jesus said, "Yet a time...has now
come, when
the true worshippers will worship the Father..." (John 4:23). Worship
operates in the present tense. True worshippers are not satisfied with
waiting to
praise God around the throne in heaven. The fact that we may have
worshipped in the past, or that glorious worship awaits us in the
future, is unsatisfactory.
Now is the time to enter true worship.
"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you." (Ps. 89:15).
Worship must be learned. It is not a talent with which one is born, nor
is it a special
gifting for a select few. Worship is the art of expressing oneself to
God, and we must learn that expression and open our hearts as channels
of the Holy
Spirit.
Just as preaching is an art that is learned, our ability to worship is
developed through application and experience. Worship is not learned by
reading books,
or by taking classes, or by going to seminars. Like the art of prayer,
worship is learned by doing it.
We should not be impatient with ourselves if we are not now able to
worship as we would desire. Learning the fullness of worship is a
lengthy process and
does not come easily. The lessons God brings into our lives to teach us
worship can sometimes be as dramatic as those of Abraham, Job, and
David. Responding
positively in worship rather than bemoaning the trying circumstances
will cause us to grow as worshippers. In many churches we have been
taught to work,
and we have been taught to witness - but we have not been taught to
worship.
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God Seeks Worshippers
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We know from Jesus' own declaration that the Father seeks worshippers
(see John 4:23). God delights in the lifestyle of worshippers; nothing
pleases Him
more than the quality of life displayed by a worshipper. It is our duty;
then, to endeavor to please Him by learning to become increasingly
Christ like
in every way.
We want to be worshippers, but sometimes we do not fully understand all
that this involves. One of the most outstanding instances of worship in
the New
Testament is seen in the story of the sinful woman who anointed the feet
of Jesus. Let us explore this account in Luke 7:36-50 to see more dearly
the qualities
that characterize a worshipper:
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner' with him, so He
went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who
had lived
a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the
Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she
stood behind Him
at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she
wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If
this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind
of woman
she is - that she is a sinner'."
Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, Teacher'," he said.
"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred
denari, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him
back, so he
canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this
woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My
feet, but she wet
My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me
a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing
My feet.
You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved
much. But
he who has been forgiven little loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The other guests began to say among themselves, "who is this who even
forgives sins?"
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
When this woman came into Jesus' presence, she was weeping. This was the
outward manifestation of a heart that was deeply stirred before her
Lord. She was
repentant, overcome, unreserved. This was not a show. This woman's tears
were sincere.
I will confess that, as a man, I find it very difficult to cry. Few are
the times when I come to tears before God. And that concerns me, because
I ask,
"Lord, is my heart too hard before You? I want to be soft and tender in
Your presence!" The times of worship that have been most meaningful to
me are the
times when I've cried before God. Brokenness and tears are truly key
elements in worship.
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The True Meaning Of Worship
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We see also that this woman kissed Jesus' feet. This is a beautiful
aspect of worship, for the Greek word for worship - proskuneo - means
"to kiss the hand
toward; to do reverence or homage by kissing the hand; to bow one's self
in adoration." The derivation of proskuneo is thought to come from the
Greek word
for "dog." Thus the original meaning was "to kiss, like a dog licking
his master's hand."
When I first discovered this, I was somewhat repulsed by the idea. I
asked God, "Lord, am I like a dog before You? Is that all I mean to
You?" But then
the Lord began to show me some beautiful lessons through studying the
origins of this word.
Although I have always been a dog lover, I had a dog for only a few
years while I was growing up. Among my fondest memories of "Buster" are
the times when
we would come home from church and be greeted by him at the door. From
outside we could hear his tail thumping against the wall and his paws
scratching
at the door. And when we stepped inside, he was all over us! Jumping,
licking, wagging, thumping, twirling - you would have thought he hadn't
seen us for
weeks! As I remembered those royal welcomes, the Lord whispered to my
heart, "How excited are you about being with Me again when you enter the
house of
the Lord?"
Then there's the time when your dog comes over to sit by your chair. But
he isn't satisfied with sitting next to his master; he has to plop his
body right
on top of his master's feet. Dogs desire the closeness of physical
contact with their masters. Let's not be satisfied just with being near
the Lord; let
us come close to His heart in worship and lean upon His breast!
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Fear Of Man Or Fear Of God?
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worshippers cannot go unnoticed. They will attract attention to
themselves. For this very reason, many have refrained from entering into
the fullness of
worship. They are afraid of what others might think of them. Peer
pressure affects worship. It has held back countless saints from the
blessing of opening
their hearts to the Lord. Some folks might say, "Oh, that's just Sister
Brown doing her thing again." Others might shake their heads and think,
"Straaaange."
But this is part of the cost of being a true worshipper.
Obviously Mary was not following the conventional forms of worship
-weeping, kissing, and wiping His feet with her hair. There is no
mention in the Psalms
of pouring perfume on our Lord's feet. David gave no guidelines
concerning these things. So we must consider how tolerant we are of
unique or "overboard"
expressions of genuine worship. There are no formulas for worship
because worship is a function of the heart, and the heart will find
expression in a variety
of external forms.
David escorted the ark of the covenant to Zion, and while dressed in a
linen ephod and dancing before the Lord with all his might, he was
rebuked by his
wife, Michal - "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today,
disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar
fellow
would." (2 Sam. 6:20) Because of her criticism, Michal was barren for
the rest of her life. Likewise, if we become critical of genuine acts of
worship,
we are in danger of spiritual barrenness.
In the church today, nothing is quite so controversial as worship.
Entire churches have been split over matters of worship and the proper
way to conduct
it. But a choice is set before us: we can either choose to please men,
or we can decide to please God.. It rarely seems possible to do both.
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God's Loving Response
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Mary was willing to endure the disapproval of others for the sake of
hearing her Master's "Well done." The disciples were surely thinking,
"Why doesn't
Jesus do something? This woman is obviously out of order! Why doesn't He
rebuke her? Why is He letting this thing drag on?" And when Jesus
finally did
give her His attention, the disciples heaved a sigh of relief. "It's
about time He took control of this situation!" But rather than rebuking
her Jesus
commended her.
What a beautiful assurance this is that when we worship, He will
respond! He will turn to us! He will speak to us, for He is eager to do
so. The disciples
had much head knowledge about worship; but it took a sinful woman -
someone who was uneducated in the many forms of worship - to reveal the
heart of a
true worshipper to these disciples.
Spiritual maturity does not exempt one from being a worshipper. We will
never grow to the point where we are "above" worshipping the Lord. In
the Book of
Revelation we read of the elders repeatedly falling down in worship
before the throne of God - "... and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the lamb,
having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying 'Worthy art Thou
to take
the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst
purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and
people and nation."'
(Rev. 5:8-9 NAS) In truth, there should be a greater responsibility
resting upon elders and the spiritually mature to worship the Lord and
to be examples
of worship to others.
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The Cleansing Power Of Worship
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The last words of Jesus to this woman - "Your sins are forgiven" -
contain a beautiful lesson. The woman worshipped, and then she received
forgiveness and
cleansing. The point here is that it is possible to approach God in
worship, even if there is sin in our lives, and become purified. But too
often we allow
feelings of guilt to rob us of this blessing.
There was a time in my life when I was struggling with a specific,
recurring sin that I had difficulty conquering. And oh, the guilt, when
it was time to
worship! I could not find a release in my spirit because I felt like a
failure before God. I withdrew from God, supposing that He was not
interested in
fellowshipping with a sin-ridden son. For years I allowed guilt and
condemnation to rob me of the blessedness of continual communion with my
Father!
I had to learn that I must never allow sin to deter me from intimate
fellowship with God. God is never shocked by sin in our lives. He never
condemns us
for sinning. And He never holds us at arm's length when we do sin.
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Conviction vs. Condemnation
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God does convict, but He never condemns. Conviction and condemnation are
poles apart. Conviction leads to repentance. Condemnation leads to
despair
Conviction results in victory over sin. Condemnation results in abject
defeat. Conviction motivates us toward God. Condemnation leaves us
deflated and powerless.
God convicts. We condemn.
Jesus said. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:17). Jesus' statement
to the
woman caught in adultery, after her accusers slipped away one by one,
was - "Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."
(John 8:11).
Guilt and condemnation are among the greatest hindrances in our worship
services. And for too long we have heard the wrong solution. We have
been told "Repent
before the Lord first, receive His cleansing, and then come into
worship. Don't come before God unless you've first been purified."
But God has never said that to us! That is a human solution The Lord
made His solution very real to my heart one day as I was meditating on
this passage
in Luke 7. I was impressed with the fact that not until after this
sinful woman had worshipped the Lord in such a beautiful and extravagant
manner did
Jesus declare her sins to be forgiven. The progression was this: first
she worshipped, and then she was forgiven!
Jesus never says to us, "Wait a minute. There's sin in your life! Don't
try to get close to Me and love Me in that condition!" On the contrary,
He says,
"Come close to Me; lean upon My breast, and let us commune together.
Then His promise comes: "And you will be purified as you worship Me!"
We do not get purified in order to worship - we worship and are
consequently purified. The only time it is inappropriate to worship God
with sin in our
lives is when we have no intention of changing. To worship while
purposefully maintaining a sinful life, without any intentions of
repentance and change,
is hypocrisy. But to worship despite any known sin, when we acknowledge
it and desire to receive God's strength to gain victory over it, is the
first step
toward the solution.
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Flee Into His Presence
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I am not supporting a new brand of "cheap grace" - God hates our sin! No
sin can survive in God's presence. But this is precisely why, when we
need cleansing,
we must flee into His presence. There we receive healing, cleansing,
holiness, and purity. This was the message of Charles Wesley when he
wrote:
Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high!
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within.
Too often, in the throes of guilt and condemnation, we have turned and
hidden ourselves from our source of healing and forgiveness.
Condemnation has driven
us away from the very Balm that would heal our souls!
Condemnation will rob us of the blessed purification that will come
through worship. Condemnation is a whirlpool that will siphon our
spiritual vitality
until we are consumed. The more we abstain from worship, the greater the
separation between us and God. It is our blessed privilege as God's
redeemed to
draw near to Him in times of sin and uncleanness and receive of the
cleansing power that flows from His presence.
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The River Of Life
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In worship, we partake of the very river that flows from the throne of
God. The Psalmist wrote of that river, "There is a river whose streams
make glad
the city of God" (Ps. 46:4). This is an allusion to the water of Siloam
whose several different courses ran underneath and through Jerusalem and
supplied
the city with water. Similarly the Holy Spirit provides us with renewing
waters as we worship from our innermost beings. Through our worship, the
river
of God washes over our souls with cleansing and refreshment.
When Ezekiel was caught up in this divine river, the waters rose from
his ankles to his knees and then to his waist, until he could no longer
walk in the
current. During this experience, Ezekiel was told, "And it shall be that
every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There
will be
a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they
will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. "
(Ezek. 47:9
NKJV). As the river of God begins to flow during our times of worship,
it brings life, abundance, and healing, washing over broken hearts and
restoring
parched souls.
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