Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The importance of true worship (3) final

God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship through the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

God created us to worship him. We therefore thirst to worship the Lord, even when we do not acknowledge the need. We will remain unfulfilled if we don’t. We already mentioned that our worship of God is not so much for God’s benefit, than ours. So what do we seek when worshipping God?

1) God desires people who will praise and worship him. So, one reason for true worship is that we want to be obedient to God.

2) And we want to worship because we know and believe that God is worthy of it. Consider Revelation 5:11-12, "And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’"
We want to worship God, because our God is worthy of our praise.

3) But praise and worship is also the way that leads us into the presence of God. Psalm 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." When we go to worship God, we shift our focus from ourselves to him. We become aware of his presence and open our hearts and minds to have fellowship with him. We become aware of his awesome holiness, divine love and majestic power. Worship brings us into the presence of the living God, where we can hear him speaking to us and we receive his blessing and are sent into the world in his service.

4) We worship God to receive his perspective on our lives. We become aware of his will and ability to deal with our questions and concerns, when we enter his presence.
When we focus on our situation or issues, they may be threateningly large. But when we focus on the almighty God, we become beware of God’s perspective, and as we look at the situation in the light of the power and authority of God, we find that through his divine ability the issue can be worked out. Our worship of God helps us to see that nothing is impossible with God – and we need to see that all the time.

5) But most importantly, when we worship God, we seek to be changed. Worship changes our attitudes and approach to life. It takes away our cynicism and gives us hope and faith. It takes away our anger and gives us love and a heart that forgives. It takes away our fear and gives us courage. When we worship God, we learn to trust him and surrender to him and it changes our whole lives!

Make regular time of worship your priority. During your private quiet time and during family time. And never forget that worship happens in the Body of Christ. Make it your priority never to miss worship time with the Body. Never exclude you and your family when God is busy equipping, inspiring and rejuvenating his Church. Be there!
Make it your priority
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