The importance of true worship? (2)

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

God expects us to worship and praise him. God created us to worship him. We therefore will thirst to worship the Lord, even when we do not understand or acknowledge the need. We will remain unfulfilled if we don’t. To worship God is the purpose of our existence.

But what is true worship? If you research this you will find that believers seem to answer this question in many ways. There seem to be so many churches with different customs, styles and traditions. Who is right?

If you would visit a different service every Sunday, you would find that some churches have a lot of formality, ceremony and ritual. Things are done in the same way and order every Sunday.
There are on the other hand also a variety of less formal churches with an unwritten order that may differ from Sunday to Sunday and that could feel disorderly if you are not used to their style and traditions. And you will also find a lot of “in-between” services as you look around.

Are some wrong and others right? Are some better churches than others? The truth is that they could all be right or all be wrong, and whether they are, has little to do with their style, but has everything to do with the heart of the worshipper and his/her relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

All churches from all styles and traditions should pray that God will constantly move the Church to restore true praise and worship, which is worship that is lead by the Spirit, while seeking God’s truth without compromise. We ought to understand what is important to God; truth, earnesty, honesty, authenticity, hope, faith and more than anything else, love for him.

After all, praise and worship are God’s ideas, not ours. Yes, we have a desperate need to have fellowship with God, whether we believe it or not! But God is not interested in our choice of style or customs, but that we worship him with love, in truth and under guidance of his Spirit.

Over and over in Psalm 150 we hear the command to "praise the Lord!"
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

God expects us to praise him. And God is saying to his church today, as he has said many times in the past, "Praise Me!"