Defining Worship From Scripture
What IS Worship? Well, I’ll tell you What worship is NOT.
~Worship is NOT being “drunk” or “high” in any way shape or form in the spirit.
~Worship is NOT zoning out into Zombieland, passively being controlled or lulled by a beat or mesmerizing song into engaging in strange behaviors and allowing spirits to take over your mind, body, and soul.
~Worship is NOT having a seance in church, chanting and speaking in tongues, in order to get a reaction from the spirit world.
~Worship is NOT lusting after the supernatural and aiming to call it an “experience with God.”
~Worship is NOT romancing Jesus, making him out to be your husband and you personally his bride…FOR WHAT???
~Worship is NOT getting caught up in your fleshy emotions in your attempts to present yourself to the almighty God.
~Worship is NOT a religious, churchified lifestyle, but rather a life of humility, and of a willingness to learn God’s way versus the religious way, accepting the fact that the religion you have been taught may not be the way to the truth you seek.
WORSHIP IS DEFINED IN SCRIPTURE!
John 4:24 (NIV) states, “God is SPIRIT (emphasis added) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
So, it takes 2 things to worship God: 1. Spirit and 2. Truth.
I have come to learn that TRUE worship to the Lord is in my everyday spiritual life. That means, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit; Taking up my cross and denying my flesh daily; and living my life based on the TRUTH, as opposed to a watered down religious gospel that lacks the power of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
I LOVE music, and I LOVE to sing. But I used to minimize worship to being some “experience” I would seek through many self-focused Gospel and Contemporary Christian songs played in church. (*Not all Gospel and Contemporary Christian songs promote false doctrines, but many DO, and are fleshly in nature, so you have to be careful and make sure the song is centered on Christ and the Gospel.)
Then I realized that it was all a FLESHLY LUST FOR THE SUPERNATURAL. I wanted to FEEL SOMETHING. I wanted to take part in supernatural experiences, due to my weakness for and attraction to witchcraft and the occult. It wasn’t about wanting God. It was about GETTING A SPIRITUAL HIGH. Yes, God is a spirit, but that was not the type of “spirit” I was seeking after. I wanted to FEEL SPECIAL…as if I had something no one else had, or as if everything revolved around ME. God does not do that. The enemy does. He uses the supernatural to make us feel SPECIAL, and then he puffs us up with all kinds of thoughts about ourselves, so that we can think we are filling voids of insecurity, worthlessness, rejection, and lack of acceptance in our lives.
But God’s message through Jesus Christ is not centered around you and me, and what He can do for us and how he can “wave his magic wand” to make us feel better about ourselves and give us what we want out of life. Instead, it is centered around the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. Ask yourself: “Do I even KNOW what the true Gospel of Jesus Christ is?” Hint: The TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ is not even taught in the church!!! Start there.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with something to chew on:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)
It’s about being A LIVING SACRIFICE. It’s NOT about being self-absorbed like the world (including church & religion) falsely teaches. It’s NOT about YOU. Humble yourself before the Lord. Allow the Lord to show you a NEW thing. Seek the TRUTH.
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Great! Great!
Say it sister. Good post.
Thanks!