Worship Lifestyle Produces Worship Language

In Biblical leaders' lives we can gain some insight into a picture of authentic worship.  The men and women we see in the Bible saw their lives changed forever when they encountered God.  A great impression on their hearts was made when God revealed Himself.  Who they were, where they went, and their purpose in living was radically changed.  We also see this in the lives of many Christian leaders in church history.  

Our own worship lifestyle produces a certain worship language.  If we have left all to follow Jesus, if we are hungry for Him, if we are dependent on Him, and willing to make sacrifices in obeying Him completely - we will see a difference in our worship language.  It is a different way of saying that complete obedience in making Him Lord of our lives feeds our private and public worship.  

True worship comes from fully recognizing our great need for a great God of great mercy and grace.  Once we fully realize there is nothing in us on our own, He  becomes the source of every blessing in our lives - whether physical, spiritual, relational, or otherwise.  If we have a full awareness of this, we won't be able to keep ourselves from worshiping Him. We, being impressed with our own works, bring false worship that can't even be called worship. Trusting in God's Sovereignty in all circumstances leads us to an authentic worship language. Moses, David, Paul, even Jesus' own mother, Mary, showed a willingness to take risks in obedience to God.  That same kind of lifestyle willingness prepares us for a true, authentic, worship language.

When all of God's people are diligently pursuing God's will in their everyday lives, worshipping in the church takes on a whole new dimension.  God empowers us in the doing of His will - taking us far beyond our own capability which will always result in a personal victory song of praise in our hearts and on our lips.  

Bottom line, it is impossible for us to have the language of worship without the lifestyle of worship. We can be model church attenders who know all the right things to sing and say, but without righteous living, the words are meaningless.  Worship equals obedience and obedience equals worship.  mjm

God's Dwelling Place

"So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him." (Psalm 45:11)  When we discover the heart of man's nature we realize that God's natural dwelling place is our souls.  True worship is internal as opposed to external.  We tend to try to make it something external.  We don't need any machinery to worship God.  We can worship Him in spirit and in truth through the depths of our own hearts as the angels in glory can worship Him.  We don't have to have anything.

The soul is a God-shaped void.  In fact, it is like a God-shaped garment.  Let's say like a glove shaped  to fit your hand.  The problem is that God can not enter because of all the junk we have in the glove.  The glove has to be empty before God can possibly enter.  The first thing in seeking the Lord in personal worship is the emptying of ourselves of all the rubbish we have accumulated in our lives.  He will then come in and clothe Himself with us.  We need to search our hearts for moral rubbish, intellectual rubbish, rubbish of habits, of custom; things we do and do not do, think or do not think.  We have to empty it all before the Lord.  It is not some new thing, it is the simple emptying of self so that He can come in and fill the void.

But once we have emptied ourselves of everything, then we need to be cleansed in order for God to enter.  We can only be cleansed through the blood of the Lamb.  An emptied and cleansed soul before the Lord becomes God's most natural dwelling place.  We do the work of emptying; but He has to do the work of cleansing.  He makes us clean in the blood of the Lamb.  We are the Holy Spirit's natural habitat.  He makes Himself at home, speaking and living through us.  

How can that be?  Because God made our souls in the image of God and He can dwell in His own image without any embarrassment.  He wants to indwell our soul, not weekending, not as a houseguest, but permanent residence.  Only sin can prevent the natural habitat of Him.  Worship and sin are incompatible.  Sin prevents worship.  We can not worship with unconfessed sin in our lives.  

Miss Bertha Smith, a long time missionary, used to greet every believer and say, "Are you confessed up to date?".  If we want to worship; we must be "confessed up to date".  mjm

Worship - All the Day Long!

A few days ago I was reading Psalm 71 and it just reached out and grabbed me and spoke to me in a way it hadn't before, having read it at well over 100 times in my life.  I marked it, thinking I needed to come back to it and blog about it.  This Psalm talks about how God is our rock, protection and hope...and that we trust fully in Him.  I had remembered this particular Psalm because of the reference in verse 18 about being old and gray, asking God to "let me proclaim your power to this new generation, . . ."  But the phrase . . . "all the day long" throughout this Psalm reached out, grabbed me and slapped me around.

Starting in the middle of verse 6 . . . he says, "My praise shall be continually of You.  I have become as a wonder to many, but You are my strong refuge.  Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory 'all the day'."  

Then in verse 14 . . . he picks up with . . . "I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.  My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation 'all the day'."  

And in verse 22 . . . "Also with the lute I will praise You - and Your faithfulness, O my God!  To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.  My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, and my soul, which you have redeemed.  My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness 'all the day long'; . . ."

Wow, can you imagine how it would change our "days" and our "worship" if we would consciously "practice the presence of God" by continually praising Him, telling of His righteousness and salvation, singing of His faithfulness, rejoicing in Him with our mouth and hearts full of His praise and His glory?!  That would be Worship - All the Day Long! . . . and it would change our lives.  

Just a thought.  mjm

The Importance of Worship

In the years of doing this blog, we have given several differently worded definitions of worship. "Worship is the work of God's people acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord and seeking to make Him the Lord of every part of our lives for His glory!"  Just another way of saying it.  

Worship, whatever informed worded definition from principles of God's Word, is very important to God.  In Ephesians 1:1-14, Paul reveals a breathtaking vision of God's sovereign purpose. He says before time: God chose us in Christ even before the creation of the world (v.4).  And then, God "predestined us to be adopted as His sons"(v.5), redeemed us through the blood of Christ (v.7), and revealed to us the mysteries of His will which shall come to fruition at the end of history (vv.9-10).  The grand finale of all, the goal to which all of history is forward moving, is praise- the "praise of His glory"(v. 14).

From the Westminster's Confession - "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever" -stands as a scriptural statement (I Cor.10:31).  To glorify God is to praise Him!  The book of Revelation shows us a heaven and an earth filled with praise as the fulfillment of God's redemption (Rev. 5:13; 7:12).  We have been chosen as God's people so that we can "declare the praise of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light" (I Peter 2:9).  God even called us Gentiles into His body along with believing Jews so that the Gentiles might join in the songs of praise (Rom. 15:8-11).

Throughout the whole of Biblical story and history - from the ancient past until the new heavens and the new earth - God seeks worshippers (John 4:23)  Redemption is the means; worship is the goal.  In a real sense worship is the whole point of everything.  Worship is not a part of the Christian life among others, it is the entire Christian life, seen as a priestly offering to the Lord.  

When we gather as the body of believers for worship, we should never take worship for granted.  It is not a preliminary to something else; it is the whole point of our very existence as the body of Christ.  May we grow in our understanding of the importance of our personal/private worship as well as our gathered/corporate worship giving our Lord the place in our lives He deserves.   

HE IS . . . worthy of our worship!  mjm

His Quieting Love

I have to admit I was caught off guard when I became a grandparent almost 12 years ago.  I was smitten instantly with this new granddaughter.  Because she was the first and lived within about an hour of us, I spent my day off every week with her.  For the first few years of her life it was just the two of us every week. 

We were walking through the mall one day when she was about 2 1/2 and walked by this "Build a Bear" store.  Now I was thinking . . ."Man, there is a money trap!"  But I caught her eyes lighting up as she looked in the store.  And I said, "Let's go in and just look."  Well, a few minutes later we came out with a stuffed elephant with a heart placed inside, and a certificate just for her.  She was walking on a cloud.  I knew her mother and grandmother would get on to me for spending the money, but at that moment I wasn't too worried.  I had to learn to be careful about looking into those eyes because eventually I had seven pair of eyes.  I have been overwhelmed by the love I have as a grandparent.

God's grace is that enormous gift that lights up our lives just like that gift did in her.  It is more than you can wrap your arms around.  It is given in a moment so right that it floors you and leaves you speechless.  

I remember the first time I walked up to the edge of one of the seven natural wonders of the world in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls.  At first I was awestruck with absolutely nothing to say.  There are moments in life like that when it's better to retire your lips as you think, I'm not even going to try.  I would suspect that this must have been the kind of love the prophet Zephaniah was referring to: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with singing." (3:17)  Think of it, the God of all creation and universe quieting us with His love and singing over us.  This is how our God initiates His side of the worship dialogue.  

This is no ordinary love the prophet is speaking of.  It's mighty.  It's that most special gift.  It's deeper than looking over into the canyon at Victoria Falls.  Beyond our understanding, it rushes over us like Vic Falls.  God lavishes His love on us - though undeserved - because we are His.  

Why does He do it?  Because His glory is revealed in us when He shows His mighty love powerful and pure, leaving us wanting more of Him.  He wants us smitten and dumbfounded.  The Father quiets us with His love.  Besides pouring out His love on us now, He left a trail of love letters through His infallible Word.  We are the constant target of the glory of God - a love revealed at any expense!  mjm

Our Worship Priorities?

If someone were to ask if we are a worshipping culture, most would say, "Not really."  But our actions speak differently.  We have weekly gatherings of up to 100,000 frenzied fans watching a ceremony of men dressed in very strange costumes acting out a violent drama of conquest. Hundreds of thousands of others stay at home and join in the ceremony by way of a small, sometimes large glowing shrine set up in the media room or the family room.  Fans of professional football are probably not even aware that their behavior could be described as worship.  Or consider how thousands of young people scream and carry on, throwing themselves at the stage where their rock-star idols are performing.  And, lest we be too pious as Christians, how many believers worship a "Christian" music style, performer, or group?  (Taking it much more seriously than opportunities of worshipping the Lord privately, as well as with the gathered body.)

Human beings were created to worship.  We have that need born in us.  To worship is to give ultimate value to an object, person, or God - revering, adoring, paying homage to, and ultimately obeying by ordering the priorities of our lives around that which we most worship.  The Bible clearly teaches that God alone is worthy of our worship.  There is nothing inherently wrong with the above mentioned, but we do need to be careful where our priority in worship lies.  

Throughout scripture God is clear in His desire for us to worship Him.  At the beginning of this new year, let us check our worship priorities.  If He is not first, then it can't be called worship.  mjm

Praise and Prayer! ("Tehillim" and "Tephilloth")

The titles "Psalms" and "Psalter" came from the Septuagint, which was the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament.  This originally referred to stringed instruments, i.e., harp, lyre, and lute, but then referred to songs sung to the accompaniment of those instruments.  The traditional Hebrew title was tehillim meaning "praises",  even though many of the psalms are tephilloth meaning "prayers".  This collection of collections of praise and prayers spanned centuries.  The word selah is found 39 times in the Psalms.  It is believed by many that selah calls for a brief musical interlude or response by the congregation.

So why is the book of Psalms so important to us?  It is a book of praise and prayer for the most part.  Faith speaks about God in praise, and to God in prayer. There are also some that are instructional.  It certainly is a place we need to spend time - reading them, praying them, and meditating on them in order to enhance our faith and walk with the Lord which will instruct and enhance our worship of the Lord.

Major Themes that are found in the Psalms:
1.  The center of life with right human understanding, trust, and hope is God, Yahweh, great King over all.
2.  By right of creation and absolute sovereignty God will not tolerate any worldly power that opposes, denies, or ignores Him.
3.  He stands against any who rely on their own resources or contrived gods to work out their own destiny.
4.  He is the ultimate authority of justice among humans, with avenging oneself being an act of the proud.
5.  He has chosen the Israelites to be His servant people and inheritance among the nations.
6.  His chosen royal representative was David.
7.  As Israel's covenant Lord, God chose David and his dynasty to be His royal representatives, Jerusalem (City of David) as His own royal city, the earthly seat of His throne.  Therefore Jerusalem (Zion) became the earthly capital (and symbol) of the kingdom of God.

In speaking of God's covenant people, the city of God and of the temple in which God dwells, the Psalms ultimately speak of Christ's church.  The Psalter is not only the praise and prayer book of the second temple; it is also the enduring praise and prayer book of the people of God.  We now use it gloriously in the light of the new era of redemption that dawned with the first coming of the Messiah, which will come to full fruition and be consummated when He comes again. Hallelujah!

Spend time in the book of Praise and Prayer as the redeemed and see how He changes your worship! mjm

The Psalms and Worship

For several years now it has been my habit of reading through the Psalms and Proverbs every month. It has been a tremendous blessing of growing in my understanding of worship - in the Psalms, and practical application for living - in the Proverbs.

The Book of Psalms is a book of worship and sometimes called the first hymnal.  Each and every Psalm captures the writer's response to God from various points and perspectives.  In the Psalms we see that God and worship are many-faceted.  There is not a narrow range of worship expression.  Among them we find exuberant, passionate praise and overflowing gratitude.  God is adored, exalted and glorified.  But we also see the different psalmists pouring out their hearts in laments to God - their fears, their heartaches, their disappointments and desperation.  We see them cry out for God's help in times of trouble, trial, temptation and sin.  

Many of our worship songs and hymns today are based on many of these Psalms.  Each Psalm not only expresses the heart of the composer, but also the heart of God.  The more we read, meditate, sing, and pray the Psalms, the more we will worship in truth, authenticity, and passion. The Psalms offer an invitation for us to go deeper with the Lord than ever before.

The Psalms are masterpieces of worship.  Above all, the Psalms teach us that worship is for God. Though we are always blessed in our worship, the goal of worship is not our gain, but God's glory. In the timeless words of Psalm 108:3-5:"I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth."

I would encourage you to make a plan and spend some time every day in the Psalms. It will deepen your walk and worship with the Lord as you begin a new year in Him!  mjm