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
