Truth is, worship is very immature or elementary until it takes on characteristics of adoration. As long as a worshipper is engrossed with himself - with his own likes, needs, or a personal blessing - he is still a babe in the understanding of worship. The worshipper begins to grow up when he moves from thanksgiving to admiration and adoration.
We see many wonderful lessons regarding this in the worship and reverence of the heavenly seraphim as described in Isaiah's vision, chapter 6. Because of the very presence of God they covered their faces. A man who has passed the veil and looked even briefly on the holy face of Isaiah's God will have difficulty ever being irreverent. There will naturally be a reverence in his spirit. Personal encounters with God will bring on reverence.
The experiences of men who walked with God throughout the ages teach us that the Lord cannot radically bless a man until He has first conquered him. The greatness of the blessing corresponds to the completeness of God's victory over him. Pursuing God will gladly receive the work of bringing our total person into conformity with Him. We must voluntarily exalt God to His proper place over us and willingly surrender our whole being to the place of worshipful submission. After all, He is the creator; we are the creature.
Our Creator God had a noble purpose in mind when He created us. In His plan it was to be a perfect fellowship, based on adoring worship of the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Our God desires to take us deeper into Himself. He wants to lead us on in our love for Him who first loved us. He greatly desires to cultivate within us the adoration and admiration of which He is worthy. Oh that we could become absolutely astonished at the inconceivable elevation and magnitude and splendor and glory of Almighty God! When that happens, it will take us to the same place as Isaiah . . . straight into a posture of confession. As we have said before, "When we truly see God for who He is; we will most certainly see ourselves for who we are." When we experience God...when we know His presence and glory...there will be a reverence . . . and adoration worship. mjm
