I’ve got worship on my mind.
Worship is on my mind, in part, because the worship intensity increases each weekend at CrossPoint.
Worship is also on my mind because I am teaching a Worship Perspectives class for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary this semester.
With worship on my mind, I have something I want you to consider in light of your weekly worship experience.
Which expression best describes your worship experience?
Expression A: “I don’t get anything out of worship.”
Expression B: “I don’t get enough of worship.”
It has been my observation that those who say they do not get much out of worship enter into worship with the wrong understanding of worship. Worship is not about man; worship is about God. Thus, when a person gathers wondering what they will get out of it or looking for a warm, fuzzy experience they will be sorely disappointed.
On the other hand, those who do not get enough of out worship enter worship with God on their mind. They have one agenda: the glory, majesty and supremacy of the Holy One. Their hearts desire is to bless the Lord, to minister to Him while being led by the Holy Spirit.
So before you ask what you got out of worship, you might want to ask what you put into worship. If you are the center of worship, prepare yourself to be disappointed. Yet if God is the centerpiece of your worship, hang on. God will bless.
I have two prevailing guidelines I use for worship.
First, true worship is initiated by God. Second, true worship is a divine revelation that demands a human response.
Allow me, please, to elaborate on each guideline.
True worship is initiated by God. Man does not decide when to worship. Man may think he decides when he will worship God, yet God is the ultimate decision maker when it comes to worship. God decides when man will worship Him. When God calls His people to Himself is when worship begins. Until then, man is only participating in religious calisthenics. You may be singing.
You may be actually praying. And, you may be sincere about both actions. But until God initiates the time of worship, you are not participating in true biblical worship. You are participating in those things which will lead to worship. True worship is marked by God calling worshipers to worship. Every worship experience is the result of the deliberate instigation of God.
Additionally, worship is a divine revelation that demands a human response. Or, to put it another way: God moves, man countermoves; God speaks, man listens; God acts, man reacts; God initiates, man responds. When God makes His presence manifestly known to His people, then His people are prompted to worship. Again, until the Lord reveals Himself, the people are not worshiping, they are preparing to worship.
So, what is the key? If God initiates worship and if worship is a divine revelation followed by a human response, what is the objective?
The primary ingredient to Spirit-led worship is waiting on the Divine One to reveal Himself.
Call it preparation. Call it waiting. Call it listening. Call it seeking. Call whatever you like. Man, in order to worship God, must wait on the Holy One to reveal His manifest presence before worship begins.
That is why sometimes in worship you may be just singing a song or going through the motions before you sense the mighty Presence of the Holy One. Then, when you sense His presence – when He makes Himself known – you start worshiping in spirit and in truth. And it is at that point worship takes on another dimension. That may be before you enter the worship center. Or that may not occur until the message or half way through a song. Whichever the case, when God reveals, you respond.
That is why the Quakers, when they gather for worship, gather in a circle and sit in silence until an elder is given a word to share with the congregation.
That is why some churches begin the service with prelude music, which is intended to create an atmosphere and provide an introduction to worship.
That is why you should spend time, alone, in private prayer with the Lord at the beginning of each Lord’s Day, before you arrive on campus for corporate worship.
Remember, worship is something God starts. And worship begins when God Almighty makes Himself known to His worshipers.
And when He does so, God’s worshipers respond.
One more thought tomorrow on worship.
You mean worship isn’t all about me, what I want, and what I like? Are you saying worship doesn’t exist to make me happy and entertained? Am I understanding what you are telling me?
Thank you Ryan for helping an old man get his mind straight.
The church I used to attend taught that man was in control and GOD could not do anything on earth until we gave him permission as Adam and Eve had given all control on earth to the devil. I was so wrong in listening to such drivel. I knew better but it sounded so good, name it claim it. All you have to do is ask, believe you shall receive the riches and GOD will make you rich and healthy. Wrong teaching.
Again, thank you, thank you for helping an old man get his mind straight and try to learn the true meaning of God’s word.
Ryan, that is without question the best description of worship I have ever read! God bless you! Thank you!
Man has such a propensity to make everything about man instead of realizing that everything starts and ends with God alone. Man seems to think that because this world is all he can experience with the five senses that it is the most important and he builds a barrier between himself and God. Thank you for bulldozing that barrier with this view of worship!!
Amen!