WHAT IS WORSHIP 4

Unfortunately, worship in too many churches is about us, none more so than those churches which have so called ‘contemporary’ music to attract young people. They are obviously more interested in giving them a good time or becoming ‘relevant’ than they are in worshiping God. When God shows up whether you have an electronic keyboard, drums, a guitar, an organ, or nothing is totally irrelevant.

Whatever you have or don’t have, you can worship God because it is not about us it is about him and he is not limited by the methods or means.

We only worship when we surrender. We may have all the latest equipment, the latest sound, the latest words, the latest vibrations, the latest physical expressions, but if we are not surrendered to the king of kings all this will not produce worship.

The fact is you can ‘worship’ with a rebellious heart. Even if you seem to be really with it when the singing is happening, unless you have a surrendered heart you are not worshipping. You can bang out with wild enthusiasm on your guitar or drums, but if you are not surrendered, it is not worship, it is entertainment.

Worship that is all about God means being visited by him; being sensitive to his voice; listening for his directions and orders; seeking to know his will; making a place for him to occupy; letting his power and presence control what we do and say or don’t do or say; being aware that we are in the presence of an almighty God; being able to stand before him with clean hands and a pure heart; letting him be the centre of our world rather than us being the centre of our world; letting his presence determine our responses, not a programme; being available to him to use us in any way that he chooses; bringing heaven down onto earth.

When you realise all this, singing a few songs doesn’t seem to be relevant any longer. That is not to say songs won’t be sung, but the difference is when they are in response to his manifest presence, they fill the place with his authority and power and frees us up to do his bidding without fear or favour under his anointing.

This way we get in touch with the heavenlies even to the point that we are taken out of our earthly realm and transported into a supernatural realm that releases the power of God to intervene in the lives of people and bring healing, deliverance, power and boldness. The anointing flows from the throne room of God and we are all clothed with an awesome experience of who he is and what he can do.

In other words, it becomes all about him and his kingdom.

Sadly, most so called ‘worship’ never realises such an experience. At best it might conjure up a warm fuzzy feeling that is considered the presence of God in the midst, but in reality it is nothing more that emotional orchestration, commensurate with the level of noise or energy produced by the musicians or the so called ‘worship leader’.

In true worship we cannot stand before the holiness of God. We can only prostrate ourselves before his awesome presence. Next time someone says to you “that was terrific praise and worship” ask them if they experienced the manifest presence of God in the midst of it and if so, did they kneel before him.

If they ask what is the manifest presence of God, they have admitted that it wasn’t terrific praise and worship and if they didn’t experience the manifest presence of God, then the answer is “no, it wasn’t terrific praise and worship.”

No doubt your answer will offend them, but it is better that they know the truth rather than live a lie. If they do that they will forever be satisfied with a counterfeit masquerading as reality.

Just one final thing. Singing five songs between 10.30 and 11am is not praise and worship. It is a religious ritual.