The Art of Worship

Sometimes, when believers discuss the subject of praise and worship they think it has to do with just songs and the speed involved. It might interest you to know that praise and worship have little or nothing to do with the pace of the song. Worship is the recognition that we give to God for who He is as it is a means to connect with His heart. (1 Chron. 16:29, Ps 29:2). Even at those times when it appears as though God has done nothing we must still worship Him, as it is a command which when obeyed attracts numerous blessings (Hab. 3:17-18, Ex 23:25-26). Praise on the other hand is the recognition that you give Him for what He has done as essentially it is a means to connect to his hands (Ps 145:3-4). In essence, worship is as if reverence and awe were mixed to form just one complete package. According to the Scriptures, there are two broad categories of worship and they are: a.) Physical Worship b.) Spiritual Worship Physical worship refers to the use of the members of your body to give reverence to God. It refers to how you can use your hands, knees, head and body to give God worship. Refer to Exodus 4:31, Neh. 8:6, Ps 5:7, Ps 95:6, Gen 24:26, Rev 7:11 etc to see clear examples. Spiritual worship on the other hand is all about how we take all the activities in and components of our lives and offer them up to God as a sacrifice desirous of His acceptance (Rom 12:2). What then is the art of worship? Man is a 3-part being as he has a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body (1 Thess. 5:23). God is spirit and since He made man in His image, it only follows that man should have the same attributes too (Gen 1:26-27, John 4:24). Worship is therefore an intercourse between God's spirit and man's spirit as the only way to worship Him is to do so in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24, Philippians 3:3). Worship has nothing to do with a particular location, as it must be practised every minute of the day, every step of the way no matter where you are. You worship God with the simple things that you do in your natural everyday life. What then does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth?

Worship in Spirit - To worship God in spirit, you need to yield completely to the influence of the Spirit and make granting the desires of the Spirit your number one priority. When you gratify the desires of the flesh by allowing your body to dictate to your spirit, you cannot worship God in spirit. The more you yield to the Spirit of God the more your own spirit is exercised and strengthened to subject your flesh to discipline (Gal 5:16-18, 1 Cor. 9:27). You cannot worship God if your spirit is dead, dull or insensitive to the Spirit of God. If there are issues in your life that do not put a smile on the Holy Spirit's face, you simply cannot worship God in spirit. Worship involves a live connection between your spirit and the Spirit of God and for worship to take place that connection must exist. Worship in Truth - The setting in Rev 4:4, 9-11 is a classic example of how to worship God in truth. Here in heaven, the 24 elders are sitting on 24 thrones around the throne of the Most High and they are all dressed in white with crowns of gold on their heads. When it is time to worship God, they fall off those thrones and lay the crowns on the ground. The significance of this is that when it comes to worshipping God in truth, you must first put aside all your earthly accomplishments (in other words everything you take pride in) and accept the picture He paints of you without question. Whether it is academic achievements, material acquisitions or perhaps an over bloated self-image, all those attributes must cease to be of any importance if you must worship God in truth. It is not the man who commends himself or is commended by others who is approved rather it is the man God himself commends (2 Cor. 10:18). The truth is what God says about you, you need to be able to see yourself the way God sees you only then will you be able to worship. The art of worship is the ability to embrace worshipping God in spirit and in truth as a culture and an attribute of kingdom believers.
Authors note: This message was first preached at the Parish Youth Chapel, Church of the Pentecost (Anglican Communion), 21 Road, Festac Town, Lagos on Sunday, 22nd May 2011 in my capacity as Coordinator.