Why I Worship

What Is Worship, Why Do We Worship, How to Worship

Adam, Where are you?

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Worship touches every part of the make up of a human being.

It requires us to focus our mind on the concepts of who God is and who he has created and called us to be. It requires us either to bring our bodies into a submissive, humble, and quiet posture before Him or to take an emboldened stance of declaration of His character through the lifting of our hands, the clapping of our hands, or through some type of dance.

Worship also requires us to allow our emotions to respond to God in ways that may sometimes be uncomfortable or even seem out of character of us on an individual basis. Sometimes we worship with a sense of militarism in declaring the character of our God, and sometimes we almost end up in a heap on the floor in tears when we come to the realization of the grace, love, and forgiveness that has been poured out for us.

In any of these situations where worship is taking place, there is one constant… vulnerability.

Vulnerability is the key to true worship. When we come before God in worship; whether in private or in public, we must be willing to lay ourselves bare before God. This is why we refer to certain aspects of worship as “a sacrifice of praise.”

Genesis 3:8-10 brings us what I believe to be some of the saddest words to ever be written:

“When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the Man: “Where are you?” He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.””

Gods answer to Adam in verse 11 is so freeing if we will let it get to our spirit; “Who told you you were naked?”

When you come before God in worship, do you come to him hidden and fearing that He will see what you’ve done and feel differently about you, or do you realize that your sin didn’t change His feelings for you?

He knows you… He loves you just the way you are… and he wants to walk with you today…

Where are you?

Feel free to leave a comment.

When we’re not, He is.

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I was scheduled to share a worship time this morning with our interns here at The Cathedral and, I must say, I was not prepared.

Last night, I had some things happen that really made me angry and I had not handled it well. I woke up this morning and was still dealing with it (is it ok if I admit that I’m not always holy?). I thought to myself, “I am in no place to share with these young people about being intimate with God in worship!”

As I got myself ready for work and made a somewhat feeble attempt to prepare for the task I was about to take on, Kari Jobe’s song; “You Are for Me,” began to play over and over  in my mind and heart. I don’t normally listen to Kari, but this song was really heavy in my spirit. I thought “What is the deal, here?” I could not get it to stop! Then it hit me… here are the lyrics:

So faithful. So constant. So loving and so true. So powerful in all You do.
You fill me. You see me. You know my ev’ry move. You love for me to sing to You.

I know that You are for me. I know that You are for me
I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness.
And I know that You have come now, even if to write upon my heart to remind me who you are.

So patient. So gracious. So merciful and true. So wonderful in all You do.
You fill me. You see me. You know my ev’ry move. And You love for me to sing to you Lord.

God was saying to me “Even when you’re not faithful, I am. Even when you haven’t been consistent, I am.”

Jesus told the woman at the well “The time is coming, and now is, when those who worship me will worship me in spirit and in truth.”

My worship is not dependent on how I have performed or whether I have performed to what I think are God’s expectations of me. My worship is not dependent upon who I am. My worship is not dependent upon what I need for God to do in my life.

If I worship God in spirit and in truth, then I come to Him acknowledging that:

  1. He knows everything about me and still chooses… no, LONGS to commune and have fellowship with me.
  2. When He looks at me, He sees me as a completed work in Christ, therefore I cannot disappoint Him or perform below His expectations of me.
  3. When I come to Him in worship I already have everything I need in Christ. All of my healing is provided. All of the provision to accomplish my purpose is already done. Therefore I worship from a well of satisfaction that He has and is everything I need.

In those times when you feel you have “messed up” too badly, or have not been good enough to come into God’s presence in real worship, remember, in the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, realized they were naked, and covered themselves… but God still came, just like He always had, to walk with them in the cool of the day. He knew their sin… but still came.

He knows you… but still comes saying “I’m here. I am for you. I love you.”

“Father help me today to understand that my worship is not dependent on anything I can do or have done, but it is solely dependent on who You are and what You have done. You have purchased my healing. You have called me Your son. You have promised not to leave me nor forsake me. You have assured me that at the time when I find myself weak, Your strength will be proven perfect. Thank You for revealing yourself to me and helping me to understand the depth of Your love for me. AMEN.”

“What are you gonna do… with freedom?”

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I’m a sucker for a good war movie. The 2000 blockbuster “The Patriot” starring Mel Gibson is one of my favorites.

There is a scene in the movie that shows an exchange between a white militia soldier and a slave who has been serving in the militia after being signed up by his master. The slave is looking at a poster on a sign post in the town where they are gathering supplies which states that “any slave who serves the Confederate Army for a period of one year will be granted freedom at the end of his service.” He stares out into the sky with a look of wonder and says “Only six more months…” The white soldier looks at him and says, condescendingly “Boy, what are you gonna do… with freedom?”

Our Pastor, Bishop Tony Miller, has been sharing a series on Freedom for the past few weeks. In this series, he is teaching the differences between deliverance and freedom. This series is radically changing lives in our church.

One of the major downfalls of many “deliverance” ministries is that people do not understand what to do after they experience or receive deliverance. They do not understand that there are two different aspects to this concept of being free from the things that come to bind and distract from Gods purposes in their lives. Because of this misunderstanding, many people receive deliverance and enjoy it for a short time, but then end up back in the same place of bondage because they did not know how to walk into freedom.

Deliverance is an event which places a person in a position to move forward in their life. Freedom is the process by which we walk out what was done for us in the deliverance.

In Galations chapter 5, verse 1, Paul encourages us to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

Bishop Tony points out that deliverance is done for me by removing me from the “environment of the oppressor” but Freedom is an experience which requires my willingness to be responsible for my own life and becomes a reality through the knowledge of God invading my life. Paul tells us in Philipians chapter 2, verse 12 to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…”

I encourage you, today, to consider the areas of your life where you need to exercise the freedom that Jesus has provided for you and begin to “walk out” that freedom!

God has provided everything you need to be free from anything that binds you or hinders you from being everything He created you to be. You can begin today, right now, to experience the freedom of God in every area of your life!!!