A FORM OF WORSHIP

A FORM OF WORSHIP

*Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.*

*15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandment of men.*

From the Bible verses above, we are made to understand that there is a form of worship. Worship in actual physical sense but void with the Father; melody in our ears but noise in His. We all attend church services, we worship God; but how many of our services are acceptable, how many of our worship sessions even pass the roof? We have lost it. So many of us even play routine in the church; Of course after the opening prayer, there will be worship and you can tell how the worship will go-If it’s this sister with a fine voice or this other one who misses all beats. We have made the place of worship a spectacle in our lives. With our biblical fathers of old, it was not like this. When men worshipped God, they did so in the understanding of who He was. Then, God moved in the worship of his people, but why is it not the same way now? (2 Chronicles 20:1-22) What do we think fell the walls of Jericho? (Joshua 6:1-21) The Power of Worship. When the children of God were expectant of something, they tune to worship and you see the mighty power of God; but its essence has been lost or in a sense misplaced. Now we just do it because we are compelled to or it’s a doctrine. How many of us even take time in our daily life to just worship our Father-GOD himself? How many of us still know the true place of worship?

We have forgotten that worship in the hands of a believer is required to see HE whom we believe in action. So, when we are at a dead end, and it looks like there is no way forward and no way back, we think all hope is lost, still we do not acknowledge that maybe something is missing in our lives which we have to find. The Bible said when the Israelites carried Judah which is God’s praise (Psalm 114), the sea saw it and fled, mountains skipped like rams, river Jordan was driven back. “It” here is God in praise (Psalm 22:3). But let us take a look at our church of today, are we not Spiritual Israelites? YES, we are. How many mountains skip like rams for us or Jordan drive back when we worship? This is because we have lost the true sense of what it means to worship God. Worship is not an art, not something you go to the school of music or ministry of worship to learn. It is Spirit-driven. The Bible says “worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This means anything other than this, is just loud noise before him. “They draw unto me but their heart is far away from me”. What does the Spirit connect with-The Heart. The bible says “what man knoweth the mind of a man save the spirit of man which is in him; what knows the heart of man, save his spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:11). The same way if we are going to worship the Father, we need to do that with the help of the Holy Spirit and in truth. The pilot verse says “but in vain, they do worship”- meaning our worship which was meant to be a force in our hands have been rendered useless. Why? because our hearts are not right with God. We all go to church in our physical self; but most of us do have our minds far from God-It’s either the heated argument we had with our neighbor, hubby or What we are going to cook for the family when we get home or How do I get money to do this business.  We have replaced the place of worship in our lives and rendered it void of its efficacy.

The bible says Paul and Silas were in prison; we may not be in a physical prison today, but that situation we are passing through, it is a prison. Let me tell a scenario from the bible (Acts 16): Paul and Silas must have been die hard lover of worship even before they were locked up in prison. It is what you possess that you can let out. Or do we think the grace just came over them in the prison? No. They must have been men given to a life of worship; and as such in that situation they found themselves, it came handy. If you do not love his worship on a norm, how will you be able to draw his presence in worship when you need him? It’s not possible. Worship is one instrument of our warfare (war-ship) and one that the devil manipulates in the life of a believer. Once he takes it from you, just know you are a walking dead. Because, Man was commanded to worship God (Malachi 2:2, Luke 19:37-40), the Bible says if you will not lay it to heart to give glory unto me, I will send a curse upon you. He also said I will raise up stones in the book of Luke. So, if you are replaced by stones, where is your usefulness? A useless life to God is as worth as you were not created.

In the natural sense, when a nation’s warriors are well armed, there is no battle they are told to face that they won’t swing into action-you can be rest assured of strong defenses.  The arms (ammunition) of a soldier are like food to him. So, if he is well-fed, then he is strengthened to fight your battles. If we have the understanding, that true worship (heartfelt worship) is food for God then we will know that starving Him is incurring His wrath. A soldier who is not well trained or well armed will be the downfall of his people-such a person can even lead the enemies right to your gates.

God does not need our clothes, money-all that He has given us, all he requests is that we will praise him, we will reverence HIM. Why not do that-in truth and see if He will not defend your coasts like he did Jehoshaphat and the children of Judah. There are many ways to worship; We worship in prayers, We worship by singing hymns (Ephesians 5:19), clapping of hands, with the instruments of worship (Psalm 150)-Any means but that our hearts are aligned. This is very important in the place of worship-an aligned heart; a heart right with God and void of distractions.