A.W. Tozer said: “What is worship? Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some appropriate manner a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient Mystery, that Majesty which philosophers call the First Cause, but which we call Our Father Which Are in Heaven.” A.W. Tozer, quoted in D.J. Fant, A.W. Tozer, Christian Publications, 1964, p. 90.
Some people sometimes think worship is beneath them, but the truth is everyone worships something. God designed us to worship Him, but if we chose not to worship God, we will worship something else. We saw the Israelites when they left Egypt and decided not to worship God at the mountain, they ended up making a golden calf to worship. It may be your job, your girlfriend or boyfriend, money, hobbies or yourself. Just spend fifteen minutes listening to someone and you will discover what they adore.
I pose a question to you. What is more important, our sincerity or our accuracy in worship? Many will say that sincerity is the most important part of worship. But what if you are sincerely worshiping something besides God, does that count?
I have a very patient and understanding wife. Some time ago, early in our marriage I got it into my head that loved Minestrone Soup. When I would go to the store, I would get everything on the list and then think: “I am going to do something nice for JoAnna.” I would pick up the fancy brand of the Minestrone Soup and go home with a smile knowing she was going to be so happy that I thought about her. The first few times, she was very kind and said: “Honey, I don’t like Minestrone Soup, but thanks for thinking of me.” Well, I would like to say that I figured it out after 2 or 3 times, but I kept doing it ( I blame it on dyslexia even though I know that is a stretch). I kept doing it and after a while it became offensive to my wife. It was not a treat, but a shining example that I am not paying attention to what she enjoys. But I was sincere! I was sincerely wrong and did not care enough to get it right. I am happy to report that I finally figured out that she loves Italian Wedding Soup and appreciates it very much when I bring it home.
It is the same with God. We cannot worship a god of our own making. Jesus said “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23,24 Sincerity comes from the spirit and the truth comes from knowing whom we are worshiping.
When Paul was in Athens, he found a city full of idolatry. They loved talking about new revelations and waxing on about how enlightened they were. I am so glad that modern Christianity has not been infected by this. They had an idol for everything. Paul even found one for the “Unknown God”. He did not look at that and say: “Wow, glad you got your bases covered.” No, he found the need to tell them about the Unknown God and preached Jesus to them while denouncing their false gods.
If I tell my wife that I love her blonde hair and blue eyes, how she plays the harmonica and speaks Russian, she will think I am crazy. My wife is a beautiful brown haired, blue eyed Panamanian who plays the piano a little and does not speak Russian. If I went on praising attributes she does not have, she would probably get pretty hurt. Why can’t I do that? Because it is not true! The same happens with God. Supposedly “sincere” Christians worship a God of their own making. He never chastises us, wants us all rich Americans and to meet every indulgence we have by calling it a blessing. God is real and already has real attributes. We cannot invent ones we like and remove ones we don’t. That may work for fictional characters like the Tooth Fairy and Santa, but not for Jesus.
Acts 4:12 says “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” I urge you to get to know the Jesus you worship. Make sure you are not just worshipping a god of your own invention and are honoring the One True God of Creation. He is truly worthy of all worship, glory and honor. And here is what happens when you begin to know Him more… You love Him more. To know Him is to love Him. Let that love of knowing God in truth motivate and fuel your worship for Him.
Yes, spiritual narcissism is a huge problem that is fully exposed in how we worship. The blessing of worship is the transparency between you and God. The horror of worship is the transparency between you and God. I believe an uncomplicated answer to remove idolatry (a counterfeit worship) is to embrace a real grace based worship. What I mean is, wherever God actually touched you, encountered you, spoke to you, from there you worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Worship is not too difficult when it begins with gratitude and thanksgiving (Ps 100) as it can take you to more exotic depths in His presence. To begin to deliberately acknowledge what you actually know the Lord has done, Who the Lord actually is (Biblically), and what He has actually promised you (whatever faith is in your heart) will open up a clean place for you in the presence of God. In that light, the Lord may even have the opportunity to tune you up, encourage you, and direct you just as side benefits of giving appropriate heartfelt honor to Him. Sometimes, you may not have words adequate enough to express the fullness of your appreciation, but you find in corporate worship, that another has written and another is performing and others are singing, what you feel in your innermost self. As you give over to that, *wow* you are free. It is so much more impressive to God when to offer your praise, your worship, yourself... instead of manufacturing something you think you should say and do in His presence. What you have may be humble and small, my worship is, but it is all I have, and it is all for Him. True worship becomes the fragrance of the oil of a heart saturated with His Spirit... Saturate us Lord!
ReplyDeleteThank you Pastor John for yet another great blog. You are a practical useful writer, who makes us look where we should. You inspire and challenge me personally in the faith. Your servant - Jp
Love you brother and Amen to your sharing.
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