25. Being  a  worshipper   I

 

I want to tell you something that may surprise you. The Scriptures do not say, that God is looking for worship.

Jhn. 4: 23  -  But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.

The Lord is seeking people who will worship  -  not just worship itself. Why? Because He has had worship ever since angels, cherubim and seraphim were created. He does not have a great vacuum inside Himself that can only be filled with worship. He is not insecure. He is self-sufficient, and in need of nothing.

But He is our Father, and He desires an interactive relationship with His children.

 

The Greek word, that is translated as seeking in Jhn. 4: 23 is zeteo. In this context it has the added connotation of  “require” or “demand”. Our Father is requiring or demanding us to worship Him in spirit and truth. He seeks after us and pursues us. What does He find when He finds us?

 

 

A. A lifestyle of worship

 

Do you know if you are a worshipper? How can you tell if you are a worshipper in spirit and truth? Going to church for a few hours a week does not make someone a worshipper. Being a worshipper is more than doing the right things.  It is an attitude of life.

 

Worship is to be continual. It is not to start and stop as songs do, but it is a constant attitude,  that results in interactive communion with our heavenly Father.  David wrote: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth (Ps. 34:1).

The author of the book of Hebrews wrote in verse 15: Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His Name.

 

Worshippers spend the entire day with their spirits on the Lord, conscious of giving Him praise:

Ps. 35: 28  -  And my tongue shall declare Thy righteousness and Thy praise all day long.

Ps.145:1, 2  -  I will extol Thee, my God, o King; and I will bless Thy Name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Thee, and I will praise Thy Name forever and ever.

 

Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking, that the only time we can worship the Lord, is when we are with a group of believers. On the contrary, praise is to be private as well as public. One psalm says: Let the godly ones…..sing for joy on their beds (Ps.149: 5). You can worship in your bedroom, in the living room or in your car. The issue is not where and when, but how.  Any time or place is suitable for worshipping the Father in spirit and truth.

 

 

B. A human desire

 

Every human being created by God has an innate desire to worship. From the Eskimo Indian to the Aztec Indian, all have worshipped something. We are only satisfied, when we come to Christ and learn to be wholehearted worshippers. Then we are fulfilling the purpose for which we were created: to worship Him forever.

Just as you would avoid being a “Sunday morning Christian”, don’t let yourself become a “Sunday morning worshipper”. Let today be the first day of  a lifestyle of worship for you.

 

 

C. Defining worship

 

The worship of God is the primary activity of the church and needs no reason beyond itself. According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, an historic Protestant statement of faith written in 1647, the chief purpose of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Worship, like love, is hard to define. How can we capture in words the attitude, the passion and the expression of our worship to our champion Saviour?

Worship, in the verb form, means: the paying of homage or respect. In the Christian world, the term is used for the reverent devotion, service or honour  -  whether public or individual  -  that is paid to God. Webster’s New World Thesaurus lists the following words as either synonyms or analogous words for worship: adore, admire, celebrate, esteem, exalt, glorify, love, magnify, praise, revere, reverence and venerate.

Worship is totally concerned with the worthiness of God, and not with the worthiness of the worshipper. 

 

 

D. Attitude towards worship

 

Worship is more an attitude than an outward expression, form or passing emotion. Many times these things get mistaken as worship. Just because people are lifting their hands does not mean they are worshipping.

The outward acts of worship are the least important parts of its expression. They can assist the worshipping heart in expressing its love and adoration, but the acts of worship cannot make a non-worshipping heart  a worshipping one. Worship begins in the heart. The danger is, that often acts of worship give a non-worshipping heart the sense of having worshipped.

The critical element is the state of the hearts of the people, and not the form of worship. The genesis of worship is the heart of the believer. If it does not begin there, then, no matter what the believer does, it is not worship. It may have the look of worship, but it is void of the attitude necessary to worship.

It is not the performance of the act that makes worship. It is the attitude of love. It is not dancing, bowing or lifting hands that makes worship, but the presence of love. Worship is more an attitude than an action.