What worship is
It is a mistake to look at worship from the narrow perspective of expressing one’s love for God through music. It is much more than that. Let me summarise it in the following five ways.
1. Submitting to him and allowing him to dictate how you live. Worship is total and complete surrender to the Almighty God.
2. Serving him with all that you have- time, talent and treasures. Giving sacrificially.
3. Testifying privately or publicly of his goodness in your life. Giving him thanks from the depth of your heart.
4. Making obeisance to him through physical gestures of bowing, kneeling or lying prostrate before him.
5 Saying or singing what you know of him with or without instruments.
In summary therefore, Worship is to honour with extravagant love and extreme submission (Webster’s Dictionary,1828).
True worship, in other words, is defined by the priority we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. True worship is a matter of the heart expressed through a lifestyle of holiness.
Knowing the God you worship
It takes knowing who God is to be able to worship and praise him.
Apostle Paul had a burning desire to know him more intimately. He placed so much value on knowing Christ that everything else mattered very little to him.
Philippians 3:8, 10, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…[10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…”
Those who know him do the following:
1. Desire him; desire fellowship with him. If you don’t feel like praying, studying the word or attending fellowship, it’s because you don’t know him.
2. Fear him. Some people fear their boss more than they fear God because they know their boss more than they know God. If you don’t fear God it’s because you don’t know him.
3. Love him. Loving is a product of knowing. Whenever you fall in love with anyone or anything it’s because of what you know and admire about the person or thing. Unfortunately some people fall in love with persons they hardly know. They call it love at first sight. You might fall in love with a monster without knowing it.
4. Serve him joyfully. You don’t know God if you don’t feel like serving him.
5. Obey him even if it means suffering pain. They are ready to sacrifice everything for him. They do not find anything too difficult to give to him: their hearts, their resources, talents, their life, etc.
6. Trust him. Sarah, the Bible says, judged God faithful. Hebrews 11:11, “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Faith is trust. The extent to which you trust him is the extent to which you know him. That is the reason why those who know him are strong and do exploits because they trust him. There are no exploits without faith. Dominion is a product of Communion. Potency is a product of intimacy.
7. Worship him wholeheartedly.
There is a difference between knowing about him and experiencing him personally. Look at the experience of Job in Job 42:5-6, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. [6] Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job’s response to God changed when he saw him. He realized how filthy and unworthy he was and hated himself when he saw the glory of God.
Moses sought to know God more. He asked God to show him his glory (Exodus 33:18). God then revealed himself to him. Exodus 34:5-7, “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. [6] And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, [7] Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”
Look at the response of Moses: Exodus 34:8, “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” He made haste and bowed his head towards the earth and worshipped.
God will reveal himself to you likewise if you seek to know him. And your attitude towards him will change.
Who is this God?
1. He is the self-existent One.
2. He is omnipresent.
3. He is trustworthy.
4. He is love.
5. He is righteous. (John 8:46).
6. He is holy.
7. He is merciful and gracious beyond belief!
8. He is wise. He is omniscient.
9. He is omnipotent.
He is the uncreated Creator.
He is the Ancient Of Days who is ageless. He has no beginning and no end.
He sustains all things but does not need sustenance.
He doesn’t even get tired! His power or energy is inexhaustible!
He is Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end and everything in between!
He is the Healer who needs no healing; the doctor who did not study Medicine.
He is the Provider who needs no provision!
He is the Deliverer who needs no deliverance!
He is the Redeemer who needs no redemption.
He is the Teacher who needs no teaching; the Instructor who needs no instruction.
HE IS THE UNCHANGING CHANGER!!
He is the Life-Giver who has life in himself. He is the very life himself!
He raises the dead at will!
He is the Way-Maker who is the way!
He is the Miracle-Worker who needs no miracle
HE IS THE UNCHANGING CHANGER!!
He is the only Potentate; the Sovereign Ruler of the universe! All powers belong to him. Witches and wizards can’t stand him.
He is the Judge, Lawgiver and Advocate who did not need to study Law.
He is the Judge of the whole earth who will hold all men accountable for their sins.
His ruling is final! There is no authority equal to him or above him.
HE IS THE UNCHANGING CHANGER!!
He is the Helper of the helpless; hope of the hopeless
Lifter of the downtrodden!
HE IS THE UNCHANGING CHANGER!!
He alone is worthy of all praise and worship!!! Worship him now, worship him always!!!
Bishop Dr. Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l. Website: www.dayspringcmi.org e-mail: [email protected] Help line: 08035150515
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