“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship him.” [John 4:23]
Worship is more than an experience; it’s a lifestyle. Jesus expressly showed us where our worship ought to come from – not from our minds (the seat of emotions, thoughts, and decisions) or from our bodies (though we offer our bodies as well according to Romans 12:1), but from our spirits – the real US. As interesting as the topic of a lifestyle of worship is, it is my desire to focus (for the purpose of this blog post) on the art and experience of worship.
When we consider worship as an art, it speaks of something we make for God – something from the depth of our hearts uniquely given to Him by us. Paul said “by him let us therefore offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” [Hebrews 13:15] in attempt to explain the New Testament approach to worship whereby we offer sacrifices of a different kind. Instead of looking for a lamb that is spotless of the best of our cattle, we are made to understand that we can offer the calves of our lips unto God [Hosea 14:2] or the fruits like Paul said. WOW! Isn’t that exciting? He refers to our praises as the calves (or bulls, goats, lambs, etc) that we offer in the New Testament. But, that’s not just it. King David, the man after God’s heart, spoke the heart of God also when he said “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock” [Psalms 69:30-31]. Though David lived in times when animal sacrifice was instructed by God, he had a deeper revelation of the actual desire of God. Little wonder then that God called him the man after His heart.
On a certain day, I thought to myself “if God’s desire was not bulls and goats, why then did He ask for it?” And the Spirit of God shared a thought with me. He let me know as softly as He mostly speaks, that the idea was not in the animals. Rather, the worship was in their obedience to His word. It was the actual obedience (which should have been carried out in love) that was supposed to bring the Father joy. The few people that knew what God wanted and celebrated the law as life (like Moses and David) are the only ones who enjoyed a better relationship with God in the old covenant. So, your understanding is very vital to God in worship.
In considering worship as an art, we look at our action viewpoint of this all-important spiritual activity. However, another more beautiful aspect that in turn makes the art of worship easier and more exciting is God’s response to us as we worship – worship as an experience. As we worship God, He does something to our spirits. Have you ever noticed that when you sincerely worship the Father, there is no doubt in your heart about the existence and reality of God and the spiritual realm? At that point, your faith is refined by the Master to an optimal level. A dear sister shared a secret with me a couple of weeks ago; she said that every time you say “I love you Jesus; I appreciate you Jesus”, He responds by increasing your faith in Him. If you did not believe as you ought to initially, He would supply your spirit with more ability to believe. Ever since, I have not stopped practicing uttering those words. In the place of worship, you are filled with joy indescribable and bliss immeasurable. Frankly, there are no words in any living language good enough to express how you feel. It’s a spiritual high of some sense that only edifies you every time.
The experience of worship changes throughout our lifetime – it gets richer and more beautiful every day, because the Bible speaks of the manifold (many-sided) wisdom of God that is unveiled to us from glory to glory. In the experience aspect of worship, we see Jesus as He is and we are transformed into the same image. Someone rightly said that those who look at the Sun do not see the shadows. As we worship, we see God and everything else immediately becomes small – the challenges, worries, sorrows, and impossibilities are transformed into laughter. Oh GLORY!!! The Amplified Version of Hebrews 12:2 reads “looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith”. For God to break all the walls in your life and remove all impossibilities, He seriously needs you to turn away from those obstacles and focus entirely on Him.
With all that has been mentioned, it is my desire that we will all make our worship a place of art and experience. The Spirit of God said something to me today that will be beneficial to you. He said “give me your own worship; know that your worship experience is different from anyone else’s. So, enjoy and cherish it.” Don’t try to worship like anybody else in using their words or songs. You can learn from their attitude towards worship, but be inspired by God to give your own worship. God wants to hear what you have to say about Him. And, He wants to speak back to you as well. So, always worship with an expectant ear, ready to hear from God. You’ll notice your words and God’s responses improve over time; that’s why it’s an art and an experience!
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