We Must Worship

From my vantage point on the platform during a worship service, I can see what is happening in the sanctuary as we sing praises to God. I see some in our congregation singing. Their faces glow as they sing songs to our God. I see some with lifted hands. It is as though they cannot contain the emotions they feel as they sing and want to reach out to God, seeking His love and forgiveness. I see some with closed eyes as though in prayer. They have removed themselves from corporate worship and have entered a private moment of worshiping God. Though this should not be an everyday practice, I can see where it is sometimes needed. I see some not participating. I see some entering the worship center near the end of singing in worship. I see some leaving the worship center even though we have only been there a few minutes.

I am sure there are good reasons for each of these scenarios, but my fear is that the body somehow does not see the value of worship. I know we are gifted with different gifts and at various levels. Some of us sing beautifully and some of us not so much, but that should not prevent us from praising our God. A time of worship is not a talent contest. It is a time when we recognize the worthiness of God for all our worship.

Jesus told Satan in Matthew 4:10, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

We are commanded to worship. “Worship the Lord your God.” It doesn’t say, “Worship the Lord your God if you want to.” We are told we must worship. God desires our worship, and we are told to worship Him, but we cannot worship Him because we must. Our “must” has to be genuine. We cannot worship because we are commanded to worship. We must worship because we desire to worship.

If I tell my wife I love her because I know that is what she wants to hear, my love is not genuine. I tell my wife I love her because I want her to know how much she is loved. It is the same with God. His desire for worship is rooted in our desire to worship Him.

I know there are moments when it is hard for us to worship. Life can throw us curveballs. Our families, who love us, can emotionally tie us in knots and we find ourselves at a loss. I’ve been there and I know you’ve been there too. I know the issues we are dealing with can put us in a bad place, but didn’t Jesus tell us to lay our burdens at His feet? Shouldn’t we lay our problems at the foot of the cross and allow Him to lighten our souls and lift our voices up in praise to the One who carries every burden? Together in worship, (corporate worship) we can leave the world behind for a moment and get a glimpse of Heaven as we worship our God.

We don’t have to show off our voice by singing louder than anyone else. We don’t have to hide our voice because it isn’t the voice or the song that God desires but our heart. Worship continues in the reading of His word, the prayers of the saints, the message from our Pastor, the giving of our tithes and offerings, and the fellowship with other Christians. But it begins with the songs we sing. We are told to worship. We must. But it is only true worship if we desire to show our love to Him who loves us so.

Silent Worship

We sing a song in worship, “The Heart of Worship.” This song speaks about what is left when the music is gone, and we are left with only our voices lifting praises to God. But what happens when all sound is gone, and we are faced with moments of silence? How do we worship God in silence?

I have witnessed worship offered to God by members of our deaf community while at First Baptist Roanoke when they host our SBC of VA Homecoming. While those around them are singing, they are awash in the vibrations of the sound waves, but they are not actually hearing any sound. Still, they worship. They worship just as strongly and honestly as those of us who can hear, and they are often moved by the moment of worship just as those of us who hear are moved by the music of worship. They sing. Either with their voices or with their hands or with their bodies, but they sing, and God finds glory in their worship.

Psalm 37:7 tells us to come before our Father in silence.

Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him;

There is no need for idle speaking. We do not need to try entertaining God with fancy words or phrases and there is no need to try to convince Him of our cause. Come before Him. Speak truth. Speak from an honest heart and wait. Praise Him for Who He is! Ask for forgiveness. Ask Him to fulfill your needs. Then wait.

I knelt in silence this morning in a quiet place. I allowed the Spirit to wash over me. I could hear things in the distance, but I tried to concentrate on the silence and tried to hear what God was speaking to me. I saw walls in my life that needed to be torn down if I was going to run to God with abandon. I heard God calling to me and reminding me that He is not only my God, but I am His son. He purchased me with the blood of Jesus, and I now belong to Him. I owe it all to Him. I prayed in silence for our country. A country that has been silent far too long, and I asked God to allow the voices of the people of the United States to be opened in worship once again. I prayed for our church. I prayed for the church. I prayed for revival. I prayed for our brave men and women who fight for our country and those who are just as brave, if not more so, who fight for our faith on the mission field. I prayed for the lost to come to the Savior that I know. But the silence was not truly silent.

The moment I stopped listening to the world around me I began to listen to the Spirit within me. I began to hear the voice of God, and I started to hear His call. I began to understand what He wanted me to do and where He wanted me to go. I truly began to worship. I began to commune with my God. The still small voice of my God began to speak louder and more clearly the longer I sat in silence. And I began to worship.

My world is filled with music. My world is filled with sound. Radios, music players, videos, the voices of people, televisions, music I have written, and the sounds of God’s creation surround me. There is nothing wrong with sound, but for a little while each day, we need to push the world away. We need to strip worship down to the bare minimum and have communion with God. And we need to listen to what God says and do what He says to do.  After all, worship is about God, not me or you. Worship is vertical, not horizontal. Worship, just like life, is about bringing glory to our Father. To bring glory to God, we must bring something of worth. We must bring a genuine love for God. We must worship and go to Him in desire, not duty. We need to pray with concern, not guilt. We must desire to worship for we are created for worship.

As Matt Redman said in his song:

When the music fades all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth
That will bless Your heart

Don’t wait for Sunday morning to come to worship. Worship every single day in the silence of your prayers and be amazed by the glory of the Father.

The Heart of Worship

A Sacrifice of Praise

¹⁵ Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Hebrews 13:15

What is a sacrifice of praise? We praise God at church each Sunday by singing songs and hymns to Him. We praise Him with the reading of His word and by praying together. But this doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice. In fact, for most of us, it is quite easy to praise God.

We look at our blessings and we instantly have a desire to praise Him and thank Him for what He has given. We thank Him for our homes, our families, our church, our country, and our community. We thank Him for the salvation we know through our faith in Jesus Christ.

So, we praise Him for the blessings we enjoy. But what happens when the blessings fade, and we are faced with a difficult time in our lives? What happens when we lose someone we love, or we struggle with financial problems, or we find ourselves persecuted at work for our faith, or our country views our Christian faith as hate? What happens when we go to church and find we just don’t want to praise due to a problem at home?

This is when we make a sacrifice. We give ourselves to Him and trust He will see us through the valley of despair, and lift us up on His strength, and give us peace. We find ourselves praising Him despite our emotional state and He promises to use that praise to bless us or someone else as we make public our dependence on Him. Our lips bear fruit. Not only do we praise God with our lips, but others see how we praise Him in the storm. Others see how we live our faith even when life is hard.

God doesn’t promise to make our lives free from difficulties. He does promise to prepare us for those challenging times, and when those times strike, we must remember where our strength lies. We must remember the source of our peace. We must never forget that we are commanded to praise. And one day, the trials of life will be gone, but the praise will last for all eternity.