Part 1: Worship

*Anything in blue is a quote taken from: 

Worship, the ultimate priority by John MacArthur*

Worship has become something that has taken on SO many different meanings and definitions – I know so many people who have opposite ideas of what worship looks like and what it is. I feel that a true grasp of what worship was MEANT to be, when God explained it to us through His Word, is desperately needed in our churches today.

I’ve just finished reading ‘Worship – the ultimate priority’ by John MacArthur, and it gave me a huge wake up call – not only for my own life, but also for my Christian brothers and sisters. I would highly recommend reading this book as it has had a HUGE impact on my life and my faith. It really drove me to have a better understanding of Scripture passages on the topic of worship and to understand them in the correct context. It’s actually really sad how many people have taken these KEY passages out of context and made them to be only what THEY desire– what makes THEM feel good. When it comes to the topic of Worship – there is SO much to cover. Worship is not just about our Sunday services, as most of us know, worship is a life-style. Worship is such a BIG thing, its something we will never accomplish perfectly – but ultimately worship IS our priority while we are here on this earth. We are to strive for perfection – knowing that one day we will be able to stand before God and worship Him perfectly through glorification. I think we need a wake up call on where our worship is so flawed and confused and misdirected. That’s what I want to write about…

“God will not accept deviant worship. Some would insist that any kind of sincere worship is acceptable to God, but that is simply not true. The bible clearly teaches that those who offer self-styled worship are unacceptable to God, regardless of their good intentions. No matter how pure our motivation may seem or how sincere we are in our attempt, if we fail to worship God as He has commanded, He cannot bless us.” (Page 20, Worship, John MacArthur).

“The prophecies of Israel’s and Judah’s destruction are related to the fact that they did not worship God with the proper attitude.” (Page 26, Worship, John MacArthur)

We were never meant to choose our own way of worship. Of course we all have ways of ‘expressing’ our worship (and even those can be done very wrong and be not pleasing to God) – but I’m not talking about shallow things here – I think its going down to the root that worship is not about US at all. We can have great intentions, but as it is pointed out: we are created to worship GOD as HE intended, as HE deserves.

            I feel that in our culture\society today, there are many churches that offer a kind of self-styled worship that is designed to please the worshipers. But even in churches that don’t necessarily do this sort of thing, there are many worshipers who offer their worship with a wrong or half-hearted attitude. Such a Holy God cannot accept either of these kinds of worship. We must strive for a fresh and biblically sound understanding of Worship. God has commanded it. Our ministry depends on it. It is crucial to our relationship to Him and our testimony in this world.

            “I feel that in our culture\society today, there are many churches that offer a kind of self-styled worship that is designed to please the worshipers.” I want to first explain what I meant when I stated that based on what I’ve learned from my study of this book: Worship, the ultimate priority, by John MacArthur.

            What is the churches ultimate priority: Worship! Unfortunately, today many churches and believers have put other church related things before this priority. Things such as: public relations, recreation, social activities, boosting attending, outreach, appeal etc. Without putting TRUE worship first, how can we expect to do anything else successfully> Not only that, but there are even churches out there who strive to be so relevant and contemporary in their worship services in order to be more appealing to the secular world. “Nothing it seems is too profane or too outrageous to be fused with Christian lingo and labeled ‘worship’.” When we go to worship God within our church as a body of believers, our goal is NOT to make it easy and attractive for the new person or for the unbeliever. Our goal is to be an EXAMPLE: to be a light in the darkness. The more we try to be appealing in the world’s eyes, the darker our church worship becomes and the duller our light will shine. We should have a strong desire to stand apart, to be different and to encourage change. When an unbeliever walks into your church, do you really want them to leave saying, “Man, that was pretty cool and fun! The band was entertaining, and the speaker too! I felt so comfortable!” or do you want them to come and encounter God, confess their sin and desire to change! Of course we want to be friendly and kind, encourage people to come back again, make them feel at ease and make them feel loved – that’s an act of worship in itself: to love our neighbors. But it is so important that our churches be a place where GOD is the focus, and through our worshiping HIM as HE intended, people will come to see HIM! If you desire for unbelievers to come into faith, don’t put their focus on a worship team or on a coffee or on a comedic speaker, put their worship on Christ ALONE!

“If God desires worship in spirit and in truth, and if worship is something offered to God – and not just a show put on for the benefit of the congregation – then every aspect of our worship must be pleasing to God and in harmony with His Word.”

Everything we do in our private and corporate worship must be held accountable by the truths of the scripture. There are MANY things done in churches today and in our lives in regards to worship that are not biblically correct. Whether it is putting the focus on something other then worshiping God (as previously mentioned) or maybe taking out of context what it means to worship in Spirit. Whether it is a big extreme and obvious thing, or maybe something very subtle and unknown to many – everything we do must be weighted by the word of God.

“Nothing should be used in the Church which has not either the express Word of God to support it, or otherwise is a thing indifferent in itself, which brings no profit when done or used, but no harm when not done or omitted” –John Hooper

The Scripture is very clear on how important the word of God is when it comes to our worship. We should not be doing anything apart from Gods word.

Psalm 19: 7-10

“The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

(The point of that passage, quite simply, is that Scripture is wholly sufficient to meet every need of the human soul. It suggests that all essential spiritual truth is contained in the Word of God.)

Now all of this being said, we always come across individuals who seem to take every little point to an extreme. The Bible is very clear, but again, I don’t think God intended for Christians to be in constant debates over small topics such as: church attire, music volumes, music style, instrument choices, appropriate ages for Sunday School… and the list goes on… forever… ;) I’m not sure God ever intended through the written Word to spark debates over musical instruments vs. acappella singing, hymns vs. exclusive psalmody, choirs and soloists vs. congregational singing, or other questions regarding music style. I don’t think He even intended to cause drama over jeans vs. dress pants, suit jackets vs. dress shirt, dress shoes vs. running shoes. There are SO many Christians who get caught up in opinions and ideas, and yes, the bible does touch on subjects such as these I’m sure – but at some point – in my personal opinion (forgive me if I’m way off) there is a time when you need to keep something between yourself and God: Your own personal convictions. If you feel the need to attend a church that only uses hymns and piano, and if you feel the call to dress formerly every Sunday – please do so! There is NOTHING wrong with that – but I think there is something wrong when people who have these personal convictions try to push them on everyone else. I don’t agree with people who say their church worship is more biblical because they don’t use a worship band, and I also don’t agree with people who think their worship is more biblical because they DO use a worship band. It comes down to the heart doesn’t it> Find a church where you are fed spiritually, stand firm to your own personal convictions, don’t cause those around you to stumble, don’t always feel the need to voice your opinions about every little detail and every little thing. Sometimes I wonder if certain individuals spend more time on a Sunday morning critiquing the clothes of those around them, the lights, the sounds, and the volumes and so on then they do worshiping God! In the end – I truly hope YOU attend a church where you are being fed spiritually. I find it to be very frustrating when people only attend church out of routine or because they are comfortable, but deep down they aren’t really growing and learning and being convicted week by week. I pray that your hunger to know more about God and his Word grows each week, the more you’re given, the more you hunger for it – that it pushes you in your week to study on your own and strive in your own personal day to day walk to get close to God. How do I know that I’m being fed in my church: because every week the preaching allows me to learn and grow and to be encouraged. The musical worship before or after this allows for me to prepare and then to respond to all that is in God’s word and to all that the Pastor preaches from God.