Worship-- Part One

WORSHIP

Part one

By J.M. MacLEOD

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

24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

            Worship has become a buzz-word among Christians. One can hardly tune in Christian radio or television programming without hearing the mantra that worship will heal the Church, make up for deficiencies, bring the unsaved to their knees and even hasten the return of the Lord Jesus. Worship is extolled as the doorway to God’s throne, as if, just participating in worship will negate the effects of sin, error, compromise, pride and stubbornness harbored by the believer, ushering one into the very presence of the Lord. It seems in some circles as if worship has rolled all duties and practice of “The Faith” into simply singing about the Lord.

            Worship-leaders practice and drill their teams, getting the songs perfect, creating an atmosphere conducive to holy feelings. Worship leaders often “cheerlead,” trying to obtain a “proper” response from the congregation. As such, music ministry has become an accepted occupation in the church. In fact, many singer/musicians consider themselves a New Testament-sanctioned ministry.

Whether in small or large meetings, worshippers vigorously indulge in cathartic singing, seeking some emotional form of what they suppose is spirituality. In some cases this has led to bizarre activities, but for many of those caught up in the excitement of the music and “spirit of the moment”, it seems to be a beneficial release from care, doubt, guilt and fear they brought in to church with them.

But is what takes place in many churches really worship?

To be sure, a large portion of the Church has yet to experience the exhilaration of release in true, Spirit-anointed worship. Many older denominations frown upon (what they consider to be) reckless abandon to dancing in the Spirit, hand-raising and “snappy” songs, choosing instead to stick with organ recitals and hymnbooks. For others, singing is something to be endured as a formality until the pastor gets to the “good stuff.”

Only when fully initiated into the spiritual realm can one participate in genuine, spiritual worship. This is why spiritual gifts are given to those who are filled with the Spirit.

Worship ought to be an exciting part of one’s daily relationship with the Lord, involving: gratefulness, love, repentance and devotion, adoration mixed with tears and/or laughter; awe and humility, exultation in His triumph and identification with His suffering.

Scripture gives us some sobering pictures of worship that modern day Asaphs would do well to heed.

           Eccl. 5: 1 Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they’re doing evil.

2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

Here the Preacher warns against hasty words in the House of God. For the purposes of this topic, this applies not only to testimonies and teaching, but to whatever is uttered in the time of worship—including singing.

How often do we mouth words with our lips but our hearts and or minds are far away?

How often do we declare, through song, devotion that isn’t really true?

We like the symbolism of offering the “sacrifice of praise”, but how much of what we offer is really to the Lord and not for the benefit of whoever might be hearing or observing us?

I Sam. 4:1-11 recounts the last day of Eli and his sons as priests of the Lord. Israel was defeated in a battle, and so, thought that if they’d had the Ark of the Covenant in battle before them they couldn’t help but win. This could appear to be but wasn’t spiritual worship; rather, it was selfish motives and presumption that they could twist God’s arm into performing what they wanted Him to do. They took the ark into battle praising God with such a loud noise that the Philistines were rattled so badly that they went out and defeated the Israelites again! All Israel’s noisy praise availed nothing, and in fact, lost for them what presence of God they had.

           A second event involving a great deal of praise and the Ark is worth recounting.

2 Sam. 6: 4 So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. 5 Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

           How could David and company not worship? Yet for all that, their worship wasn’t pleasing to the Lord.

           6:6  But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 And David became angry because of the Lord's outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.

           The worship accompanying the transporting of the Ark was of the soul and flesh. Everybody thought it was a great idea to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, assuming God didn’t care how it was done, just that it was done. Instead of following the protocols for transporting the ark, they put it on an ox cart. This wasn’t God’s revealed method, but a man-made alteration of what they supposed God would accept. God wasn’t impressed with their originality, their musical accompaniment, their great crowds of hand-clapping shouters; nor was He going to overlook their failure to follow His rules for transporting the Ark, even though His “favorite son,” David, initiated it. Worship must be in accordance with His holiness—which is by His Spirit’s leading, and in the truth.

Let’s return this discussion of worship to what Jesus meant in His conversation to the woman at the well.

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; (John 4:23)

Here Jesus referred to the cataclysmic change He was introducing. Moses had received the Law for the nation of Israel, but that paradigm of worship was merely a type and shadow of the reality. The Passover Lamb didn’t really atone for their sins, the sacrifices didn’t really bring peace with God, and the Temple wasn’t really the intended dwelling place of God for all eternity. All these were types and shadows of the reality Messiah would accomplish. He was the true Passover Lamb taking away the sins of the world; He was embodiment of the guilt offerings, the peace offerings, the wave offerings, etc.; and He is the habitation of God the Father and the vehicle of the Holy Spirit. The three days and nights from crucifixion to resurrection was a period of time that transitioned the universe from the shadow to the real, from the predictive to the fulfillment.

Now the woman at the well had no concept of what He was saying. She had her concept of worship; as a Samaritan she supported the argument that worship in Samaria was just as good as worship at Jerusalem. In the verses preceding, Jesus gently rebukes her by telling her that Samaritans had no idea of what real worship was; worship was given to the Jews (as opposed to the imported and half-breed Samaritans) to be held only at the Temple in Jerusalem where YHWH accepted the sacrifices.

But all that was about to change …an hour is coming, and now is… whereby Jesus declared Himself the anti-type of the types and shadows. Relationship to God was only through Him, not the sacrifices, laws & regulations of Judaism, nor even the Temple. Only the God-man could bring reconciliation between Creator and created.

As a menu is discarded when the meal is produced, so too, the image of the item, in this case Judaism, is put aside in preference of the reality, Jesus.

…the true worshipers… Here Jesus declares that there is such a thing as true worship. The implication is that if there is true worship, there must also be false worship. To the woman, Jesus implied that the Samaritans were false worshippers compared to the Jerusalem worshippers. But then He went a step further by saying that neither in that mountain (Samaria) nor in Jerusalem was there true worship, because it was all type and shadow. Nevertheless, now that He’d come, true worship was possible—not in any physical, earthly place, but in the spiritual realm.

…shall worship the Father in spirit and truth… These then are the conditions for true worship. In fact, these are the qualities that the Father seeks in His children. Worship must originate in the spirit, not the flesh, (i.e. the soul), though elements of the flesh (the physical body) and the soul (mind, will, emotions) are also to be employed. The body and soul are the vehicle of the spirit, expressing love, admiration and fealty to God, but they’re to be used under the leading of the inner, spirit-man who is to be under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Worshipping in only soul and body results in self-exhibitionism, performance, conformity— and actually is worship of one’s self.

The first prerequisite the Father seeks in a worshipper is for them to be operating in the spiritual realm. Today’s Church has confused the difference between soulish and spiritual. Experiences of deep emotion and physical sensations are thought of as spiritual, and are therefore pursued. But such manifestations take place in the soul, not the spirit. This isn’t to say, however, that such manifestations do not accompany true worship. They can, and sometimes do. However, for the spiritual worshipper, such manifestations are never the focus or the the goal, and usually come as a surprise! The soulish believer seeks emotional feelings, not the Lord.

The Holy Spirit’s leading is a deeper process than our minds can comprehend.  The inner man receives intuitive information on the spiritual plain, not an educated one. Our minds are of the soul, and therefore must learn everything by natural means. Not so the spirit. In the spirit, the believer receives information that he hasn’t experienced nor been taught, but which comes directly from the Holy Spirit via intuition. The spiritual believer has as a goal the pouring out of their heart to the Lord as the Holy Spirit prompts. This may take the form of: adoration, thanksgiving, seeking solace, petition, expression of love… But it such activities must originate from the Holy Spirit, not the flesh. The soulish believer’s mind is usually filled with wants, needs, worries, urgencies, boredom… all of which may be valid as he/she clamors for an audience with the King to obtain some relief.

Jesus, by His perfect sacrifice, opened the way for the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell us, opening the doorway to the spiritual realm. But since we started life as carnal beings, we tend to rely on our carnal aptitudes: intelligence, attractiveness, persuasiveness, will power…. When we became born again of God’s Spirit we were inducted into an entirely new realm; a realm alien to the flesh, a realm where intelligence, attractiveness, persuasiveness and will power are ineffective as far as God’s purposes are concerned.

God’s ways are higher than man’s ways, His thoughts higher than man’s thoughts. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must approach Him in that realm. This is what truly makes man higher than animals, we have the capacity for dwelling in the spiritual realm and enjoying God’s Person. God created us as spiritual beings, and intends for us to rise above our carnal existence, letting the new spiritual nature rule the soul and the body. So too, true worship can only come from those who’ve been born again.

Truth is the second prerequisite sought by the Father. According to the words of Jesus, the only true worshippers are those who come to God with an increasing grasp on the truth. Fortunately for us, the amount of truth a believer possesses in the beginning of this pursuit isn’t a factor. A brand-spanking-new believer who only knows that he’s saved is as welcome to enter worship the Father as a mature apostle. Of course, as one advances in knowledge of God, the more one’s worship experience is enriched and the relationship to the Lord deepens.

Errors of  “The Faith” inhibits true worship; the degree of error determines how limited true worship is. The more deception, the less true the worship. Col. 2:23 Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.  It’s sad when those in error try to convince themselves that they’re having meaningful worship when they’re not! That occurs when the soul and flesh attempt to generate or counterfeit worship. This is aided and abetted by religious demons who cleverly imitate the voice of the Holy Spirit to the undiscerning. A believer can become undiscerning when he’s grieved the Holy Spirit by unconfessed sin or by believing error!

The Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of Truth, and as such, is zealous that we seek, believe and obey only truth. When a believer consistently ignores the Spirit’s corrective nudges to research a matter deeper, He is grieved, interrupting communication between God and the believer, thus creating a vacuum that deceptive spirits are only too glad to fill. Satan’s purpose is accomplished when believers get derailed from the truth. Although Satan would prefer to get believers involved in the big, hairy, ugly sins, he’ll settle for slight untruths.

Every time we perform our worship conscious of who might be watching; every time leaders coerce crowds with manipulative techniques; every time we convince ourselves to believe something the Word of God doesn’t clearly state, we become candidates for false worship. Every time we emphasize the mechanics of the music, the cadence of the prayer, the “spiritual tone of voice”, or use religious (intellectual) language to impress, we are untrue in our worship. Whenever we conform to the prevailing mode of worship rather than sense and do what the Father wants from our spirit-man, we violate truth, thus invalidating our worship.

Does God want our music to be out of time, or disharmonious? Does he want our musicians unpracticed, our choirs unrehearsed? Does He care if hands are raised, or hymnbooks used? Does He not want tender, holy feelings aroused by certain kinds of music?

Suffice it to say that these questions will eventually be settled as long as the two prerequisites Jesus sets forth are met. If we persist in seeking to worship spirit and in truth, the Holy Spirit will govern outer manifestations.

Parallel to that, it is this writer’s experience as past worship team member and part of the five-fold ministry to mention some additional thoughts on worship.

The New Testament does not mention music as a ministry! Some, however, remove all musical instruments from the gathering of believers, which is an argument from silence (therefore invalid) and exceeds what the Word says.

However, most of the modern Church has followed the world’s concept of musicians as being spiritual leaders. The world follows drug abusing, violent, raucous, promiscuous musical artists for their opinion on everything from personal matters to world politics because they’ve excelled as musical celebrities. So too, in the Church, recording artists who may have little to no experience in living out The Faith are sought for advice and/or leadership.

Scripture only recognizes six ministry gifts that Jesus gave to the Church—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers and deacons. Nowhere is “worship leader” or “entertainer/singer/comedian” mentioned.

This doesn’t preclude music from the Church, however, for as in the Old Testament, some of those appointed by God as prophets played musical instruments as they prophesied. The same is true of the New Testament gift ministries. An evangelist may be used to bring the Gospel via the medium of music, but his calling and focus should be his evangelistic gift, not the music. It is well and good for those called to a spiritual ministry to utilize their natural musical talents, as the Lord permits, and they should be competent performers so as to not distract from the message of the music. Nevertheless, the music ought not be the focus. The Lord certainly knew the potential of music, yet saw fit to not ordain music as a ministry in  the New Testament. Perhaps this is because there’s an inherent danger in music—after all Lucifer was the anointed Cherub, leading the worship of heaven prior to his fall.

The foolishness of preaching is the primary method God’s ordained ministries should focus on. All else is secondary.

Music should be more than for  just “softening up the crowd.” The songs and hymns ought to be such that the worshipper carries them away in his heart, to be recalled during the week as they enter into prayer or do battle with the spirits that war against their souls. Music that is so esoteric as to require high levels of skill to sing or play may have its place, but how much better to give worshippers some catchy tunes with meaningful words as well? In this way worship becomes a life style, not just a once a week encounter.

One final thought—many of us find it easier to put on a CD or tape and half listen to it in the background, thinking of ourselves as worshipping. Although it may produce a holy atmosphere, if you’re not participating from your spirit, it’s just so much noise.

I know a worship leader who commuted to work took 90 minutes twice a day. He spent the time whole-heartedly singing along with worship tapes. This man spent three hours every workday just reveling in the good things of the Lord; he knew the pathway into the heavenlies. When he stood before the assembly on Sunday mornings to lead worship, the gates of heaven opened for those attuned to the moving of the Spirit. Seldom have I encountered the presence of God as intensely as when that anointed worship leader raised his hands and gave praise with his mouth.

May we all be more like him.

Worship, to be continued…