For those of us who regularly attend “church” on Sunday’s what would change if instead of going to “church” our hearts were prepared to worship? People go to church every week, but that does not mean worship is taking place. It is often cold, dead, religion, and we are wondering why young people prefer the vanities of this world. (There is another side for young people. Many young people are being duped by so-called “worship” which is actually rooted in Eastern Mysticism and New Age teaching.) Rather than going through a routine of heading to church prepare your heart, soul, and mind to journey to the very throne of God.
Now, this is understandably a difficult discipline to develop, and we have many distractions on our road to weekly church services. Many times, there are even mental obstacles to overcome when we settle in our seats. Worship is not something that we just let happen to us, instead, it involves an intentional focus on our part. Early this morning I read an article by Ravi Zacharias on Worship. In it, he quotes William Temple on a definition of worship.
“Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty,
opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose. All this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of all expressions of which we are capable.”1
Ravi summarizes this definition as follows.
“In short, worship is what binds all of life together and gives it a single focus. Conscience. Mind. Imagination. Heart. Will. Each is knit together in worship. Here love, reverence, sacrifice, motive, truth, and obedience are harnessed before the One who made us, who alone can bring unity in the diversity with which He has fashioned us.” 2
The point is true worship. When we gather to pay homage to a great King who sits upon His majestic throne it requires we prepare ourselves before we enter His presence. With proper preparation then we can come expectantly and excitedly to worship where “the throne always sets the tone” as well-known lead worshiper Matt Redman states in his book Facedown.
As unfamiliar as it may be, this weekend and the weekends to come, take steps to prepare to “worship” rather than simply go to “church.”
Please take time to share your thoughts and experiences as we journey together in this gift of life.
1.William Temple, quoted by David Watson, I Believe in Evangelism (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishers, 1976), 157.
2. https://www.rzim.org/read/just-thinking-magazine/worship-the-cry-of-god-for-his-people
Thanks