Worship

Worship

The Discipline in Focus

In Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Donald Whitney explains that the word worship comes from the Saxon word weorthscype, which later is translated worthship. He says, “To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, or better, to approach and address God as He is worthy.” God is to be approached as the King of the world that he is. He is to be approached as Holy, Sovereign, Creator, and Judge. Worship is focusing on God and prizing him above all things, as he deserves. Worship is a response to God that shows how worthy He is of our affections, time, thoughts, and life. Worship is what happens when someone encounters the worthiness of God. Worship is more than singing and preaching. It is more than words and actions. Worship is always to be done in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24). It is not something that is done just be going to a place (WOW, Connect, or “big church.” Worship is first and foremost an experience of the heart. Prayer without heart is vain. Songs without heart are vain. As believers we have within us the Spirit of truth. Without the Spirit residing in us worship will not happen. True worship is motivated by the Spirit. The Spirit is the one who makes cold hearts, hearts that are on fire for God. We also worship God according to the truth of Scripture. We worship Him as he is revealed in the Bible. We are to worship in response to truth, says Whitney.

How then is worship a discipline? Whitney again helps us by explaining, “Worship is a spiritual discipline insofar as it is both an end and a means. The worship of God is an end in itself because as we’ve defined it, is to focus on and respond to God. There is no higher goal than focusing on and responding to God. But worship is also a means in the sense that it is a means to godliness. The more truly we worship God, the more we become like Him…People become like their focus….Godliness required disciplined worship.” Focus, mediation on truth, godly responses to our circumstances, godly relationships, godly thoughts….all these are acts of worship. Prizing Christ above all things takes discipline. Worship has to do with real life. Everything we come against in this life will point us away from worshiping God. “We breathe God ignoring air,” John Piper says. We must be disciplined to continually aim our affections towards Jesus Christ.

Scripture

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

John 4:16-26
Isaiah 6
Mark 12:30
Revelations 4:8
Matthew 15:8-9



A Practical Response

1. What does the word worship mean?
2. According to Isaiah 6 and Revelations 4:8 what does worship look like in Heaven?
3. True or False: What you love the most in your life is what you worship.
4. What does it mean to worship in Spirit and Truth?
5. Will you put actual worship into your acts of worship? (If worship is boring to you, then you are not really worshiping.)
6. What does worship look like away from the church building? (How does one worship God in their relationships, their work ethic, what they watch or listen to, etc?)