WORSHIP? WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL

Have you ever wondered what all the fuss is about worship? Most people equate it with music so the focus is on songs. However worship is not music it is something deeper and it is very important to God. The Bible says, “All nations shall come and worship before You.” (Rev 15:4) Scripture clearly establishes worship is the highest priority to God. Did you know worship is your number one responsibility?

Here are six reasons why you should worship God.

1. First, You are Created to Worship. Your Creator has manufactured and equipped you with the instinctual need to adore and revere Him alone. Every person, of every generation, of every continent, of every civilization value and worship something – whether pagan, deist, materialist, atheist or agnostic.

The Creator has “made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes), so that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27 AMP).[i] All men were made to seek or worship God.

2. Secondly, You are Instructed to Worship. When a young scribe asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment, He replied, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ ” (Mark 12:29-30). Loving and adoring Yahweh is so necessary that Jesus says worship is the chief commandment.

The Bible says that after Jesus fasted forty days the devil took Him to a mountain and showed Him all the glories of the kingdoms of the world. The devil essentially told Jesus, “I’ll give you these–all of these—if you fall down at my feet and worship me. No one is looking, just kiss my feet.” Jesus refused to give in to this temptation.

So, “Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan! For it has been written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve” (Matthew 4:10 AMP).

Jesus also taught His disciples that they should worship even before they present their requests to Him: “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Luke 11:2).

The phrase “Hallowed be Your name” is a worship term. You are to honor God’s name (who He is) and put Him above all earthy things. We all should follow Jesus’ example by worshiping the name and character of Yahweh before we make our petitions.Before you ask of Him for anything you must first honor Him.

3. Thirdly you are Commanded to Worship throughout the scriptures. For example, Paul said, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, and a people claimed by God for His own, that you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 NEB).

A.W. Tozer said God’s purpose in sending His Son to die and rise again to sit on His right hand was that “He might restore to us the missing jewel, the jewel of worship: that we might come back and learn to do again that which we were created to do in first place – worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to spend our time in awesome wonder and adoration of God, feeling and expressing it. We’re here to be worshipers first and workers only second.”[ii]

4. The Fourth Reason You Are to Worship God is Because You are Called to Worship along with all of God’s creation.

Psalms 148 says, “Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels, all the armies of heaven. Praise him, sun and moon, and all you twinkling stars. Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds. Let everything He has made give praise to him….And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths….Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, the kings and all the people, with their rulers and their judges, young men and maidens, old men and children – all praise the Lord together...” (Psalm 148:1-13 TLB).

If angels, stars, planets, the sun and moon, water, air, snow, plants and animals worship God, how much more should you and I? Perhaps that is why when some people stop and behold nature they often become inspired to worship. Perhaps they are subconsciously influenced by the unheard worship of God’s creation.

5. Fifthly, You are Invited to Worship. The Holy Spirit gently invites you to participate in total obeisance to your Creator. “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95:6).

Mathew Henry said, “He is our Creator, and the author of our being; we must kneel before the Lord our Maker. Idolaters kneel before gods which they themselves made; we kneel before a God who made us and all the world and who is therefore our rightful proprietor; for His we are, and not our own.”[iii]

Do you hear the whisper of God inviting you to another level of worship?

6. The Sixth Reason Is You Were Redeemed to Worship.Not only were you createdto worship but also you were redeemed to worship. Jesus bought You with His blood to worship. Jesus is your Savior, and the founder of your blessed new life. To Him therefore you must sing songs of praise and give your worship with eternal gratitude.

You have a worship allegiance to the One who created you and died for you. What a mystery! What good news! You and I owe Jesus everything. Why wouldn’t you spend the rest of your life worshiping Him in endless eulogy and perpetual praise– every moment of every day?

Is Worship a Big Deal To You?

Should you worship God for what He will do for you? No, you worship Him for who He is. When worship is centered on us it ceases to be worship. Your motive to worship should not be because it benefits you but because you adore Him. Sincere and heartfelt attitudes toward God are what motivate true spiritual worship not greediness and selfishness.

God said to Samuel, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

If you worship God to get something from Him rather than to give something to Him, you make Him your servant and not your Lord. However, when you leave the King’s presence you often leave with more than you brought. David said, “… In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand arepleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

There is nothing as sad as a creature that does not want to bless or honor the One who has made him. A worship-less life creates barrenness and loneliness. Yet some willfully refuse to worship Jesus.

In the end, you worship Jesus because of who He is and because of your relationship with Him. You love and appreciate Him above all else because of what He means to you. Worship is your choice, your priority, and your privilege as a child of the King. This is why you worship Him.

Here is a question. Where would worship have ranked on a list of your priorities before reading this article? Why do you think it is important to worship the Lord?

I pray will you seek to find practical ways to make worship a higher priority in your life.