The Keys to Worship: The Heart of Worship

I love the song written by Matt Redman, “The Heart of Worship." We forget why we come to church sometimes. We get so caught up in ourselves, and what we want, when really it’s all about Jesus. We tend to go through the motions of church. Sunday we come to church we sing, we listen to the pastor, say hi to a few folks, then go home to some fried chicken and watch football. That’s the message people get about Sunday and church, and that we sing Amazing Grace all the time, and while, yes, that’s a great song we forget its meaning. Church members get in such an uproar about music, some want strictly hymns sang, the newer generation like the more contemporary songs. Music conflict can split a church; I don’t know who has it worse when it comes to criticism the pastor or the music minister. You can’t make everyone happy. Jesus says in Mark 7:7-9, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings. You reject God’s laws in order to hold on to your own traditions.” The Heart of Worship translates into a beautiful message. It’s not all about the music, because when all the music is gone and our hearts are uncovered and we simply come before God as worthless. We long to bring him something, but what can we bring but ourselves as a sacrifice? That’s all he wants, he wants us, more than a song. He searches deep into our heart to see if our hearts are really in tune to worship him. We’ve made church all about us. We have forgotten why we come together in a building two or three times a week. We worship our creator, we praise Jesus for his sacrifice and love for us, and we unite as one in the Holy Spirit. You don’t need a bulletin to worship Jesus; you don’t need a hymn book to worship Jesus. All you need is a heart that has come to worship Jesus.
So what is worship? It’s more than just showing up for church and singing a few songs and lifting your hands up. We find our answer in 1 Chronicles 16:4-36, according to this verse there are four elements of true worship. The first one is remembering what God has done. What has God done in your life to truly change you? How about the day you accepted Him as your savior, if you’re having a hard time remembering just close your eyes and ask the Lord to take you back to a place and time when God delivered you from a problem and rescued you. David remembers the covenant God made to a thousand generations. “This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore with Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to the people of Israel as a never-ending treaty: ‘I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.’ He said this when they were few in number. They wandered back and forth between nations. Yet he didn’t let anyone oppress them. He warned the kings on their behalf: ‘Do not touch these people I have chosen, and do not hurt my prophets.’” (V.16-22) The next element is telling others about it. “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” (V.24) Don’t keep what God has done in your life a secret. Shout about it! Share your testimony with others, let them rejoice with you. Worship is 2 old English words; the first part is worth, then ship meaning quality. It is the quality of worth, to declare Gods worth. It is our job to tell the world God is worthy. The third element is showing God’s glory to others. “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be revered above all gods. The gods of other nations are merely idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty are in his dwelling.” (V.25-27) Showing God’s glory can go hand in hand with what we talked about earlier about Jesus living in us. We can show God’s glory in the way we treat others, our actions speak louder than our words. The last element of worship is offering gifts of self, time, and resources. “Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.” (V.29) This is where you can use your spiritual gifts God has given you. If you have the gift of music, serve in the music ministry. If you have the gift of teaching, serve in the children’s ministry. God wants all his followers to participate in worship. God can use whatever you have to offer.
So now that we know what the four elements of worship are, how do we connect with God in worship? In Isaiah 6:1-9 we get an idea of how to do so. We must first approach God with a clear mind, leaving our week at work, and school behind, and focus fully on God. Isaiah writes in verses 1-2 “In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings.” What a beautiful picture of God’s majesty! “In a great chorus they sang, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!’ The glorious singing shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.” In these verses we connect with God by praising him. Words are meaningless until we take them and put them to worth unto God. We must sing to our Lord who is worthy. You notice holy is said three times, representing God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The tri-unity or trinity as we call it, three persons in one, all equal as one. We’ll get into all the theology as best as I can explain it later. The next step in connecting with God is worship is bowing before Him with a broken repentant spirit. Verses 5-7 Isaiah says, “Then I said, ‘My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of the sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!’ Then one of the seraphim flew over to the alter, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, ‘See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.’” Notice Isaiah is at the alter in brokenness before God acknowledging that he is a sinful man, and is seeking forgiveness. To face God is to be humble before him. Next we will listen and respond to God when He speaks. He speaks to many of us when we our hearts are broken and in tune to His voice. Verse 8 says, “Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Lord, I’ll go! Send me.’” When we bow and surrender our lives before the Lord and allow Him to use us, it leads to The Heart of Worship.