Genuine Worship

Worship is probably on of the most controversial topics in the church. Everyone has their own opinion on how worship should be done. Everything from what songs to sing, how many to sing, which instruments to use, and how loud it should be played. I am afraid that when we get so caught up in having our favorite songs played each week that we can miss out on genuine worship. I have been to many different worship services from many different backgrounds, and I have watched many people worship. At any worship gathering there are always four different types of people.

1.  The Mumblers - These are the people who are not very interested in being there. They appear to be more concerned about what is happening after the service and they are happy when they can finally sit down after worship. They stand with their arms crossed sometimes barely singing along or not at all. I believe these people have never experienced true worship, because if they had they would be bursting with joy.

 2.  The Mindless - These are the people that are singing right along with the song. They know the songs because they listen to Christian radio all the time and they are regular attenders to church. However, they aren’t really thinking about the words they are singing. The songs have become so familiar that they don’t have to put any effort into singing them. They can sing along and be thinking about the football game later that day at the same time. 

3.   The Mimics - These people could also be compared to Pharisees. When they worship they may sing loud, jump up and down, raise their arms, or have their faces show many emotions. The problem is that it is a performance. They only want people to notice them and have a higher view of them. They are mimicking the truly genuine worshipers. 

4.  The Genuine - These people are in awe of God and love being in His presence. When they worship the words of the song draw them to reflect on the nature of God. They may be silent while they listen and pray. They may also be jumping up and down or raising their arms because they can not contain the joy inside of them. It is a natural outflowing of their heart. At times they forget there are other people around them because they are so focused on praising their King. 

If you are like me you can relate to all of these. I want my worship to be genuine and my motives to be right. Worship throughout our week in our daily lives leads to genuine, passionate worship on Sunday morning or any other time we worship. We can not expect to go through our week without reflecting on God’s grace and the gospel and then have a powerful worship experience on Sunday morning. 

Whenever I lead worship there is always that pressure to play the songs that I know will get reactions out of people. If I play “How He Loves” I will probably have at least half of the group raising their hands, but if I play “Holy, Holy, Holy” there probably will be a lot of mumbling. I want people to be able to genuinely worship on every song that we sing. I want people to experience the grace of God like never before and fall down in amazement. I cannot command someone to have genuine worship because it is a heart issue. What I can do is pray for them and encourage them to seek Him day after day. I can share with them what God has done in my life. I can show them the joy I have from being able to come and worship. 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 says “So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?  But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’”  

Worship does not just happen at corporate services, it should be happening in our everyday lives. The way we live our lives should be an act of worship to our King.  I will end with a passage from Isaiah where we get a glimpse into the worship that is happening in heaven. It is a beautiful scene and I long for the day when I too can gather around the throne and sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Isaiah 6:1-7

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

    "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."