{"id":138,"date":"2011-01-06T03:22:14","date_gmt":"2011-01-06T03:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sing2jesus.org\/?p=138"},"modified":"2011-01-06T14:43:11","modified_gmt":"2011-01-06T14:43:11","slug":"fear-and-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sing2jesus.org\/?p=138","title":{"rendered":"Fear and Worship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hypocrisy consists in an attempt to \u201cimitate\u201d the people of God, or to assume the \u201cappearance\u201d of religion, in whatever form it may be manifested. \u00a0(Albert Barnes, “Notes on the Bible”)<\/em><\/p>\n

We can not worship God without fear. Jesus commanded us not to fear man, but to fear God who can throw our eternal souls into hell. There is no magic formula to the definition or meaning of \u201cworship.\u201d It is certainly not limited to the praises we sing. Worship is simply \u2013 \u201cobedience to God\u2019s commandments.\u201d Jesus said \u201cif you love me you will obey my commands.\u201d We all know the opposite of obedience is \u201csin.\u201d Either you live a life of worship or you live a life of sin. Worship is our way of giving back to God out of a thankful heart for all He has done. A life of worship manifests out of loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.<\/p>\n

We can not worship God and be disobedient. Our lives were created by Him for His pleasure. We can not worship Him in truth and spirit — if we have idols.\u00a0 Nothing should take our attention from pleasing our Holy Father.<\/p>\n

If we are giving back to the Lord, our sacrifice must cost us something. I once heard it said that in order \u201cto find divinity you must lose your dignity.\u201d Worship must never get comfortable. If raising your hands causes you to feel undignified, raise your hands! Not out of fear for your soul, but in submission to your belief in His worthiness to be praised and honored. Furthermore, it signifies that your dignity in the sight of man means nothing compared to your humbleness in the sight of God. Be careful in your worship, raised holy hands are clean hands, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. You must not worship or pray in public in a manner contrary to how you would worship or pray in private. Your worship must have integrity to be in \u201ctruth and spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fasting is a way for man to deny the desires of his flesh, for the strengthening of his spirit. Undignified worship is a way for man to deny his own pride, to free his spirit to worship.\u00a0 Reckless abandonment may be the ultimate intimacy in worship for the prideful and arrogant.<\/p>\n

It is a worship leader\u2019s goal to know God\u2019s heart.\u00a0 Comfort is not an option in the pursuit of this quest.\u00a0 To know God, we must forfeit all that we have gained and loved in order to devoutly follow after Him. We must learn that life is about giving and not receiving. The more we try to hold on to things in this world, the more we keep ourselves from getting closer to heaven and our King Jesus. A broken and contrite spirit is what God can use and honor.\u00a0 In the heart of an undignified worshipper with a passion to praise our Holy God is where He lives and He is blessed.<\/p>\n

Worship requires a true humbled attitude in awesome reverence towards His holiness and blinding glory. We can not come into His sanctuary without reverent fear. It is a journey each of us must make alone.\u00a0 There in is His awesome presence; we will have no complaints, no excuses, and no plea. We will have no words at all. We will have a speechless heart of praise. We will be amazed and awed. But, we will be still and know that He is God!<\/p>\n

The evolution of worship can be pictured like this: <\/strong>I tried to describe this process in terms of our attitude, our outward body posture, our inward feelings, and our spiritual position in relation to His holy sanctuary in our hearts.\u00a0 If you notice, this progression should resemble the pattern of a life of worship.<\/em><\/p>\n