What is true worship?

                When I think of worship, first I think of singing and praying to glorify God. That is the set standard. We even have worship leaders and worship pastors. My next thoughts are of the Israelites and the sacrifices they made, the burnt offerings and the animals they slaughtered. Then I think of how imperfect that form of worship is. How easily corruptible worship is if it’s made from our own work and our own desires. The Israelites sought to please God but many fell because they were doing it for their own selfish reasons. Worship and sacrifice became a way that they would be lifted up over others. When they were not given the things they required from God, they turned to false idols beyond themselves and worshiped graven images. Man’s ultimate desire is for worship of himself and to make himself seem as if he is above God. This was the sin at the fall of Adam and Eve and is every man’s sin to this day.  God is a selfish God and wants to be worshiped and to be the only one worshipped. He has every right to desire this.

                So how do we worship and what does worship look like? Is it sacrifices? Do we need to sacrifice something? Sometimes I think about why we don’t do sacrifices like the Old Testament. Yes Jesus fulfilled the ultimate sacrifice but wouldn’t it be worshipping to offer a lamb on our grille to God? Or maybe even a small rabbit? You know something simple and easy, and maybe we’ll get some good meat out of it after it’s all done. Wouldn’t that please God? I don’t think it would. Looking at the Old Testament there were a lot of rules and regulations regarding sacrifices. The Levite priests would be the only ones allowed to offer the sacrifices and there would be many different types of washings to purify the one making the sacrifices. God has rules. He has a way that he wants you to worship him. If we forget these rules, then we forget who God is. Figuring out how to worship God correctly is something that we need to focus on the most.

                What is the real answer then? When Jesus died he gave us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit dwells inside all Christians. It is in fact God dwelling in us if you believe in the trinity. (Which I do) So now we have this all powerful all knowing God actually coming down and being present in with us. To some that might sound ridiculous but that’s what the Bible says so I can’t really argue. Lately in my Bible study our college age has been doing we have talked a lot about the Holy Spirit. My pastor even started a series on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is really important and majorly neglected. The Holy Spirit changes hearts which changes actions. I think worship is when a person relies on the Holy Spirit to worship God the Father. This is difficult to explain and even I don’t fully understand. However if we understand that the ultimate goal is for all things to worship God then we might understand this better. At the fall Adam rejected God and was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. He no longer sought God. The Bible says, no one seeks God, not even one. People do not want anything to do with God because they love themselves and their own desires. So worship through the Holy Spirit is that changing of heart. It allows us to desire God’s glory. (Which is ultimately the best thing anyways, right?)

                The next question is; what does this look like? Is it going to church on Sunday and singing praises and hearing your pastor preach? Does it mean not getting drunk? Going to Bible Study? Not being worldly? Or even being pro-life? Worshiping is not necessarily believing in those things or doing them. Worship is anything that a person can do to match God’s will. Glorifying God is ultimate so therefore doing what he wants is supreme. Worship is praising God, it is being morally and philosophically solid in God’s truth, it is acting the right way when it calls for it. Worship is anything that pleases God. But through all things we do we need to be in tune with the Spirit. The Spirit can change our hearts and desires. He is the one that makes it so our worship is complete. Having a deep desire and getting satisfaction from doing the will of God is the real deal breaker when it comes to worshiping God. I’ve been there on Sunday mornings when all I can think about is getting done with the service to do something fun. Or walking through worship and not actually remembering why I am there. It’s not true worship because I’m not focusing on God. I’m focusing on myself, just like the Israelites. Worship is letting the Holy Spirit change you to glorify God. We need to realize the presence of God and take action because of it. Worship is so much more than just action. It is the inward and outward working of God through us.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”

-John Piper

Thanks for reading my ego trip. Have a pleasant week.