Why Do We Worship?

Recently I was asked to speak to the middle school class at my church.    In this precious class there is a worship team made up of mostly middle schoolers with a few of us grown ups.     Our goal as adult leaders, is to grow, encourage, and lead these kids in developing their abilities, strengthening their understanding of worship,  growing as leaders within their class, and building a community.   They are the future leaders of the church.  They are the ones who follow behind us and we do not want to miss the opportunity to pour into them now.    Once every few months we get them together after service and do a bit of a pow wow if you will....(busting out the old verbiage on that one lol).  We feed them, encourage them, and then have them take turns playing through a few different worship songs.   I was asked during this past pow wow (there is is again) to speak to them about what worship means to me.    Now if any of you have been reading my blogs, you probably already have a pretty good idea what I might say.   And at first, my mind went to many of the things I have talked about in past blogs.    But then I stopped and thought, "To really answer this question, I need to answer a question of my own....Why do we worship?"  
So I set out to answer this question for myself.    
I'm sure I have heard sermons on this a time or two in my life, but honestly, I don't know that I have ever asked myself this question with the intention of finding out what the Word says, rather then just inserting my own answers or reflecting on things others have said about the subject.
As I read the Word, and found Biblical reasons for worship (and these are only a fraction of the scriptures I came across on the subject), I realized that these were more then just nice things to share with the middle school kids.   These were scriptures that stood out to me like the roots of a tree.   Our walk, as we grow in the Lord and in the knowledge of His word, grows from this root base, into the trunk, branches and eventually fruit of the tree.   These verses are like the roots of the Worship branches.   I long to hide these in my heart, and meditate on them as a foundation for everything the Lord calls me to.   I hope they encourage you as well.


We worship to glorify His name-We are called to bring Him glory through Worship
1 Chronicles 16:29
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

We worship to obey-We are called as the righteous sons and daughters of the Lord to Praise Him in song
Psalm 33:1
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

We worship to give thanks-We are called to reflect on all He has done and with awe, thank Him as an act or worship
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

We worship to fight Spiritual battles-We are called to wage war in the heavenly realm, trusting the Lord to fight the battle as we worship
2 Kings 17:39
Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies."

We worship to lay down our crowns-We are called to humility.  To lower ourselves so that He can be lifted high
Revelation 4:10-11
the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

We worship in Spirit and in Truth-We are called as children of God to worship not in flesh and blood but in Spirit and truth.   It's not about our gifts, but rather how we use them.
John 4:23-24
23“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

We worship with a pure heart-We are not called to walk through motions or duplicate an experience.  We are called to invite His presence, glorify His name, and allow Him to move, regardless of what it looks like, what it sounds like, or what we have seen before.  To lay down our agenda and simply use the tools we have been given to praise Him.
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Eternal Legacy

We tell our kids that what feels good isn’t always what is good for you.  That in fact sometimes it is those very things that can cause us harm.   We discipline them to show them right from wrong and the reality of consequences because we love them and we want them to grow up to be strong, wise, and good.   We understand that life is not easy and that it takes work to live a healthy productive life.   And yet...when it comes to our faith, so often we choose the easy path.   The one that doesn’t push us to far outside of our comfort zone.   Or make us look bad in front of our friends or our boss.   The one that keeps us in our safe bubble of security in salvation without any cost.    We seek out that sermon that makes us feel good.  Or avoid that church because the pastor is too challenging.   Or maybe stop participating in the Bible study because it’s too hard to get homework done and kids to bed and make time for the word.  So often it’s those subtle moment to moment decisions that slowly eek away at our purpose, our focus.  They pull us down to this world, and keep our focus horizontal, rather than vertical.  It’s not even that those things are bad.   Working, sports, church events...But the question becomes, what is the legacy that we want to leave for our kids?    When we are gone, what do we want them to remember? To emulate? Do we want them to remember that we lived a long healthy life with money, possessions, travels, lots of friends?   That we worked hard, aimed for earthly happiness?   Or do we want them to have the legacy of a family that lived with honor, integrity and truth regardless of the circumstances, or the consequences.  That we gave generously, prayed fiercely, obeyed relentlessly, and followed courageously the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives.      In John chapter 9 there is the story of a blind man who Is healed by Jesus.  The Pharisees were not sure what to think of this man Jesus, and were trying to find out what had happened and if it was indeed a miracle or trickery.   They called for the blind man and inquired about the healing.   He claims in verse 17 that “Jesus is a prophet”.   Still unsatisfied that this event was a miracle they called for his parents.    In verse 19 we see that they ask his parents “Is this the one you say was born blind?  How is it that now he can see?”   We read on in Verses 20-25

 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind.  But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know.  Ask him.  He is of age; he will speak for himself” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.   That is why his parents said “He is of age, ask him”.  A second time they summoned the man who had been blind.  “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said.  “We know this man is a sinner.”  He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not I don’t know.  One thing I do know.  I was blind and now I see!”   

As I read this passage I was amazed at a few things.   First of all, this man has just received site after being blind all his life but his parents were so afraid of the Jewish leaders that they threw him completely under the bus the minute they were brought into the picture.  Their fear drives their actions and forces their son to defend himself alone.   And rather than allowing him the joy of being healed, he is forced to be questioned while his parents deny him their support.     He boldly states his thoughts but all that gets him is ridicule and eventually we read in verse 34 that they throw him out of the synagogue.   Now we know that as followers of Christ there will be times of ridicule and persecution...but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened If his parents had had his back.  Or even more, had gone before him and taken the brunt of the questioning and ridicule.     Our kids have and will face challenges and difficulties probably even beyond anything we have ever or will ever face.   The world is growing more and more against the things of the Kingdom of God and increasingly falling into darkness.   If we do not take a stand now to be parents who fight for our kids.  Stand up for them, and choose to leave a legacy of faith, then they will be left to defend themselves.   They will be left to answer for their faith against a world that wants to find any reason to throw a stone.   It is time to get out of our comfort zone and take a stand against the enemy for our children.   Let's create a legacy of more then earthly value.   An eternal legacy.  Something they can stand upon, to build their own foundation.  To go before them and show them the way.   

Yakin

It may be hard to tell from this picture but these sandals belong to my husband and my 11-year-old stepson.    The larger ones of course being my husbands.   When I noticed these two pairs of shoes next to each other the other day, unlike all the other times I had noticed them there by the door, it really struck me the similarities between them.   My stepson is in more ways then one, a mini version of my husband.   Similar features, similar build, even a similar personality.   Not that you wouldn’t expect some similarities of course to the parents with any child, but the older he gets the more I begin to see it unfold.  The more he begins to look, and act like his dad.  And it got me thinking…Do I look my Father?  Not my earthly Father but my heavenly Father.   Would someone who didn’t know anything about me see the resemblance or would they have no idea whose daughter I was?

 Do I desire to imitate Christ the way a child often desires to be like their parents?  

We have the DNA of our parents in our physical bodies, but, I believe when we are born again in Christ we receive “Heavenly DNA” through the Holy Spirit, enabling us through His power to begin to look and act more like Christ.   To live a life for God rather than ourselves.   We are called, as the Bible says, to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds", to desire the things of heaven rather than the things of this world.   And yet so often we still choose earthly things.   We still strive to make this life better and live for the moment rather than investing in the eternal.   It is easy to do...after all, we have to work, eat, raise kids, go to soccer practices, help with homework, pay bills.    But the enemy knows that if He can’t stop us from following Christ, he can distract us from becoming effective tools for the expansion of the kingdom, with the ideas of success and happiness. He can convince us that we know what is best for our lives, and have everything figured out.   That we don’t need the Lord because we can handle anything that comes our way.

I was studying the word a few days ago and came across a verse I have read 100 times, and as is often the case with the Word, this time, time 101, the Spirit moved as I read, revealing a whole new expanse of truth from the words.    The verse is Proverbs 16:9 and it says

“In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines His steps”.  Some translations use the word, directs, or establishes instead of determines, but the root Hebrew word here is the same.  It is the word YaKin, and it means to “Direct ones’ face towards, in Spirit”

I love that the meaning of the word is not, “direct ones’ feet toward” as though to imply simply the act of physical movement, it also doesn’t mean “direct ones’ thoughts” as though to insinuate ideas with no action.   But instead it says “direct ones’ face.

immediately as I read this I say in my mind I saw a child, wandering around as though looking for something but unsure of where to find it, starting to fill with panic and frustration, becoming more and more frantic and desperate, and just then, in a calm and loving manner, a father comes up to the child, gently grabs their face with both hands, tilts it upward to meet his gaze and says, it’s ok my child, just look at me.

Where we are looking, what we are focusing on....that is where we place our energy and attention.   

 And the Lord, in His abundant grace and understanding of our frail nature, knows this.    He offers us this hope.  We are not left to our own devices, to figure out how to navigate this life.   We are not left to fight our battles alone.   We are not left to parent alone, or to work and strive with little more then a paycheck to show for it.   We have a heavenly Father, who wants to be our strength.  Who wants to pour into His children every good thing.  To meet needs, to bring hope, provision, and covering.   And to help us become more like Him, to look more like our Father.

He is there to meet us with grace and turn our rubble and ruin into rubies and roses.      We simply need to let Him direct our faces, meet the eyes of the Creator and King, and refocus our gaze on Him. 

In the Stillness He is Waiting

It seems to happen on Sundays.    That moment when the Lord grabs my heart, looks me straight in the eyes, and points out that thing...that thing that I have been ignoring or unaware of that needed adjusting.   A spiritual shake up.   It’s not that I don’t spend time with the Lord during the week…but there is something about that time on Sunday, when all of your attention is focused on nothing but His presence, and what He wants to say, that really gives Him an opportunity to speak.    I realized first, that I have been struggling with a few things recently that stem from a place of fear.    And rather than addressing the fear, I try to mask it by keeping busy.    I have been having so many conversations with people lately who struggle with anxiety, myself included...and I realized secondarily, that one thing we all have in common is a struggle with being still.    To truly be still.   Not just sitting still while your mind is entertained by an app or a T.V. program (which let’s be honest we all probably do pretty well).   Not just being still in the car between errands.    It’s like we are running.   Perhaps from fear of failure, we push to try and succeed.   Maybe it’s a fear of vulnerability, we stay busy so that we do not have to face the state of our own heart.  Maybe it’s out of habit.  We have become so use to being busy that it feels wrong to stop.  Maybe it’s out of obligation.  There is so much on our plate that we have no choice but to run from one thing to the next just to keep afloat.    Whatever the reason, or reasons may be…on Sunday, in that moment I had a bit of a double revelation.

I do not practice the act of stillness in my life.    Not regularly anyway.  

 The Bible tells us to be still.  In fact, it tells us over and over.   And it’s different than rest, which the Bible also talks about and it is hugely important and necessary for a healthy life.   But to be still, that is different action entirely. 

To rest means, to cease work or movement, and recover strength.  We need this for our physically, mentally, and emotionally well-being.      But to be still, this is a deep silence.  A calm.    An act of the heart and mind.     This is a time when we choose to block out the world, to submit our thoughts to the Lord, remember who He is, meditate on His truth, and allow Him to speak.  Allow Him to move on our behalf, allow Him to mend, heal, and restore, with no agenda of our own.   I am realizing for myself, that in order to be still, I have to make it a practice.    Something that needs to become a daily, a part of my routine.   A time when I step away from every distraction, every noise, every task or duty.  Where it’s just me and Jesus.    Just my heart and His.    A time when I step outside of my busy life, not to recover but to relinquish, remember, and reflect.  If we do not choose to stop, the to do list will win every time.

In God’s Word we see many verses on the subject

Zachariah 2:13 tells us to “Be still before the Lord, all mankind”

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God”

Exodus 14:14 reminds us that “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still”

Habakkuk 2:20 declares “The Lord is in His holy temple.  All the earth –Be quiet in His presence.”

Just to name a few….

I wonder if the Lord, in all His wisdom, knew before time began, that we humans would have the tendency to go.    To move and not stop, and in our busyness, even with the best of intention, lose sight of Him.  To let our own momentum move us, and then wonder why we end up feeling so far away from peace.  And I wonder, if the Lord in all His wisdom, knew that if we kept going, without stopping to be still, that we would find ourselves feeling an emptiness and fear that causes us to work even harder to fill the void rather than taking a moment to stop.  Be still.  And let Him, the Almighty, the one who fights for us, the Lord of Lords and God of peace, enter into our hearts and minds.    What if Stillness was the rule not the exception?  What if we went against everything our schedule was telling us we should be doing, for a moment or two?  How would our lives look then?  How would He be glorified in and through us?  I want to experience more of Him, and maybe, in the very place where everything else falls away…In the stillness He is there waiting to meet us.