Real Worship

*When mission is divorced from worship, the human need can become more important than the divine glory; and the strategy used might be the result of human observation rather than a God-given spiritual vision.

*It's when we worship God that we discover afresh that His thoughts and ways are far above ours and that whatever we do will have to be guided and empowered by Him.

*We must leave the "special result" with God. I am not worshipping Him because of what He will do for me, but because of what He is to me. When worship becomes commercial, it ceases to be worship.

*We don't worship God for what we get out of it, but because He is worthy of worship.

* Worship involves both attitudes (awe, reverence, respect) and actions (bowing, praising, serving). It is both a subjective experience and an objective activity. Worship is not an unexpressed feeling, nor is it an empty formality.

*True worship is balanced and involves the mind, the emotions, and he will. It must be intelligent; it myst be reach deep within and motivated by love; and it must lead to obedient actions that glorify God.

*No two Christians have identical worship experiences even though they participate in the same service, at the same time, in the same sanctuary. For that matter, no two congregations, even in the same fellowship, express the same worship while following the same liturgy. Christian worship is both individual and corporate, personal and congregational. Let by the spirit, we have the right, even the responsibility, to express our praise to God in the manner that best reflects our individual personalities and cultures. if all of us would keep this in mind, it might encourage a deeper appreciation for one another's form of worship.

*We worship God becaus He is worthy and not because we as worshipers get something out of it. if we look upon worship only as a mean of getting something from God, rather than giving something to God, then we make God our servant instead of our Lord, and the elements of worship become a cheap formula for selfish gratification.

*If worship is to be a transforming experience, then it must result in service that transform the world.

*True spiritual celebration delivers us from "services as usual". To be sure, we need to guard against "evangelical exhibitionist" who use a worship service just to show off. But we also need to watchout for whorshipers who are so shackled in formalism and routine that there's no sincere celebration at all. They merely go through the motions. Both extremes should be avoided.

*Another difficult area of tension is the conflict between the objective and the subjective in worship. We are too prone to judge a worship experience by our feelings rather than by the fact that we have obeyed God and tried to please and glorify Him.

*Most of the meals we eat aren't spectacular goumet productions, yet they nevertheless nourish us. If we think primarily of individual taste and not ethernal truth, we may end up with an experience-centered service that ignores the past in order to gratify present appetites. People who run from one church to another, searchign for the "perfect worship experience" are impoverishing both themselves and the church-and they are chasing a religious mirage.

*One of the greatest dangers is that we "use" worship in order to accomplish something else than to glorify God in the edification of His church. We do not worship God in order to achieve peace of mind or to solve our personal problems, although these may be blessed by-products of worship. We worship God because He commands us to do so and because worship is the highest and holiest experience of the Christian believer.

*Our "spiritual sacrifices" are given because He is worthy and not because they will "buy" us blessings. If our spiritual sacrifices become means to and end, they cease to be spiritual, and if they become ends in themselves, then our worship becomes empty ritual. It is not easy to maintain the balance and only the Spirit of God can enable us to do so.

*Humility is important to true worship. Pride is the essential ingredient when it comes to worshiping Satan.

*True worship takes time, and one of the evidences that we're starting to make spiritual progress in our worship is the calmness that comes to the soul as we wait before God. You are conscious of time but not controlled by time. You enjoy waiting before the Lord and reveling in His wonder and His greatness.