What Makes Worship "Worship?"

Acts 17:24-25 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

God is not worshipped with men's hands. Neither does He need man's worship. He doesn't need anything of man which includes his worship. If God needed anything then he wouldn't be God. God is a perfect being, lacking nothing. He doesn't need man or his worship. Worship is commanded by God for man's own good. It is for man's good, not God's. God has need of nothing.

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
--All things were created by God, for the pleasure of God, that God might receive glory and honour.

--worth-ship: giving worth to the one that it is due.

Worship music is a misnomer as is worship services. The primary place of worship is the "closet" (Mat.6:5-7), or bedroom, or another private quiet place where you can be alone with God. There you can be alone with God--with your Bible, and spend time with Him in prayer, and allowing Him to speak to you through His Word. There you can find true communion and fellowship with God. The Bible always emphasizes personal devotions and fellowship with God in contrast to corporate worship (though it does not eliminate the other).

It is interesting that the pagan religions rely on musical intstruments of some kind of another to srimulate thier "worship" to a pagan god.

"Stately public worship is as significant to God and man as the clack of a Thibetan prayer-mill."
Some CCM music is of no more value to God than a Tibetan clacking his instruments together in a rhythmic monotonous way. It is a stepping stone to their type of "worship," which is not "worship."
Paul talked about love that sounded as tinkling cymbals and souding brass. The wrong heart attitude causes an awful sound in music to God's ears. God doesn't want the music; he wants your heart: a pure and contrite heart.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
DHK

 

On the contrary, DHK, it is quite clear that corporate worship is also commanded to be done among the believers.

 

Notice I said the primary place of worship (as Jesus Himself taught in Mat.6:5-7), not the only place of worship.
DHK

 

And for the most part, probably not there either </font>[/QUOTE]I think giving money for the support of the ministry can and should be an act of worship, but we can't assume that just because someone is giving money he is worshipping. The widow who gave the mite worshiped, but the rich men who gave more than she did did not.

I know that sometimes true worship in music does not occur in the worship service, but it might occur some other time. I know that one year at the end of our dress rehearsal I had the feeling that the only thing that could be any better is if Jesus would return at that momment. The next day, during the performance I did not have that feeling. Sometimes it is hard to worship when you have to worry about singing the right words on the right pitch. But during the rehearsal I worshipped.

 

Many of the worship wars stem from this misconception taht worship is about feeling. It isn't. How we "feel" has very little to do with worship. Worship is a conversation between God and man, where God reveals the truth about himself and man responds in appropriate submission. Feeling is way down the list of ways to determine what worship is.

 

How does one submit without feeling that he ought to? Provided emotion is guided and not guiding, it is a core component of our human character. It isn't so much a good or bad thing as it is something that helps define our existence.

 

By biblical obedience. Because of our fallen nature, our feelings very often lead us to rebellion. Emotion is a core component of our human character, but it should respond to biblical truth, rather than the other way around. If you wait until you "feel like obeying" you will never get there. As the old saying goes "Right feelings follow right actions." They rarely come first.

 

By biblical obedience. Because of our fallen nature, our feelings very often lead us to rebellion. Emotion is a core component of our human character, but it should respond to biblical truth, rather than the other way around. If you wait until you "feel like obeying" you will never get there. As the old saying goes "Right feelings follow right actions." They rarely come first. </font>[/QUOTE]Which is why I said our feelings or emotions should be guided and not guiding. The point is that without feeling, obedience is nothing more than lip service. In order to submit, one must sense the magnitude and station of God in relation to himself. To submit even against our own rebellious state which tells us not to submit still requires a conviction that we know what we ought to do. No matter how you look at it, feelings and emotion are an integral and necessary part of our relationship with God.

 

According to Sr.Argile Smith, worship is simply "meeting God". Thatts the best difinition I have ever heard.

 

Tater, I like that. May all of us seek to meet God on a daily, moment by moment basis.

I think we have to get back to the concept of worship is not just a weekly corporate thing....but it must also be a private daily activity for each believer.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Dr. Don Whitney, "Can we expect the flames of our worship of God to burn brightly in public on the Lord's Day when they barely flicker for Him in secret on other days?" (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life)

 

You left out women keeping silent.

And don't forget the guiding principle concerning demeanor in vs. 40.

As Christ stated, true worship is defined by its object and demeanor.

 

Pastor preached on Worship in his continuing series on realistic expectations in the church.

This from my palm pilot notes

Effective Churches must have true worshippers:

*True worship is not a weekly "fill-up" its not a trip to the service station, or the supermarket. It should be a gathering together to praise God for what he has done.

1. True Worshippers find their fulfillment of
their thirst in Jesus Christ. -jn 4:21
-wrong mindset: the church is a service
station or convenience store to meet my needs
-right mindset: the church is an opportunity
to come together as a body and praise the one
who has already serviced our needs

2. True Worshippers find satisfaction in a
relationship with God, not with man -jn 4:15-16

3. True Worshippers are more concerned with who
and how they worship than with where they
worship -jn4:20-25
-in Spirit: one that has been made alive
(holding a "worship service" designed for the
unchurched/unsaved is a "nothing muffin")
-in Truth: Worshippers must have a proper
perception of God - Word Centered

This totally doesn't do the message justice, I can only write so fast with graffiti, but you get the bare bones I suppose.

 

I Corinthians 12 clearly shows that women prayed and prophecied during the worship time, and that was okay with Paul.

 

Without reading the article, some people in "my" church have left because of the change in music. One critical member told me the following and I cannot defend his position. It is "music for show." "We now hear loud, loud bass tones. CCM is a fad." "Music is said to be amoral." He prefers "no drum set in the church." He observes "There is not a lot of singing going on in the congregation. The Praise Team on the platform overpowers everyone." "Are we really reaching the lost world? Are we bringing the world into the church with our own need for rock and roll?
....Some of the old songs, I'm 65 years old, still moves me. Some of the newer songs speak to me. I still sing in our church choir, singing bass. Thanks, Mr. Messy.

 

I agree. See I Chron. 29:20, II Chron. 7:3, II Chron. 29:29-30, Neh. 8:6.

"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Psalm 34:18

In Christ,
daktim