PRAISING AND WORSHIPING GOD

There is no question that to praise and worship God cuts through moods and attitudes of unbelief, depression, and the like. But this is not because praise and worship are, "enchantment words," that we utter to get God moving, or because they are things to do. 

No - Praise and worship...

cut through those things because, it is from the heart - they are choices we make to speak the Truth, and align ourselves with Jesus Christ. (Matt 15:8)

                                   WHAT PRAISE WORSHIP IS 

Again when you praise God - if it is from the heart  which means that you are making a conscious choice to turn away from lies and unbelief, and speak Truth about God. You are refusing to, "come under," the bad mood, or suggestions of the enemy, but rather choosing to turn to God - you aren't creating reality, or exerting a force called, "faith," unto God, thus getting Him to do this or that! No. Instead, you are simply speaking the Truth, and coming into contact with God by faith, and this is why praise and worship can have positive effects.

Note that Praise and worship are of faith and of the heart. They cut through unbelief because you are making a choice to yield your members, your mind and thoughts, and perhaps your voice to God. When you praise God, you are speaking the Truth, and therefore, miscalculation cannot remain.

Hopefully we can see a big difference between praise and worship which is a choice, and a response to God, and the mistake of thinking that they are some mechanical mantra which is the means by which we get power from God.

The Bible says that we, "shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free." It does not say, "You shall worship God and that worship shall result in the power to be free." Furthermore, Jesus said we must worship God in Truth – which indicates that the Truth comes first. This would be impossible if we must worship God to get truth. No - We can only worship God in Truth if worship is our response to God for and because of the truth we have already received through our everyday relationship with Him.

Not a Legalistic Form

It would seem that no matter what we are talking about with regards to the things of God, Christians will take it, and turn it into a law to follow, or a religious, "circle," to jump through. This has happened even with demonstrative worship. Rather than a spontaneous response to God, from our spirit to His, some have turned it into a thing to do – in order to get God to do things!

It has been said by some preachers that this passage of Romans 12:1-2 to, "prove," that God commands demonstrative worship in His church. He claimed that to, "present your body," means to do things with it like raising hands, etc. Indeed, this particular preacher actually directs the people in his congregation as to what to do, step-by-step. He says, "Now, raise your hands," etc...

But this is not the context of the passage at all. To, "present your bodies,” – if we are talking about the physical, means to, "Yield your members as instruments of righteousness." (As in Rom. 6) That would mean outward obedience and a walk in holiness. Paul is saying that that the surrender, faith, and obedience is our worship. He is saying that surrender is worship from the heart, and outward obedience is the extension of it. But there is nothing in this passage that even mentions outward forms of worship in church.

Once we understand that putting ourselves on the altar as a living sacrifice is the true nature of worship, things begin to fall into place. First, it shows that worship is not something that can be mandated. Paul says, "Present yourselves…." He does not say that anyone can fasten another to the altar. No. Why? Because again – this is of the heart. It is a personal surrender to God – a relationship with Him.

Furthermore, if you command someone to worship God in a certain physical expression, and they do it, then are they really doing it? Not necessarily at all. Why? Because, as I said earlier, worship is out of the heart - a personal relationship. It is spontaneous in that sense. It cannot be mandated if it is real. 

Now, I’m not saying that it is wrong to teach others about expressions of worship. But I am saying that we ought not to mandate them. There is a big difference. Thus, when believers get together for worship, there should be no pressure to worship outwardly in this or that way. Let people worship God! Stop trying to create spiritual clones! The only cautionary words we have in scripture about these outward things is that, "all things must be done decently and in order." We are told that worship must be, "in spirit and in Truth." But the Biblical guidelines are to stop craziness and confusion motivated by the flesh – the guidelines are never to force people into anything.

I think it is ironic that despite the fact that the only Biblical guidelines for worship are all geared to stopping disorderly expressions of the flesh – that this is precisely what is going on today in many places. People mandate worship forms, which God never does, but then they ignore the one area where God does give mandates – they allow confusion and disorder.

Forms

There are a couple of places in the new testament where it describes worship, such as I Timothy 2. Paul writes, "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” (1 Tim 2:8-9) Is this a command that when we pray, we must lift hands?

This is NOT a command as to the form of worship, or an establishment of the fact that you must pray with your hands lifted up, or God will not hear. In those days, people stood to pray, lifted up their hands, etc. God is not saying we must copy that outward form. If we just read the passage, it seems clear that the emphasis of Paul is the prayer itself, done, "without wrath or doubting."

Do we really believe God hears us better if our hands are lifted? Or that He hears us more if they are not lifted? Not to be tired, but what if I don’t have hands or arms? What does God look at? He looks at my heart, that’s what. I think the point is made here. (Deut 4:29)

Now, if you want to turn this passage from I Timothy into a law for worship, which I have heard some preachers do, then read on. Paul continues, "In like manner also, those women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array." The context here, of course, is that the women of that time were not to dress in a way that resembles the loose women of that time. We are to take that thought and apply it to our time as to spirit and intent. But if you want to get legalistic and literal about things, then we need to be consistent. How you take the first part of the passage on worship, you must take the last part regarding women. Therefore, all women must now think that in order to be truly holy, you must walk around depressed, dressed in cheap clothes, without any jewelry, and without braided hair. Do we really believe that this is what Paul is teaching?

Some people do. I heard that a member of a church approached a lady in Church and informed her that she was violating scripture because she had her hair braided. Yet according to the story no one ever once saw this guy raise his hands when praying in church. Apparently, what was required of the lady was not required of him from the same passage and he saw no problem with this in his interpretation of scripture.

I mention these things only to show how far Christian folks take the things of God, and turn them into nothing more than a ritual, or a religious exercise. Read Jesus rebukes to the Pharisees. He constantly talked to them about their hearts (Matt 23:25). They focused on the outward ritualistic forms, such as the washing of hands, and standing on the street corners praying, and the temple practices (Matt 23:14) – most of which were originally ordained of God. But God intended them to be an outward expression of the heart which is what demonstrative worship is supposed to be. Again worship it is to be our response to God. Not a religious thing we do but of the heart!

Of course, anytime one talk about this subject, there is a risk, no matter how much is said to the contrary, that people will say that you are teaching that the outward doesn't matter at all. That is not what I’m saying. I’m saying the inward matters more. I’m saying that unless the inward is adjusted to God, the outward is a facade.

Experience

Worship is not something that happens to us. It is not something God does upon us, to act upon us, to change us. Neither is worship a thing we do to, "call down" God. Despite the fact that some people may have indeed had an experience and been touched by God during worship, there is something more that is necessary to bring about change and freedom in our lives. There is something more about worship itself. And once we realize that, it calls into question the whole idea of whether worship is the priority for the church.

Christians come into the knowledge of the Truth – into knowing Jesus – by walking by faith, obedience, and surrender. We come under the power of God by coming under the power of the Holy Spirit. We must make choices of faith and obedience with regards to life. This is never accomplished during a church service – although sure, we could make the choice there. But the point is, we must live it out in life before the Lord.

I could give extreme examples where demonstrative worship did nothing to help people. There have been people in groups that spent an hour or more in demonstrative worship before each service for years and yet were in reality, walking in terrible error. Indeed, some of them were becoming more hardened in it, not less. Some of these groups were cult-like. How could this be? It can be because worship as a thing we do, even in sincerity is not equal to having one’s mind renewed, believing and obeying, and most of all, demonstrative worship is not the same as the worship of unconditional surrender of oneself to God. Demonstrative worship is not those things, and cannot do those things. Again – demonstrative worship, if it is of the heart (Deut 5:29), is a response to God of love, reverence, and adoration. It is not the means.

In the end, worship is not to get things from God. Worship is giving to God our love as the outcome of the fact that we have already given Him ourselves. You can do this by raising your hands, or by sitting there and doing nothing. God looks at the heart and can ascertain whether or not we worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

There are other examples that prove that demonstrative worship does not replace our relationship with Christ. For instance, what if avowed homosexuals and armed robbers raise their hands to God with tears running down their cheeks says they are worshiping God with no intention of getting free of their sin, mind you, indeed, some of these deceived people are actually thanking God for, "making them what they are." In some advanced countries, videos of same-sex partners have been seen doing this, "worshiping," together, with arms around each other. They are convinced that they are right, and believe God has affirmed their sin. They just feel the love of God upon them! Is this worship actually of God? Is this experience real? Is it worship in spirit and in truth? Or is worshiping merely an emotional thing?

I we want to be fair, God will always provide ways to make people free, whether it is in a worship service, or at home washing the dishes. He wants to free even those who are committed to sinful life-styles. But God will never affirm their lifestyle. He will never accept worship that honors Him with lips, tears, and outward forms. Rather, if God is doing anything, He is trying to bring them to repentance. But you see, again we come back to the issue of truth. All the worship in the world isn't going to help us get free if we don’t know the Truth. It is the Truth – Truth embraced, believed, and obeyed that makes us free. Not standing and crying because we think God has touched us, or because we are deceived into thinking that forgiveness is equal to license.

The fact or the act of worship cannot replace faith, obedience, and the essential of worshiping God with our lives. It is entirely possible to go to a church service, have a tremendous emotional experience, and for none of it to be of God - believe it. It is also entirely possible to have no emotional experience and be touched by God - believe it. Of course, it is also possible to be quite emotional because you are touched by God, and have no emotion because you aren't  The point is this: reactions are never the test for Truth. Jesus and the Bible is.

Worship is a wonderful expression of our hearts to God – when kept within Biblical guidelines. But the New Testament does not mandate any certain outward form – except to say that true worshipers much worship God, "in Spirit, and in Truth." Thus, whether we raise our hands or simply praise God quietly in our hearts, God is primarily after a relationship of worship with us that is of the heart.