Conclusion

Posted on 02/17/2014 by Jason Ministries

Experiencing the Life of a True Worshiper

I Worship You, by CCM group MercyMe, is from the 2002 debut album entitled Almost There. Though this song was never released as a single,

it helped to establish the style and character of music that has kept MercyMe at the top of the CCM charts for more than twelve years. In fact, Almost There is considered the number four best selling album from its decade (2000-2009).

I Worship You, is all about experiencing the life of a true worshiper on a daily basis. It’s about what it can feel like to worship God in all circumstances and life events. It is a song of genuine, godly worship, which is exactly what we have been discussing in this series.

As we close out this simple study on experiencing the life of a true worshiper, we will quickly recap what we have learned so that you can easily recall our various topics of interest. Hopefully this recap will also inspire you to revisit some of these articles and move you to grow in your relationship with God on a daily basis.

Articles One and Two dealt primarily with our first acts of worship — salvation and water baptism. Before we can begin a day-to-day relationship with God, we must first have placed our faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and have been obedient to His command to be baptized (John 3:5).

Articles Three and Four explored the call of all worshipers of God to fulfill the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). To go through out the world testifying of Christ’s Gospel message and baptizing those who would believe, and to do so by CO-laboring with other believers, in spite of their denominational background (1 Corinthians 3:1-11). You see the true Church, the “Body of Christ,” is not filled with members from any one Christian denomination. No! The Church is made up of true worshipers from all Christian denominations, and we must work together for the good of the kingdom of God.

Articles Five and Six were all about serving mankind, as Christ instructed us to, and suffering as Christ suffered. Though Christ came primarily to seek and to save mankind from their sinful nature (Luke 19:10), He also came as a servant of humanity. He wanted to be an example to us, revealing how we can bring His hope to the hopeless and extend His help to the helpless (Mark 10:45). Ultimately, our serving others and our suffering as Christ suffered will make us more like Him.

Articles Seven and Eight revealed to us the importance of spending time in God’s Word and in prayer. God’s Word was given in written form to teach us, guide us, and grow us to be more like Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This can only be done by our spending time reading it, studying it, and applying what we’ve have learned. And we must also pray, as God’s power flows from Himself into our lives through prayer (James 4:10). Prayer is as essential to our daily relationship with God, as is the reading of God’s Word.

Articles Nine and Ten dealt with living an abundant life in Christ and with gathering to worship God in a corporate environment. God’s purpose for humanity was to allow us to experience a life full of His Spirit, but we rejected His purpose. To get that life back, we must dedicate ourselves to living our lives for the sake of Christ — daily — in all that we do (Romans 12:11). True believers are also tasked with helping each other grow into true worshipers of God (Hebrews 10:24-25). Christians cannot accomplish this duty if they remain separated from one another. This work can only be completed if we are faithful to gather before God on a weekly basis.

Articles Eleven and Twelve disclose to us the importance of giving, especially the giving of God’s love. You see, part of our call from God, to serve each other and to suffer as His Son suffered, is so that we can learn the art of giving. Christ served mankind to give away His love, and Christ suffered for the same reason (Matthew 20:25-28). Love — God’s love — is the reason we are instructed to give, and one of the greatest ways that we can model this godly giving of love is through our romantic relationships. God designed the marriage relationship to be a physical picture of His love for the redeemed (Ephesians 5:22-32).

Articles Thirteen and Fourteen taught concerning how we should care for our physical and spiritual bodies, as well as about celebrating God in our music. Since Christians are considered by God to be members of Christ’s body, we must maintain our health and wellness in order to have the strength and energy to fulfill our calling — to fulfill our duty. It is imperative that Christians — true worshipers of God — maintain both their physical and spiritual health and wellness (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 3 John 1:2). This in turn will allow us the strength to testify of God’s grace and loving kindness towards us through our singing. Though singing is not worship, as a whole, it is an important vessel for expressing our devotion to God (Psalm 95:1; Colossians 3:16).

“Confession” and “Forgiveness” were the topics of Articles Fifteen and Sixteen. We learned that confession was more than an admission of wrong doing, but that it was also a statement of one’s beliefs — a testimonial. Through this act of worship we can confess Christ as our Lord, and testify to others of His Gospel message (Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9). Confession also leads us to receiving forgiveness. Forgiveness grants us access to freedom. Freedom from bitterness and hate; freedom to live and to love. Forgiveness is divine, and it is strong enough to cover over all wrongdoings. All we need do is accept it (1 John 1:9), and then give it to others (Mark 11:25).

Articles Seventeen and Eighteen covered the subjects of rejoicing and having a right attitude. A true worshiper of God rejoices over what God is doing, not only in their own life, but in the lives of other believers (Deuteronomy 12:7). Rejoicing rightly prevents us from getting prideful and allows us to celebrate achievements and yet remain humble. A right attitude also influences our ability to rejoice correctly and remain humble. An attitude that is focused on God and His characteristics will remain healthy and positive (Philippians 2:5-8), while an attitude that focuses on self will cause heartache and undo pain.

There you have it, all eighteen topics neatly outlined for further review and study. I hope that if you haven’t followed along faithfully that you will consider going back through and studying further these essential acts of worship. If you have been with us throughout the series, then I pray that you would take the time to review these subjects and apply them to your daily relationship with God.

William Barclay, a Scottish author, minister, professor of theology, radio and television presenter, is credited with having said this about speaking the truth. He said, “Telling the truth demands a deliberate effort.” In like manner, so does living the truth. We must take the time and make the effort to live the life we were purposed to live. God deliberately made us for His pleasure, and we rejected His love. Now we, who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, must make a deliberate effort to embrace God’s truth, speak of God’s truth, and live God’s truth. If we do; if we endure to remain faithful to God’s plan for our lives, then we will see God’s purpose grow in us and shine forth from us.

I’ll leave you with one last quote from William Barclay: “Endurance is not just the ability to bare a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” Endure the life of a true worshiper. Bare the sufferings of life, as Christ did, and watch God turn you into a beacon that shines His glory throughout the world.

Living Your True Purpose by J. Scott Harden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at jasonmin.wordpress.com.
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If your church or organization would like to talk with J. Scott Harden about a speaking engagement, or a writing project, please get in touch with Mr. Harden through Jason Ministries‘ Twitter account or Facebook page.

Article 14

Posted on 01/13/2014 by Jason Ministries

Psalm 40, by CCM artists Newsong, was one of fifteen songs recorded for their live worship album entitled Rescue. This particular track was released as a single, in 2005, and is basically a paraphrase of Psalm 40:1-3, which reads:

“I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”

Singing to God our testimonies of faith, our praises of gratitude, and our expressions of love have long since been apart of our individual and corporate worship. But what so many Christians fail to realize is that enjoying and singing worship music is not, in and of its self, worship.

What worship is, is a humbling of ourselves before God. From within that posture of humility, we can do many things before God. We can shout praises to Him, and be thankful that God is so merciful. We can raise our hands, like a child longing to be embraced by their father, and experience God’s holiness and love. We can testify to God’s grace and loving kindness towards humanity, to one another, and we can also express these sentiments and testimonials through our singing.

You see the singing of contemporary Christian songs, hymns, or even praise and worship music is not worship, but it certainly is one of many acts of worship. Worship is more than singing, because it can be defined as both a noun and a verb. Singing is only a verb. Worship is the blending of who we are, in Christ, with our actions of devotion to Christ. The way we blend the noun and the verb is best laid out in this formula that I introduced from within another study on worship entitled The Joshua Project.

In this formula we see that it requires the attributes of God, and our acknowledgment and application of those attributes, to produce the actions that equal worship.

(attributes of God + acknowledgment and application of God’s attributes in us = worship)

God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 33:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:3); so as we come to know God’s faithfulness, and acknowledge the ways in which He has been faithful to us, we can in turn be more faithful to Him and see our faith grow. This faithfulness becomes a part of our lives and is seen by God as worship.

Our hope for salvation lies within God’s Son, Jesus Christ (Psalm 18:2; John 14:6; Acts 4:8-12). As we embrace salvation, through Christ, and acknowledge that our hope lies only from within Jesus’ sacrifice, then we can become transformed into true believers and grow closer to God. This acceptance of salvation becomes a part of our lives and is seen by God as worship.

God is love (Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 4:8, 16); so as we learn more of God’s loving kindness, and acknowledge the ways in which He has shown us His love, we can then be more loving towards Him and see His love for humanity grow in us. True love, then, becomes a part of our lives and is seen by God as worship.

Darlene Zschech, a noted Australian worship leader and singer-songwriter (formerly of Hillsong), once said this about worship: “Worship is an act of obedience of the heart. It is a response that requires the very core of who you are, to love the Lord for who He is, not just for what He does.”

Well stated, Darlene. “An act of obedience of the heart,” is key to applying the above formula for experiencing true worship in our lives. We cannot acknowledge God’s attributes without an obedient heart [spirit]. The physical obedience, our “works” if you will, will be a result of our spiritual obedience, but we cannot and will not become true worshipers of our Creator through our physical works. It will always require an obedient heart at our core. Look with me at Ephesians 2:8-10:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Now, this passage of Scripture is speaking specifically about our salvation in Christ, our first act of worship, but what is essential here is the principle behind these verses. Just as we can do nothing to be saved outside of being spiritually obedient to God’s call of salvation on our hearts, so can we do nothing towards becoming true worshipers of God outside of being spiritually obedient to acknowledge God’s attributes at the core of our worship.

So in closing, let’s eagerly and gladly sing a “new song” to God. Let’s sing of His faithfulness, grace, and love, but let us understand that this is an act of worship — it’s not worship, as a whole. Real worship is when we see the attributes of God, and acknowledge and apply those attributes through an obedient heart, which in turn produce the actions that equal worship.

(attributes of God + acknowledgment and application of God’s attributes in us = worship)

Article II, part 2

Posted on 03/21/2010 by Jason Ministries

In part one of Article 2, we defined worship and began to look closer at two of three key attributes of God (His faithfulness and His hope) that produce the actions that equal worship, if we will choose to acknowledge them in our lives.

In this article we’ll begin with the third attribute — God is love.

Love can be defined in many ways, as worship can be, but for the sake of this blog let’s keep it simple. Let’s focus on the core definition of love and also its attributes. Love can be simply defined as a strong affection, a strong desire, or a strong devotion. Its attributes, listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-10, are: patience, kindness, without envy, without pride, without rudeness, isn’t selfish, isn’t easily angered, forgets offenses, is righteous, truthful, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres and is always faithful. These sound similar to the attributes ascribed to God in Galations 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control . . .” No wonder Paul revealed to us, in 1 Corinthians 13:13, that above all of God’s attributes the greatest is love. In fact, Scripture reveals that God, more than anything else ascribed to Him, is entirely, 100 percent love (1 John 4:16). So we could easily apply the definitions of love directly to God’s character and say God is a strong affection toward us, God is a strong desire toward us, God is a strong devotion to us, and this was revealed to mankind through the incarnate Lord, Jesus Christ. If we can truly grasp this truth and trust it (have faith in it), if we can truly have confidence in the fulfillment of God’s love through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection (have hope in it), if we can truly live a life of love (have a strong affection, strong desire, strong devotion to God) then we can truly worship God in our daily lives.

(God’s love + acknowledging and applying God’s love = worship)

Joshua understood God’s love for the people of Israel and also grasped the concept of living a life of love for God Himself. Joshua spoke in Joshua 22:5, “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.” Christ also taught this very same principle of worship in Matthew 22:37-38 when He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Christ didn’t stop there either; Jesus followed up His statement on love by saying in verse 39, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” To truly live a life of worship, a life filled with God’s love, we must also love mankind as God loves mankind. Think on that. Caring for people is yet another act of worship, but we will look further into this attribute in Article 4.

So, how can we take these equations of worship and apply them to our lives? How can we grasp these truths and let them rule our hearts on a daily basis? Just as the Hebrews used special words to describe their heart for worship, we too can ascribe three key words or principles to help us focus on what is at the heart of being a true worshiper of God.

First, we must have a Christ-like attitude (Philippians 2:5-8), an overall attitude of worship. You see, an attitude of worship will both prepare us for worshiping God and set the stage for our response to God after we have begun worshiping Him. How can we have a right attitude? I’ll go into more detail in the third article, but basically we can create an attitude of worship in our daily lives by applying these five positive attitude principles:

– Rejoice in the Lord — always! (Psalm 118:24; Philippians 4:4)

– Have a gentle spirit (Proverbs 15:1, 25:15; Ephesians 4:2-3)

– Replace worry with prayer (Psalm 4:1; Philippians 4:6-7)

– Keep a proper perspective/outlook on life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

– Apply what you have learned and live it (Ephesians 4:22-25; Philippians 4:8-9)

Second, we must have joy in our lives, and I mean real joy which must dominate our hearts (Psalm 51:10-12; Isaiah 12:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; James 1:2-4). Real joy can be defined as a celebration of faith (Psalm 16:11), a rejoicing in service, and being at peace. In the fourth article we will delve deeper into what joy really means to us and how we can achieve it in our lives, but we must now begin to understand the importance this principle will have in our daily worship experience (Psalm 19:8; Proverbs 10:28).

Our third principle: we must understand God’s purpose for our lives (Job 36:5; Psalm 138:8; Proverbs 19:21). Why are we here? Why did God create us? We were created to be covered by God’s glory (Psalm 8:4-5), to reflect His righteousness (Proverbs 4:18; Romans 1:14-17), and to be in fellowship with our Creator (1 John 1:3-4). In other words, God purposed us to be holy (set apart) and to worship Him. Article 5 will explore God’s purpose for us in more detail, but we must realize now that God has revealed in His word a very definite purpose for mankind; a purpose of consecration and worship.

In closing, let’s realize that worship is more than just a song sung on Sunday morning. Let’s choose today to recall the three key attributes of God:

– Faith

– Hope

– Love

Let’s choose to also remember to acknowledge these attributes of God in our lives so that we can begin the process of becoming true worshipers in all things. Let’s choose today to recall the three words or principles that will bring into light for each of us what should be at the heart of our daily worship:

– Attitude

– Joy

– Purpose

Pastor and teacher Graham Truscott was absolutely correct when he said, “When God’s people begin to praise and worship Him using the biblical methods He gives, the power of His presence comes among His people in an even greater measure.” The biblical methods discussed above are together the cornerstone now set upon the foundation we laid in Article 1. Let’s move forward then, as we continue with building the temple of worship God desires in us.

The Joshua Project by J.Scott Harden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at jasonmin.wordpress.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://jasonmin.wordpress.com/.

Introduction

Posted on 01/25/2010 by Jason Ministries

Adoration. Exaltation! Jubilation. Praise. Worship! What comes to mind when you hear or see the word “worship”? Do your thoughts gravitate towards one of the previously mentioned words? Or, do you possibly consider words such as admire, idolize, or even respect? Do you think of rock stars, Hollywood celebrities, idols, perhaps church, or how about God?

For many the thought of worship, as it relates to the modern church, conjures up images of musicians and vocalists leading a group of congregants in singing contemporary Christian praise choruses. Most Christian denominations even title their music directors as “Worship Leader” or “Lead Worshiper,” but is that really a good definition of worship? Is it just possible that the definition of worship is much more than what the modern church has made it out to be? The answer to that is a resounding “Yes!”

As human beings, made in God’s image, we need to understand that worshiping our Creator is essential to our spiritual growth and an intricate part of our having a relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth. To do this, we also need to understand fully what worship is, how to properly worship, and how to live our lives being true worshipers of God. Jerry Solomon (biblical scholar, former Director of Field Ministries, and former Mind Games Coordinator for Probe Ministries) once said, “As is true with many terms used among Christians, the word “worship” can become a cliche devoid of significant content if we don’t stop to consider its meaning.”

It’s been my experience with churches throughout my lifetime, as a minister’s son, licensed minister of the gospel, and lay-person, that the average modern church does much to encourage those of us known as believers to participate in worship, especially at the corporate level, but very little time is actually spent teaching believers about what worship is and the many levels of worship we will and should expect to encounter along our everyday walk with God. It’s almost as if the modern church believes its members are “born again” with the instinct to worship God, and do so fully and properly. Yes, we are made new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and made as one with the Spirit of Christ (Galatians 3:28), but we must daily die to self (2 Corinthians 5:15), daily take up the cross of Christ (Luke 9:23), and daily choose whom we will serve (Joshua 24:15). Our worship of God is not instinctive but must be learned (Exodus 33:13; Psalm 119:102-105; 1 Corinthians 12–13).

This series of articles, known as The Joshua Project, will correctly define for us all what worship is. It will examine the life of a true worshiper. It will allow us to understand both corporate and individual worship and break down the multiple levels of these two types of worship. It will journey into the who, what, when, where, why, and how of worship. It will bring clarity to the various acts of worship, such as our faithfulness, our witness, and our service. Our attitude, joy in life, and purpose for life will be defined as they relate to worship, and more important, The Joshua Project will show us how to apply them to our daily lives.

When our study is done, we should be able to reflect on both our spiritual and physical lives to see how important a healthy understanding of worship is to our spiritual growth, to our physical well-being, to our relationship with God, and to our relationship with other people. Only then can we properly continue our life’s journey refreshed and renewed and be appropriately named a true worshiper!

So, I invite you to take this journey with me, and let’s study together just what worship is, and let’s understand together just how to be transformed into the true worshipers God desires us to be.

Jason Ministries ®

Teaching the Church its Purpose – True Worship

Category Archives: singing

Conclusion

Article 14

Article II, part 2

Introduction