What is Worship?
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
Revelation 7:9,11
In the scripture worship is described as both a way of life and a specific activity.
Praising God, worshipping and expressing devotion to God are publicly and privately acts of worship.
In a broader sense, worship refers to an overall lifestyle of serving and glorifying God and reflecting His glory to others.
“Worship is the believer’s response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is and what He has done; expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.”
Louie Giglio
Worship is love expressed.
Worship is acknowledging and declaring the worth and greatness of God.
Worship is the language of faith.
How do we worship?
1). We worship by living a life surrendered to God.
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship.
Hebrews 13:15-16
Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise- the fruit of our lips that openly profess His Name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: ” Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Jesus lived and modeled for us that true worship involved horizontal living.
2). We worship when we join with the body of Christ in corporate gathering.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 5:18-20
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!Psalm 92:1-5
1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 for the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! Psalm 47:1-6
Clap your hands, all you nations;
Why do we worship?
1 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,
Psalm 48:1
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said “Let there be light and there was light.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Psalm 33:6-9
By the word of the
Colossians 1:13-16
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
How can we not worship our amazing, magnificent God!
The more we grow in our understanding of the greatness of God the more we will grow in our passion to worship and live a life of surrender to Him.