Have you made worship a daily practice yet? Were you able to take time out today to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, to affirm His greatness, and to ascribe the honor and glory due to His Name? Were you left in awe because of His Majesty and Power? Remember the Father is seeking people who will worship in Spirit and in Truth. Isaiah writes: In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw (in a vision) the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and exalted, with the train of His royal robe filling the (most holy part of the) temple. Above Him seraphim (heavenly beings) stood...And one called out to another, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of host; The whole earth is filled with His glory - Is 6:1,2a,3. If only we could, like Isaiah, truly see the Lord high and exalted daily in His Word. The Psalmist in ask God to open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law - Ps 119:18. O God we pray that you would open our eyes so that we can see You, High Holy and lifted up. If we could just see Him as He reveals Himself in His word, our worship would be elevated to a whole new level.. The only appropriate response to seeing the Lord would be for us to worship! My first entry in my worship journal was I Timothy 1:17. I used this verse to meditate on and to motivate me to worship the Lord in spirit and truth: Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen - I Tim 1:17. Paul writes this doxology in response to the overwhelming mercy and grace of God that saved him. As I meditated on this verse I thought about The King. So I wrote in my journal: The King. The One that I bow before. The King who rules, reigns and sits on the throne of grace. The King who invites me into His presence. The King who is eternal. The One who always has been even before the beginning. The Eternal God who chose me even before the foundation of the world. The God who can't be contained or corrupted by mortality. The invisible God who can't been seen but is always present. The only God who is wise, The God who is the God of all wisdom. The King who is worthy of all honor! Think about what our reaction would be if we were invited to the palace to visit the royal family. We would be excited, honored and probably in awe . This week consider the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God and stand in awe of who He is! desiring to be left speechless, Diane ps. if you haven't started one consider starting a worship journal and take your worship to a new level. How would you respond if you were asked when was the last time you worshipped the Lord? Most of us would probably say Sunday. Unfortunately, for far too many of us, worship has become an activity we only identify with and participate in on Sunday while we are at church. However, true worship is not a ritual or routine to be done only on Sunday at church. Jesus engaged in a conversation about true worship with the Samaritan woman at the well, in John 4. The woman was making an issue about where worship should take place. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem (at the temple) - John 4:20. Jesus saith unto her, Woman believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father...But the time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit (from the heart, the inner) and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers - John 4:21 KJV, 4:23 AMP. Worship can't be confined to specific place or time, although participating in corporate worship is important for believers. True worship is not a matter of location, it is a matter of the heart. God the Father is actually seeking true worshippers; people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Worship flows out of a heart of love and affection for a God who first loved us, and loves and accepts us with all our flaws. True worshippers worship God the Father and God the Son in spirit (within their hearts) because they have become persuaded by the Lord's love and moved by the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ. What if instead, the question asked was when was the last time you truly stood in awe of God? Would our answer still be Sunday, or would the question cause us pause? When were you so overwhelmed by the power, majesty, greatness, and holiness of God you were left speechless? The kind of worshipper the Father is seeking not only worships in spirit, but also worships in truth. This kind of worship is based upon a true knowledge about the character of God. True worship involves acknowledging, affirming, ascribing worth to and standing in awe of God: Let all the earth fear and worship the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him - Ps 33: 8. The more knowledge about the character of God we have the more in awe of Him we become. True worship flows out of a heart that is gripped and overwhelmed by the love of Christ and a mind that is blown by the revelation of His character and power; revelation that comes from spending time in His Word. Worship has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. Worship is not about getting our petitions heard or prayers answered. Worship is centered solely on Him. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen - I Tim 1:17. The Father is seeking people who will worship Him. Will He find us acknowledging, affirming, ascribing worth to and standing in awe of Him? desiring to be left speechless, diane p.s. make worship a daily habit. Daily affirm the character of God, stand back and consider His greatness, His holiness, His majesty, His goodness. Start a worship journal, righting down scriptures that affirm who He is like I Tim 1:17. Meditate on these scriptures and before long you will be left speechless. As we continue our journey, it is important to understand our need for worship. Worship is so essential to our spiritual existence, it is like the air we breathe. We are commanded to worship (Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; for He is Holy - Ps 99:5 and Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His Name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness - Ps 29:2). Worship is an attitude of the heart that acknowledges the presence and the power of God, ascribes worth to His person and stands in awe of His holiness. In other words, worship is when we are so overwhelmed by the greatness of Almighty God, we are left speechless (Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him - Ps 33:8). It is to be so moved by who God is that the phrase "it's not about me" is no longer just a cliche but a reality. When was the last time you worshipped? (But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him - John 4:23). Just think, if we worshipped more, we would worry less. We are challenged to worship instead of worrying: Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God...Phil 4:3. The word prayer in this verse actually carries with it the idea of adoration, devotion and worship. Most of the time we worry about things which we have no control over; more often than not the things we worry about never actually happen. We are to put away worry, and begin to worship. Replace our anxious thoughts with thoughts about our Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient God. Worshipping instead of worrying fills us with hope instead of anxiety because our confidence is in the God of Hope (In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence; and His children shall have a place of refuge - Pro 14:26). Worship causes our perspective of who God really is to enlarge and we begin to understand that nothing is too hard for God. If we worshipped more, we would have more wisdom (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; knowledge of the holy is understanding - Pro 9:10). When we begin to see the Lord in all of His majesty we become more amazed by Him and less impressed with ourselves (In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings...And one cried unto another, and said Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. Then said I, Woe is me ! I am undone: because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts - Is 6:1-3,5). When we actually begin to see the character, sufficiency and sovereignty of the Lord, our deficiencies are exposed. We are humbled in His presence, receptive to His voice and blessed with His wisdom. Just like we must breathe, we must worship. Replace worry with worship. This week let's think less about ourselves and more about Him. Think about the Holiness of God. Think about the Power of God. Think about His Goodness. Look up at the stars and see how He has arranged them and named each one. There is no one like our God! Let's worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness. working on worshipping more, Diane |
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