Worship Part I

So, the Lord had one-at-a-time given me 3 words. Life. Freedom. Victory. The fourth and final one was Worship.

I had been feeling this word for some time, knowing that there was so much bound up in this activity. I got the feeling that this was really the pinnacle, the thing that held so much truth, so much simplicity. Life & Freedom & Victory all bound up in one aspect.


In Luke 4:8 Jesus said, "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."

Why should we worship the Lord our God?

Psalm 104:1
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!



Rev 4:11
"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

Rev 4:8
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Rev 4:11-14
I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!
Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.
The Four Animals called out, "Oh, Yes!" The Elders fell to their knees and worshiped.


Isaiah 6:3
And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."



Deuteronomy 32:1-5
Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you. Attention, Earth, I've got a mouth full of words. My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain,
my words arrive like morning dew,
Like a sprinkling rain on new grass,
like spring showers on the garden.
For it's God's Name I'm preaching—
respond to the greatness of our God!
The Rock: His works are perfect,
and the way he works is fair and just;
A God you can depend upon, no exceptions,
a straight-arrow God.
His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children,
throw mud at him but none of it sticks.


And how were we to worship Him?

In John 4 it says that "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The Message says, "It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

What does that look like? There are lots of things that worship entails.


Psalm 105: 1-6
Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.
Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.

from Psalm 149
Praise the LORD.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.

For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.
Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
May the praise of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,



Psalm 146:2 (NIV)
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.


Psalm 34:3 (This was at the top of Everette's and my Wedding Invitations)

Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.


Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.


Psalm 106:1 Praise the LORD.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

2 Chronicles 7:3
When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."

Exodus 34:8
Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

2 Chronicles 20:18
Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.

Worship isn't necessarily still, or quiet, or well-behaved. It isn't necessarily solemn, or organized, or pretty. It is being raptured in the awesomeness and holiness of the presence of the Creator of the Universe. It is being abandoned, being undone, losing oneself in the beauty of Him, the Savior of ones soul. The Giver of Life. The Freedom-giver. The Victorious One. WOW!!

Question for You: What does worship look like to you?