The Purpose Driven Life(29)
Jesus called thoughtless worship “vain repetitions.”7 Even biblical terms can become tired clichés from overuse, and we stop thinking about the meaning. It is so much easier to offer clichés in worship instead of making the effort to honor God with fresh words and ways. This is why I encourage you to read Scripture in different translations and paraphrases. It will expand your expressions of worship.
DAY THIRTEEN: WORSHIP THAT PLEASES GOD
Try praising God without using the words praise, hallelujah, thanks, or amen. Instead of saying, “We just want to praise you,” make a list of synonyms and use fresh words like admire, respect, value, revere, honor, and appreciate.
Also, be specific. If someone approached you and repeated, “I praise you!” ten times, you would probably think, For what? You would rather receive two specific compliments than twenty vague generalities. So would God.
Another idea is to make a list of the different names of God and focus on them. God’s names are not arbitrary; they tell us about different aspects of his character. In the Old Testament, God gradually revealed himself to Israel by introducing new names for himself, and he commands us to praise his name.8
God wants our corporate worship gatherings to be thoughtful, too. Paul devotes an entire chapter to this in 1 Corinthians 14 and concludes, “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”9
Related to this, God insists that our worship services be understandable to unbelievers when they are present in our worship gatherings. Paul observed, “Suppose some strangers are in your worship service, when you are praising God with your spirit. If they don’t understand you, how will they know to say, ‘Amen’? You may be worshiping God in a wonderful way, but no one else will be helped.”10 Being sensitive to unbelievers who visit your worship gatherings is a biblical command. To ignore this command is to be both disobedient and unloving. For a full explanation of this, see the chapter on “Worship Can Be a Witness” in The Purpose-Driven Church.
God is pleased when our worship is practical. The Bible says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”11 Why does God want your body? Why doesn’t he say, “Offer your spirit”? Because without your body you can’t do anything on this planet. In eternity you will receive a new, improved, upgraded body, but while you’re here on earth, God says, “Give me what you’ve got!” He’s just being practical about worship.
You have heard people say, “I can’t make it to the meeting tonight, but I’ll be with you in spirit.” Do you know what that means? Nothing. It’s worthless! As long as you’re on earth, your spirit can only be where your body is. If your body isn’t there, neither are you.
Real worship is rooted in the Word.
In worship we are to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices.” Now, we usually associate the concept of “sacrifice” with something dead, but God wants you to be a living sacrifice. He wants you to live for him! However, the problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, and we often do that. We sing, “Onward, Christian Soldiers” on Sunday, then go AWOL on Monday.
In the Old Testament, God took pleasure in the many sacrifices of worship because they foretold of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Now God is pleased with different sacrifices of worship: thanksgiving, praise, humility, repentance, offerings of money, prayer, serving others, and sharing with those in need.12
Real worship costs. David knew this and said: “I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.”13
One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time. You don’t worship to be seen by others or to please yourself. You deliberately shift the focus off yourself.
When Jesus said, “Love God with all your strength,” he pointed out that worship takes effort and energy. It is not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes worship is a sheer act of the will—a willing sacrifice. Passive worship is an oxymoron.
When you praise God even when you don’t feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you’re tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God.
Matt Redman, a worship leader in England, tells how his pastor taught his church the real meaning of worship. To show that worship is more than music, he banned all singing in their services for a period of time while they learned to worship in other ways. By the end of that time, Matt had written the classic song “Heart of Worship”: