Worship: reserved for Sunday mornings?

'Singing nice songs on a Sunday morning.' Is this an accurate picture of worship? If someone were to say the word 'worship', what would be the first image to form in your mind? Perhaps an acoustic guitar marked with an 'I love Jesus' sticker. Perhaps an episode of 'Songs of Praise', perhaps a Christian festival such as 'Soul Survivor' or 'Stoneleigh'.

I'm sure for many, including myself, that the first thing that comes to mind is music. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this! Music is a fantastic medium in which to express our worship to Jesus. However there is so much more behind worship. I would argue that this very dynamic has immense life-changing capacity. Worship can set the captive free, heal the sick, touch the broken, and impact this world. Worship is not just about Sunday mornings; it's about every day of your life and your relationship with Jesus.

Getting back to the basics!

Although there is a tremendous power in worship, one must not forget what it really is and whom it's for. Worship is simply about Jesus, to Jesus and for Jesus. This heart of worship must be considered at all times, as it's so easy to miss. One analogy of what it really is might be a birthday party. You go to such an event to celebrate a friend's birthday, giving perhaps a card or gift. However you wouldn't expect to get money or a present out of it as it's someone else's celebration. In the same way we should come to worship God and give Him our gifts of thanksgiving and love. However, through His grace, we often get blessed ourselves. The church of today has come a long way in terms of the variety of worship. One only has to see the many talented Christian songwriters, leaders and musicians, which have been a tremendous blessing. However if we complicate things too much, perhaps initially with good intentions, we are in real danger of missing the plot. A good friend of mine told me once that her greatest fear as a worship leader was of becoming a 'worshipper of worship'. I confess that I personally have fallen into that trap at times in my walk with God. There have been times when I've totally missed the heart of worship, enjoying or disliking a worship song merely on the chord sequence or perhaps the screaming guitar solo. When I thought a little more on what my friend had shared, I became convinced that any song written to bless Jesus, or any song that came out of that quiet place with Him is indeed an anointed song and will please the heart of God. How dare we criticize a love song that a person has written with the intention of worshipping God? Who are we to try and take away the praise and adoration that Jesus Christ justly deserves? Therefore, before we look at worship as something that empowers us, let's really have the heart of it in mind.

Worship and God's glory.

The Bible is full of accounts of praise and worship. However what most excites me is the fact that in such times, God moves in incredible power, so mind-blowing that those taking part are literally overwhelmed. Again this shows the goodness and grace of God, the fact that when we come to worship Him and lift Him up, we get blessed ourselves. A good example of this is in 2 Chronicles 5 v 11-14. This is set during the reign of King Solomon, who was building a magnificent temple for the Lord to dwell in. As the priests bring in the Ark, giving thanks and praise, God shows his power:

The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. All the Levites who were musicians - Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

"He is good; his love endures for ever."

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

Wow! Just imagine being at church one Sunday morning and during the worship the glory of the lord fills the church as if it were a cloud. What would your reaction be? I'm sure, like me, you'd be pretty gobsmacked, if not somewhat freaked out. Still, what an amazing spectacle it must have been. This passage of scripture gives a glimpse of God's power and glory, when we as worshippers come before him in a pure manner. The priests in this story were not just there to sing a few songs and then put the kettle on, they were there purely to worship with all they had. This passage also shows us what happens when worshippers unite as one. The priests were from different divisions. Therefore they probably had their differences over a number of things; perhaps in the same way different denominations of today have different structures and opinions. However despite this, the priests came together, united as one to praise the Lord for his goodness. They dressed in the best clothes they had and forgot any differences between them. Because they approached the Lord in the right manner, the glory arrived and filled the temple. This passage in scripture really encourages us to treat God with all the respect he deserves. When we come to worship Him, let's remember how great God is and the goodness He gives freely every day. With this in mind, surely we can give Him our best, overcome any differences in the church and get on with blessing Him.

Worshippers: the front line of God's army.

Did you know that worship and spiritual warfare go hand in hand? I remember one embarrassing incident at church when I was about 8 years old. One Sunday during the worship I was sitting near the front, not really taking much interest in what was going on around me. In fact at this age, I felt I was too old to dance or run around like some of the other kids. Suddenly out of nowhere my Dad ran across the room and grabbed me. He then proceeded to jump around with me in his arms, dancing away as the praise continued. I remember feeling small and embarrassed, longing for dad to put me down at the first opportunity. If you were to tell me after this incident that acts of worship (or stupidity as I saw it) like this held power, I would beg to disagree. However when God's people declare in praise and worship how great He is, even through acts which to the outsider seem foolish, principalities are shaken. A good example of such power through perceived madness can be seen in Joshua 6 v 2-5:

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Make seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, make all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

Just imagine what the people of Jericho were thinking when they saw Joshua's army marching around the city to the sound of trumpets and praise. I often wonder what Joshua himself was thinking when he was carrying out God's command. Was he embarrassed or somewhat bemused? The most important thing was the fact that Joshua was faithful in doing what God had told him to do. Although he was a great warrior and the chosen successor to Moses, he knew that without God, he would fail in taking Jericho. Jericho's king and fighting men were not delivered into Joshua's hands through fighting or warfare, but through the act of obedience and worship. When Joshua and his army were circling the city, blowing their trumpets and shouting God's praise, the powers of darkness over Jericho were undone. So often we choose to do things in our own strength, leaving God out of the decision. Yet God longs to be in your thoughts and mind at all times, instructing you and keeping you from harm. As worshippers we need to be bold like Joshua and be faithful to the commands God gives us, even if they seem odd. Being obedient to God means that the devil can have no foothold in your life. Sometimes God's ways seem very strange to us, yet He knows this. In Isaiah 55 v 8-9 He says:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways"

God is so much bigger than we are; therefore we can take comfort in the fact that he knows best in all of our circumstances.

Worship: The best cure for hopelessness.

How do you react to a hopeless situation? When things in your life fall around you what do you do? Surely giving thanks and praise for what Jesus has done is the last thing you might want to do in a difficult situation! However it really does work! When Paul and Silas were beaten, severely flogged and thrown into prison, the future looked bleak for them. Yet they chose not to despair. Acts 16 v 25-30:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Praising God in pain and in our weakness is a great thing to do. Still let's not take anything for granted. If I were Paul or Silas, I'd be seriously naffed off during this situation. Being beaten, flogged and thrown in jail for healing a girl with an evil spirit is not my idea of justice. However Paul and Silas were so strong in their faith that they knew God would rescue them. Instead of being angry or worried about what happened to them, they were calm and content, spending time in worship and prayer. What a great attitude to have in a time of distress. What seems amazing is the way they didn't do a 'runner' when the earthquake struck. Such an opportunity to escape must have looked like it was of God. However if the pair had escaped, the jailer would have killed himself, the rest of his family would not have heard the gospel, plus the authorities would have been after them in a flash. Paul and Silas stayed where they were because they could see what God was up to, wanting them to stay in prison in order to lead the jailer and his family to Christ. Due to such faithfulness, they were let out in peace by the authorities the next day. If we find ourselves in trouble, with seemingly no hope, let's worship God and praise him for the marvellous things he's done. It might be hard and painful. However, in doing so God will lift us up and honour us for being dependent on him.

Worship as a lifestyle.

As I draw this article to an end, I must confess that I'm not much of a writer. There are many aspects of worship, which I left out and didn't mention. However there are many great books and articles on worship, which do a better job of explaining things and would be of great use and blessing. The few points I have made are the things I've learnt personally as a worshipper and I hope that these make sense to you. The main point that I would stress to you is that worship is not just about Sunday morning. Worship is a lifestyle, and is closely connected to our relationship with Jesus. In the beginning, we were created to worship. Even today the world is full of worshippers, whether it be a football team (Southampton FC), football player (Matt Le Tissier), pop star, idol or a material possession. In fact the greatest commandment God gave us is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and strength. This means there is no time to give our love and affection to any other idol; therefore, we do need to be careful. I would also stress that worship is not about us personally and what we might get out of it. Worship is for God and no one else. I've often heard people criticize worship, saying things like "I didn't get anything out of the worship today" or "the worship wasn't very good." However, as I have said, worship isn't for us it is for God. We need to constantly check our attitudes and motives over worship, as it is so easy to miss the plot. In doing so, God in His grace will bless us for giving Him worship that is pure and meaningful. John 4 v 23-24:

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth."

I encourage you worshippers to really go for it! Be creative in your adoration to Jesus, as He deserves our best, however don't forget what worship is and never underestimate its power. Therefore, let's be true worshippers, who the Father seeks. Worshipping 'in spirit and in truth' I believe means worship as a lifestyle, whether it be in times of heartache or happiness; that whatever happens in our lives, we might be able to raise our hearts to worship. Don't just think it's something for Sunday mornings, or the worship leader's job. Let's personally fix our eyes on Jesus and what He did at the cross; He is the real reason to worship.