Sunday Notes: What True Worship Means?

Whenever we talk about worship in its purest sense, we not only refer to the songs that we sing or the time we gather together in church to sing these songs but rather worship should transcend the borders of a mere ritualistic or ceremonial activity that we do just because we have to do it or else God would stop blessing us and all sorts of bad things would happen in our lives.

One line from the song "Clear the Stage" says that worship is more than just a song and it speaks of the truth because worship should be a lifestyle for us and not merely an obligation or duty that we have to do as a routine or part of a program.

Worship should come forth out of our love for Jesus; God's love should overflow in our lives to the point that we merely break into tears and express our devotion for Him as we stand in His presence with utmost reverence to the point that you would be rendered speechless.

It does not matter what language we use or what words we use to express that deep appreciation, gratitude, and love for God because God always looks at the heart and the Bible tells us that He seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth.

So how do we know when we are offering up genuine worship to God? Today, our pastor delivered such a powerful message about true worship and he shared four ingredients to real and genuine worship.

1. There can be no true worship without emotions.


2. There can be no true worship without reverence.


3. There can be no true worship without genuine sacrifice.


4. There can be no true worship without purity of heart.

The passage of Scripture that we looked at was Malachi 1. The first thing that true worship needs is emotion and Malachi 1:2 reiterates a truth that is widely and profoundly written throughout the Bible which says that God loves us and has loved us from the beginning.

But then the next statement is a sarcastic accusation by the Israelites against God as it says, "But you ask, 'How have You loved us?'"

When we love someone, don't we pour our whole hearts out and give every last bit of ourselves to them? Don't we tell them that they are the love of our life and everything that we have and that we are is theirs forever?

Do we love God with the most passion and enthusiasm and dedication, above all things in this world and if we do, how would we express it to Him? Think about it.

How much time have you spent with God? How many times have you thanked Him for the blessings of life you receive each day? How many times do you turn to Him in a single day?

God deserves the best of praise and worship. When we talk about emotions, it is not about going over the top and being overwhelmed by our emotions instead when we worship God with emotions, we have control over ourselves and our emotions.

We let our emotions out because we want to show God how much we love Him and because we no longer can contain our love for God within us and we want to express it through singing, dancing, weeping, or even shouting out to Him in praise or speaking in tongues for some.

We simply become saturated in God's love that we have no other way of hiding it inside and we just radiates from within our heart, our mind, our soul, and our spirit. We do not get swept by our emotions but we offer them heartily to God and give back to Him the worship He deserves from us.

We become so filled with His Spirit that our worship and our emotions just flow out from us without anyone telling us to do so or anyone forcing us to do so.

The second thing that true worship needs is reverence. Malachi 1:6 tells us, "'A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?' says the Lord Almighty."

Last week, we talked about Solomon's search for meaning in life and in the last part he concludes with three parts and the first tell us to fear God.

The word 'fear' has two different uses or meanings. The first describes being afraid of someone or something.

But the fear of the Lord refers more of the second which speaks of reverence and having a deep respect for who God is and for what He has the power to do whether out of love for Him or simply because we recognize that He is the true, living God who has authority over all things.

We worship out of love for God and also out of reverence for Him because we recognize the fact that only He deserves all glory, honor, and praise.

God, who is the creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in them, and from whom all good things came forth, is the only One who gives reason and purpose for our lives.

Without Him, we can do nothing and we are nothing. We worship God because we honor Him.

True worship also requires genuine sacrifice and by that we refer to Malachi 1:8 which says, "'When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?', says the Lord Almighty."

When we worship God, our focus must be centered on Him and Him alone. We have to lend our time, our attention, and at times, even our physical comforts and strength to God as a sign that we are serious in giving Him the praise and honor and respect that is due Him.

When we worship God, and this not only refers to the times when we sing to God but also in prayer and service to Him every day, we should never hold anything back from Him. We should fully give Him our gratitude even if we have been going through tough times.

In giving our tithes and love offering for God, we should give sacrificially such that it would cost us and hurt our financial security. This is what it means to offer up a genuine sacrifice for the Lord as a sign of our worship for Him.

And lastly, we cannot worship God with all sincerity if we do not have pure intentions or motivations for worshiping Him. We need to have a pure heart in worshiping God.

In Malachi 1:11, the Lord tells us that pure offerings would be brought to Him because His Name is great and will be great among all nations.

Do we worship God only to get it done with? Do we even spend quality time with God in prayer and meditating in the Word? Or are we too busy with the daily pressures of the world that we have no time for God?

When we come to worship God, our hearts need to be in the right place. We need to humble ourselves before Him because we are giving to God, the lover of our soul and the author and finisher of our faith.

From the rising of the sun until it sets, God's name is worthy to be praised. We need to consecrate ourselves for God and fix our eyes on Him especially in worship.

When we worship God, our purpose for doing so should be out of our pure love for Him. That is what true worship means. But it does not stop when we go out of the church because it should continue after Sunday and our worship for God should show every day of the week.

True worship is all about God.

God Bless!