WONDERS OF WORSHIP
PART 6
CONSTANT AWARENESS

“He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds. He tells the number of the stars; he calls them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:3-5)

We have talked about worship in the corporate setting of church and in times of quiet solitude. But there is another view of worship that is the highest form of expression in love, obedience and devotion and that is the constant worship “state of mind” as an ambassador of God.

If going to church does not necessarily prove that someone is an obedient disciple of Christ then can we agree that singing a praise song is not necessarily worshipping God? It is true that singing unto the Lord can be a part of expressing love and gratitude but the scripture in John 4:24 say’s, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” It does not say they shall just “sing songs” in spirit and truth. Whether in deed or thought, one must be flowing with the intentions of pure love or the labor will be tainted with the smell of ulterior motives. Many of our religious traditions have caused confusion and unfortunately many Christians have been lulled to sleep by the subtle deceptions of what a Christian should be. The masses feel pretty good about their church attendance and how they participate in a “worship” service an hour every week but is this the complete, “big picture” of holy devotion, adoration and obedience? Of course not! Our traditions try to deceive us into thinking that going to church is the Christian life (I wish it was that easy). Actually the tiny amount of time we are in church together is like a time-out in a game where the players go to the sidelines to join together in the safety of unity, catch their breath, get a drink, wipe off the sweat and blood, listen to instructions from their coach and be reminded of their purpose and destiny – then they go back into battle. Like the team of players, the battle is not with each other (which is why we love the peace and anointing when we are together) – the real combat is against the devil which lives in the children of darkness (outside the walls) and controls the worlds system where we walk everyday.

I once thought that church was THE place of worship and that we should try to spend as much time in service as possible to magnify God. I was often frustrated because there were many other parts of the service that took up the time. What I have come to realize is that a church service is not the entire worship experience for the week but rather a time where we learn how to worship the rest of the week. Likewise a sermon is not the only word we should receive all week but rather to teach us how to study and instruct us about how to learn and grow. Church is a practice session that equips and instructs us how to be a disciple when we leave the building. So we can confidently say that worshipping in spirit and truth is not just going through the motions of ceremony – it’s how we live.

Singing songs or working in Christian service in general is very elementary and shallow without the consecrated, committed life of being Christ-like. Unfortunately playing church is quite common which is why services are cold and lifeless. Worship is walking in the constant awareness of God’s presence or as commonly referred to as “walking in the Holy Spirit.” True praise and worship is living and walking out the words of the very songs we are singing about. If a person only goes to church and sings songs as a time of worship (that is good) but they may not understand the revelation of daily and hourly worship all through the week. This is an example of how a holy act of spiritual reverence can evolve into a religious ritual (and sadly the enemy has influenced this deception into Christendom as the masses continue as if nothing is wrong).

Many years ago the Lord spoke to us through a prophetic word that God would give me a gift to write songs but I would have to “walk them out” (some hard walking) which is the reason we named our ministry “Walking Thru”. The Lord was saying that just because someone can write about truth (preach, teach, sing, play or whatever), it is all forms of communication to teach us how to LIVE for Him. Working for His Kingdom and singing His songs are just busy labor without the consecrated, committed life of being Christ-like! Worshipping in spirit and truth does not mean our vocals are in perfect harmony or the music is in the right key. Our hair standing up on the back of neck or goose bumps does not mean anything to God if our walk does not match our talk. It is all about allowing Jesus to transform us into His image and willingly being reduced so He can execute His ministry through our actions. How many will love Him so much they will surrender their will and lay down their plans because they know their life without Him is meaningless? His life in them is the truth part of “spirit and truth”. We can listen to sermons and sing songs while not even thinking about God or what is being said and I’m sure all of us have done it. Many believe that filling a quota of deeds somehow (in the cosmic filing cabinet of records) earns them a more pleasing position with God and a higher place of spiritual achievement but that is just an illusion.

The first part of Proverbs 23:7 say’s, “For as he thinks in his heart so is he”. Church “service” is never just acting or putting on a show. But when the desire to express our love for God is constantly on our “mind” only then are we true worshippers.

GOD MADE MY CATHEDRAL
UNDER THE STARS;
HE GAVE MY CATHEDRAL
TREES FOR ITS SPIRES;
HE HEWED ME AN ALTER
IN THE DEPTH OF A HILL
HE GAVE FOR A HYMNAL
A ROCK BEDDED RILL;
HE VOICED ME A SERMON
OF HEAVENLY LIGHT
IN THE BEAUTY AROUND ME
THE CALMNESS OF NIGHT;
AND I FELT AS I KNELT
ON THE VELVET-LIKE SOD
I HAD SUPPED OF THE SPIRIT
IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD.

RUTH FURBEE