Worship

When I was growing up, I thought that worship was a slow song, and singing along to such. I also thought that going to town and giving to beggars and such is worship. Today, I understand that all these things are acts of worship.

Some people go to church and after singing say that the worship didn't please them, or it wasn't that good and so on. Worship wasn't for us in the first place, it was and is always for God. Worship is a spiritual act, and since God is Spirit, for us to worship God as we ought to then we ought to be in the spirit.

Psalm 96:9

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

John 4:21-25

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The Samaritan woman, after worshiping God for all her life, met Jesus, Who told her that she didn't know what she worshiped. True worship starts when we encounter Jesus. True worship is to pour God with extravagant love and submission to God, in response to His love. Worship is meditating on Who God is.

Revelation 1:9-18

I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

John was in the Spirit (Rev. 1:9). We aren't told that John was in his bed, or in any other state, but in the Spirit. As He was in the Spirit, He describes what He saw. As you're in the presence of God, you can't ever be the same again, and God will keep revealing Himself to you in different ways. When Jesus revealed Himself to John, in the Spirit, John wasn't able to remain as he was, rather fell down as one who was dead. I believe this was worship. Sometimes we even worship God through songs in church with our hands pocketed, or even looking around at other people and so on; this is an indication that we truly aren't worshiping, and chances are we really don't understand Who God is. God can overturn the whole earth in an instant. 

John had lived with Jesus on earth for over 3 years, and his reaction in our main text is totally different than previously, when Jesus was in His physical form, on earth. When Jesus truly reveals Himself to you, you will break down in true worship, your worship being in response to Who He is. As you worship Him, He keeps revealing Himself to you, as He did to John, in ways that you have never known before. Sometimes we cling to our knowledge of Who we know God to be when worshiping and in our day to day lives, and always miss out on opportunities of Him revealing Himself to us, for Who He really is. As we walk and worship in the Spirit, He'll keep revealing Himself to us in ways that will move us to worship Him even more. The key is, that we have to worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Worship when you can. As we worship, God reveals Himself to us. We keep worshiping, and in His time He reveals Himself to us. We keep worshiping where we are, and even as we walk around, all we see is about God; He reveals Himself to us through what we see, His creations (Rom. 1:19-20). When you worship God in spirit, everything will be different.

Trusting and believing God is also worship.

As John was in the Spirit and describes what he saw, he says that he saw One like the Son of Man. The creatures around Him, around His throne, never get tired, but keep worshiping God. They worship Him continually. God Himself honours His Son Jesus; we should also honour Jesus. He is honoured so much, and doesn't even need our honour, as He's already been glorified by the Father. It's for our own good to honour and worship Jesus. Your are famous in God's eyes. Instead of seeking after fame and other worthless things, we need to embrace our identity in Christ, and just spend our lifetimes tirelessly worshiping Him, through what we do and say. Worship should be our lifestyles, as we constantly live in awareness of Who God is, and live in awareness of His presence with us. 

Keep walking and living in the Spirit; keep living a life of worship. 

God bless you!

      Scola Kimiti

Sunday Morning Exhortation, Transformation Ministry, Ruiru. 

Brother Kelvin is a youth at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.