Paying more than lip service to worship

by Pastor Yinka Ojo

“I heard you are from Africa”, Jim, a young American gentleman asked Dare out of the blues. When he answered in the affirmative, Jim wanted to know if Dare could show him how to worship one of the African deities! Dare was aghast. Was this not sophisticated America? “I must be dreaming” he thought, as he turned from his office desk to make eye contact with Jim seated across their small down town Los Angeles office. “Why would you want to worship demons that have done Africa no good for centuries?” “Ha!” Jim laughed heartily,” I learnt that they will give me powers to cast spells on people at will. For instance, our highly difficult boss” !!

After all my years of travel, I still get amazed at the fact that no matter how enlightened or urbane man gets, he still desires a higher power to do obeisance to. The way and manner may increasingly get refined, but the fact still remains whether from Africa to America, from Europe to Asia, Man has a natural, automatic tendency to worship someone or something.

A student of the word of God will quickly come to the conclusion that mankind’s worship proclivity is actually God-created in it’s original, pure form. God created man with an insatiable capacity for worship. We are hinted that in the cool of the evening, God and man would fellowship together (Gen 3:8). When man fell in the garden of Eden, true worship was lost as a result of sin. Satan moved in and brought a proliferation of counterfeit worship. This is origin of the millions of religions of the world, with their assortment of worship styles and modes.

But down the line, God set out to actualize His grand plan of reconciling man to Himself. At the heart of this plan is God’s desire to restore man into true worship with himself. John 4: 23,24 shows that God is searching for worshippers, because that was the type of man that was lost in Eden. Worshippers!

Evangelism’s supreme purpose is actually to lead to worship. Rev. 14:6,7 reveals that the everlasting gospel is actually wrapped up in one word: Worship!

So, what exactly is worship. It is bringing pleasure to God. We are created to give God pleasure, says Rev. 4:11. In Gen 8:20-22, after the flood , the first duty Noah performed was to build an altar to God. Then he offered up a sacrifice unto God as an act of worship. This caused God to smell a pleasing perfume. It brought pleasure to God. (Worship is for God’s benefit, not ours. I know it is mind boggling to think of God wanting benefit from us mortals, but that is the reality.)

In the new testament, our equivalent of Noah’s altar- building is Worship. Worship turns the believer into a “living sacrifice”, which God calls our reasonable act of worship (Rom 12:1 NIV). Worship smells good in God’s nostrils. And guess what, just as God rained down blessings upon Noah as a result of his sacrifice, our worship also triggers off proclamations of blessings out of God’s lips unto us. When our worship goes up, His blessings come down. The easiest way to begin to walk in divine Favour is to become a worshipper.

At this juncture, I would like to submit to you that worship is more than music. Too many of us in the modern church world have equated worship simply to music. When we talk of worship in relation to a church service, we only compartmentalize it to the part of the gathering of believers when we sing, clap and are accompanied by musical equipments. I beg to differ. My views may sound atypical, but it certainly is biblical.

Worship is more than music that we make to God. Worship encompasses but surpasses music. After all, we were not told that Noah made melody nor harmony as soon as he came out of the ark.

A careful study of God’s word shows that music actually came after worship was instituted on earth. People (such as Abel, Gen.4:4), were worshipping God way before the first musicians were mentioned in Gen.4:21.

My point is simply this: it is possible for you to be a singer, music player, or participate in congregational singing of choruses in the house of God, yet, you are not a worshipper. In other words, it is very possible to merely do lip service to worship.

I would like you to have a holistic, complete perspective to worship. Man is spirit, he has a soul and lives in a body (2Thess5:23). Worship involves these three parts of our human nature.

For instance, the very way we live in the flesh and conduct our physical affairs is either a worship to God or to the devil! Living a holy life is an act of worship (Rom 12:1). Endeavour to see whatever you do-your career, handling your finances, your academics, your relationships- as acts of worship unto God. This will change your entirely life. Also, Pastors and church members will do well to perceive every part of a church service as “Worship”. If the announcements, altar call, offering, and sermon are seen and approached as worship, there will be a revival of reverence in our midst! Do the instrumentalists in our churches see their playing and practicing as an act of worship in itself? Do the singers who lead praise and worship during our services see their coming for rehearsals and the labour to perfect the rendition of their songs as a worship unto God?

Real worship entails you falling in love with your Saviour, Jesus Christ. .Mt 22:37 shows us that worship (Loving God) is the first and greatest commandment. Worship is having an intimate relationship or romance with our King. Psalms 2:11, 12a calls serving or worshipping God “kissing” the King. Every intimate relationship ends up leading to conception. For the worshipping believer, the King will cause your inner man to be pregnant with visions and faith to change our world positively. Ultimately, conception leads to birth. Miracles are the birthings of dreams and desires incubated in the intimate place of worship.

My prayer is that your life will produce great and outstanding results to the glory of God as you pursue passionately through worship, JESUS, the object of our desire.