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Are you truly a
worshipper?
by Olufunmi
Who is a true
worshipper of God and how important is it to worship God?
Worship must be
viewed from two main angles – adoration and service. Worship
speaks of the worthiness of a being to receive special
honor. On one hand we can say worship speaks of pure
adoration and reverence where the redeemed person (the
believer) contemplates and praises God in his Holy
perfection. On the other hand worship can be likened to
service. In the bible, worshippers are described as slaves
or hired servants and in the New Testament, the greek word
“latreuo” is translated both as ‘to serve’ (Matt 4:10) and
‘to worship’ (Acts 24:14; 2nd Tim 1:3, Rev 22:3)
was more appropriate. As such a true worshipper of God must
not only adore and reverence God but must also show a
willingness and desire to serve God. Our lives must be lived
in honor of God.
However in
general church life when we speak of worship, it is
generally accepted that we are speaking of the lifting up to
God our songs, voices and instruments in adoration to Him.
This is a wonderful and exhilarating way to show our love
and appreciation to God for who He is and all He has done.
Worship in this
form can be done corporately or individually. Whichever way,
is is an open door to a very intimate and life changing
experience with God. During worship all manner of miracles
have been known to happen on a regular basis. People have
experienced God’s loving touch and have received Christ
during praise and worship sessions. The two things God
requires from us are our worship and obedience.
Yes how often I
have stopped to look at myself and others, only to find that
our worship was false or adulterated. The bible says we
should offer up our bodies as living sacrifices unto God,
which is our reasonable service (or could we possibly say
worship Rom 12:1) It also says we should walk in the spirit
so as not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal 5:16) If we
continue to live in sin, we cannot claim to be offering God
true worship because we have allowed sin to become a god in
our lives whether it be physical sins such as fornication,
adultery or hidden sins such as envy and evil imaginations
to mention just a few. God says we must worship Him alone
(Matt 4:10). True we serve a merciful God who says if we
repent of our sins asking for forgiveness, He is just to
forgive us (1st John 1:9). But our repentance
must be true and we must truly take steps to leave our
sinful ways behind.
During
corporate worship or private worship, we raise up songs and
words of praise and worship but our minds are not there.
Instead, our minds are on different things. Could be the new
tie or pair of shoes the music director has on, the new hair
style some sister wore and you are thinking of how you want
to do same when next you visit the hairdressers. Or is it
Mr. Big Bucks whom you want to send a note to, to let him
know you need to see him after the service. It may sound
funny, but I believe these observations will hit home with
quite a number of us. We have become so well versed in our
praise and worship songs that we can sing them automatically
while our thoughts are on anything but God. The sad thing is
we go away feeling justified because we spent an hour
singing praise and worship songs so as to “fulfill all
righteousness”. Yet in God’s eyes we have offered up
nothing. In fact as God is concerned it was a total waste of
our time. Often our worship times have become a jamboree of
excitement, dancing, clapping and waving of hands, which in
itself is not bad but unfortunately God was left out.
True worship
brings godly change and workings. It brings about the
manifest presence of God. In King David’s time (1st
Kings 8:11) they really knew how to worship. Their worship
was so sincere that it brought down a cloud of glory such
that the ministers themselves could not stand, not to
mention the congregation. Yes we quote the bible and say
Jesus inhabits the praises of His people, yet I ask you to
search your hearts. How often do we truly worship God? The
next time you praise and worship your Maker, watch yourself.
If you find your thoughts wandering, take a check on
yourself and refocus on the one who deserves all our praise,
that is the Almighty God!.
Olufunmi is
one of Nigeria's finest christian artists. Her debut album
GO QUICK was released in 2002. She continues to minister
around Nigeria and all over the world and has featured on
CBN's Turning Point
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