A couple of weeks ago, I asked, “Who Are We Worshipping?” As a follower of Jesus, I have experienced some pretty awesome times of worship. However, I have also experienced some times when I wondered who was being worshipped, God or ourselves.
Jesus said that a time is coming and is now here when the Father will be looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth! (John 4:23-24) God is spirit, as are we, so we must worship Him in our spirit. But what about truth? We have to know who God is before we can worship Him. And we have to know who we are in contrast to God.
God is so awesome that Moses had to take off his shoes to stand near him. He also had to put a covering over his face after being on the mountain conversing with God because it showed so brightly that others couldn’t look at him. God is holy, omniscient, and beautiful. We would be stretched out, face down on the ground if we were in God’s presence. That’s how the angels and elders worship Him. (Revelation 5:14)
I see a division creeping into the American church. Sermons tend to lean more toward a self-help brand of positivity and self-improvement than toward a surrendered transformation. How can I be a better person? (Doesn’t sound so bad on the surface.) Songs are focused on what God is doing for me and how I want to see Him. Songs that focus our gaze inward instead of upward.
Let’s look at the Psalms. Many of them are full of mourning loneliness, confessions of fear or even sic-ing God on their enemies. But the Psalmist always ends with his focus on God! As Relevant Magazine.com put it: “…but you never get the sense that they’re looking in the mirror, trying to pump themselves up for the day. That was not the goal of the Psalms. It shouldn’t be our goal either. Worship isn’t about looking within ourselves to find the strength and resolve to do better. It’s about confessing our own inability to do just that. It’s about taking a deliberate break from making much of ourselves — something many of us could really use — and making much of God instead. The lyrics may be vertical (speaking directly to God, as in “Pour out your power and love, as we sing holy, holy, holy”) or horizontal (speaking to each other, as in “Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise Him, all creatures here below!”). What is a little harder to justify biblically is singing worship songs to yourself.” https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/enough-with-me-centered-worship-music/ November 18, 2024
This is the trend that concerns me today! Worship songs should “worship” Jesus, not our own position or circumstances. “Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, Even so, it is well with my soul.”
“God is worthy of better worship. The Church is capable of more. But to live up to that potential, we’ll have to start by getting our focus right.” (Relevant Magazine).