What is Worship?

​Good day. Today we are posting the newsletter What is Worship? written in 1995 by our dear brother, fellow steward and ambassador of the mystery of Christ, Larry Gazelka, Our prayer is that you will be blessed and encouraged by this newsletter. Have a very blessed and prosperous day in Christ Jesus our Lord. ***You can download a copy of the writing for personal use only by clicking on the Built Anew Ministries Archive page link above and scroll down to the year 1995.

What Is Worship??     V17n18

Worship = reverence, adore, love intensely respect,  associated with awe; a love affair based on total love and respect!

If we asked twenty different Christians, "What is worship?", we would get twenty different responses. True, we are each a unique individual, but, that is not why we would get twenty different responses. The fact is, that most Christians do not know or understand what worship is. They have an understanding of what they have been taught worship is. They are aware of what goes on around them each week.  Yet, they have never taken the time to ask Father, what worship is to Him.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (KJV)

What is worship? Is it singing? Is it dancing? Is it Laughter? Is it speaking in tongues? Maybe, none of the above? And, it could be all of the above!

When we get married, we do everything within our power and ability, to make our mate the total focus of our life.  There is not a thing, that we will not do for them.

Shouldn’t the same be true with God? Shouldn’t we be doing everything within our being to please Him? We should be loving God with every bit of ability that we have developed within our spirit man, according to the truth.

Spirit = vital principle = the vital principle of our life, is Jesus Christ.

Without Him, no man can come to the Father.

Truth = truthful, (as not concealing), real state of things.

Remember, the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The vital principle established by and in the Word of God. The foundation of this relationship has to be Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, and all of the truths regarding Him.(Christ is the only access to the Father).

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (KJV)

If we can only worship the Father in spirit and in truth,  how can we allow so much untruth into what we call our "worship services"? The songs that we sing, are they all scripturally correct? Or, are they based on traditions? Are all of our prayers scripturally accurate? Or, are they based on what we heard someone else say? Who is responsible for what comes out of your mouth? How can two walk together unless they be agreed? Amos 3:3, Matt 18:19-20.

Praise = to applaud, laudation, approval publicly expressed. from Webster’s dictionary.

praise = the highest form of gratitude and adoration.

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (KJV)

2 Cor 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. (KJV)

Our praise of God should always be on our lips.  We should always be mindful of all of the things that we should be thankful for.  Do we remember to thank God for all of the little blessings that come our way each day?  Do we thank Him for every thing that we are blessed with each day?  For food?  Are we as quick to forgive others, as God is to forgive us?

2 Chr 29:31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings. (KJV)

Ps 50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. (KJV)

Ps 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. (KJV)

Ps 118:19-21 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. (KJV)

Eph 5:19-20 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;(KJV)

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (KJV)

1 Pet 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)

To truly worship God, we have to be able to praise Him. If you are not thankful for His love, how will you be able to thank Him for anything else?

"For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 KJV

God has already shown and expressed His love for us. There can be no question or doubt on the depth of His love. He gave His Son. How do you measure that kind of love?

We have the choice, to partake of His love; but it is your choice. If we chose life, then we have the opportunity to worship and praise God. To love God back through Jesus Christ. To continually tell Him of our gratitude for what He has made available to us, to those who will believe.

My worship, (love affair), with God, should be for everyone to see. Not to make a spectacle of myself, but by knowing and acknowledging that I can do nothing without Him. To openly proclaim that He is my source.

I can only do this, through a personal commitment and relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the only way that we can love God.(God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.) We have to be born of the water,(flesh, just as Jesus of Nazareth was), and of the spirit, (Christ), to see or enter the kingdom of God. There is no other way. Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me." John 14:6 KJV.

To worship God, who is a Spirit, we have to be born-again by the Spirit of God. Once we are spiritually re-born, then we are able to praise (thank) God for what He has done. It is all there for us.

Love God with thy whole heart, mind and soul. When you are able to worship and praise God, you will want everyone else to have what you have. You will want to share, the love affair that you have with God. You will always be thankful for what He has provided.

This is what Paul  the Apostle was able to grasp. He saw the love of God, that was able to save him from the past, and the murderer that he once was. His whole past was blotted out, and covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. He was able to realize the total Love of God. He was able to comprehend the forgiveness that God had set before him. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14 KJV.

How many of us have a past that we are proud of? But, we to can have the same relationship with the Father that Paul  the Apostle did. We have the same forgiveness made available to us. We have the opportunity to be partakers of the measure of the gift of Christ. It is there for the asking. Ask for God’s forgiveness, and be a partaker in His kingdom.

It is this total trust and respect of Father and His Son Jesus Christ, that inspires worship in our hearts.(spirit) When the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we will have praise on our lips for the gift which is given to us. (Rom. 5:5)

We have to worship God in spirit and in truth. The truth is the Word of God. Faith (the ability to trust God), can only come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Our ability to trust and believe God, (faith), can only be developed and maintained by our hearing of the truth, the Word of God. Faith is our ability to trust and act upon God’s Word. Trust is what a love-affair is based upon. How much do you trust God’s Word? Enough to put your life on the line for it?

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. "Hebrews 3:13-14 KJV

We are built-anew by the Word of God. We need our spirit man refreshed, renewed, each and everyday of our relationship with Father. If you always concentrate on one’s faults, a relationship will not last. This is why we encourage one another daily. "Study to show thyself approved unto God."

We, you and I, have to take the time to learn of God; this will enable us to find the things that please Him, thus, keeping our relationship intact. Learning to worship (love) God for all that He has done for us. Praising Him (thanks, gratitude) for the ability that He has blessed us with, to maintain our relationship with Him.

Do you know who you worship?

Do you know why you praise Him?

That you may know Him,
In the service of Jesus Christ
Larry Gazelka