How To Worship God – What Is God Worth To You?

Jason Koeppe — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:31:07 +0000

Making Worship A Way Of Life

In my post last week entitled How To Live For God – 6 Practical Suggestions that Will Change Your Life, we looked at how God transforms us through living a disciplined life. We saw that the spiritual disciplines put us in the perfect place for God to transform our lives.

I do have a confession to make though…I did have some ulterior motives by picking the topic of self discipline to write about.

You see I’m not so naturally inclined to be disciplined. Maybe most are, but I’m certainly not unfortunately. So writing about the topic helped me to study and motivate myself toward a higher level of disciplined living. I would LOVE to be known for being disciplined but in reality, not so much!

But as Yoda would way, “a worshiper I am”!

Seriously though I don’t want to sound hoity toity or somehow spiritually exalted, in fact, I didn’t ask for it, it literally found me.

Here’s how it unfolded.

In early 1999 I was a professed Christian, but very much a baby spiritually speaking. I was a jerk to those who loved me, my marriage was in trouble and I didn’t even know it, I was broke and going deeper into debt month after month…in short, I was a mess.

Then I find out that we’re gonna have a baby. For those parents out there, you can attest to the fact that there is no way to describe the depth to which that changes your life. So through that and some God incidences with a co-worker suggesting we attend a Vineyard church and then seeing a billboard for the same church that said “Vineyard – the church for people who didn’t think they liked church”, I started attending Vineyard Columbus off and on…but way more off than on!

I loved the church almost immediately; rock band on stage, assistant pastor had a pony tale down the middle of his back and everyone wore jeans. What’s not to like right?

But during the worship there were these people who I now know were truly entering the throne room of worship that were worshipping with reckless abandon. I was not familiar with this and started to make fun of authentic, sold out worshipers; even calling them names and laughing at them to my wife and friends.

Less than 6 months later I found myself wanting what they had…that connection with the Father, more deeply within me than I’ve ever wanted anything before. I was certainly no longer making fun of them! I wanted what they had. After we had our baby, we moved from the west side of Columbus (Dublin) to the east side (Pickerington) and started looking for a church. Someone told me about Eastside Vineyard and we attended in it’s 2^nd week in existence.

That’s when it happened…

God grabbed me (and after slapping me around a bit for making fun of worshipers), told me that He wanted me up there leading his people into worship. Now you have to understand this was all new for me. Music no, but worship…that was completely new ground. So for the next 4 years I grew under great earthly leadership and of course God’s leadership; and let me tell ya something, God completely transformed me!

Today I lead a worship team at the church we helped to plant in Pataskala, OH called Vineyard Christian Church of Pataskala and God is transforming me… again and still! So why is that story important? Because it’s a picture of how God wooed me to Himself, loved me, and through that love and friendship changed me. I am a totally different person now and all in good ways. I am blessed with a healthy vibrant marriage and an almost continual awareness of God’s presence. He’s continually teaching me how to be a better

husband,
child of God,
father
and friend.

God is looking for authentic worshipers and wants to offer deep, intimate friendship with them and I simply took Him up on His offer. And when you do take Him up on His offer and give yourself over completely to genuine, authentic worship, God unlocks the door to an incredibly deep relationship and friendship with Him.

Romans 12: 1,2 says this:

“¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Why We Worship

First let’s look at why we worship. In verse 1 Paul urges us to look at God’s mercy. So what is the definition of mercy? Webster’s says mercy is a disposition to be kind and forgiving. So this literally means it’s how He’s wired. Gods’ natural inclination, His default state if you will is to be merciful. It’s literally the lens through which He sees us. And that my friend is a good thing! This kind of mercy is completely foreign to us. We are just not wired this way. But I can hear you say, “Jason sometimes I’m merciful though”. PLE-ASE! Let’s not kid ourselves here…at our absolute best (times 100) we don’t even compare to God’s mercy.

Where God loves, we judge.

You say well I don’t judge people…oh really? Need proof? Consider first impressions. First impressions are so important to us; we always want to make a positive first impression on others and unconsciously make them about others all the time. But what do they really help us do? Judge others…and not only that, but judge them on all the wrong things! They say “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”. Impression of what? What is it we’re judging about others? Here is a short list:

character
personality
competence
integrity
aggressiveness
and overall likeability

So how long does this take? 60 seconds? 30 seconds? 7 seconds? How about the blink of an eye! New research tells us that first impressions or judgments are made within as little as 1/10^th of a second!

I was reading an article on PsychologicalScience.org about first impressions and it said the following: “A series of experiments by Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov reveal that all it takes is a tenth of a second (or 100 milliseconds) to form an impression of a stranger from their face, and that longer exposures don’t significantly alter those impressions (although they might boost your confidence in your judgments).” The article goes on to say, “Like it or not, judgments based on facial appearance play a powerful role in how we treat others, and how we get treated. Psychologists have long known that attractive people get better outcomes in practically all walks of life.”

Why Is This True?

Those Princeton psychologists have a theory as to why: “…based on evolutionary psychology, that an accelerated and accurate ability to judge trustworthiness in others may have evolved as an important survival mechanism”

A survival mechanism…really? C’mon let’s be real here!

It’s our flesh in action. All our prejudices and stereotypes, past experiences (usually negative first), and sinful desires cause this to happen. God’s mercy allows Him to see past the judgment He could have about or on us and see what and who we really are. And get this…after He searches us, examines us and sees what and who we really are He loves us anyway…despite it!

Now I don’t know about you, but I know me. And why He takes pleasure in me and spending time with me and is merciful to me is a mystery, but I’m glad He does. There are countless other things we could say about God’s mercy, but suffice it to say this. This is truly a different kind of Mercy!

Worship is the only natural response to this mercy.

Ok, so let’s define worship. Worship: [comes from old English weorthscipe or worth-ship] to ascribe, assign, attribute, declare worth. Before you can declare God’s worth, you need to discover God’s worth In his book The Way of A Worshiper, Buddy Owens asks this brutal question that I believe we should all ask ourselves “What is God worth to you”? Then Owens says “To the extent that you can answer that question, you will be a worshiper”.

What Are We Worth To God

I agree. Discovering God’s worth is a lifelong journey and should begin with learning how much we are worth to Him because as 1 John 4:19 tells us “We love Him because He first loved us”.

So how do we discover how much we’re worth to Him? Try to see yourself as God sees you. See yourself “in view of God’s mercy”. As we are able to look at ourselves through God’s eyes we begin to see that:

God seeks you out (Genesis 3: 7-10)
You are JUST what He’s looking for (Matthew 13:45)
You are his most precious possession (Luke 15:3-10); don’t believe it yet? 3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4″Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

I don’t know about you, but when I read these things it makes me want to say just two simple words to God; THANK YOU! Those two words are where authentic worship begins.

So now that we have a tiny view of God’s mercy, and we know that the natural response to it is worship, shouldn’t we changed and transformed as a result? Let’s look at verse the rest of verse 1 and part of 2. “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[^a^] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Offer up your bodies sacrificially…why do you think God wants our bodies? I believe there are two main reasons. First, put simply, your body is God’s house. Isaak Walton once said “God has two dwellings: one in heaven and the other in a meek and thankful heart”. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

How do you honor God with your body? Fulfill God’s purpose for your life – reach the world for Christ. It is through your body that God reaches the world around you. We each have our own sphere of influence – people that only we can reach for Christ. So we see that God accomplishes His purpose for your life through your body. Second, what we subject our bodies to affects our character and our character affects our walk. Your character will be defined by what you worship.

You might ask, why did you assume I was worshiping anything? You will worship something…it’s how you’re wired…we were literally born to worship. The question is what will you worship?

Some people worship money and they then become greedy in their character. Those who worship power become ruthless. Men who worship women become lustful and people who worship themselves become arrogant. But, those who worship the living God become more Christ-like.

The Result – Encountering God

Look at the end of verse 2 with me again. “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”. If I only knew God’s will for my life I’d do it. Have you said or felt this?

Every Christian should sincerely desire to know the will of God for their lives Not just at a high level either, but in the details of day to day, moment by moment living. To wake up asking God for opportunities to heal, bless, and breathe life into others. To go through your day expecting Him to take you up on your request and waiting for the opportunities you asked for to come. And what Paul is saying is that if you worship Him by offering your bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, then you will know His will. In other word He will speak to you and you will listen and hear Him. So how does God speak?

How God Speaks

Scriptures Wise council from other Christians Divine guidance or care through circumstances or life events Opportunities and blessings Closed doors The still small voice of His Spirit speaking to and through our conscience Nature and his creation Even your children

How To Listen

The first thing you should do is to redefine the word listen as it pertains to God. As you can see from the above list, few of them involve the physical sense of hearing through some audible way. I think Christians mistakenly think or feel that God is going to always come in a loud thunderous voice that shakes the foundations of the earth every single time he speaks. Sometimes He does, but other times I think He’s asking us to press in closer to hear Him. He blesses us with whispering because it causes us to seek Him harder and longer. Listening in this way starts with caring.

How much do you contemplate the things of God?
How often do you find yourself thinking about His greatness?
How often are you thankful for the blessings He’s given you?

The more often you care about Him, thank Him for what He’s done for you, and contemplate Him, the more often you’ll hear him speak to you through the above list and even other ways for sure.

Worship Is A Lifestyle – Pursue It!

Worship is so much more than some songs that we sing before the preacher preaches. Worship is a lifestyle…it’s a host of characteristics and traits and actions all wrapped up into one concept that we call worship including: repentance, obedience, love, compassion and grace just to name a few. Brother Lawrence described it this way over 300 years ago in The Practice of the Presence of God. He says: “I keep myself in his presence by simple attentiveness and a loving gaze upon God – or to put it more clearly, an habitual, silent and secret conversation of my soul with God.” Buddy Owens sums it up perfectly this way: “That is… the secret to friendship with God. Are you looking for God? God is looking for worshipers. His invitation to friendship is open and genuine. Will you take him up on his offer? Will you give yourself to him in worship?”

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