"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, .... But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:22-24
Worship matters and it must be anchored entirely on God's truth. The entire truth about God, which He has revealed about himself within His word, is the key for any worshiper in truly knowing God and worshiping God acceptably in spirit and in truth. It is a matter of infinite importance. Without getting or accepting the complete truth about God as revealed by the scriptures only mean a professed worshiper is not truly worshiping the God of the bible but a "god" of his or her own imagination. It is a matter of eternal consequence when people get worship wrong, as a result they do not worship God acceptably however well meaning they may be. Worship matters, it really does.
‘Worship is not an addendum to life, it is at life’s core. You see, the people who worship God acceptably enter into eternal life, but the people who do not worship God acceptably enter into eternal death. Worship, then, becomes the core. Time and eternity are determined by the nature of a person’s worship.' True Worship by John MacArthur, Jr.
Quotes from Bob Kauflin’s book “Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God“:
Worship matters. It matters to God because he is the one ultimately worthy of all worship. It matters to us because worshiping God is the reason for which we were created. And it matters to every worship leader, because we have no greater privilege than leading others to encounter the greatness of God. That’s why it’s so important to think carefully about what we do and why we do it. (Pg 19)
Because I want to make it clear from the start that worship isn’t primarily about music, techniques, liturgies, songs, or methodologies. It’s about our hearts. It’s about what and who we love more than anything. Here’s my sobering discovery. I learned that I could lead others in worshiping God and be worshiping something else in my own heart. But by the grace of God, I was beginning to understand what worship is all about. (Pg 25)
That’s why as worship leaders our primary concern can’t be song preparation, creative arrangements, or the latest cool gear. Our primary concern has to be the state of our hearts. The great hymn-writer Isaac Watts once wrote: The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly for God. (Pg 26)
Related Posts: God Centered Worship: The Importance of Singing Truth Genuine worship is a response to divine truth as God has revealed Himself in His Word What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ? Finding Joy in Worship – Psalm 100 by Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia
Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship
Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God’s and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God’s centrality in the life of today’s church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.
God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God’s kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel. THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals April 20, 1996
Quotes from Bob Kauflin's book "Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God":
"singing and preaching aren’t incompatible or opposed to each other in any way. Both are meant to exalt the glory of Christ in our hearts, minds, and wills. Then whole meeting is worship; the whole meeting should be filled with God’s Word. And the whole meeting should be characterized by the Spirit’s presence." (Pg 89)
"Songs are de facto theology. They teach us who God is, what he’s like, and how to relate to him. ”We are what we sing,” one man said. That’s why we want to sing God’s Word.' (Pg 92)
"Singing God’s Word can include more than reciting specific verses in song. If the Word of Christ is going to “dwell in [us] richly” (Colossians 3:16), we need songs that explain, clarify, and expound on what God’s word says. We need songs that have substantive, theologically rich, biblically faithful lyrics. A consistent diet of shallow, subjective worship songs tends to produce shallow, subjective Christians. (Pg 92)
.......Too often we can be tempted to choose songs because of the music rather than the theological content. We need to realize that when words are combined with music we can be deceived. Music can make shallow lyrics sound deep. A great rhythm section can make drivel sound profound and make you want to sing it again." (Pg 93)
Related Posts: Genuine worship is a response to divine truth as God has revealed Himself in His Word What Kind of Worship God Desires From His People ? Finding Joy in Worship – Psalm 100 by Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia
