Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
Over the years there have been some moments during corporate worship when the Presence of the Lord was so real that I just knew I had to pause and savor the moment. I believe it is in those moments that we experience what C.S. Lewis said concerning worship, “In worship, God imparts Himself to us.” Those moments should never be taken for granted, treated lightly or with indifference.
It is such a privilege and honor to be able to participate in corporate worship. There are believers all over the earth who are not able to gather with others for worship for various reasons. There are also those who secretly gather to worship at high risk to their freedom and lives. Yet as much as we value and cultivate a worship culture in our church what we do on Sunday mornings is not what worship is all about.
The Father is seeking worshippers not worship services. “True worship is not a matter of the right place, but the right heart. God is a Spirit and He longs to have sincere worshippers who worship and adore Him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 Passion Translation) God created all of life as an opportunity to worship because He told us, “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
Years ago I launched out on a personal quest, to live from my heart, to learn to be the real me. It has been a challenging, but rewarding journey and somewhere along the way I gained a real desire to live a life of worship. One day I discovered the connection between our hearts and our worship contrasted in the lives of Saul and David in the Old Testament and it helped me understand some of what Jesus was saying about worship to the woman at the well.
Saul was the first king of Israel, but because of his lack of preparation and insecurities he stepped way over the line one time too many and the Lord sent the Prophet Samuel to tell him, “Your kingdom shall not endure now. You have acted foolishly. The Lord now seeks for somebody who is a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:13-14).
Notice the emphasis on the heart. When Saul was anointed as king, the Bible says that his head stood out among the people, for he was taller than everybody else (1 Sam. 10:23). He was distinguished by his head – symbolically, his intellect. Saul is a tragic example of Heidi Baker’s saying “Too big (head), too little (heart).” God made it clear He is looking for people who are distinguished by their hearts. That does not mean God is anti-intellectual. He loves our intellect, but as our servant, not master.
David was such a man. He was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). David was a man who lived from his heart and was one of the greatest worshippers in all of Scripture.
More than anything else our heart represents our devotion to the Lord and our worship of Him. Jesus placed being a worshipper ahead of being a servant (Matt. 4:10). We need to keep in front of us the fact that the Father seeks for worshippers, not singers, musicians, songwriters, artists, preachers, missionaries, five-fold ministers, intercessors, business people and so on (John 4: 23).
We all need to shun a Christianity that only resides in our mind, and that does not lead to devotion to Jesus Christ and worship from our heart to Him.
Many Blessings, BW