What Is Worship?

For the next 2 months we will look the meaning of worship, the motivation for worship, the methods of worshipping, and more. Why? Because worship is our natural response and yet so many people just don’t understand it.

During the next 2 months we will use 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 as our key passage. We will use other verses throughout the Bible as well, but this passage is going to be our “come back to” portion. I hope that you will learn just how much we can learn from an Old Testament story and yet still apply it to our lives today. I encourage you to read this passage each week at home as we progress in this study.

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to fight against Jehoshaphat. People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi). Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the Lord. (2 Chronicles 20:1-3a, HCSB)

In this passage we will see that three armies were on their way with the express purpose of utterly destroying Judah. Why? The answer to that can be found in the first two words of chapter 20, “After this.” Those words tell us something happened before that is important. In this case, what happened is that Jehoshaphat was warned by a prophet of God not to go to war, but he ignored the prophet and almost lost his life. In chapter 19 Jehoshaphat had been properly chastised by God and now we come to this passage.

Word about Jehoshaphat’s defeat had spread and the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites could smell blood. Verse 3 says, “Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to see the Lord.” He was not going to make the same mistake again. So in verses 4-12 Jehoshaphat calls on all of Judah to fast and pray. Then God answers through another prophet, telling them that they have nothing to fear because God would fight this war for them. Then we see their response to this news.

Then Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship Him. Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting with a loud voice. (2 Chronicles 20:18-19)

When faced with imminent danger, they made the choice to worship. In fact, they not only worshipped, but they fell down prostrate and worshipped. They recognized that God was their superior, their Lord. Submitting to God as our master is the essence of worship.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

We must surrender to Jesus as Lord. Anything less is not biblical worship.

“Worship is a lifestyle. It involves everything we do and think and are. It means loving God with every breath we take and every move we make.” Dwayne Moore

Worship is “bringing pleasure to God.” Rick Warren

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

How can our simplest and most common tasks bring honor and worship to God? 

I remember looking into our back yard one day and seeing Ashton sitting on top of the swing set. He was sitting there for a very long time. I finally went out to ask him what he was doing, and to make sure he didn’t need help getting down. He told me he was just talking to the neighbor. We had an elderly lady that lived next door. She was just enjoying talking with him and laughing at the funny things he would say. She was delighted to have someone to talk to. I remember that it made me happy to see this. God also smiles and is happy to see us doing normal, everyday things.

I remember getting in the car to go to work and seeing Zachary at about age 3 running toward me and yelling with tears pouring down his face, “You didn’t hug and kiss me goodbye.” It made my heart melt to see him so upset that I forgot to tell him goodbye, but it made me very happy that he loved me enough that he longed for that hug and kiss. God loves us so much that our tears are noticed. God loves it when we long for Him.

I remember watching my boys sleep and thinking how they looked so angelic, when only hours before they seemed so demonic. Just watching them made me happy. I believe that there are times God likes to watch us when we are just resting peacefully when only hours before we were raising hell. God is honored in all that we do when we do it for His glory.

When I think about worship, I think about the cross. The cross has this vertical portion that goes from the ground to the sky. This is a symbol of our worship toward God. But the cross also has this portion that stretches outward. That is because when we are truly focused on that vertical worship we cannot help but share that love outwardly.

Vertical praise requires that we live an inward and outward lifestyle that directly reflects our upward worship.

Inward Worship

Does your life please God with your private thoughts and secret activities?

“If our hearts’ desire is to please God, we can no longer enjoy our former sins.” Dwayne Moore

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart. (Psalm 51:17)

When I looked up the word “broken” in a dictionary, I was surprised to find that one of the definitions used is “changing direction abruptly,” such as: “the fox ran in a broken line”. When we accept Christ we are to turn from our selfish, sinful desires and turn to God. In effect, our direction has been broken from the path of destruction toward the path of righteousness.

Brokenness refers to a life/heart that has been shattered so that our former self cannot exist there any longer. We have been broken and poured out so that God can fill us full of Himself.

Outward Worship

This is a completely selfless act of worship whereby we focus on the needs of others.

God is worshipped when

1. we tell others about Jesus

2. we help others

3. give cheerfully

4. we are sensitive to the beliefs of others

Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name. Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. (Hebrews 13:15,16)

Confess his name (upward), do good (inward), and share (outward).

Upward Worship

Upward or vertical worship focuses on two areas: praise and thanksgiving.

Praise: acknowledge God for who He is.

Thanksgiving: give thanks to God for what He has done.

It is easy to worship God when everything is going great in your life. When you are thankful for all the wonderful blessings that God has given you and you are around other Christians at church the worship just flows out of you.

But what about when things are not so great? When someone throws a monkey wrench into your life; what was a well-oiled machine? How do you worship God then? It comes from living a lifestyle of inward and outward worship that leads naturally to an upward act of praise and thanksgiving.

We can worship God vertically regardless of what happens around us when we have truly worshipped Him inwardly in those secret places of our heart and outwardly in our daily actions. These inward and outward aspects of our life help us to offer praise and thanksgiving with abandon even during difficult or tragic circumstances; especially during those times of our lives.

Vertical Worship Comes From a Changed Heart

True worship changes us. When we worship God in spirit (inward) and in truth (outward), God’s Spirit will freely move; touching lives and changing hearts. When God shows up, lives are changed.

In God’s presence we are in awe. We recognize how great and mighty He is and how unworthy we are. God doesn’t show us our sin to condemn us. He shows us our sin so that we will acknowledge and turn from it. Throughout the Bible we see that God touches our hearts and our lips or tongues so that we will have a forgiven spirit (inward) and holy mouth (outward) that lead us to worship (upward). That is vertical worship.

“We cannot encounter his presence and awesome glory and not somehow be affected.” Dwayne Moore

Have you been changed by God? Your response to that change is worship.