- Nick Lica

I. What happened when we worship?

We were created for worship and to worship our Creator. Worship has powerful impact on our being. It inspire us, transform us and empower us. The primary purpose of worship is to honor God, but the corporate worship should also uplift and encourage believers. David said in Psalm 122.1: I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Here are some things that genuine worship does to us .

1. We have a sense of God’s presence

When we worship, we should expect to sense the awesome presence od God. Genuine worship bring us in His presence. The prophet Izajah experienced this. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

God is every where and is not confined to buildings made by hands. But when we worship we should be convinced that „ surely the presence of the Lord is in this place“ worship should not be neither sheer boredom nor surface entertainment. It should convey a deep respect for the holiness, the majesty, the joy, the power of the Almighty God in our midst.

2. We have a conviction of our sinfulness

When we gather for worship, we should experience a conviction of our own sinfulness. Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty (Isa 6.5). It may seem strange , but the closer we get to God, the more we’re aware of our own sinfulness. The brighter the light, the more wrinkles show. That’s why the apostle Paul – probably the world’s greatest Christian- said he felt like the worst of sinners ( Rom 7.1, 1 Tim 1.150.

3. We have a joyful reminder of God’s grace

When we gather for worship, we should also receive a cleansing of sin and release from guilt. Isaiah wrote: Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isa 6.6-7). Awe in the presence of God doesn’t rule out a sense of gladness. Biblical worship is characterized by an overwhelming sense of joy in the hearts of God’s people. Psalm 100 says: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. ² Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. When we worship God in personal or corporate worship we realize and experience His grace and that cause us inner joy. Jesus paid the price for price for our sins and then conquered the grave. When we worship we have reasons to be grateful and leave rejoicing.

4. We surrender ourselves to God

I believe that worshiping God has to do more with our hearts than mouths. Gos is interested in the heart. He wants us totally for Him. I agree with what Rick Warren says: „The heart of worship is surrender.“

...Give yourselves to God... surrender your whole
being to him to be used for righteous purposes.
Rom. 6:13 (TEV)

Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated
to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship
that you should offer. (Rom 12.1)

True worship - bringing God pleasure - happens when we give ourselves completely to God. In worship we offer ourselves to God. New Testament concept of worship is offering ourselves to God. Worship is giving not getting. Of course we are blessed always when we give and worship, but our goal must not be the results, but God alone. Offering ourselves to God is what worship is all about. I love the Matt’s Redman song entitled: „I will offer up my life“ that shows this truth: „I will offer up my life in spirit and truth

Pouring out the oil of love as my worship to you

In surrender I must give my every part

Lord, receive the sacrifice of a broken heart.

R: Jesus what can I give, what can I bring, To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?

Saviour, what can be said, what can be sung? As a praise of Your name for the things You have done?

O my words could not tell, not even in part, Of the debt of love that is owed by this thankful heart. “

5. Inspire us to service

The last impact of genuine worship is the inspiration to serve. „Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa 6.8). Worship means service. The word for Worship and the word for Service are the same. Instead of an instinct to criticize, the worshiper should leave with an incentive to share the truth with the lost and to minister to the hurting world. On a church bulletin was written: Enter to Worship – Depart to serve”.

Sometimes when the worshiper departs to complain, the problem is with the worshiper. But, frankly sometimes it’s the worship. One Christian related that one of his biggest childhood disappointments came one day when he saw a huge tent in a field and thought a circus was in town. He excitedly walked in the tent only to discover it was a revival meeting. Then he added,” one of the biggest disappointments of my adult life came one day when I went to church expecting a revival and discovered it was just a circus”.

Worship empower us for service and ministry. As result of our worship to God we are motivated to show our love to God by serving others in His name. Service is the pravtival part of worship. It involves our talents and gifts, our time, money, energy and body in serving God and His kingdom. The last thing that worship does is that :

6. Unbelievers are attracted

„(They were) praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2.47)

Evangelism is the natural by-product of authentic worship. When outsiders see genuinely worshiping, they are attracted. The Holy Spirit works through worship to draw the seeker to Christ. That’s the ultimate goal of the church: that nonbelievers will give their lives to Jesus and will worship God.

In 1 Corinthians 14:23-25, Paul makes the point that worship within a church must keep the unbelieving seeker in mind he says. In essence, don't do things in your worship that will needlessly drive unbelievers away from God. There is a powerful evangelistic component to worship when God's people are worshiping God, it's a powerful testimony to those who are there observing they sense something there that they can't explain. That’s the miracle of worship. Genuine worship moves people, moves hearts, and change people’s lives.

We need to learn to worship God in every area of our lives: at home, at work, in our cars … everywhere. Than our life-style will be nothing else than worshiping God here on earth and being ready to worship him in heaven.

Worship Is. . . Our Response - Both personal and corporate

To God For who He is! And what He has done!

Expressed in and by The things we say , And the way we live.

- Louie Giglio