Examine Your Attitude Toward Worship

My attitude toward worship depends upon four things: (1) my attitude toward God, (2) my concept of God, (3) my courage to examine and change my life (repent), and (4) my understanding of the essence of worship.

MY ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD should be based on my conviction that He “is,” and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). This kind of faith can produce the good attitude of godly fear, and “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge ...,” (Prov. 1:7). God is absolutely holy, absolutely perfect, and absolutely wise. He is grieved by evil, He loves man and wants me to love and obey Him. All of this should move me and cause me to want to be true to Him all the days of my life. My attitude toward God should be as expressed by the heavenly hosts: “Worthy are thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created,” (Rev. 4:11).

MY CONCEPT OF GOD should be in keeping with His revelation of Himself in nature and in Scripture (Psalms 19; Jno. 1:18). There is scarcely any error in doctrine or behavior that cannot be traced, ultimately, to an incomplete or incorrect concept of deity. What I think about God matters, and the incarnate Christ demonstrates the fundamental nature and attributes of God; belief in Christ, therefore, becomes crucial to my concept of God. My attitude toward and concept of God must be determined by the message of His Word & His Son.

MY COURAGE TO EXAMINE AND CHANGE MY LIFE will cause me to constantly monitor my thoughts and deeds to insure my life is consistent with the Lord’s will. In reference to worship, I will want to meditate, pray, study and plan my whole life so that God is praised and exalted. And, I will want to take advantage of every opportunity to join with God’s people to worship Him according to His instructions. Worship will be a habit of life, but not in the sense of an empty ritual. Worship will spring from a heart where God dwells. As I examine myself and monitor my life, I’ll want my worship (private or collective) to be accompanied by joy, but without any confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3). Worship will be a part of a whole life that is directed toward God and His Son. But what is the essence of worship?

Psalms 96 affords us a good view of what worship is. The passage is about the greatness and majesty of God: “...the Lord is great ... He is to be feared above all gods ... Honor and majesty are before Him ... strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.” But the text is also about the appropriate human response to God’s greatness: “Sing to the Lord ... Proclaim the good news ... Declare His glory ... Give to the Lord ...”

Once I become acquainted with the God who made me, I should want to express my reverence for Him. Worship is part of my total response to WHO GOD IS, and WHAT HE MEANS TO ME. And just as God is light - therefore I should walk in the light (1 Jno. 1:5-7); God is spirit - therefore I should want to worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jno. 4:24). The existence of God and the glory due His name is the very basis of worship (2 Chron. 7:3).

Examining My Attitude:
1. Do I really love God?
2. Do I really want to worship Him?
3. Am I a participant in collective worship, or a spectator?
4. Does my worship spring from a heart of genuine reverence?
5. Am I careful to follow God’s instructions in my worship?
6. Do I avoid causing or focusing on distractions?

“Like faith and works (Jas. 2) or love and obedience (John 14:15), true worship must involve both the inward and outward response of the believer,” (Dan Petty, FC Lectures, 1990, p.#110).

(Revised 8/02) Warren E. Berkley

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