Elevate To The Next Level: Living Worshipfully

Elevate to the Next Level

“Living Worshipfully”

As we look at today’s topic about living worshipfully in our series on elevating discipleship to the next level, I’d like to begin by talking about what is worship and two stories that should help us understand how we are to live and approach God worshipfully.

The first story is found in the Gospel of Matthew about how Jesus along with His disciples Peter, James, and John went up to what is known as the Mount of Transfiguration.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain where He was transfigured, that is, His face became as radiant as the sun, and His clothes were whiter than light. And then standing next to Jesus were Moses and Elijah.

Upon seeing this sight, Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4)

And as soon as he said those words, immediately a bright cloud covered them, and the Lord God said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5)

What just happened?

What Peter said seems harmless enough, but what many miss is that Peter wasn’t proposing just to set up a tent for each, but rather a place where they could worship all three of them, Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. And God wasn’t going to have any of that nonsense.

This had been and continues to be a problem within Judaism. While they think they’re honoring and worshiping God, instead they honor and worship God’s law (represented by Moses), and the prophets (represented by Elijah).

One of the main problems in our worship of God is that we tend to worship the traditions, rituals, or rites surrounding God, but these are not the same thing as worshipping God.

God wants to bring us back to the true worship of Himself and to stop all this other nonsense of worshipping our creations of Him. We need to be careful not to put anything or anyone on the same level as Jesus.

We must also be careful not to worship a form of teaching, a worship style, or a particular doctrine. In America we also have to be careful not to worship our freedom, nation, form of government, or a political stance. And while we may enjoy the way our church conducts its worship of God, and while we enjoy the freedoms our nation provides, these should never outshine our worship of God.

And so, what can we conclude from this story is that living our lives worshipfully is about worshiping God alone. In other words, worship is all about making God the center of our lives.

If we are to worship God and Him alone, and not all this other stuff that religions put upon it, and we’re not to worship the stuff of this world; then the question becomes, what is worship

The word, worship, in both the Hebrew and Greek language means to bow down and do homage before someone who is greater, and in the context of what we are talking about, it means to bow the whole of ourselves before God.

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” (Psalm 95:6 NKJV)

Our English word, ‘worship,’ is an Anglo-Saxon word better pronounced “worthship,” which means to give worth or reverence to something or someone. It means to bow down in humility and submission.

To worship God means that we bow down the whole of our being, that is, the whole of our heart, soul, mind, and body, before the Lord. We submit ourselves to God wholly and completely.

We worship the Lord with our mouths not only with the songs we sing, but also in our daily conversations with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and strangers.

We worship the Lord in our actions. It is how we conduct ourselves in the presence of others, not only in church, but in our homes, workplaces, stores, and out on the streets.

We worship the Lord also in our giving. In the Old Testament, the worship of God included the offerings and sacrifices that were made in the temple. Therefore, it’s in how well we steward God’s provisions which includes our tithes and offerings.

Basically, worship is from the heart, not some ritual formula.

Now, let me get to my second story. Whenever I think of our worship of God, the story of a 10-year-old boy’s birthday party comes to mind. He invited his eight best friends over. They played football, basketball, and ate hot dogs and hamburgers with a large birthday cake to top it off.

After he opened his presents, he took his friends to the local high school basketball game. He envisioned them all sitting together eating popcorn and rooting for their team. But once he paid their admission price, they scattered and sat with others leaving him all alone.