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.
I believe this is how we treat God in our worship. We come to a worship service where God is the guest of honor. We give Him our routine gifts, sing a few songs, but totally neglect Him when it comes to living our lives, even though He paid our admission price. And the saddest part is that we’re totally unaware of it, believing that we have fulfilled our religious obligation.
True worship, however, is not just going to a Sunday morning worship service; rather it is a daily way of life. And what begins in the House of God, needs to end up in the Public Square.
What I’d like to do is to look at various aspect of our worship of God
1. Worship God in Spirit and in Truth
At this point I’d like to take us to the story of the Woman at the Well.
Jesus said to Her, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24 NKJV)
Jesus is throwing the religious establishments on their heads. They said it’s all about where you worship, like Mount Gerizim for the Samaritans, or the Temple in Jerusalem for the Jews, but Jesus says it’s not about where we worship, rather it’s about who and how we are to worship.
Now, to worship God in truth is to worship God in accordance with what He has revealed about Himself through His word. It’s what Jesus prayed for us saying, “Sanctify them (that is, set them apart from the world) by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
We are to worship God as He has defined Himself in the Bible, not according to our own thoughts as to who He is, or what we believe He should be, or for that matter what we want Him to be, which is all idolatry.
But not only are we to worship God in truth, but also in spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit is the river of living water that flows from out of every believer in Jesus Christ, which He said in John 7:37-38, but to make sure we get it, John said in verse 39, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Therefore, we are to worship the Lord in and through the Holy Spirit, who Himself is God.
But here in our verse, we need to give special note that we are told to worship God “in spirit,” not “in ‘the’ Spirit.” And so, while we do worship in the Holy Spirit, we are to also worship in spirit, that is, from the very core of our being we are to worship God. It’s not only when we sing our praises to God, which is part of it, but it is singing it from the depths of our souls.
In other words, it’s not so much through our voices that we worship God, but it’s in and through our hearts, where we worship God being totally and completely in love with Him.
There is a classic worship song where we asked the Lord God to prepare within us, a sanctuary to worship Him.
“Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living, sanctuary, for you”
2. Worship is Warfare
Before David was a warrior, he was a worshiper. When God was looking for the next king the prophet Samuel said, “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14a NKJV)
It was because of his heart for worship that he was chosen to play for King Saul when Saul was in mental if not spiritual distress. And this was prior to His battle with Goliath.
What this reveals is that long before he met Goliath on the field of battle and defeated Him, David won the battle through His worship of God.
Therefore, our battles do not begin, nor are they won in the mission field; rather they begin and are won in our quiet time before the Lord. Our warfare is first spiritual, which we saw in our first point. And what this is telling us is that when we win in the spiritual realm, then we won’t fail in the physical realm.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)
Why is all this important? Well, it’s because it is only when we are worship warriors that we’ll understand where the real battle is. You see David won the battle with Goliath long before he met Goliath on the field. He wrestled with Satan and won, long before he fought Goliath.
Therefore, our second point is ‘worship is warfare’ and goes hand in hand with our first point, that our ‘worship is spiritual.’ Our worship needs to be spiritual because our warfare is spiritual.
Another great example of this is found 2 Chronicles 20. During the time of king Jehoshaphat, a great multitude from the surrounding nations came up against Judah. And God’s battle plan was to attack them with the worship team out in front. And it says that when they began to sing and praise God that the Lord set ambushes and totally routed the enemy. Israel never lifted a sword or spear, but they took away the spoils.
This then leads us to our next point.
3. There is Power in Worship
There is power in our worship of God, power to hear His words of wisdom and comfort, as well as the power to heal our bodies, souls, and spirits.
David saw this firsthand when he was a young lad. He was gifted in the worship of God, so much so that he was asked to the palace to play for King Saul to calm him down and drive the demons away.
Saul’s servants said, “Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” (1 Samuel 16:16 NKJV)
And so, whenever Saul was distressed David would take his harp and play it. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him (1 Samuel 16:23).
Therefore, when David became King he knew the power of worship, which is why he had a prophet/worship leader as his personal confident, along with his sons and daughters to play music in the House of the Lord.
“All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God.” (1 Chronicles 25:6)
Worship has great power to open the pathway to heaven and allow God to pour out upon us His healing power and to speak great words of importance into our lives.
So, let’s look forward to entering before the Lord with great expectation and anticipation, because we are in God’s presence.
So, when Sunday comes around, let’s come early, and prepare our hearts to be that living sanctuary and worship the Lord. And God will meet us.
4. Worship is a Heartfelt Response to God
Worship is a matter of the heart. It begins with acknowledgement of who God is. It involves yielding to the will of God even if it’s not the path we would prefer.
Worship is what Samuel did when he said, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” (1 Samuel 3:10 NKJV) Worship is what Israel did when they brought their sacrifices to the temple. Worship is what Isaiah did when he replied to the Lord, “Here I am! Send me,” (Isaiah 6:8 NKJV) Worship is what Mary did when she responded to the angel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38 ESV)
Singing may be celebration, but it’s not worship unless it’s done from a yielded heart. Worship is about falling on our faces before the King. Worship is saying, “Yes Lord.” Worship is what Jonah did in the belly of the big fish. He didn’t feel ecstatic. He felt desperate. He didn’t sing; he yielded. He didn’t celebrate; he gave in to the will of God. He worshipped.
To Moses, God said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)
By telling Moses to take off his sandals, the Lord was saying we are to approach Him with respect and worship.
The word “holy” means that it was ground set apart for God’s use. When we approach the Lord, it doesn’t matter where we are, because where the presence of the Lord is, it is holy ground.
I have always loved the praise and worship song, “Heart of Worship.”
The first verse is something we all need to understand when it comes to our worship of the Lord.
“When the music fades - All is stripped away - And I simply come.
Longing just to bring - Something that's of worth - That will bless your heart
I'll bring you more than a song - For a song in itself - Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within - Through the way things appear - You're looking into my heart”
And it’s the chorus that brings us back to what worship should be about.
“I'm coming back to the heart of worship - And it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it - When it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus”
How do we treat God when we gather together? Do we come where He is the guest of honor, or do we come giving our routine gift, singing Him a few songs, while totally neglecting Him as we focus on something or someone else?
Are we aware of our insensitivity completely convinced that we have fulfilled our obligation to God?
A.W. Tozer wrote a book entitled, “Worship The Missing Jewel.” In it he says how worship is missing the mark in today’s church. Worship should be our heart's response to God's grace and goodness.
Isn’t it time we started coming back to the heart of worship, which is all about Jesus?
Conclusion
Speaking to the Lord, King David wrote, “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3 NKJV)
When we praise and worship the Lord, we create a sanctuary—not of stone or ritual, but of presence, as David acknowledges that God dwells within our praise.
Worship is more than words; it’s a declaration that God is welcome here. Even in suffering, praise invites God’s presence to be near.
The beauty of this is that we don’t need to feel strong or spiritual to host the Lord God in our hearts, we just need to be submitted and surrendered to Him. When we lift our voice, even in weakness, heaven leans in and hears us.
When we worship, we become that place where heaven and earth meet.
Further, God doesn’t require perfect pitch or perfect hearts—just praise offered in faith.
