As long as we stay in control, we will go on and have church as usual so that we can get to the buffet line by 12:15. But when we let the Holy Spirit takes control we will stop having church and start being the church. When the Holy Spirit is actually involved in our services sickness will be healed, marriages will be restored, joy will reign in our midst once again, and the lost will come to Jesus.
Will the services go past twelve o' clock? Probably. But who cares? When I choose to worship, I expect the Holy Spirit to take control. I don't want Him hanging around in the back corner somewhere. I want Him center stage. I want the lost to see Him and come running. I want the broken to see Him and start shouting because they have been healed. I want the proud and stubborn to see Him and start weeping in humility.
That is true worship! Worship in truth is great and wonderful—singing the songs, raising your hands, clapping, and all the other tangible stuff. But we must go beyond that and learn how to worship in the Spirit and let the Holy Spirit have his way.
#2: Faith
Heb. 11:6 (NIV) 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
In a previous study we saw that the first ingredient required for worship was humility. We cannot come to God with a proud or haughty spirit. Pride can do nothing but die in the presence of God. God will not allow it into His presence.
The second ingredient required for a successful life of worship is faith. In the above passage, the term "earnestly seek him" can also be translated as worship. So we can flip this passage around and say, "Those who worship Him must believe (have faith) that He exists and He will reward them." Then the first part of that passage says that when we believe those two things that we will be pleasing to God, and we know from Romans 12:1 that true worship pleases God.
Let's look at Abraham. If you continue to read through Hebrews chapter 11, you will find the many ways that Abraham exercised His faith, but let's look at how He showed his faith in the midst of worship. This first instance of the word ‘worship' in our English bible comes in the account of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
Experiencing Worship, The Study
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
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Experiencing Worship, The Study