Worship: The Other White Meat
In this passage Paul is talking about walking in the light, but then he reiterates the qualities of the
Spirit—righteousness, goodness, and truth. Why did he shift gears and go from light to Spirit? 1 John 1:5 says
that God is light, so when Paul throws something about the Spirit into a teaching on light, he is still talking
about the same thing because the Spirit of God is light. When you are walking in the light of God you will produce
things that are good, righteous, and true—the fruit of the Spirit. As a matter of fact the New Living Translation
states it this way: 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people
of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
As Paul is explaining what a Spirit-filled person should be like he says, “Oh and let me show you one more fruit
that should be in your life when you are filled with the Spirit, and that fruit is worship.” When you are full
of the Spirit of Christ, you should obviously be displaying love, joy, peace, and so on, but you cannot forget
about living a life of worship. Remember that verse 10 of Galatians 5 says, “find out what pleases God”. You
cannot fully please God without being a worshipper. Romans 12:1 says that our worship is holy and pleasing to
God. Hebrews 13:15-16 says that our sacrifice of praise is well-pleasing to God.
Worship is the manifestation of a heart that is filled to capacity with the spirit of God. The Greek work
that is translated ‘filled’ signifies completion. There is no more that can be added to it. The filling process
is over. That being said, when you walk in the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit, you are naturally going to
expend some amount of what you have taken in. So if this passage is saying to be filled to capacity, it is really
saying “stay filled” with the spirit. Be continuously filled with the spirit. Never find yourself in a place
where you have spent everything, and you have nothing left to give. Someone in that place has no strength to bear
fruit and they become fruitless. No more love, joy, peace, etc., and worse yet, no more worship.
When you talk about the fruit of the Spirit, when you study it, and when you teach on it, don’t forget to
include the fruit of worship. Worship ties everything together, and it completes the process of “finding
out what pleases God”. Worship truly is the other white meat.
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.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.