Lately I have been re-examining why I do what I do. Why do I do the “worship thing”? Why do I sing the songs that I sing? Why do we even sing songs in church at all? Why do we do the same things over and over again when we are not really seeing any different results? Why does pastor get up and preach? Couldn’t we watch some TV church and hear the same message? Do we do it out of love for God, or do we do these things because that’s how we’ve always done it? Does the bible say, “This is how to have church?” or are we in a rut with our worship. Someone told me once that you’ll go insane if you keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
If you are like me, and you have been asking yourself these same questions, I think we need to examine our lives. The scripture above said “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” Let me ask you a question. Are you giving every part of your life as an offering to God, or are you just giving Him your Sunday morning? That one question could make the difference between a true, pleasing child of God and a religious hypocrite.
If you are more concerned with the style, volume, or age of the songs than you are with offering up true praise to God, you might have a religious spirit. If you are more concerned with whether the pastor is going to be wearing jeans or a suit, you might have a religious spirit. If you are looking to get your “feel goods” on Sunday rather than reach to out to someone who is hurting, you probably have a religious spirit.
What I am saying is this. If you are not living a life of true worship from Monday to Saturday, God could care less about what you do on Sunday. I think David said it best in Psalm 51:16-17, “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” Look at how The Message paraphrase says the same thing, “Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice.”
Did you catch that? In David’s time a person could only approach God with a sacrifice or offering. It’s how you showed your devotion and worship. But David understood that above the sacrifice and offering, God truly desired a heart that was broken and humbled before Him. That is not something that happens overnight, but it is something that can only be accomplished through a lifestyle of humility and worship. The Message says that if we just sing the songs, give our offering, and listen to the preacher—we are just going through the motions, and just giving a performance. There is nothing spiritual to that.
But when we live a constant life of devotion to God, when we have spent time in His presence every day, and when we have taken time to worship Him in every area of our lives, our Sunday morning “routine” will be completely changed. We will no longer sing only when we like the songs or give only when we like the message. That is selfishness. But when we are surrendered, we will sing because we want to offer a true sound of praise to God, we will give because we know that God will use our offering to further His kingdom. And we will not be able to sit still until we are serving God in some capacity of ministry.
I encourage you to try it this week and just see what happens. I think you’ll be amazed.
Experiencing Worship, The Study