We were created to worship God. And, Satan does everything he can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to get to church on Sunday morning? The last thing Satan wants is for you to arrive at church fully focused with a proper attitude of worshiping Almighty God. Be sure to notice his timing. And do not let him have the victory.
Worship is cultural. That means that the place for and manner of worship varies. The types of music vary as do the prayers and styles of leadership.
The object of my worship is the triune God, God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit.
My objective is to worship in Spirit and in Truth. (Gospel of John 4:24.)
I am not one of those who believe worship must be done my way. In fact, I would warn you against anyone who insists that you must comply to their preferences. The question I ask myself when it comes to worship is, “Why should you do it my way?”
I have been to several countries and know that worship styles vary dramatically. In one country their entire service was done sitting on the floor with legs strait out in front. The song service was 45 minutes long. After about fifteen minutes my body was feeling numb. And I sat there for another thirty minutes and began to wonder if I would be able to stand when the break came before the preaching started. At the end of the song service everyone jumped up for a short break. I had to roll onto my hands and knees first. Then I had to climb the wall in order to stand up. I tried not to draw attention to myself. After the break we took the same position for the sermon, also forty five minutes long. Ughhh. I enjoyed the atmosphere and spirit of their services and would gladly do it again. I think I could adapt to these services.
Sometimes I ask myself this question even when I’m visiting different churches in the US. For example, I am not a fan of the songs that have endless repetitions. These songs are jokingly called 7/11 songs, meaning seven words repeated over and over again.
However, I would like to teach you one of the Psalms of David from the Holy Bible that has 26 verses. One of the phrases in the book of Psalms says, “For His mercy endures forever.” Believe it or not, if you can repeat that phrase by heart you have already memorized half of the Psalm. Congratulations!!!
Let’s look at Psalm 136!
1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:
4 To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
7 To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
8 The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.
10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
11 And brought out Israel from among them,
For His mercy endures forever;
12 With a strong hand, and with [a]an outstretched arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
For His mercy endures forever;
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;
16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
17 To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
18 And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
20 And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
21 And gave their land as a [b]heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
22 A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.
23 Who remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
24 And rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
25 Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.
I think we can safely say that King David was ok with repetitious phrases. And I do understand that this Psalm was an exception rather than the rule.
In the New Testament book of Acts chapter 15 the Jews wanted to dictate how the Gentiles worshiped God. They told the heathens that in order to be saved they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.
Peter addressed this in the tenth and eleventh verses,
10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
Peter did not want them to force the Gentiles to incorporate into worship a standard that the Jews personally could not meet. The Jewish believers decided to send a letter to the heathen believers and tell them, “28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
So the Jews went from get circumcised and keep 613 Jewish laws, to “be careful to abstain from idolatry and and sexual immorality.”
In other words the heathens were allowed freedom to worship their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as they pleased as long as they did not abuse their freedom.
I do have my own preferences when it comes to worship, but I would never impose them on others, unless they tried to impose their style of worship on me.
My preference is to trust God to give each one a spirit of discernment so that we all can worship Him in spirit and in truth. If you want to raise your hands in praise, or clap your hands or shout Hallelujah it’s okay. I’m not very demonstrative on the outside, but my innermost being gets totally carried away in the presence of Jesus. Let’s be more than overcomers in our worship.