Christian Life
Course: The life of worship
The Higher Realms of Worship
Introductory notes on the life of worship
Worship is the heart of the Christian life (John 4:24).
Worship is the most vital part of an
effective Christian life. A disciple
of Christ must learn to worship at all times, and in all situations and
circumstances. Without
worship the Christian life becomes mundane and unattractive to those outside of
Christ. The
Christian life should be fruitful in every area, but this will only happen when
we learn to offer praise and thanksgiving for all things.
Worship
is born out of our relationship with the Lord (Ephesians 3:17).
The heights that we reach in
worship will always depend upon the closeness of our relationship with the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is possible to reach
the same heights of worship in our own experience as the disciples knew in
Bible days. The Holy Spirit wants to lead us higher into worship so that the
life of worship becomes our personal experience. Knowledge of the scriptures alone is not
enough. We must desire to go higher in worship, and develop an active and
intimate relationship with the Lord,
Worship must be in spirit and in
truth (John 4:23).
Worship is more than singing
Christian songs. Singing is an expression
of worship, but worship involves every area of our lives. The spirit of a person is the very innermost
part of his or her being. Believers in
Christ need to recognise that every moment of the Christian life is an
opportunity for worship because worship involves our innermost thoughts and
desires. Singing Christian songs is
capable of moving the emotions whether it is worship or not, but only believers
who have gone up to worship and come into His presence in a right manner are
true worshippers.
Worship is the true motivation for
service (John 21:15-17).
Effective ministry in the body of
Christ must always be born out of worship.
All the great men and women of faith in scripture were first and
foremost worshippers. Worship is born
out of love for the Lord. The question that Jesus asked Peter needs to be
answered by every believer. Jesus said,
'Do you love me?' He then told Peter to
'Feed my sheep'. Ministry to others
flows out of worship that is rooted in love for Christ.
Our worship determines how we will
enter into heaven (2 Peter
1:10-11).
Salvation
is the gift of God, but the kind of entrance we have into heaven depends on the
extent of our worship. God's people need to be preparing for
eternity. The question every believer
must ask himself or herself
is, 'what kind of an entrance into heaven do I want to have?' The Bible says we need to be concerned about
the way we will enter into heaven. The
Second Epistle of Peter says, 'Wherefore
the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:
for if you do these things, you shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.' (2 Peter 1:10-11)
The call to worship is the most urgent call to the
body of Christ. It is the call to be
ready for eternity. An abundant entrance into heaven is the greatest prize to
be won. We must learn to live a life of worship so that we will enter eternity
worshipping.
There
is no higher calling than the call to worship, (Psalm
27:4).
Those who seek to worship the
Father in spirit and in truth must have one desire. The prayer of the worshipper is always, 'one
thing have I desired that I might know Christ'.
The Father is seeking for worshippers and the high calling to worship
has no respect of persons. The most
insignificant person in the body of Christ can become a great man or woman of
faith by answering the call to worship.
The aim of this course is to produce
three things in the reader:
1.
...a new understanding of the heights of
worship so we will desire to reach the higher realms of worship.
2.
...a desire to know Christ through a
life of worship..
3.
...a realisation that the highest
calling of God is the call to worship, and God is no respecter of person.