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The Act of Worship or The Spirit of Worship?

Started by Roscoe, October 06, 2011, 10:44:06 PM

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Roscoe

                Y'all didn't kill me the last time and I actually had a couple of people ask that I post here again, so here's something that's kinda been on my mind. It's still a work in progress though- I think...:

                          The Act  of Worship- or the Spirit of Worship?
   Acts 19:11-16
  These men had the act down right. They had the words right. But they didn't have the Spirit.

Let me start by saying I do not in anyway have an issue or a problem with shouting, dancing, jumping, or any other physical demonstrations of worship. To the contrary, I believe that it is very much needed in our church today.
  It is just as needed as it was in 2 Samuel 6:14-16 when King David danced and leaped joyously before the Lord and the Ark. Numerous places in the scriptures demonstrate the fact that the Lord delights in the praises of his people and in their worship. In no way do I want anyone to feel that I am teaching or speaking against their worship before the Lord.
   
However, I am disturbed by what I see in churches today. I see people come into the house of the Lord without  any reverence or respect, and as soon as the music "gets right", or "Sis So-and-so" has started worsiping God, they're dancing and shouting all over the place. They have the act of worship down. They know all of the right things to do, and they do it well.
  But then comes the daylight. Then comes the church service where the music isn't just right, or Sis. So-and-so hasn't started worshipping God. The act is shown to be just that. An act.
  God help us to have more than the Act of Worship. Give us the Spirit of Worship! I have with my own eyes witnessed a man that shouted more than anyone I've ever met in church. He danced, he shouted, he sang. But he never got the Spirit of Worship down inside.
I watched this man go through the motions. Then I watched him walk away from the church, and I later heard that he was in prision. Oh, that he had gotten the true spirit deep inside! I'm not saying he didn't have the Holy Ghost. I don't know. I'm saying that he never nurtured the Holy Ghost, never fed it, never allowed it to grow naturally. He just did what looked right.His story is not the only one I have witnessed, sadly. No, there are more- so many more.
 
It wasn't much of a sacrifice to dance and shout. But oh, for the Spirit of worship- that takes sacrifice. That takes prayer. That take fasting. That takes- commitment!
  If you ask anyone what they know about an apostolic worship service, it doesn't matter if they've ever been to one or not. They'll tell you about the worship. The dancing, the shouting, the speaking in tongues, the loud vigorous music. They know what Pentecostals do. But I can take you to churches within minutes of my home that do the same. They shout, they dance, they have loud music. But they don't have the Spirit of worship.
Growing up, I saw the Spirit of Worship. Sisters that had callouses on their knees from praying. They didn't always walk in the church shouting and singing. Oftentimes, one would find them in the corner weeping, praying, speaking in a heavenly language with God. But they had gotten the spirit of Worship down in their hearts. They were able to praise their Lord in completeness, whether it was shouting and dancing, or simply sobbing and praying. They had built a foundation with the spirit of worship and they built their entire life around their walk with God. Their very life was demonstrative of the spirit of worship because they had a prayer life, they had a record of fasting. They had more than an act.

There used to be a song played on the radio a few years ago that stated "I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one any day". This is more true than ever in the society we live in.

The world is hungry, and they are looking for something real, something different. People can tell when someone is for real with God and when someone just has the act down. We have got to get more than the act of worshiping God. We have got to get the Spirit into the act. The only way you're going to do this is through prayer. Through fasting. Through sacrifice to God. While there's nothing wrong with dancing and shouting before God, we have got to have some substance to our worship.
Without the Spirit of Worship, we are nothing more than a hollow shell, just a demonstration of what we should be.  I can remember picking up pecans as a young boy. Some times you'd crack one of those pecans, and there would be that sweet white meat, and you couldn't wait to taste it. But sometimes, you'd pick up a pecan that looked right, maybe it felt a little light, but it looked right. But when you opened that shell, all there was inside was a dry husk. The pecan was rotten, and was no good to anyone. It was just a demonstration of what it should be.
  God, help us be more than just a demonstration. Let us be an example, and a sermon someone can follow.

Potstirrer and snoop extraordinaire   "I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world."- Thomas Edison

Melody

Good stuff.

My pastor has said that sensitive people aren't always spiritual people.  I agree. King Saul prophesied in the Spirit till he was naked, all day! Yet still went on to be ungodly.

sunlight

  :attackhug: Be full of hugs!

Lynx

Aye.  I have observed this myself, and it has increased recently as "modern" music has found its way into church services.  "I could dance, dance, dance-dance-dance all night - all night" is a sure-fire way to get the church shouting, but after the music stops so do the people. 

On the bright side, when it is true praise it is a beautiful thing.  Doubly so in Children's Church.  :)
"Do you sing at church?"
"Yes I sing at church, I sing at home, at work, in the car, at the supermarket, at Wal-Mart..."
:sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: :sing: :sing:

Melody

During the Azusa revival there was a prophesy that in the last days people would worship God that they didn't pray to.  I'd say that is today.