For worship to be more than “That thing we do on Sundays” we must begin by changing our understanding of worship. Most importantly I must begin with having committed my life to obeying God and receiving the forgiveness provided by the sacrifice of Jesus. Having done that, there are three steps involved in this change:
1- I must begin to think of God as always with me;
2- I must begin to pray more often than prior to eating a big meal;
3- I must establish a regular time alone devoted to meeting with God.
Perhaps the place to start is to answer the question, “What do I worship?” In the previous post I gave some examples of false objects of our worship. I propose two formulas that a person can use to discover what they truly worship.
First, take time to consider what gets my attention, my affection, and my allegiance? In other words, what are the things I spend the most time thinking about? What am I passionate about? To what am I most loyal?
The second formula which helps us discover what we truly worship is to make a list of what do I spend my money, my time, my thoughts and my energy upon? Where I spend my money is bigger then “Do I tithe?” If we examen our shopping habits and our credit / debit card statements we will discover where our disposable income is spent. If I worship an activity, then I’ll spend my money on that activity more than anything else. My calendar will be dictated by the activity(s) I worship, that I will plan around and even cancel events because of what I worship. I will spend almost all of my free time thinking and dreaming about my object of worship. All of my energy will be focused upon my object of worship.
In 1 Samuel chapter seven, the people Israel are told to get rid of their idols and devote themselves to God.
Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the LORD alone. 1 Samuel 7:3-4 (NASB)A serious misunderstanding is possible at this point. I am not saying that worshiping God means that there is nothing but “church” in my life. The Bible teaches we have freedom to have hobbies, to enjoy various activities, to recreate, etc, as long as it doesn’t lead to sin by us or others. In fact, we can actually do various activities in a way that is actually worship, or leads to worship.
For you are called to freedom, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. Galatians 5:13 (HCSB)and
“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything builds up. No one should seek his own [good], but [the good] of the other person. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (HCSB)and again
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory. Give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks or the church of God, just as I also try to please all people in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (HCSB)Once we discover the “false gods” we have in our lives, then we can begin to call on the Holy Spirit to enable us to remove those gods. Begin by fasting from any object or activity that I suspect of controlling me. Use the urges and desires for that object or activity to cause me to turn to The Father in prayer. Replace the time we spend on that object or activity with time spent with God or studying about God by reading the Bible. These behaviors will start us on the path that will develop in us a lifestyle of worshiping God!
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