YOU ASKED FOR IT: WHAT IS WORSHIP?

Charles Billingsley 

What is Worship ? 

A. What worship is not 

B. What worship is 

The simplest definition of worship is also the central theme of scripture and it is called the greatest commandment….you find it in Deut. 6:4-5 and then Jesus reminds us again in Mark 12:30  ”Love the Lord your God with all your whole heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  That’s worship.  Simply loving God. 

What is worship? 

It’s a two word answer packed with the secret to living:

Loving God.

Colossians 1:15 

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

16 For everything was created by him,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities—

all things have been created through him and for him.

17 He is before all things,

and by him all things hold together.

You were created to worship God!

Worship is humanity’s expression of thanksgiving to a supernatural and all forgiving and all loving creator.  It is setting our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on The King of Kings and Lord of Lords in all that we do and with all that we are.  So worship should encompass every aspect of our lives. You can’t diminish  all that down to just a few songs in a church service.

Our very existence should be an all out, sold out, lived out, fleshed out, exclamation of the goodness and the grace and the glory of God! 

How Do I worship God?  

Worship is a two-sided coin:

Individual

Corporate

Anything and everything  you do that has the purpose of Glorifying God in your life is an act of worship.

Worship begins in the mind

Philippians 4:6-8

6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.

The mind is a powerful thing.  Our thoughts determine our actions.

It’s not what we think we are.  Rather, what we think, we are.

Proverbs 23:7 – “for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he!” 

So what are we supposed to think about?  

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Now I’d love to unpack each of these 8 words.  But for the sake of time, I’d like to dial in on just one word toward the end of this verse.  That word “praiseworthy.” – EPAINOS

The apostle Paul uses the greek word “Epainos” here. It is translated “worthy of Praise”.  “Epi” means “upon” and “ainos” means “praise.”  So this word could be simply translated “to heap praise upon.”  But the meaning that would translate best to us is “great applause or express approval.”  Paul is saying to us that we are to think upon those things in life that are worthy of applause!

Now, the list is endless as to why He is worthy of our praise. But before we get to a few of those, let me remind you that there are many roadblocks that stand in the way of a worship-filled mind. 

What are some roadblocks that can hinder a lifestyle of worship? 

There are many.

Let me mention just a few that are prevalant in the church today:

1.   Cultural distractions

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else…guard your heart

1.  A Condescending spirit

1. A Critical tongue

James 3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Writing this message has reminded me of how much I need to consistently work in my own life to rid my heart of these roadblocks to a worship-filled mind.  But once those roadblocks are out of the way, it opens up an unhindered pathway to the purest praise. 

Why should I live a lifestyle of worship? 

Epainos – God is worthy of applause for:

1. For What He has made

Let’s go bigger….

The Stars, the planets, the sun, the moon, the galaxies, and the expanse of the Heavens – all of which give us a glimpse of His eternal existence and glory.

Consider the Whirlpool Galaxy.

But lets bring it closer to home.

Andromeda Galaxy

The closest spiral galaxy to ours.  It’s only 2 million light years away.   It is racing towards the Milky Way galaxy at 110 kilometers per second.  At that rate, it will merge with the milky way in approximately 4 billion regular years.   But let’s bring it closer to home.

We live in the Milky Way Galaxy. 

There are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone, but within this galaxy is a tiny little cul-de-sac.  Our very own solar system.  And in our solar system there is just one star.

The Sun – 

Are you feeling small yet?  And God put all this into existence…with just 4 spoken words….Let there be light!

Little boy and His father illustration – pull up the picture of the starry night sky when the boy and His father walk outside at night.  I’ll make it obvious for you.

Take a moment and reflect on what He has made for us!  Can we do anything else BUT praise Him for all this?

Epainos!  – God is worthy of applause for what He has made!

1. For What He has done

“For God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten son!”

He gave us Jesus.

Jesus died on the cross and shed His innocent blood for us so that we might be saved!

He loved us when we didn’t deserve it.

He gave when He didn’t have to.

Has He ever pulled you out of a situation you didn’t know how to get out of?

Has He lifted you out of a financial burden for which you didn’t see a solution?

Has He ever healed your body or your soul?

Has He given you joy in the midst of sorrow?

Has He given you hope when you didn’t see a way out?

He is our living Hope!

He is the joy of our salvation!

He has provided for us endless grace and bountiful mercies that are new every morning!!

Oh my heart just bursts with praise as I think about all He has done for me.  And I’m sure yours will too….if you will just take the time to think on these things!

Epainos!  – God is worthy of our applause for what He has done!

1. For Who He is

And did you think about this?  Jesus is the embodiment of every thing on this list Paul gives us in Phil. 4:8

Jesus is true. Jesus is noble.  Jesus is just.  Jesus is pure.  Jesus is lovely.  Jesus is of good report.  Jesus is virtuous.  Jesus is worthy of our applause. 

He is great.

He is awesome.

He is Holy.

He is eternal

He is indescribable

He is worthy.

He is righteous.

He is almighty

He is healer

He is life-giver

He is forgiver

He is protector

He is provider

He is waymaker

He is chainbreaker

He is redeemer

He is rescuer

He is with us.

He is Savior

He is friend!

The bread of life

The Living water

The light of the world

The open door

The great shepherd

The son of man

The son of God

The resurrection and the life

The true Vine

A mighty fortress

All powerful

Omni-present

Prince of Peace

He is Wonderful

He is Counselor

He is My Deliverer

He is our helper

He is our guide

He is our refuge

Alpha and Omega

The first and the Last

Almighty Creator

Hope Giver

mountain mover

Miracle worker

Promise Keeper

Light in the darkness

The Way

The Truth

The Life

King of Kings

Lord of Lords

Judge over all the earth

Ruler over all of us

Sovereign over all there is

He IS GOD – the Great I AM!

And He is worthy of our standing Ovation!!

Epainos!!

Praise be to Jesus…the One and Only!