A CALL TO DIE BOOK - Day 21

DAY 21: true worship
DAY 21: TRUE WORSHIP
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual
act of worship. (Rom 12:1)
Too often, the concept of worship is confusing to us. We think it is the
hour on Sunday morning when older people put on suits and dresses
to sing old songs. Or we think it is the sing-along before the message at
camp or at youth group. We miss the point of true worship. I’ve heard
people say, “I’m so committed to Jesus that I’m going to raise my
hands when I sing!” My friends, raising our hands when we sing is not
the highest form of worship.
When we are walking with Christ, our lives are acts of worship all day
every day. Every single thing we do to honor God is worship. It is a
lifestyle, not just a group of songs. God is looking for a generation of
“walking worshipers,” not just people who sing songs to him. When
Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman as she came to the well to get
water, he told her, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are
the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). I sure want to be
the kind of worshiper the Father seeks, don’t you? In spirit and truth,
with a full heart and with integrity in our actions. Today, the words of
praise we sing are too often disconnected from our hearts and our
actions. “Walking worshipers” connect the dots; their words match
their actions.
Recently I was on a television program, and the host asked me,
“David, you are on the forefront of youth ministry today. ‘ What do
you see as the next trend in worship?” I answered, “Authentic worship,
I hope.” He was a bit confused by my answer, so I decided to clarify
what I meant. I explained that the new wave of contemporary
worship songs is fantastic, if-and only if-the sentiment in those songs
is translated into heart, hands, and feet. Authentic worship is what
Paul talked about in Romans 12, and it is what Jesus meant in John 4.
Worship is turning your mind’s attention and your heart’s affection to
God. It is declaring, by word and deed, God’s great goodness, power,
and mercy.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that singing worship songs
is wrong. But I believe we need to pay attention to what we are
singing. When we sing, we can connect the dots by doing four things:
1. Let the song be a spotlight on your heart.
Worship songs bring us into the presence of God. Sometimes that
experience is wonderfully comforting, but sometimes God chooses to
shine his light on sin in our lives. Do you remember Isaiah’s experience?
He came to the throne of God and showed him his sin. Isaiah cried,
“Woe is me! I’m a man of unclean lips.”
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DAY 21: true worship
His honesty was a step toward forgiveness and healing. When you sing
praises to God, allow him to show you any sin you haven’t dealt with
yet, and thank him for his forgiveness.
2. Let the songs be the cry of your heart.
When you sing to Jesus, “You are my everything,” you may realize that
he doesn’t have your whole heart. But use the song to tell him that you
want him to be your everything. Make the song your prayer.
3. Let the song be a benchmark of integrity.
Think about the words and the message they express. If they don’t
communicate your heart, and if you don’t want to use the song as a
prayer for God to change you, be honest about it. Don’t sing. I hope
some of us will have the courage to close our mouths and sit down
when a song doesn’t match our heart’s desire. When those around
you are singing, “Lord, you are more precious than silver,” be honest
with God and with yourself about the condition of your heart. If you
want your heart to change, sing passionately. If you’d rather value
other things more than Jesus, don’t sing. Worship in spirit and truth. Be
authentic in Your heart. God can handle your honesty, and being real
with him may be a turning point in your walk of faith.
4. Let the song be translated into action.
When a song talks about crying out to God, take some time to be
alone with God to pray. When a song encourages you to serve God
by helping others, take steps to help someone you know. When a
song describes the love Christians have for one another, choose
to listen to someone you’ve tried to avoid, or offer a kind word to
someone who isn’t so cool. If you’ve come back from a retreat or
some other terrific spiritual experience, it’s easy to drift back into the
“same old same old” patterns of life. Don’t let that happen. Let your
life be consumed with “walking worship.” Let the beauty and power
of the songs you sing change how you treat people. Don’t go back
and show the church “how committed” you are by demanding that
they change from their hymnals to new contemporary worship books.
Don’t demonstrate your “passion for Jesus” by standing up during
one of the songs on Sunday morning and raising your hands-and
demanding that others do it, too. Instead, find some elderly widow
in the church and cut her grass for the summer, or rake her yard all
winter. For no pay. Do it as an act of worship to God, and don’t tell
anybody in the world about it. If you call attention to yourself, you’re
doing it for your own glory, not God’s.Sometimes it is wrong to do the
right thing. That happens when we do the right thing for the wrong
reason. Serving God for selfish reasons (to get people to notice how
spiritual we are) is sin, not worship. Don’t do it! In one of his letters to
Timothy Paul described a list of sins. The last one in the list was people
who are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of
godliness but denying its power.
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DAY 21: true worship
Have nothing to do with them” (II Tim 3:4b-5). Don’t let yourself be one
of those who goes through the right motions for the wrong reasons.
When you realize you have those wrong motives (and all of us do
from time to time), take that opportunity to repent. Soak up the grace
of God and ask him to change your heart. If you want to tell people
how; much you are serving God, keep quiet. If you want them to know
how much you are giving, give anonymously.
Resist the temptation to parade your righteousness. Instead, focus on
the kindness, forgiveness, and power of God, and look at the many
opportunities to serve God as expressions of love for the one who died
for you. There’s not much pride in that! But there’s a lot of joy and
fulfillment.
-Be still. Listen to what God is saying to you.
1. Give your own definition of “walking worshipers.”
2. What do you think Jesus meant when he said to worship “in spirit
and truth”? What are some ways we fail to do that?
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DAY 21: true worship
3. How would it help you to use those four suggestions when you
sing? “ Let the song be a spotlight on sin. Let the song be the cry of
your heart. Let the song be a benchmark of integrity. Let the song be
translated into action.
4. How are you doing these days in connecting the dots of praise
songs and obedient actions? Explain:
5. Read Romans 12:1-2. Think about each verse, then use it a guide as
you pray.
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DAY 21: true worship
Memorize Psalm 116:1-2.
Lord, today you are calling me to die to selfish desires by:
You are calling me to obey in these areas:
You are calling me to intimacy with you by:
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