What I Believe Worship Means…

One of my personal favorite definitions of worship is from the book Return to Worship by Randy Owens, and that definition reads as follows:

Worship is the response of an adoring heart to the magnificence of God. In the highest sense of the word, it is the occupation of the created with the Creator Himself. It is the pure joy of magnifying the One whose name is above every other name.

(Owens pg 38)

 
We as fallen man are wholly incapable of saving ourselves; therefore, God stepped in and through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ His Son has provided a way through grace for our salvation. When Jesus was crucified in my place, He paid a debt that I would never be able to pay on my own, and because of that grace, I am able to know with confidence that I have been saved from the punishment I deserve. My worship, therefore, is my response to God for this great gift. Also, as the created, I have an absolute loyalty and responsibility to worship God. It therefore becomes my responsibility to live my life in a way that worships God.
The primary function of the church is to worship the living God who through His grace provided salvation through the substitutionary sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. I believe that leading worship comes from the overflow of my personal walk with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. I believe that as believers, we worship to the extent the Holy Spirit is permitted to fill us. We are commanded to worship God in "Spirit and in truth"

21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me,
the hour is coming when
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22 You worship what you do not know;
we worship what we know, for
salvation is
from the Jews.
23 But
the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and
truth, for the Father
is seeking such people to worship him.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:21-24 (ESV)

When we worship, we must allow the Spirit to move through us. Musical style should have no bearing on how we worship because worship stems from our relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit; therefore, our ability to worship is a direct reflection on our Spiritual health.
True Worship is the root of outreach: As the Worship Leader leads from the overflow of his relationship with Jesus Christ, so also the members of our individual congregations are able to minister and share their faith through the condition and overflow of the individual worshipper's heart. This means that when our hearts are filled with worship, we too can minister to others through our overflow. In other words, when we have allowed the Spirit to fill us and lead us in worship, we will have no other recourse but to radiate the love of Christ, and as we overflow with the love of Christ, people around us will take note and perhaps be drawn to the grace of Jesus Christ.
True Worship is lifestyle: Many people believe that worship is that thing we do between Sunday School and lunch on Sunday morning and then we are done for the week, but, I believe that scripture indicates that all we do whether it is work or bible study or shopping, it is an act of worship to God. Because we represent the living God, we must always be careful to show Christ in our day to day activities, whether that is work or play. As we follow the living God who provides us with the grace of salvation, we must live our lives in a way that causes people to wonder what is different about us as compared with others. As Christians, we cannot escape worship, we must be aware of the fact that our very lives must be lived as an act of worship.