“Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.” - Psalm 51:18-19
A. W. Tozer once wrote, “We are saved to worship God. All that Christ has done in the past and all that He is doing now leads to this one end.” As I read about heaven in the Bible, I am convinced that the primary business of heaven is the worship of our Lord.
Don't be confused. Worship is not a boring, stuffy church service. Worship is an act of adoration. Worship is esteeming God as being precious and priceless, great and glorious, majestic and marvelous. Worship occurs when we are captivated with God alone. With a sense of awe and wonder, we concentrate on Him with reverence and piety. When we consider the vast nature of our God, as revealed in the Bible, we are struck with a sense of fear. Yet we also love Him. We prize Him above all things.
While we may express our worship through music, the lifting up of hands, or a response to a sermon, ultimately worship is a matter of the heart. In America, we tend to emphasize the external response of worship to the exclusion of heartfelt worship, which is a mistake.
When David sinned against God, his life of worship wilted away. You cannot worship God and practice idolatry at the same time. David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah had devastated his life. Psalm 51 was his prayer of repentance, as he sought to have his fellowship with God restored. As he concluded the psalm, David realized that God's forgiveness and restoration would lead him to worship once again. This was something he missed greatly.
I believe that sin is keeping many Christians home on Sunday mornings. Instead of worshiping God with other believers, they are spending the Lord's Day away from their spiritual family. Rather than enjoying God's presence, they are drifting further from the place they should be. Perhaps that describes your situation right now. If so, let me encourage you to get back where you belong. Repent of your sins and get back in church. Get back to worshiping God once again. Don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that there is any substitute for worshiping God.
Personal revival leads to acts of worship. A believer should worship privately and publicly. Let's be active in both areas. God deserves our worship regardless of where we are at.
Also, we need to avoid deception. It is one thing to be enamored flashing lights or lively music at church, it is another thing to captivated by the Lord alone. While it is good to hear a strong, Biblical sermon on Sunday morning, the sermon should lead us to worship God with greater intensity.
Mankind was designed to worship. Sin has twisted this design and has led men to worship nearly everything from trees, to money, to success, to celebrities and even themselves. Everyone is worshiping something or someone. Few are truly worshiping the God of the Bible. As followers of Jesus, it should be our daily goal to worship the Lord alone.
It is easy to get distracted. It is easy to be deceived. Yet we need a revival of worship in America. Personal revival leads to repentance and change. Ultimately, such revival leads to renewed worship.
Our perfect God is worthy of worship. Why waste our time on anything less?
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