By Michael Van Patter
Last time we talked about worship as a lifestyle. I've prayed that the Lord would be teaching us to offer our lives as worship to Him! My plan was for the second part of these worship articles to be on the subject of how worship works as evangelism, but lately the Lord has been teaching me something that is crucial to worship and I believe will be relevant to us all. The topic? Humility and repentance in worship.
The word "worship" implies humility. It is defined in the dictionary as, "A service or rite showing reverence for a deity". Reverence is the result of experiencing something that invokes awe. It is the realization that we are much smaller than we thought; "a vapor" (James 4:4). If you've ever stood before the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, or a magnificent Greensboro sunset, than you know this feeling; the incredible smallness in the presence of something much bigger. This was the idea behind the grand designs of the European cathedrals; that all those who entered would feel small in the presence of something so great.
The realization of this smallness, brothers and sisters, is at the heart of worship. God desires humble hearts. In fact, any sort of sacrifice without a heart of humility is repulsive to Him. In this passage from Amos, God is speaking to the Israelites, His chosen people, who have turned from the Lord and refused to submit to Him. Yet they continue to "go through the motions", making their sacrifices and meeting together. God's response to this "worship"?
Amos 5:21-24
God is not interested in empty rituals. He isn't honored by heartless worship. What He desires is no less than all of our lives. So what hope is offered in living out this all-encompassing lifestyle? James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up". And in Proverbs 3:34, "[He] gives grace to the humble".
How, then, do we live this sort of humble, God-exalting, worshipful lifestyle? First, remember that living in worship is a continual process. Continual, because Romans 12:1 teaches us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices not a one time offering or a weekly event. Process, because we must remember that we are being made like Christ (Romans 8:29) and that He is faithful to finish what He starts (Philippians 1:6). But what happens when we fail? We should be quick to repent. And repentance is more than simply confession. Repentance is admitting the wrongdoing, turning from the sin, and submitting to God's way.
Psalm 51:16-17