The Acts Of Worship - Come Before Him
We were created to worship, so all of those things have to come to the altar with us. Don’t think that you can come into God’s presence and worship Him without bringing that whole package with you.
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The Acts Of Worship - Come Before Him
1 Chronicles 16:29
“Bring an offering, and come before Him; worship the LORD in holy array.”
How can we come before God and truly worship Him? True worship can never be meaningless ritual. It has to bring all the “stuff” of faith with it. Obedience, love, kindness, justice, mercy, humility, goodness, truth, sincerity ... the presence of these and all of the other qualities of good Christian character comes into play when we come before God.
Worship cleanses us and recharges us. It challenges us. But, it is, first and foremost, about coming before God and giving something of ourselves to Him. Worship comes from the word “worth.” Literally, it means “worth-ship.” When we worship we are telling God that He is worthy. So, worship must be about putting God and His glory ahead of our needs and desires. Paul Tripp once said, “Worship is designed to remind you that in the center of all things is a glorious and gracious King, and this King is not you.”
Read that very carefully. What it is saying is that worship requires us to put God and His glory first. True worship becomes possible whenever that happens. So, what brings glory to God? Isn’t it obedience? Isn’t it love? Isn’t it kindness, mercy, justice and all those other things?
We were created to worship, so all of those things have to come to the altar with us. Don’t think that you can come into God’s presence and worship Him without bringing that whole package with you. That’s what “holy array” is all about. It is being authentically holy as we come before a holy God.
Galatians 6:7
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.”
So, if all of that is true, how can we actually EVER worship God? We’ll answer that tomorrow.
