Worshipping God

Yesterday, I talked about how the layout of the Tabernacle teaches us something about God and worship. Lots of information. Let’s give it some feet.

When we go to “worship God,” it’s not uncommon to think about singing songs. You come to church. You worship (sing some songs). Then, you hear a sermon. But, that’s not really the point of worship. The point of worship is to show God that he’s valuable to you. To give Him something (whether a song, or money, or a cow). To spend time with Him… talking and listening. The “goal” is to get yourself into the “Holiest Place” and speak to God face-to-face.

We start by walking through the front door. You set aside time. You intentionally go to God.
Next, we confess our sins, and offer our thanks. We get it out of the way. Sin, by its very nature, separates us from God. To think of it another way, it’s tough to have an intimate date with your wife if you treated her like crap earlier in the day (and you haven’t owned it, yet). We also take time to offer God a gift to show our thanks for providing for us. For being good. For being who He is.
Next, we get clean. We empty ourselves of our desires and wants. We remind ourselves who God is. We ask him to give us a new heart. To fill us with His Spirit. We read scriptures that teach us the truth (about God, ourselves, and others).
Now, we are ready to go to the Holy Place. This is where we go and pray. We read scriptures. We wait. We sing a song. We wait.
When the time is right, God makes Himself known. You might think of it as “God showing up.” But, he was there all along. But, he finds a way to show himself to you. This is the “Holiest Place.”

Often times, we walk through this process with songs. Songs can be a very effective means of worship. They can also be really distracting from your worship.

I’m not list this stuff out to be a dogmatic way to worship. Instead, I’m encouraging you to go beyond music in your worship. To seek Him in the Holiest Place. I’ve been there. It’s an awesome place to be.