Worship Article by Leon Potgieter from pluckandplayguitar.com

by Leon Potgieter
(USA)

I believe that the primary reason many Christians experience their faith as a dreary and dull affair, has to do with an inability to worship their maker. In our day and age, Christianity has been degraded to a confessional system whereby one becomes a ‘Christian’ by simply adhering to a select few intellectual doctrines and praying a sinners prayer. In reality, the Bible makes it clear that Christianity is much more than a ritualistic and religious experience. It is in fact a vibrant relationship with a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ. Worship helps us to transform our faith from a mere religious observance to a living relationship.

The average definition of worship may sound something like this: Worship is that part of church between the greeting and the sermon where we stand to our feet and sing a few songs. What a sad and deprived definition! Worship is so much more than singing a song from a church pew. Thousands of Christians all over the world are stuck in this religious definition where worship has been turned into another ritual we go through along with announcements and incomprehensible sermons. Thousands of believers believe that worship is nothing more than another ‘church activity’ when in reality true worship is a life altering event that will transform you from the inside out and never leave you the same way you were before…

Why? Because true worship brings you in touch with God. True worship may bring you into the tangible and fearfull presence of Christ, a place that no man or woman can leave unchanged. True worship, that event when your innermost feelings, desires, dreams and passions are laid bare before Christ and your spirit touches the Spirit of God, will probably do more for you than a thousand sermons will ever do.

Worship is also a lifestyle. It’s an integral part of your Christian life. It’s the ability to magnify the works and name of God from early in the morning when you wake up and the rest of the world is still sleeping, until late at night before you go back to bed. Only by turning worship from a Sunday ‘event’ to a lifestyle experience can we really deepen our relationship with the Father and remain in constant fellowship with him.

Music plays an important role in worship, but again, worship is much more than singing songs. Forms and rituals could never bring about true worship – our churches may have the best musicians, techniques and liturgy, but worship still only takes place when spirit touches Spirit. When we open our hearts and souls and point a magnifying glass to heaven so that a lost world may see how GREAT our God truly is.

Have you ever felt the touch of God that sets you free from addictions and unwanted habits? Have you ever experienced the holiness of God in such a way that with the prophet Isaiah you wanted to cry out “I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD All-Powerful.” (Isa. 6:5). If your faith has been nothing more than a religious observance you adhere to out of tradition, then I encourage and urge you to use worship as a vehicle to turn it into something more.

Dedicate a certain time of the week to God, a time set apart where you can be on your own without interruption. Then use this time to truly open your heart to Him, while at the same time thanking and praising Him for His goodness and mercy in your life. If you feel you have nothing to be thankful for then thank Him for what He has done through the cross. Ask Him to touch your spirit and transform you into the image of His Son. Ask the Holy Spirit for an infilling of power to help you be a better witness for Him. Being natural and honest before God often has amazing and unexpected result and you may just stand in awe at the way He responds to you.

May God give you and I the grace to experience the fullness of His presence and the power of the Holy Spirit through worship!