TRUE WORSHIP
When we worship the Lord, we must worship him as if there is no one around us. This takes place in an atmosphere of holiness. The presence of holiness doesn’t have to be in a church. It can be and it will be, but not on the terms of an overseer or a leader, but by the Holy Spirit of the Almighty God in heaven. Once worship takes place in a sanctuary, it is common for the overseer or pastor to quench the Spirit of God to continue with the service. This is not normally done with malice, but with tradition. Many of the fellow servants in the service greatly appreciate this tradition. However, it does stop the move of God on his people.
Order is mandatory in traditional church services that are normally held for a few hours. One single worshipper can interrupt an entire service and cause great apathy toward other fellow Christians because they are not experiencing what they are experiencing. To be singled out in a service as the only one who has been touched by God can leave one feeling isolated and abandoned from the living God. It is as one who has parents with five siblings and the mother and father give treats to three and not the other two. This can take an enormous effect on one’s soul and spirit.
God always moves in a sweeping fashion. It is rare that the Holy Spirit moves on one person and deserts the rest of congregation. And if he does, he will greatly use that one individual to be a blessing for the entire congregation. All men (mankind) will be able to eat the fruit that comes from that particular individual that is used by God, whether it be a word of prophecy, a word of knowledge, a word of faith, tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the word of wisdom, and even a psalm or spiritual song. These beautiful gifts are for the entire church. This way everyone will be able to eat off of the tree of life. All of this is marvelously prepared and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit must be welcomed in the service from the beginning. If he is not invited to come into the service he will not intrude. God has always given man (mankind) a choice to serve or not to serve him. The Holy Spirit wants so desperately to be invited to all worship services. You say, “Doesn’t the Holy Spirit of God have free range and authority to do what he wants?” He is the Spirit of God: Jesus. He can take over a service whenever he wants. Yes, of course he can, but he won’t unless you let him know you want him to and this would be wonderful!
The Holy Spirit is not some sort of angel flying in the air, hovering over us as guarding angels, and we do have those too, but he is to help us live clean and holy lives unpolluted from the world. He is the only one that can do this. We cannot live holy without the Holy Spirit. No other angel in the world, or the world to come, or in heaven, can cause us to live holy lives. It is the one and only Holy Spirit who can do this.
It is predominately for the pastors, or the overseers of the church, or assembly, to invite the Holy Spirit to come into the service and bless the people of God. The Holy Spirit will always move in the hearts of the pastors or overseer first before he moves to the congregation. He does everything in order, but the pastors, or overseers, have to yield to him and say yes. You will not have a real experience with the living God without the Holy Spirit in your churches or services, or even your private time. There are times that God will not move with the gifts of the spirit, but with the fruit of the spirit, which are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. God knows we need all of these marvelous fruit of the spirt and he is the only one who can give this fruit to us as a body or corporate worship.
Individual worshippers are another realm. This is when the Holy Spirit meets you in a more a private setting such as your home (devotion). This could be a retreat, or a vacation, or any place where you have solitude. This is normally done for your personal time with God at home, or when preparing you for ministry, or for pastors and evangelists preparing for service. The Holy Spirit will meet you one on one in the privacy of your home with a connection to the church, always. If you had walked away from the church, apostasy, or heresy, and proclaim that you do not want to do anything with the church and have your own church in your heart, the Holy Spirit will cut you off without a doubt. When Jesus returns for us, his body, he will return for the church, not certain individuals. The church is not a building, but the entire body of Christ. Therefore, we must worship and pray together and listen to the word of God together.
Consecration is another factor. This is when God has called certain individuals to be put on the sideline for great things in the kingdom. Their lives are totally consecrated to the Lord Jesus Christ. This will be a teaching and learning experience with the Holy Spirit preparing for an international ministry (global) for a season. Consecrations are not normally done for local ministries. Local ministries consist mostly of the call from God on their lives, much studying, education from seminary or theology schools, whatever God puts in that person(s) heart to do. The stakes aren’t as high as international ministries, nor are the persecutions. We all have different callings.
We have to make certain that no one interferes with the call on our lives. There are different types of worshippers that are in the body of Christ. God longs to move in the hearts of all men, which can only take place by the Holy Spirit. Even when you are being prepared for nations God will always have a place for you to meet him with other believers. Oh yes, God will abandon us for a season when he is preparing us for ministry, but he will not abandon our hearts. We may not see the fruit of the promises that he promised us yet. Often that is when you start to feel isolated from God because the promise has not come into effect as of yet, but it shall surely come!
Promises from God are not always preparing you for ministry, but he also puts other dreams into your heart for his kingdom. Any promise that God has put into your heart or he has spoken to you can seem as though it is so far away. You say, “God, where are you?” You honestly do not feel or sense his presence in your life. You go to this church and to that church, and to this conference and that conference, and even fly across the country to find him, and all along God is inside of your heart. This is why worship is a major factor in the body of Christ. Once you worship God, we will feel the electrifying presence in our hearts of the Holy Spirit. Then Jesus will become real in our lives.
In most Sunday morning worship services, there are only a few minutes dedicated to worship. This is normally done with song (singers or choirs). That’s your only opportunity to let go and worship with the entire congregation. The rest of the service is dedicated for the word of God. When a choir, or singers, is singing, begin to sing with them. Close your eyes and meditate with the singers. This is the beginning of worship. Surrendering begins by closing your eyes and letting go of self and not looking at anyone, including your singers or choir. This will immediately put you in the presence of God as the music surrounds you. Some churches are conservative and others are not. The Holy Spirit recognizes all of this and honors it. He will move according to the tradition of the church.
Closing your eyes and letting go is the beginning of letting go of self. Everyone must do this and then the Holy Spirit will sweep across the sanctuary with a soft wind. God himself literally breathing on the entire congregation. And then before you know it, all hands will be lifted up to your God in heaven. Will everyone experience this splendid move of God? No, not everyone. There will still be some who are afraid to completely let go or want to express in a more quiet, intimate worship as soft beautiful tears streaming down their cheeks, or a quick quiver, tapping of the foot, or a head bow in homage fashion to the almighty God. Everyone’s worship is different, but the experience is the same: beautiful.Worship is beautiful! You want your worship to be true and the only way you can have true worship is when you are completely yourself and not trying to be someone else. That’s true worship!
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (JOHN 4:24).
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (HEBREWS 10:25).
From A Pastor’s Heart,
Helen Trower
