"And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment." Mark 12:30
Worship is not optional! It is essential!
Worship should never be taken lightly or viewed as preliminary, or secondary to anything. Worship is our first and foremost function as created and new created beings of God. To approach worship in any attitude other than passionate, heart-engaged, and fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit in all that we do, is not truly worship.
Whether singing, preaching, praying, sacrificing, giving, serving, interceding, teaching, comforting, counseling, creating, building, managing, nurturing, whatever we do in word or deed as uno the Lord, we should do whole-heartedly. Notwithstanding God wants us to enjoy the experiences, and we do enjoy the feelings we get when we worship. But unless our worship is motivated by love, it is nothing. See 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3.
The end of our worship is not a feel-good moment or an emotional high. The end of our worship is not just to say we’ve done our duty. God commanded it, we did it, so on to the next requirement.
No!! The reason we Worship God is, first, to be obedient, yes! But worshipping God is not for His benefit. Worship pleases God when from the heart we worship Him in spirit (according to His Word) and in truth (according to His nature, His character). But when we sing, “We will glorify the King of kings...,” we are not saying we will add something to God that He lacks. God lacks nothing. To glorify Him is to please Him by becoming like His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, The end of worship is a transformed life.
God calls us to worship Him so that by acknowledging and valuing His character and nature we yield ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit to transform us into the likeness of Christ.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
This is why the scriptures tell us in 1 John 3:2
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
The end, the reward, the result of our worship is to be transform into the image and likeness of Jesus. In worshiping God, we become like Christ. This is the work of God in us, while we look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
Sincere and unrestrained worship of God is the best antidote to the doldrums, and all kinds of psychological stresses and cares. It dispels unrighteous agitations, oppressive anger, depression, bitterness, ranker, and malice, and all such things that feed sickness in our bodies, our minds, and our emotions.
Worship clarifies and invites wisdom and understanding to guide us in peace and confidence in the One we worship. This is why the psalmist wrote, "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1.
When our mouths are filled with the praises of God, there is little or no room for idle or negative speaking. When our souls boast in the Lord, the humble soul hears it and receives encouragement and gladness in their heart. When we choose to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue, and things worthy of praise, God keeps us in perfect peace.
Therefore, let us worship the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and daily yield to the working of the Holy Spirit in us, to be changed from glory to glory until, we are all transformed into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ..." Ephesians 4:11-13