Revival Worship: Moving to a Deeper Worship
There is a great need in the Body of Christ. How do we develop the muscle of worship that leads to revival? How do we move to a deeper worship?
Depth in worship always requires the combination of spirit and truth.
We all know the verse that’s used a lot in context of real worship from John 4:23,
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
We are commanded to worship in Spirit and Truth, yet what does that practically mean?
The Worship in the Spirit
Worship must move from the realm of singing with human skills to being carried by the Spirit.
The element of the Spirit in worship can be interpreted in various ways:
Is it that we have to be saved and therefore, have the Spirit and therefore, worship by the Spirit?
Or is there a greater dimension to worship in the Spirit?
Is every song sung by a Christian automatically considered worship in the Spirit? If that same Christian sings a secular song, does that mean this is still worship in the Spirit?
As Christians, we are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), therefore we worship in the Spirit as we sing by the Spirit and through the Spirit.
The Bible says, “By Him let us offer a sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). That means, starting from the songs we sing in the Church, to who leads, to how the songs are chosen, to how deep we sing, to how we sing, to how we are moved by the Spirit, all now become critical factors of this simple verse of worship in the Spirit. All these and more, for in the Spirit there is always more.
The Worship in Truth
Truth in worship is the foundation of worship, as the Word delivers us to worship freely. Those bound are not free to worship. Recently, a young woman, aged nineteen, was delivered from demonic oppression during one of our live services. The most beautiful part was her final statement of this emailed testimony, “It is so wonderful to finally freely worship Jesus.”
Truth has two branches in worship, truth in worship, or conviction to what we are singing, and truth in the Word of God. You cannot sing, “I lift my hands in worship” and not lift your hands. Nor can you sing “of His love forever” and then fight with your spouse or kids all the way home!
Treat what you are singing as an intimate conversation with the Lord. What you are singing matters. Do not let your heart be distracted. Gaze upon the Only One with One pursuit. Let your words count.
The biggest struggle in worship is to let go of past experiences, personal inhibitions, people consciousness and the mood of the day. (Operating a King’s Key: Gratitude sermon)
Although these obstacles can’t be overcome in an instant, nevertheless a Spirit encounter can shed a lifetime of hardened cocooning, (see full 4 Keys from the Welsh Revival sermon here), allowing for a heart of worship to emerge like the opalescent butterfly we are designed to be. Truly, the shedding off of yourself is what will make you like King David and move the very heart of God.
May I encourage my generation?
Every day, every week, in your private time and in your church, by little or much, steadily and surely, lose yourself at the altar of God, for the Kingdom of God belongs to the little children (Matthew 18:3).
Little children, the Kingdom awaits.
