Unconventional Worship

by    15th September 2002    0 responses

This article isn’t about the “how” of worship so much as the “what” of worship: not how we should approach worshipping God, but rather what worship is and the attitude we should have towards it. This isn’t about how we can improve concentrating on God during those times when we sing along with the people at the front, this is about a lifestyle.

I’d like to start off with a piece of scripture:

And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them.”
Zechariah 14:20-21 (ESV)

I believe this is a picture of what God’s perfect plan for us is: everything is set apart as Holy to God. Even the bells of the horses are set apart as Holy. Previously, the people would not have been able to boil a sacrifice in an unconsecrated or “unholy” pot – but now people can take any of the pots and use them to boil a sacrifice in them. This goes wider than just boiling a sacrifice: I believe this means that God wants his people to reach a stage where no thing or activity is unholy.

When the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the barriers were brought down between the inner temple and the outer temple. There is no distinction between things that are Holy and things that are unholy; everything should be dedicated to God. The significance of this to our lives means that – everything we have should be used for God and everything we do should be done for God.

So how does this fit in with Worship?

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1 (ESV)

Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God: is this not just a more succinct version of saying that everything we have and everything we do should be dedicated to God? I believe it is – and the passage says that this is our “spiritual worship.” *

Incidentally, this does not mean that we have to live our entire lives as if we’re in a Church service! We just need to learn to find God wherever we are.

So. How do we manage dedicating everything to God? Well, the next verse goes on to say:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (ESV)

We can’t do this on our own. We have to let the Holy Spirit transform us, renew us, so that we become “new creations”. This isn’t something that happens overnight – it’s a gradual transition from darkness to light. And we need to be willing to let it happen. John summed it up perfectly when he wrote, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, ESV)

So, how does ‘conventional’ praise, such as in religious services, fit in? I still believe that these are very important. However, these are only one facet of our Worship, not all of it! Praising God is right and good, and we should seek to do it as often as we can. But we should avoid the “Sunday Christian” mentality and seek to live our entire lives dedicated to pleasing God.

I think these lyrics from the song “The Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman are a very appropriate end to what I’ve said:

I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart.

Singing songs will not make any difference unless our hearts are in the right place.

May God bless you.

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