Worship

Hallelujah!

“Praise the Lord!”

-Psalm 150:1

One of my all time favorite movies is Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I think one of the greatest characters ever developed in movies is the pirate, Jack Sparrow. His whit, comedy, and surprising competence elevates his character to a legendary level. There is a unique moment in the film though, where Captain Jack explains to Elizabeth Swan what the Black Pearl really is. First, he talks about what a ship needs, that is a deck and a sail and other aspects, but then he describes what a ship is. “What the Black Pearl really is… is freedom” he says. And what I love about that scene is how Jack describes that a ship is more than its visible features. There is something more to it than that. In a similar way, the same could be said of worship. Oftentimes when we think of worship, we think of a church setting, where a group of people are singing in a room while a band is playing on the stage. I humbly submit that those elements are a part of what worship needs, but that is not what worship is.

In order to understand what worship is, let’s turn to a passage in the book of Psalms. In Psalm 150:1 the opening line says, “Praise the Lord!” This entire phrase is a translation of the Hebrew word, Hallelujah. When the psalms command us to praise it always involves verbally giving a glowing, spontaneous description of who the God is and what he’s done (Pss. 22:3; 66:1-2; 69:30-31). This is what worship really is. Now, to be clear, worship certainly includes singing and music. Psalm 150:3-4 continues by saying, “Praise him with trumpet blast… harp and lyre… tambourine… strings and flute… resounding cymbals.” However, this only teaches us how to worship. At its heart, worship is both saying and displaying God’s goodness, wisdom, and power.

Unfortunately, many church leaders (myself included) have done a great disservice by allowing the idea of worship to be a type of music or simply singing songs in a church setting. Zach Neese aptly points out,

"If worship is only music, we can judge it as pleasing and appropriate or displeasing and inappropriate. We can decide whether we will engage in worship based on our own preferences and moods. If a song does not express my preferred style or reflect my current mood, then I do not have to like it or participate in it.

"Do you see the problem? If worship is music, we can market it. People become spectators—consumers of worship. In other words, worship becomes a thing for people and not for God. If worship is for people, then people are the objects of worship. If people are the objects of worship, then we are gods unto ourselves."

Worship is not about the music. Worship is not even about us. Worship is about God. In fact, the very word worship comes from an old English word, worthship. Therefore, to worship God means to give God his proper worth, to magnify Him, and to value Him.

This type of passion comes most naturally when the human heart is connected to God. C. S. Lewis says, “The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.” When we encounter a show we like, or a book we’ve read, or a game we’ve played, or (especially) a new relationship we’re in, we cannot help but tell our friends about it. It’s the same with God. The more encounters we have with Jesus, the more we see His goodness, love, mercy, gentleness, graciousness, magnificence, and glory, the more we are moved to talk about Him, sing about Him, live for Him, and even die for Him!

Hopefully now you can see that worship is about far more than just music and singing. Worship is a way of life. When we value something, we’re willing to give up other things for it. This is why worship is also about sacrifice. Zach Neese says, “We sacrifice when we offer God our time, our money, our songs of praise when our circumstances don’t look praiseworthy, an attitude of gratitude when we feel like grumbling. A sacrifice is often uncomfortable and always has a price.” True worship always involves a cost. So let me ask you, how much is Jesus worth to you? By the decisions we make, the lives we lead, and the things we say, we show others what kind of God we believe in. We demonstrate how worthy our God is.

Here’s something else to think about: When we consider the lengths Jesus went through in order to be in a relationship with us, it reveals what our worth and value is to Him. Jesus is the perfect, sinless Son of God who lived in unity with God the Father and the Holy Spirit in heaven. Yet, he gave all that up in order to come down to our sin torn world, dying an excruciating death on a cross, just to pay our penalty for sin. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “[God] made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Amazingly, three days later Jesus rose from the grave, conquering sin, hell, and the grave, so that those who were once far from God might be brought near by believing in His name (John 3:16; Eph. 2:16-18; Col. 1:21-22). This is what Jesus did for you and me. This is what our worth is to Him.

So what will your worship look like? Please hear me on this, the God we follow is the most beautiful, magnificent, wise, powerful, and loving being in the universe. That God went through infinite lengths just to be in a relationship with you and me. When we reflect on these truths, praising Jesus is not just a natural response, but a necessary response! And when the world witnesses us worship God, they are moved to do the same.

So I say again, PRAISE THE LORD!