Worship
In the last month God had taken my life and completely and drastically changed the way I live. He has taken me from friends, allowed me to suffer through situations so that His glory could be revealed, and even stripped me of everything just so that I would KNOW that He is God. I find it very interesting that all through Jeremiah, even when God is destroying His people, He nearly always ends His judgement with “so that they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
For nearly a year now, I have had the privilege of learning how to run the sound board at the house of worship that I attend. We were blessed with a new pastor with a heart for engaging our congregation in all that the Word of God has to offer. He wastes no time in moving into a direction that will not only stir up the church, but light a fire that we have craved so very much.
With all that God has been doing in my life I have found myself drawn to the true meaning of worship. I have been blessed with the chance to serve as part of the main worship team for our Sunday morning music ministry. Several 23/24 year-old guys have the opportunity to stand in positions of leadership as we give God everything we have.
I just wanted to quickly post the greek definitions of the word we translate as “worship.”
προσκυνέω (proskuneō)
1. worship [verb] -ed, -eth, -ing
to crouch, crawl, or fawn, like a dog at his master’s feet; hence, to prostrate one’s self, after the eastern custom, to do reverence or homage to any one, by kneeling or prostrating one’s self before him; (The Greek translation of the OT everywhere for ההשתחו, to bow down, to prostrate one’s self in reverence.) Used therefore of the act of worship.
(a) with ἐνώπιον (enōpion) in the presence of, before.
2. beseech -ing, besought
to kiss the hand to another as a mark of respect, to do obeisance, etc. to another, especially of the Oriental fashion by prostration, hence to worship.
In phrases:
προσκυνέω ἐνώπιον (proskuneō enōpion )fall down before
προσκυνέω (proskuneō) to kiss towards any one, that is to say to kiss one’s own hand and extend it towards a person, at the same time prostrating one’s self, as a mark of respect and homage; hence, to worship, adore.
ἐνώπιον (enōpion) in the presence of, before.
What I find most interesting about these definitions is that they mention nothing of music. They don’t exclude music, but they certainly don’t limit worship to the act of “playing in a contemporary band in front of thousands” as the only way God’s people can worship.
It’s the act of prostrating oneself like a dog at his master’s feet!!! What an awesome comparison. How lowly we are next to God that we can be referred to as such! Even still, there is something about music that draws us to this action of prostrating ourselves before the Most High God of the Universe. However, there is one HUGE fundamental struggle that invades this particular form of worship and why it can be so deceiving at times.
Every time a group of rooted Christians step out to offer their gifts in the form of music they have to wrestle with the Lucifer Legacy. Lucifer was believed to be the chief worship leader over all the angels and thought to himself one day “what about me?”
That’s the same struggle we face not only in music, but in everything we do. So next time you are part of a worship service or team, look around you at all those that are battling the Lucifer inside them and recognize the awesomeness of the grace of God. Even though we fail Him time and time again, He uses us every day to touch the lives of His sleeping children so that one day we might feast with His son.
I pray for worship leaders as I never realized the amazing burden it is to be in the service of God, leading as descendants of the tribe Levi. We are expected to enter the Holy of Holies into an authentic relationship with our heavenly daddy so that others may know the way to Him.
The best part is, the reason that the “road is narrow” is because we go through it…one person at a time. We don’t go as a family. We have a one-on-one relationship with our King.
Lastly (as I know this post is long) the word Abba….or daddy was first spoken by Jesus. It was a learned term to describe a close relationship which could only have been taught to Him (other than by God) by His earthly father Joseph. This gives an amazing depiction of the kind of relationship and the kind of faith Joseph had, even though He too would prostrate Himself before the son of God.
So in all things that we do, we can worship God. We can submit ourselves to His will and prostrate ourselves before Him so that others would see Him. When we ask to be like Jesus, we ask to suffer as He did too. Which just means that when we suffer…if we do the “impossible” and love others despite the pain….despite being let down and despite the turmoil it may cause us, it is in these situations that God can and will change the lives of those around us. We just get to be along for the ride.
Whether at work, in a sunday worship service, or simply walking down the street, let us Worship God with every part of our being so that His work might be done and that our sufferings may be for His glory!
Love.Patience.Peace
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