Worshipping God is the great essential of fitness. If you have not been worshipping… when you get into work you will not only be useless yourself, but
a tremendous hindrance to those who are associated with you. (Oswald Chambers)
How to Worship Jesus Christ by Joseph
Carroll
What would you say if you were asked, “What is the one thing needful,
the one thing to really concentrate on in your Christian experience above all
else?”
…David is a man’s man, a great soldier, a king of kings, and what does
he want to do?.. Only one thing really matters-intimate fellowship with his
God. To be a true worshipper of God is his passion. But then he say, “…that
will I seek after.” Because this was the primary thing, he knew very well he
would never be able to achieve his objective unless he really sought for it;
nor will you, my friend; nor will I. At the
end of the day ask yourself what you have done with your time. How much time
did you set aside to worship Jesus Christ? You might be surprised… no man will
ever experience true worship in a consistent manner unless he sets his will to
do so.
What was the passion of the apostle Paul? His ruling passion is plainly
revealed in Philippians 3:10: That I may
know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings [Intimate fellowship], being made conformable unto his death.
Now what does “that I may know him” mean? Did Paul not know Him as Lord and Savior?
Yes, but his ruling passion was to know Him ever more intimately… Christ was
his goal. To win Christ, to know Christ, to love Christ, to have intimate
fellowship with Christ, this was his ruling passion. If that is not central,
then duty becomes a drudge, a chore; but when Jesus Christ is central in the
life, duty is a delight…
Mary’s choice, Luke 10:38-42, we are introduced to two sisters who were
both very busy. You must not think that Martha alone was busy. Mary also was
busy, but concentrating on a different form of service…
In the next seven pages, Mr. Carroll
continues writing about the different choices of Mary and Martha.
… We were created to worship Jesus Christ. We were created for Him, to
become something to Him in order that He might find pleasure in us. But this
demands discipline. This demands self-renunciation. This demands the mortifying
of the flesh. This demands the taking out of our lives everything that does not
contribute to the one great objective…
The Lord Jesus loves us with all His heart. He desires that we love Him
with all our heart; and until we do, we will never know the sweetness of His
love for us.
The above has been gleaned from the
first 21 pages of the small book.
Gracious
God, we worship Thee,
Rev’rently
we bow the knee;
Jesus
Christ our only plea:
Father, we
adore Thee.
What is True Worship?
What then is worship? The term comes to us in our modern speech from
the Anglo-Saxon, “weorthscipe,” which later developed into, “worship,” meaning
“to attribute worth to an object.” Worship is the “worth-ship” of the one you
worship. To worship Jesus Christ is to attribute worth to Him.
Revelation above all other books is the key to worship of Jesus Christ.
(Revelation 4:10-11) Here is true worship, and the order is significant. The
first thing in verse 10 is that they fall down. That is first, and that is
always first. The falling down speaks of submission to the One worshipped…
The first essential condition for true worship is total submission. The
second essential is that Christ alone should be glorified. We must meet these
conditions, submitting ourselves absolutely, without reserve, to Jesus Christ
as Lord.
In Revelation 4:11, we find the worshippers ascribing worth to the One
on the throne, telling Him that He is worthy. This is worship: the “worth-ship”
of the one worshipped. Thou are worthy, O
Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou has created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created…
Revelation 5 is one of the great chapters, if not the greatest chapter,
on worship in all the Bible. Notice again the order in verse 8: first they fall
down. Again in verse 9, they are ascribing worth to Jesus Christ. This is
worship. Obviously, then, we cannot worship unless there is total submission of
our hearts.
…We know that the body has senses; but the spirit also has senses, and
it is by the senses of our spirit that we are made conscious of the presence of
Christ. “God is a Spirit” Who can only be worshipped by that which is spiritual
in us, by our spirits. To many this is difficult because we cannot see Him with
our physical eyes or touch Him with our physical hands, but He can be seen and
touched and handled by the senses of our spirits.
It is not a matter of saying, “I see this truth, and I do want to be a
worshipper.” No, for we are not what we wish to be or want to be, but what we
will to be. You must therefore set your will to become a worshipper of Christ.
You will never be a worshipper of Christ apart from a definite act of your
will…
…Worship always precedes service… The more we worship our Lord, loving
Him, serving Him, and expressing that love for Him in serving others as his
willing slaves, the more we will desire to worship and serve Him.
… You will recall that vary famous incident that took place in the
experience of Isaiah. We are told that in the year that King Uzziah died he saw
the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. He also saw seraphims
worshipping the Lord. Each one had six wings: two to cover his face, two to
cover his feet, and two to fly, to carry out the will of the One worshipped. I
wonder why he did not fly with six? If you gave most Christians today six
wings, what would they want to do? Go as fast as they could! But where?
Oh, no, four are to prepare for worship; only two are for service.
The worship of the One on the throne by the seraphims prepared them for
swift, obedient service. It is always the same order: worship before service.
A True Heart
There must be the
inward worship within the shrine if there is to be outward service. (Maclaren)
Heart Worship
What is the heart?
What is a true heart?
In chapter 3, Mr.
Carroll answers these questions and offers examples of surrendered lives.
Oh, worship the Lord
in the beauty of holiness,
Bow down before Him,
His glory proclaim;
With gold of
obedience, and incense of lowliness,
Kneel and adore Him;
the Lord is His name.
An understanding of Revelation, chapters 4
and 5, is essential as an aid to true worship of the Lord; for in these two
chapters we have a glimpse into heaven. First, in chapter 4, we see the One Who
sits on the throne; and then, in chapter 5, we behold the Lamb.
When writing about the vision in chapter 4 of Revelation:
What is the response to this
tremendous vision in heaven? The response to the true unveiling of the glory
and the majesty of God is always submission. Always! Why do people not submit
to God? It is because they do not know Him; for to know Him is to immediately
fall down in wonder, love, praise, and submission… Why do people not worship
God? Why do people not worship the Lamb? It is because they have never had a
true vision of the Lamb or a true concept of God, for to know Him is to worship
Him.
Chapter 4 of Mr. Carroll’s book consists of a 14 page
exposition of the two above mentioned chapters on Revelation.
And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and
all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb for ever and
ever (Revelation 5:13).
So here we have the whole creation joining in this magnificent chorus,
revealing to us God’s ultimate purpose in creation. What is it? God’s ultimate
purpose is that every created being might worship the One upon the throne and
the Lamb upon the throne with him.
Is that purpose being fulfilled in us? Are we numbered among those who
know what it is to praise the One on the throne and to praise the Lamb on the
throne with Him… In the worshipping of Him never forget that it is for all
people, all tribes, all tongues, and all nations; for when He reveals Himself
to you as the Lamb of God, slain for all, the Spirit of God will create within
you a passion that all might know Him…
Ev’ry kindred, tongue
and nation,
Worthy the Lamb;
Join to sing the
great salvation,
Worthy the Lamb.
Loud as mighty
thunders roaring,
Loud as mighty waters
pouring,
Prostrate at His feet
adoring,
Worthy the Lamb.
To stretch my hand and touch Him,
Though He be far away;
To raise my eyes and see Him
Through darkness and through day;
To life my voice and call Him ―
This is to pray!
Having laid a foundation
[referring to the previous chapters in Mr. Carroll’s book], we are now prepared
to examine the how of worship. How do we worship? What do we do? First there
must be a whole heart, for true worship is heart worship. If that condition is
not met, there can be no acceptable approach to God.
Then there must be clean hands.
There can be no unconfessed sin. We cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship
with or worship the One Who is in the light, for unconfessed sin forfeits
access to God in worship. There can be no true worship without obedience.
The following word studies on
prayer by Griffith Thomas bring into sharp relief the primacy of worship (for
complete study see page 78-79).
- Prayer is a sense of need
-
Prayer is an expression of desire
-
Prayer is a spirit of humility
-
Prayer is a privilege of fellowship
-
Prayer is a spirit of enquiry
-
Prayer is a bond of union
- Prayer is an attitude of consecration
Purposing to Worship
Aloneness
You enter your closet (Matthew
6:6)… Whatever becomes your closet, it is there that you meet the Lord every
morning; and your objective is fellowship in aloneness with a consciously
present Lord…
Holy Spirit
We must come with dependence on
the Holy Spirit Who wants to draw out our hearts in worship, but this can only
be as we learn to restfully depend on Him (Philippians 3:3)…
Concentration
We enter our closet, shut the
door behind us, and are alone with our Lord. We kneel, with our eyes closed in
order to concentrate all our attention and affection on the Lamb of God,
forgetting all else in order not to forget Him…
Practice of Worship
Express your ascriptions of worth
to Him audibly.
Using Scripture
Use the words of Scripture, and
make them your own…
Using hymns
Hymns also are a wonderful aid…
Using books
The author gives several
suggestions…
