'' 2 kings 17 : 26 - 28 It was reported to the king of Assyria: ''The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them,people do not know what he requires.''
Then the king of Assyria gave this order: ''Make one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.''
So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord. ''
Dear people, worshiping the Lord must be done in the true knowledge of God and according to God's requirements.
'' Amos 6: 1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria. ''
'' Amos 6:5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. ''
The two vital aspects of worship that God seeks, as we read in these Scriptures, are:
2. Practising Righteousness
These Scriptures show that just singing songs and playing musical instruments alone is not what God is looking for in his people who worship Him.
Righteousness and Justice - practising these two aspects in our lives is what is God's expectations from a true worshiper.
These are the foundation stones that build up the aroma that is pleasing to God when we go into His presence to sing songs of praise.
As God grants grace let us meditate on these aspects and learn to train oursleves to keep the requirements of God when we worship Him.
Righteousness, that comes through His Son, that is by abiding by Jesus' sound instructions, must be like a never failing stream in our lives.
People, a stream is something which is not still, it flows..it flows over the pebbles and the stones, but it doesn't stop, but keeps running...
People, the word ''Practise'' means, not doing just once.
This means, it requires some continuous effort to gain skill and won't be attained or completed in a day. It is not a show to be called done in just some scheduled time.
We must be persistant in practising these aspects, and as we keep practising, we keep progressing ahead to next levels and this goes on...
As God unfolds each day in our lives, and leads us into various circumstances, God wants us to practise these two aspects, steadfastly, and progress ahead into various levels of getting closer to Him, putting all our efforts to please Him by continuously working on laying this foundation for ourselves.
This is the foundation that our hearts and souls must be built upon, and thereby build up blamelessness before Him, with which He wants us to come into His presence and offer songs of praise and adoration to Him.
Someone is mistreating you, let your love roll on over the situation...
Someone is cheated by someone, let justice roll on over the matter...
But for God, such worship is only noise and something He cannot tolerate, because when we don't put His word into practice we don't have the key aspects of true worship in us, and such worship is not what God is pleased in according to Amos 5:21.
Worship dance that comes from within the soul and spirit, by practising righteousness and justice, is totally different from the dance performed by someone with dancing skills.
'' Matthew 14 : 32,33 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him saying, '' Truly you are the Son of God. '' ''
Those who were in the boat did not seem to have sung a song, they did not seem to have performed a dance, neither did they seem to have used any musical instruments to express their adoration, yet the Scriptures quote that they ''worshiped'' him by saying '' Truly you are the Son of God. ''
Dear people, this means that its their belief, their awe and reverence and their acceptance of the truth that Jesus is truly the Son of God - all these presented together in a verbal expression - is what is regarded as ''worship'' that they have given to Jesus.
Therefore let us learn from our meditation this hour and incline ourselves in the right direction and devote ourselves towards meeting His expectations and requirements of worship.
Let not our songs and dances and musical instruments become a noise for our Father.
Dear people, worshiping the Lord must be done in the true knowledge of God and according to God's requirements.
Knowing the aspects of a true worship is vital to please God and to reap His blessings and anointing.
Most important factor we all should learn is, that man made rules cannot please God, and neither can they get us any closer to God.
So how do we know the expectations of God and the procedure to worship God ?
What is ''true worship'' according to God?
Let us read the following Scriptures:
Most important factor we all should learn is, that man made rules cannot please God, and neither can they get us any closer to God.
So how do we know the expectations of God and the procedure to worship God ?
What is ''true worship'' according to God?
Let us read the following Scriptures:
'' Amos 5: 21 '' I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! ''
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! ''
'' Amos 6: 1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria. ''
'' Amos 6:5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. ''
These above Scriptures clearly speak about the expectations of God.
They speak about the kind of worship God seeks.And also explains us what is ''True Worship'' in God's terms.
They speak about the kind of worship God seeks.And also explains us what is ''True Worship'' in God's terms.
The two vital aspects of worship that God seeks, as we read in these Scriptures, are:
1. Practising Justice
2. Practising Righteousness
These Scriptures show that just singing songs and playing musical instruments alone is not what God is looking for in his people who worship Him.
Righteousness and Justice - practising these two aspects in our lives is what is God's expectations from a true worshiper.
These are the foundation stones that build up the aroma that is pleasing to God when we go into His presence to sing songs of praise.
As God grants grace let us meditate on these aspects and learn to train oursleves to keep the requirements of God when we worship Him.
Righteousness, that comes through His Son, that is by abiding by Jesus' sound instructions, must be like a never failing stream in our lives.
People, a stream is something which is not still, it flows..it flows over the pebbles and the stones, but it doesn't stop, but keeps running...
Similarly,God wants His righteousness to flow like a running stream in our lives, over the pebbles and stones of hurdles that we face, and never come to halt for any situation...
The second vital aspect is practising Justice - Doing what is right and just is what is pleasing to God.
God wants us to keep his decrees and statutes while dealing all our affairs. Allowing His wisdom and acknowledging Him in all we do is what God expects of us. And He wants us to put His word into practice.
People, the word ''Practise'' means, not doing just once.
This means, it requires some continuous effort to gain skill and won't be attained or completed in a day. It is not a show to be called done in just some scheduled time.
We must be persistant in practising these aspects, and as we keep practising, we keep progressing ahead to next levels and this goes on...
As God unfolds each day in our lives, and leads us into various circumstances, God wants us to practise these two aspects, steadfastly, and progress ahead into various levels of getting closer to Him, putting all our efforts to please Him by continuously working on laying this foundation for ourselves.
This is the foundation that our hearts and souls must be built upon, and thereby build up blamelessness before Him, with which He wants us to come into His presence and offer songs of praise and adoration to Him.
Its then that our worship becomes a pleasant aroma for Him.
Let us now focus on the following two verses in Amos 5:21:
'' I cannot stand your assemblies ''
'' Away with the noise of the your songs ''
These words clearly express the repulsion from God, towards the songs and worship that comes from those who indulge in injustice and unrighteousness.
Dear child of God, if we fail to keep God's requirements or live upto His expectations, then our worship becomes only noise for Him.
'' Away with the noise of the your songs ''
These words clearly express the repulsion from God, towards the songs and worship that comes from those who indulge in injustice and unrighteousness.
Dear child of God, if we fail to keep God's requirements or live upto His expectations, then our worship becomes only noise for Him.
God cannot stand such assemblies.
As we read in Amos 5:21, justice and righteousness must roll on like river and streams.
The word ''roll on'' - means rolling over everything.
As we read in Amos 5:21, justice and righteousness must roll on like river and streams.
The word ''roll on'' - means rolling over everything.
Someone is harsh with you, let your forgiveness roll on over the situation...
Someone is mistreating you, let your love roll on over the situation...
Someone is cheated by someone, let justice roll on over the matter...
Someone is abusive, let your self-control roll on the situation.... so on and so forth.
In all aspects of our lives we must practice His word and allow righteousness and justice roll on every time and every instance of dealing our affairs.
In all aspects of our lives we must practice His word and allow righteousness and justice roll on every time and every instance of dealing our affairs.
Dear people, Righteousness is again not man made.
Man made rules out of ignorant human interpretations of His word cannot substitute His righteousness.
Ignorant human interpretations when I say, the word of God is power and knowledge encapsulated .
To unfold the true meaning of His word is an anointing that comes from above, which must be carefully carried out in reverence.
Our ignorance is not an excuse for swaying away from the expectations of God.
When we apply the word of God we must apply with the right understanding of what the Scriptures are actually stating.
Righteousness again, is also not by mere acts.
Christ is our righteousness.
If God expects righteousness as a key ingredient in our worship, then no other thing will bring us his blessing, unless we adhere to the sound instruction of Jesus.
For most of us, worship songs and playing instruments are nothing more than playing or giving a performance to impress the congregation/people.
Let us read this following Scripture, that helps us understand the root cause of this kind of perspective towards worship:
'' Ezekiel 33 : 31 With their mouths they express devotion but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.''
Dear people, from this Scripture we clearly understand the reason why most of us have this perspective towards worship is because of not putting the word into practice.
If we don't put the word into practice, we are only blocking the way for us, for correct understanding to be revealed from above.
For knowledge comes from above.
'' Isaiah 33 : 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. ''
Man made rules out of ignorant human interpretations of His word cannot substitute His righteousness.
Ignorant human interpretations when I say, the word of God is power and knowledge encapsulated .
To unfold the true meaning of His word is an anointing that comes from above, which must be carefully carried out in reverence.
Our ignorance is not an excuse for swaying away from the expectations of God.
When we apply the word of God we must apply with the right understanding of what the Scriptures are actually stating.
Righteousness again, is also not by mere acts.
Christ is our righteousness.
If God expects righteousness as a key ingredient in our worship, then no other thing will bring us his blessing, unless we adhere to the sound instruction of Jesus.
For most of us, worship songs and playing instruments are nothing more than playing or giving a performance to impress the congregation/people.
Let us read this following Scripture, that helps us understand the root cause of this kind of perspective towards worship:
'' Ezekiel 33 : 31 With their mouths they express devotion but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.''
Dear people, from this Scripture we clearly understand the reason why most of us have this perspective towards worship is because of not putting the word into practice.
If we don't put the word into practice, we are only blocking the way for us, for correct understanding to be revealed from above.
For knowledge comes from above.
'' Isaiah 33 : 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. ''
Then songs of worship will be only like some love songs sung with beautiful voice to impress one another or for giving a performance, and music will be some refresher.
But for God, such worship is only noise and something He cannot tolerate, because when we don't put His word into practice we don't have the key aspects of true worship in us, and such worship is not what God is pleased in according to Amos 5:21.
Let us now understand few aspects in worship through dance:
Worship dance that comes from within the soul and spirit, by practising righteousness and justice, is totally different from the dance performed by someone with dancing skills.
When our soul is overwhelmed in the presence of God, our physical body will be taken into control by our spirit, which is impressed on by the Spirit of God who knows the requirements of God and make us dance before God's presence.
I have experienced this personally during my worship times.
I will try to brief the experience: When I was in worship, singing and praising God, the anointing of God came upon me and without my conscious efforts, I was made to stand and move around, jumping and leaping and lift my hands and dance to give praises to God. I totally forgot who I was, and was taken under the control of the Spirit of God.
And believe me people this dance is defnitely not like the regular dance that we see now a days.
It later reminded me of how king David worshiped God with dance, though he was a king, and was despised by Michal, daughter of Saul, for his dance:
'' 2 Samuel 6 :14 -16 David wearing a linen ephod danced before the Lord with all his might while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window.And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. ''
'' 2 Samuel 6 : 20 -23 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, '' How the king of Israel distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would.''
David said to Michal, ''It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel -- I will celebrate before the Lord.
I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.
David said to Michal, ''It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel -- I will celebrate before the Lord.
I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.
But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.''
And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. ''
And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. ''
Dear people, when we dance in true worship to God, we will not be bothered of whats around. We will be filled with joy and happiness for God, and this is something which cannot be defined in human expression.
One who is anointed with this gift, must diligently nurture his soul and spirit with the true knowledge of God and his goodness, and practice this gift without neglecting.
For true worship to God is beyond human description.
His glory fills us and takes us into His presence.
When we sing praises in songs we must always remember that we are singing unto a Most High authority, All Powerful God, who created us.
Our minds play a very critical role while we are worshiping God.
Practise having a clean mind, clean from every impure thought. Fill your mind with the Scriptures and just positive thoughts based on faith in His word and always having a hope.
A slightest indecency, momentary usage of wrong or filthy words, or grumbling about things, dwelling on bad thoughts and fear, too matter a lot in reflecting our standards for God.
One who is anointed with this gift, must diligently nurture his soul and spirit with the true knowledge of God and his goodness, and practice this gift without neglecting.
For true worship to God is beyond human description.
His glory fills us and takes us into His presence.
When we sing praises in songs we must always remember that we are singing unto a Most High authority, All Powerful God, who created us.
Our minds play a very critical role while we are worshiping God.
Practise having a clean mind, clean from every impure thought. Fill your mind with the Scriptures and just positive thoughts based on faith in His word and always having a hope.
A slightest indecency, momentary usage of wrong or filthy words, or grumbling about things, dwelling on bad thoughts and fear, too matter a lot in reflecting our standards for God.
Though people around you could be bad, do not think bad about them, neither harbour judgmental thoughts or fear about them. Keep a healthy mind all the time.Do not speak negative words for people.
These things matter a lot and make a lot of difference in keeping the inmost being in line with the Spirit's expectations, and keeps one really peaceful and refreshed, when, at the same is time nurtured with the promises of God.
From our above meditation, let us realise this hour that God will not be pleased in a dance that is aimed to make the audience applaud or to express your dancing abilities to gain fame, using His songs of praise.
Real worship dance is a dance to express our devotion to God, as the dance of King David.
When David danced, he danced with true reverence and thankfulness and adoration to God that came from within his soul and heart.
He did not do it to impress people.
Now, when you sing songs of praise, mean every word you utter in the songs, with all your heart.
When these above are observed, by persistant practise of justice and righteousness, its then His glory will manifest on us, from the inside of us and will reflect as a radiance from our face.
These things matter a lot and make a lot of difference in keeping the inmost being in line with the Spirit's expectations, and keeps one really peaceful and refreshed, when, at the same is time nurtured with the promises of God.
From our above meditation, let us realise this hour that God will not be pleased in a dance that is aimed to make the audience applaud or to express your dancing abilities to gain fame, using His songs of praise.
Real worship dance is a dance to express our devotion to God, as the dance of King David.
When David danced, he danced with true reverence and thankfulness and adoration to God that came from within his soul and heart.
He did not do it to impress people.
Now, when you sing songs of praise, mean every word you utter in the songs, with all your heart.
When these above are observed, by persistant practise of justice and righteousness, its then His glory will manifest on us, from the inside of us and will reflect as a radiance from our face.
Let us look into this Scripture:
'' Matthew 14 : 32,33 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him saying, '' Truly you are the Son of God. '' ''
Those who were in the boat did not seem to have sung a song, they did not seem to have performed a dance, neither did they seem to have used any musical instruments to express their adoration, yet the Scriptures quote that they ''worshiped'' him by saying '' Truly you are the Son of God. ''
Dear people, this means that its their belief, their awe and reverence and their acceptance of the truth that Jesus is truly the Son of God - all these presented together in a verbal expression - is what is regarded as ''worship'' that they have given to Jesus.
Therefore let us learn from our meditation this hour and incline ourselves in the right direction and devote ourselves towards meeting His expectations and requirements of worship.
Let not our songs and dances and musical instruments become a noise for our Father.
Let not our assemblies become unbearable for Him.
But let them be a pleasant aroma, and an incense that arises from the devoted hearts of his people, who have laid justice and righteousness as the foundations of their worship.
God Bless You.
