"It Matters How You Worship"
"... worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." 1Chronicles 16:29b
What many modern churches call worship is nothing more than carnality - the marriage of pop-culture and secular music, with a little bit of God thrown in for good measure. Worship in the seeker-sensitive movement has become man-centered and entertainment driven. Many church services have become nothing more than a fifty-minute rock concert with a fifteen-minute "God-talk" at the end. What began many years ago as the contemporary movement has now become a slippery slope in which "anything goes" in church. Today there are churches showing secular movies, projecting the Super Bowl, and performing secular rock music - all in the name of connecting with the lost. Frankly, Christ has little or nothing to do with any of these things. Sadly, these same churches are also failing to produce changed lives. Recent studies show that the "Christians" who attend these types of churches show little to no difference in their lifestyles when compared to the rest of the unchurched world. A carnal church service environment produces carnal Christians. A man-cenered worship produces men who worship self and whose Christianity is perverted and self-centered.
This carnal approach to entertainment is not worship. This is not of God. It has nothing to do with the Biblical picture of worship - bowing down before His presence in humility and repentance and giving Him all reverence. It has nothing to do with a lifestyle of worship which would reflect surrender and separation from sin or sanctification in holiness and righteousness. These "worship services" attract a crowd and entertain people, but they don't change lives." - P.C. " (emphasis is mine)
This is a sobering reality in today's society - too often the emphasis is placed upon the "time we've had" and the "awesomeness of the feelings/experiences" in our church services. We are instructed in 1John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." Too often, we allow our feelings to determine the workings of the Holy Spirit in our services and in our lives. We must re-evaluate our beliefs about GOD - who HE is and what HE tells us/shows us about HIMSELF in HIS WORD. We cannot and must not allow our feelings to determine our Christian life... our feelings cannot be trusted because they change so often, but our dependence must be in the fact that we serve an "unchangeable GOD." We cannot and must not take man's word or follow man's example, but we must search out GOD'S WAY in HIS WORD for ourselves because we will "give account" of ourself at the judgment seat of Christ. When we face the LORD, we cannot blame anyone else or make excuses for our lack of commitment, surrender, and dedication to HIM... HE already knows our heart. We must "seek to worship" HIM, strive to learn the "how to' and do it with all our heart... for HE IS WORTHY!!!
