Praise and
Worship. The words are used together so
often in church that we tend to think of them interchangeably. But, there is a difference in praising God
and in worshiping Him.
As we said
yesterday, praise is primarily a declaration that you make speaking highly,
favorably, and admiringly of your God.
You need to be able to praise Him and speak good and rejoice regardless
of how you feel or regardless of Him doing anything for you.
Worship is a
much deeper commitment. Worship involves
surrender of the heart and mind and soul to Him. To commit oneself to Him in such a way that
you are overwhelmingly submitted to Him, not just in a church environment, but
in every aspect of your life.
The word
worship means “reverence and adoration of, to pay homage to”. And, when you pay homage to someone, you
surrender yourself publicly and reverently to them. You live according to their rules and
principles, no matter what. You have
allegiance to them. In the Old Testament
times, and in some cultures still today, when the king, or lord of the land is
present, homage was most often paid by laying face down on the ground before
them. When kings would conquer
territories, they would force the captives to surrender in this manner. This is why you will see people pray and even
worship in church face down on the ground.
It is an act of complete surrender, humbleness, and homage to God.
How do we
live out worship on a daily basis?
Surrendering in church seems easy enough, but what about daily?
When you
have allegiance to a king or a lord, you live according to their
authority. Living a life of worship to
God means that we live according to His authority in our lives. We desire to know His Word and then to keep
His Word. We present ourselves to Him,
as our King of Kings and our Lord of Lords and we give ourselves to Him…
daily. Living a life, daily, that honors
Him.
“But be
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)
“I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
(Romans 12:1)
“The He said to them all, If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
Our act of humbleness and submissiveness is our worship given to
God. It is not just something that
happens when we sing at church, but a lifestyle that we live, dedicating
ourselves to our Savior and our Lord.
Read John Chapter 13.
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