Responsibilities & Expectations In Worship

Thank you Lifespring and brother Ron Horner for this wonderful insight into a subject that I hold dear. I hope everyone that reads this will enjoy it as much as I have. God bless. Enjoy!
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Responsibilities & Expectations in Worship. By: Ron Horner

Often people have wrong expectations of worship and don't fulfill their responsibilities when it comes to worship. Effective worship is not simply the responsibility of a worship leader or pastor or someone else in a particular position, not is it merely the responsibility of musicians. In the Old Testament the priests were instructed to prepare their hearts BEFORE he stepped up to worship (Exodus 19:22). So it is with us. Even before we get to the place designated for worship – be it a church, a prayer center, a ministry, or even in our private life, wherever it is we need to prepare our hearts to worship. We need to learn how to deal effectively with the junk that tends to pile up and be able to set that aside (or better yet, roll it over on the LORD) and then be geared to worship.We, as believers have often expected the leaders to carry us into the presence of God. As a parent, you carry infants and toddlers, but you don't carry fully grown adults around in your arms. Rather, you expect them to stand on their own two feet, so to speak, and go in themselves. We've had a mentality that the leaders (the musicians, etc.) were supposed to carry us. Get over that spiritual laziness and carry yourself! You are a priest too! You need to stand on your own two feet!The Psalmist in Psalm 63:3-5 and 145:1-2 spoke of who he would bless the LORD – it was an act of his will – not of his emotions. Worship is an act of the will – not the emotions! Worship will involve your emotions, but it does not originate with your emotions. It originates from the will. You choose to worship. You choose to lift your hands. You choose to open your mouth and let your lips pour forth praise and adoration. You choose! As you grow in your relationship with God, you must be also growing in your ability to govern your life by your spirit and not by the flesh or soulish realms. The spirit man must become the predominate guiding force in your life. Worship is something you grow into and you learn to discipline yourself to worship in spite of your feelings and as you discipline yourself to worship you'll receive the benefits of worship. Worship Must Involve SacrificeAs Abraham, the Old Testament patriarch went to worship, something always had to die...whether a ram, a bull, a sheep…something. He even, on one occasion, had to be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Every time he offered a sacrifice, something died. So it needs to be with your worship. Something needs to die. You need to offer a part of you that you no longer need on the altar as you worship. Take an arena of your life that you want out of your life and offer it on the altar of worship. Let it die in your life so that I might live more fully in you. Remember, you must decrease, I must increase (John 3:30). In understanding the Christ life, it is in dying that we live. Issues exist within our lives that must die. We have things in our lives that cannot go with us where the Lord would like to take us, therefore they must be removed from our lives and our lives be wholly surrendered to the Father's will. Isaiah prophesied concerning the increase of the government of God in the earth. That government has to be established in us before it can possibly be established through us. As God's government and rulership is established ever more fully in our lives, things begin to shift (Isaiah 9:6-7). The increase of God's governing in your life should never end. It should always be increasing in you…ALWAYS!Worship is about both decrease and increase. It is about flesh dying and your spirit living. Self-governance apart from God ending and divine governance increasing. It's the law of exchange at work in your life. It involves you doing something your flesh does not want to do, but that your born again spirit does want to do. It involves release—release from things that hold you back and release into new levels of freedom. As has been said before, in order to obtain something you've never had you must do something you've never done. Increase involves decrease and decrease involves increase. It's a divine paradox. Am I too proud to worship?Reasons to not worship properly are usually summed up in one phrase: personal pride or self-will. That may seem to be an oversimplification, but let me give some points to consider. Have you…§ In arrogance, don't genuinely think God is worthy to be worshiped;§ Believed the lie of the enemy that you don't need God, yet God is the very breath giver;§ Developed mindsets and ideas that are not born of God that cause you to be robbed of truth and the truth of knowing God properly and fully. The Very Essence of Worship is Surrender. Remember the Word says that the Father seeks worshipers (John 4:23). He is seeking them The Bible tells us also that God seeks intercessors (Ezekiel 22:30). John tells us…"And they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit – by the spirit and by leadership of the Holy Spirit and in truth." Here are some aspects of true worship to consider:§ Worship cannot be done by or in your flesh. § If your mind is dictating it, it is not true worship. § It also must be done in truth – honesty – in complete denial of self. It cannot be done under any pretense of falsehood. Any falsehood taints the worship and it ceases to be worship. The opposite of truth is falsehood. The opposite of flesh is spirit.§ True worship also involves and requires fervency – the linking together of body, soul and spirit in expression to the Father. To worship in spirit does not mean that you will not use your mind or your flesh when you worship, but it does tell you that you will not be guided by your mind or your flesh in your worship if it is to be true worship.Examine your own worship. Is it done in the flesh – apart from the expression of your spirit unto the Father? Is your mind dictating what you do or don't do? Is your worship an act of self-denial and an act of self-surrender?The purpose of your worship, your expectation in worship should simply be: to meet with God. As you adore the LORD, you tell your flesh and the world around you that it is subservient to the kingdom and purposes and nature of God. You are establishing new paradigms of the kingdom each time you worship. You are establishing new expressions in the earth with every true expression of worship. False WorshipIf there is a true worship, then there is also a false worship – a worship guided by the flesh and ruled by self-exaltation. With false worship, all the words may be right, but the heart is not. The Lord said to me, in preparing for this message: Don't treat your worship as if you are doing me a favor. Such worship is a strange fire and He doesn't look kindly upon strange fire. The sons of Aaron offered strange fire before the LORD. They wanted to do the acts of worship without the self-surrender and truth required of worship. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:1-3)Some further points to consider:§ Worship requires honesty. Falsehood and false operations are not of God, but of the flesh and the devil. They are not acceptable to God and are offerings He does not receive. § Worship is not just done with the lips or the lifting of the hands, but may have a multitude of expressions, but however it is, it will require sacrifice on your part to make it acceptable to God. § To be in an atmosphere of worship and only half-heartedly raise your voice in worship to me does you a disservice. To be in an atmosphere of worship and not yield to it, but stubbornly refuse to participate is a rebellion that must be worked out of your life. § Rebellion – in all its forms must be surrendered. When satan was in charge of worship it required surrender of him as well. He came to a point of non-surrender and at that point his worship became tainted – rebellion took root and brought forth his eviction from the presence of the LORD (Isaiah 14:12-14).
If you refuse to follow through on the required surrender for that time, you will evict yourself from God's presence just as he did. § True worship involves surrender and will bring you to a new level of surrender if you continue in it. § God desires full surrender in your life with your worship. Nothing less will do.
When you come to a point of non-surrender – your worship ceases. You may continue the form, but the "worship" ceases.Purpose in your heart to never come to a point of non-surrender…to always press through and press past the places of required surrender that God will bring you to. In that way you will not only be a worshipper, but become an item of worship. Become a fragrance of worship before the throne and see where I will take you.§ True worship involves elevation of the one worshiped. You don't worship what you don't elevate. You give place to the object of worship and submit yourself to that object – whether of things or of God. Self-elevation (such as that practiced by satan) resulted his worship ceasing and his disqualification to be in the presence of God.
What you elevate – you worship. What you worship – you have elevated.Every believer is responsible to worship. We are to go past whether we "feel" like worshiping or not to the place where we continually worship…where our heart is attuned to His presence. We (according to Revelation 4:11) were created for God's pleasure…to worship Him, therefore our greatest fulfillment will be the result of fulfilling that opportunity. Worthy art thou, O Lord our God, the Holy, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and by thee they exist; and because of thy pleasure they had being and were created. (Revelation 4:11)May we step up to our place as worshippers and find a place of utter satisfaction in Him and His presence.
Copyright ©2008 Ron M. Horner All Rights Reserved