Our Position in Worship

by Apostle C. Tavaya
https://youtu.be/3YDn9t-aZ_A

There is something that God has been challenging me about recently about our Position in Worship and this is what I will share this moment and I hope the Lord will minister to each one of us including myself as we share. Remember "we are worshippers first before we are preachers or singers". I will share about the basics we all know but from a Positional 'Point of view'.

Worship is defined by some as a moment when ALL a man is surrenders or submits to ALL that GOD is and this is scriptural by the way. Let me share a scripture Matthew 22:37 (KJV) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Some go on to define Worship as our LOVE for God and it is indeed depicted in this scripture above. However, this scripture did not just start there, it is a follow-up to some question posed to Jesus Christ by His disciples about the greatest commandment. In response, verse 36, Jesus revealed that the GREATEST commandment was TO LOVE GOD with ALL that you are, ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR SOUL AND ALL YOUR MIND. The LOVE Jesus talks about here is AGAPE the unconditional love. 

Others define Worship as man's response to God's greatness and to who God is. There is again another scripture which says, though they knew God they did not worship Him as God. Which means one's response should be in line with the knowledge they have about God. One has to indeed position self so well to an extent that shows your knowledge of God. Another set of scriptures says that more blows will be to those who knew what to do but continued in their sinful stances.

May it be known to us all that after God has revealed himself to you, how you respond to Him matters. Worship is a Response to who God is... As children of God may we indeed worship God in line with the understanding and the teachings that we have always received about God. One big challenge is that some have reached at a stage where they get used to God and some really "don't care" I am reminded again of a scripture which God says, paraphrased,  "you did all these things and I remained quiet, and  you thought I was just like you"

Psalm 50:21 (KJV) These things hast thou done, and I  kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. 

No matter how many years we have  spent in church, we must never be so used to this great and amazing God. May we seek to continue to know Him more and more and as He reveals Himself to us we come up with new revelations of the positioning we must find ourselves at.

Worship was NEVER meant for men but ENTIRELY for God. When we know our positions, it will help us very much. If you may pause for a moment and think, How many times have we sought to be applauded or praised for the good singing or playing, praying, preaching, giving we did? It’s not bad, however, we must still know our position and never go off-bounds. There is a space which God will ALWAYS wants to occupy. Let people praise but may all the glory go back to the Creator of the universe.

Are you really serious to think that it all happened because of your ability? Are you really serious that the miracle God performed through you was because you prayed so much? May we really know our position in worship? ALL GLORY MUST GO BACK TO HIM, people might see you but there is always a "hidden hand of God" behind every happening and success you may see. We might not see or know it but there is a lot that is happening in the spiritual realm. May God calm me down of the pride that I have operated in. May God help me to remain humble even after all the pressure I receive to pomp up and think it is all about me. There is a great danger when we tread into God's courts without respect.

Our "Position" is that of Worshipping God as long as there is breathe in us. David asks God at some point that "Who will give you praise in the grave?" It is a great and worrisome question he asked... Psalm 150:6 (KJV) says, "..let everything that has breathe praise the Lord..." 

Indeed as we look at how you are worshiping and praising, is God happy at your position in terms of worship? One day I just started having this sense that if I am to do anything for God , I have to do is as if there is not going to be a tomorrow. It is yet another position that one can find himself/herself. Whatever you do, in word or in deed do it as unto God and not unto men...

Psalm 22:3 (KJV): But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 

Let's look at the scripture above, God is awaiting your praise, He wants to dwell, to settle, to stay there. The sad thing is with all the distortions in the world, there is a lot of noise and at times there is a lot that pull us away from worshipping him the right way. Do we have any excuse for not having worshipped God because or these destructions? Unfortunately I don't think we have any. In Matthew 22:37 the word which is translated LOVE is Agape which means unconditional, as so should our worship.

Are you hungry, jobless, rejected, not sure where life's direction is going, still I say WORSHIP HIM. Our position in Worship is according to God's definition where we must understand, GOD will remain God despite all we are encountering.

We truly need to take cognisance of the background to the answer on the GREATEST commandment (Mt 22:37). We are greatly compelled to move in divine disposition, a spiritual stand point to what should be defined as TRUE WORSHIP (John 4:24). This is more of the response of the heart than anything else. A combined revelation of these two scriptures would see believers receiving great imputation from God and the church would never be the same again!

A prayer we can make is:

• Lord strip me of all the pride, from now on I know that even though I don't see it there is your hidden hand giving me all advantages I may boast about.
• Lord help me to remain faithful to you no matter what comes my way.
• Lord I want to have a right standing with you that will see me a true worshipper you are seeking after.
• Lord help me never to get so used to you that I fail to realise the greatness and the glory you carry.
• Lord I want to worship you while I still have the breath in me. There is no one who can praise you in the grave.

When we take the rightful position in Worship, there will never be any competition among worshippers or ministers. Worship has nothing to do with us but ALL TO TO WITH GOD. Can God compete with Himself? If you have Christ in you and the other brother has Christ in them, can they compete? Are we really serious, a divided house cannot stand.

We need more grace and forgiveness from the Lord in this time as never before because of the positions we have given ourselves against God's. Because of some position we have assumed in worship, we have chased and moved God out of our environments. Imagine the sad happening in Ezekiel 8:6 (KJV) He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

God showed his servant Ezekiel what people were doing "in the name of worship" but little did they know that they were actually telling God to move out from His sanctuary. The Sanctuary or Holy Place is for God not man's. Let us be very careful what we do on the altar.

It then stands to reason that if worship is a heart, soul and mind’s expression of the love of God then if these three are perpetually kept in right standing with God worship is what should be going on even before we start singing in church. In this case, singing in church should be redefined as an audible expression of the honest love of God as already expressed by one’s heart, soul and mind! Probably this is the type of worship which fell the walls of Jericho.

“Lord help me to remain faithful…” It is expected in stewardship that a man be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). So faithfulness is linked to worship- faithfulness in keeping one heart, soul and mind at the apex of loving God.

Be blessed...