GOING TO A DEEPER LEVEL #6

I have failed to put the last four commentaries on the Israel Houghton book 'Going to a Deeper Level' that I took our worship team through... so I will do this over the next 3 days or so.

A DEEPER WORSHIP
Let the Heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord
- Psalm 96:11-13

INTRODUCTION
The whole purpose of our consecration time is to journey to a deeper level not only in corporate worship but in our own personal worship journeys. The challenge is... have we caught something during this time or have we just gone through the motions. Are we at a deeper level in our own personal walk with Christ or are we just living from day to day and not encouraging change in our lives. A deeper worship is all about going to a new level in our relationship with Christ.

WE ARE MADE TO WORSHIP
Whether we recognise it or not we are designed to worship. Whether we worship Christ or something else is a decision we all must make but no matter what we do, we are worshipping.

The dictionary meaning of worship includes: extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object... sometimes we need to check and ask ourselves... am I worshipping God today, or is it the TV, or the playstation, or the footy game or even our relationships or our jobs.

There is certainly nothing wrong with partaking in any of these things, the question is... does our worship of God always get the priority first or is it often an afterthought? Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God...

WE SHOULD ALL BECOME COURT JESTERS
I love the picture given by Israel in this chapter that we should not see ourselves as a King or Queen when it comes to worshipping Jesus.

We should be like the court jester who existed to serve the King through entertainment. If the King was pleased they got to live but if they were unimpressed they would lose their life.

Praise God He is full of grace and worship isn’t a life or death matter in the physical but the principal certainly does apply in the spiritual. If we please God with our worship we are spiritually alive... but if we offer up empty sacrifices of worship then we can become spiritually dead.

It’s all about worshipping Him in spirit and in truth!

WORSHIP IS HOT
Yes indeed! But a short note to remind us that worship should be HOT for the right reasons. It’s not about limelight or fame or glory but everything to do with humility and servant hood and doing what we do not to please man or look good in mans eyes but to again offer a sacrifice of worship and praise with the intention being to please our King.

CHAT WITH GOD REGULARLY
Worship is a time where we chat with an old friend who is very interested in us and all we do. Worship is just like a conversation where we open our hearts to our best friend and bare all in openness only to have God come, wipe the slate clean and love us all the more.

I love worshipping a King who sets you free each and every time you have a conversation!

AND THREE LAST WORDS...
Worship is lifestyle...