Worship Is More Than A Song

I heard a song the other day that just rocked me to my very core called “Clear The Stage” by Ross King.  The chorus basically says “You can sing all you want to and still get it wrong because worship is more than a song.”

Did that hit you as strong as it hits me? Now, maybe I took it a little harder on the chin because I am the music director and primary worship leader at my church and singing is, quite frankly, what I do for a living.  And I have realized over and over again how it can become quite easy for me to get lost in my gift and lose sight of the Giver.  But I have to say that it can get just as easy for a Christian to fall into the same carelessness in their worship.

When we hear the term “praise and worship” we quickly associate that with music.  More precisely, we associate it with the music we hear at church. Some think of hymns, some think of a “praise chorus”, while others may think worship is any song they have heard from Chris Tomlin or Yolanda Adams.  No matter what “style” of music you think of you would still be incorrect if you thought that style was all that praise and worship consisted of.  Truth be told, music is just one of many expressions of praise and worship.  Unfortunately, over the past few centuries, music has taken over the worship spotlight and thereby deluded the full meaning and purpose of praise and worship.  Now, I’m not saying that musical expressions of praise and worship are incorrect; I’m merely saying that they are incomplete.

I have been taught and come to understand that there are three core elements to worship. Whether you’re singing, dancing, clapping, shouting, serving or giving, if these three core elements are missing, then no matter what your form of worship is, it is being done in vain.

The first core element is having perpetual availability to God.  That means that you live in a state of openness to God by giving Him complete and total access to your life and that you stay in legitimate anticipation of readiness to carry out His instructions.  If God can’t have access to your life then there is no true worship on your part.  To sing “I give myself away so You can use me” and yet hold a portion of your heart, desires, dreams, aspirations or even sin in a compartment that you want to keep hidden from God is void and useless.  Just like Cain’s offering, God rejects it.  Why? Because you are offering something to God that has no sacrifice attached to it.  You’re singing a beautiful song, but every word is a lie.

The second core element is on-going yieldedness or continually giving the “right of way” to the Holy Spirit.  Worship carries with it Christ-interruptability.  You cannot say that you are worshipping God and have a made-up mind in the matter.  Your pastor may be calling a special offering for the church.  Whether you know it or not, writing that check is an expression of worship.  When you value God’s plan and provision over your own personal agenda - that is worship.  You may say to yourself, “Well, I already gave my tithe, so God should be happy with that” you rob yourself of true worship.  You have made yourself just like one of the Pharisees that made sure every tithe they gave was correct to the very penny, but neglected God in acts of charity and mercy.

The third element is complete and willing obedience. That seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  But if we are truly honest with ourselves, we know that complete and willing obedience is one of the greatest tests of our faith.  See, it’s easy to lift your hands, close your eyes and lose yourself in a song in a church full of like-minded believers.  That’s easy obedience.  The worship leader says, “Clap your hands” and you begin to clap along with every one else.  Once again, easy obedience.  But now take that obedience outside of the Sunday morning setting.  Its Thursday after lunch and your boss asks you to work a few hours of overtime.  You have nothing scheduled after work except to relax at home with a warm bath and a good book.  But you can sense in your spirit that you should work the overtime, but you shake it off because really want to see how chapter 16 is going to end.  The prompting of the Holy Spirit hits again and you reluctantly comply by telling your boss that you’ll work until 7:30pm.  But then as soon as it passes five o’clock, you’re not really working.  You leave your computer on and a few files on your desk, but you’ve retreated to the restroom with book in hand to sit and finish a few chapters.  “After all”, you reason with yourself, “there are only a handful of employees left in the building and boss will be in meetings until at least six o’clock.”  So your obedience lacks completeness and any sense of willingness. And worst of all, you don’t even realize that submitting to your authority at work is an expression of worship to the One you really work for and was responsible for getting you the job in the first place.

Now, I didn’t write all of this to shame you or condemn you.  I’m just sharing with you how off balance we (myself included) have made worship.  So the next time you are lifting your hands while singing “Nobody Greater” or giving to the building fund or simply clocking out after a full day’s work, remember to worship.  Remember to open yourself to instruction.  Remember to yield to the Holy Spirit.  And remember to obey fully and willingly.  Because worship is more than a song.