When my heart is dry and I don’t feel like worshiping, I go to Scripture.
There’s nothing that stirs my affection for God like His Word.
Though the term “worship leader” may not be in the Bible, worship is everywhere. Literally. The canvas of God’s Word is painted with worship.
In this post I’d like to highlight a few passages and describe what worship means throughout Scripture. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but simply a glimpse.
1. Worship is a Sacrifice
In the story of Abraham and Isaac, we catch a glimpse of the worship God requires. Just as Abraham had to be willing to sacrifice His only Son, our own worship needs to be a sacrifice. It must cost something.
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you” (Gen. 22:1-5).
2. Worship is Obedience
Worship is not worship without obedience. We can’t say we love God if we don’t do what He says. For the redeemed heart, obedience is not just a duty, it’s a joy.
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deut. 10:12-13).
3. Worship is a Responsibility
The organization that went into the Tabernacle of David astounds me. The worship of God was more than an isolated event. It was a massive production and a weighty responsibility. David knew the worship of God was of supreme importance and he structured his kingdom to reflect it:
“David assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and the total was 38,000 men. ‘Twenty-four thousand of these,’David said, ‘shall have charge of the work in the house of the LORD, 6,000 shall be officers and judges, 54,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the LORD with the instruments that I have made for praise.’ And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the LORD, and likewise at evening…” (1 Chronicles 23:2,30).
4. Worship is about the Glory of God
When the people of God worship, the presence of God descends. When we set our heart upon His glory, His glory will manifest. I love this picture of worship in the Old Testament:
“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house” (2 Chronicles 7:1-2).
5. Worship Leads to Breakthrough
It’s amazing what happens when the saints worship. When we elevate our vision above circumstances, above “getting an answer”, above our comfort, God moves on our behalf. We should never worship in order to get something but oftentimes the breakthrough of God is welcomed through our worship.
Consider the story of Jehoshaphat:
“And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.’ And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed” (2 Chronicles 20:21-22).
6. Worship is a Response
When we see the glory of God, we worship. When we experience the goodness of God, we worship. Worship is not a striving in our flesh to please God. It’s simply the natural response of a heart that has seen Him. Every day is a response to the grace and mercy of our God.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…” (Psalm 103:1).
7. Worship is Humbling
When you experience God; when you taste His goodness, pride disappears. You don’t think as highly of yourself. It’s humbling. Consider Isaiah’s response to God’s glory:
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1, 6).
8. Worship is Within
When Jesus came, He introduced a whole new paradigm of worship. No longer was it about a place. It was now about spirit and truth. The Holy Spirit lives within us and worship is a matter of the heart. This doesn’t discredit the importance of the corporate gathering, but it surely is not dependent on it.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth'” (John 4:21-24).
9. Worship is a Witness
Layers of truth are contained within the story of Paul and Silas in the Philippian prison. One of those truths is worship as a witness. The sheer fact that they were singing hymns to God around midnight was testimony to the jailer and other prisoners.
When we respond to injustice with worship; when we respond to our own trials with worship, the world sees that peculiar faith and wonders.
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them…” (Acts 16:25).
10. Worship Centers on Christ
I believe the greatest picture of worship in all of Scripture is the vision of the throneroom in Revelation. The Lamb upon His throne is worthy of unending songs of praise and adoration.
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Revelation 4:11).
Consider this post a challenge, worship leader. Every time you open Scripture to read, let it fill you with affections for Jesus. Let it stir your heart to worship. There’s no better way to prepare for Sunday.
Question: What is one of your favorite Scriptures on worship? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
The Story of Jehoshaphat has to be one of my favorites…
only because he put the musicians in the FRONT of the army!
Think of the Courage and Faith they had to do that…
thats the kind of faith i want…thats the kind of Trust in God I want…
to lead in Front of the battle!
and if you think about it…we really are! There is a spiritual battle and war going on everytime we start to praise….and we (worship leaders) are on the front lines!
I agree, Arny. Sometimes I wonder how I would have reacted to that war strategy in Jehoshaphat’s army. I’d be like, “umm…I don’t think so!”
I love all your scriptures, thank you for sharing. You post blessed my heart today!
Glad you like it!
Thanks for sharing this!
I love these scriptures!
One OT scripture that jumped out at me lately, and I still haven’t got my head around it completely. In Exodus 7, God wants Pharaoh to let His people go so they could worship him in the desert.
Honestly, I used to read that and figure it was just an excuse to get the people out of Egypt – or even a fast one that God is having Moses pull on Pharaoh. But he truly was freeing them so they could go to Sinai and worship in His presence. Again, I think there’s still a lot more here to wrap my brain around…
Interesting. Really shows the primary importance worship had in the Old Testament. It was a responsibility for Israel to worship God.
One of my favorite scriptures is 2Sam. 24 (yes the whole chapter) but in particular, verse 24, where David is offered, at no cost, land, fuel, and animals to make a sacrifice to God.
24 But David answered, “No! I have to pay you what they’re worth. I can’t offer the Lord my God a sacrifice that I got for nothing.”
God wants our worship to cost us something. I love that you also have things in there about obedience and responsibility. And man, does God like to put us to the test 🙂
Even in my own life, in the lowest of lows, my wife and I without jobs or a place to live, God asked me if I was still gonna praise him and worship him anyway. You learn a lot about God and yourself when you’re confronted with worship in the midst of suffering and despair. And you’re right – it does lead to breakthrough.
On a side note, Psalm 103 is my favorite chapter in the bible. Regardless of what I’m feeling or not feeling, I read that and tell my soul I’m gonna praise him anyway.
Loved this post, David. Thanks!
Ryan, I love that verse as well. In our modern worship culture, we are lacking this concept of worship costing us something. So good.
David, thanks so much for posting it. I think I’m going to request the rest of my worship team read it.
One of my favorite worship scriptures is when Moses asks God to show him His glory, and God does!
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
(Exodus 33:18-23 ESV)
The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
(Exodus 34:5-8 ESV)
Our natural response to all that God is, says, and does should be to bow down and worship. Awesome!
Wow
Love this post! Challenging.
Thanks Don!
The 23rd psalm has been on my mind this week.
He guides and protects us and gives us what we need. Eat this, go here, stop there, watch me take care of that lion, rest here, hide here, come back to me ….The oil carefully applied to sheep’s heads kept infection and insects from their ears. Maybe the table and overflowing cup David wrote about could be compared to a bubbling cool brook and good pasture. His happy healthy sheep are not head strong goats, are not far away from his reach and call to us, and are not overly fat by eating and pushing at the expense of skinny ones)
Hearing His voice or having ears to hear and eyes to see is not as mystical or illusive as I used to think. It is not “using the force” or “gazing into the crystal ball” or “through the fog”
He lets us know when to pull back, when to go, where to step, where to change direction, what to eat, what to not eat…all the time. It for me know is more about where my focus is and being attuned to his voice for my needs, which is in line with what He is about. He loving cares for and searches us out.
Was praying for a neighbor and asked God that any idols be crushed and his banners of love be raised in the situation. I pray that for all of us too. He is so good to bring us back again and again.
Not that bad and hard things will not come, but He is the one we see fighting the battles and looking out for our best. He knows what we each need from where we are each moment, as he watches and cares for us. Yes we serve in the kingdom, and it is His table, and this week I am finding the abiding part of this is very joyful. It is not all servitude without peace and stillness and nourishment and his loving anointing to keep us clean and aware (His Spirit is with and in us!)
Daniel is such a good example of making this place (of worship and awe with God) in his life of knowing and serving God in a place that did not know Him.
Been a challenging week as usual and ready to roll onward. Drawing closer to my husband’s direction and leading (submitting to each other as we go), as we were asked to do by someone who has spiritual authority in our lives has been bringing us better unity at home in our our walk’s with Him and interactions with others.
Thank you for the blog piece about anointing, I came to appreciate His protection and guidance and correction and provision in this week more through reflecting on that.
He has it under control and for that I am glad. He knows our hearts and I am so glad for when He is at the door ready to come in.
Rhonda
Hey buddy, I read this first thing Friday morning, it was so fresh and beautiful … I forgot to comment.
The scripture most meaningful to me is Mark 12:30, Jesus quoting the Shema (Deut 6:4) as the first and greatest commandment:
“Hear oh Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself.”
I have a song for that: http://www.robstill.com/scripture-song-greatest-commandment-shema/
Love that verse, Rob. That pretty much sums it all up!
David,
Had flagged this a while back and finally got around to reading it fully. Thanks for the work you put into this. Very well done. I’m thinking about taking this as a basis and developing a series of calls to worship/teaching moments for my congregation out of this. Thanks!
2 Chronicles 29:10-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
10 “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”
Josh, this is a great one. I love the “stand before Him to serve Him” line.
It’s one of my personal “reminder” scriptures. Leading worship is a big thing. Any time I feel like I’ve been coasting, I like to read it as motivation.