"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in sprit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
- John 4:20-24 -
Somehow over the years we've all been led to believe that worship must take place in the "Worship Center" on Sunday morning. (Actually twice on Sunday mornings and once on Saturday evening for those who attend the Mega Worship Centers). The other belief is that worship entails singing, dancing, and/or raising your hands. Of course no one outright says they believe this. In fact just about every Christian who attends these ceremonies would vehemently deny that they believed this way. They would all probably quote that same verse I listed above. But their actions speak much louder. If they didn't believe it then why would they give these places special names like "The Sanctuary", or "Worship Hall"?
Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with singing songs of praise or raising your hands, or even dancing with joy. In fact I even like a lot of the songs that are sung, and litsen to them on the radio quite often. Also there are many times throughout the bible where godly people sang songs and praised God vocally. But not once was it ever "led" by someone.
The truth is that the modern-day version of Christianity has become no different than the version of Judaism in Christs day. Yes, of course, there are obvious differences (like the whole "believing in Christ" thing), but at the core the issues are the same: It was/is no longer actually about worshipping God, but about the religious practices themselves.
We treat worship as an event only made possible by our trusty "worship leaders". How on earth would we know how to worship if it wasn't a coordinated event? Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if people all showed up and started praising and singing without someone to direct them? Or worse yet, what would happen if people stopped showing up and began worshipping God with the way they lived their life instead of just on special days, in special places, as a coordinated effort?
"In Worship Leader Magazine you hear from the leading thinkers, artists, and pastors on how we can more effectively worship God.
- Pastor Greg Laurie - Harvest Ministries - Taken from a quote on www.worshipleader.com
Here is one of my all time favorite verses which relates to the quote above:
"Appoint ye a leader over thine chuches that when ye come to worship God ye may do so more effectively."
Hezekiah 6:17
All kidding aside, how can we consider our worship services truly worship if it's just conforming to a certain set of standards?
Under the old Jewish ways everything was about rigidity and structure. But that was all established before he had revealed freedom to us through Christ. What Jesus is telling the woman is that worship isn't an event or a certain set of songs that you sing, nor does it happen in a special place. There will be a time where people will worship the Father in their hearts and he will know they are worshipping Him by the way in which they live their lives. There will no longer be a need for places or rituals. That time is now. God is seeking people who will worship Him in this way.
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate, and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
- Matthew 7:13-14 -
A few really? Not the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands that flock weekly to the pews to be led in worship?
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