After an appraisal session in a leadership meeting, someone stood up to say this; “I enjoyed the worship session during the service. It was really a great atmosphere.” While I appreciated this person’s contribution, I had to ask myself; “Are we really supposed to enjoy worship sessions? Is worship meant for us or for God?”
Friend, the object of worship is God, not man (John 12:32). Any worship session that directs focus from God to man is another definition of idolatry. This is why those who lead worship must be broken people. They must project Jesus and not their singing skills (John 3:30). They must be people who edify the church, not those who entertain us.
Everything we do in worship must honour God, including our dances. To me, the debate on the various dances going on in churches today is not supposed to be an issue if people understand the purpose and focus of worship. Any dance, song, or expression that does not point men to Jesus is another display of carnality wrapped in pseudo spirituality (Romans 8:6, Galatians 5:24).
Worshippers must be dead people. They must be dead to the flesh and personal aggrandizement. They should be more alive to God than the environment (Romans 12:1-2). They must sing to please God and not merely impress people. They must live a life that is acceptable to God if they ever think that their worship or songs would be acceptable (Genesis 4:4, Hebrews 11:4).
Worship is not just what we do on Sunday morning. It is how we live every day (1 Peter 2:5). You cannot be far from God, Monday to Saturday, and think you would lead people to God on Sunday morning. You cannot import what you did at a worldly party on Saturday and call it worship. It is nothing but self-deception.
A worshipper is someone who, by the Holy Spirit, takes people to where he or she has been in God (Genesis 22:5, Hebrews 5:1). Whereas good music is important in church. It must first be because God deserves it, not because we enjoy it. We can enjoy worship while God is starved in heaven. God daily seeks worshipers. Those who would be in alignment and give Him what He truly enjoys (John 4:23).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria