I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
~ Psalm 138:2 (NIV)
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I was talking to a friend yesterday about the glory we give men versus the glory we give God. How we praise people with clapping hands when a nice song is sung or some other special performance is done at a church service. As an observer, it's difficult to know how much of that praise is being given to people, and how much is being raised to the God who enabled the performer. Something to think about the next time you feel led to applaud -- not that we shouldn't encourage and show appreciation for those who give excellent praise offerings with the gifts God has given them. Not my point. But we need to check our hearts -- is God the focal point when we praise, even when we praise men? Are we thanking and praising God for the message that was delivered in their offering, a message that points us to God? Or are we just applauding a beautiful performance?
The point is that God needs to be at the center of all we are and think. He needs to be exalted in us, because His Word says He is exalted above all things! There is no one higher, nothing more worthy than He. And I think we are dulled in our senses of how great He really is. One day, we will stand before the throne of God, and we will see the countless numbers of those who have believed. We will see the angels and the twenty-four elders bowing before the Great King and The Lamb. Our senses will be overwhelmed with the majesty and glory that belongs to God and God alone!
So, is it possible to awaken our senses now to God's glory? Can we heighten our understanding and sense of His awesomeness now, in this life? Can you imagine what our worship would look like if we could truly sense His greatness?
...Christ Jesus,
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!
~ Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
The Word says that God exalts His name and His word above all things. And so should we.
My friend and I also discussed what it looks like when God's people prepare their hearts for worship. When they meditate on the Lord and His greatness and goodness. When their hearts become consumed with the glory of God, and purpose in their hearts to honor Him with praise from deep down inside. When you read the way the angels and the saints worship God in the book of Revelation, you get a glimpse of what that looks like.
He is intentional and passionate about us. Our worship needs to be intentional and passionate about Him. And not just on corporate worship days, my friends. Worshiping God is a lifestyle, not a weekly event. I pray that we can begin to desire -- to want badly -- a heart that worships our God intentionally and passionately -- full on, all the time. A heart that is consumed with God. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us that desire, because there is no one and nothing that is more exalted than He, no one and nothing more deserving of our highest praise!
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
~ Revelation 4:11 (NIV)
Love,
Joelene
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