The Heart - The Bedrock Of Worship!

I had a friend who was/is a believer, depending on how he feels on a particular day and your perception of who a believer is, since there are now many descriptions of who a “born again believer” is these days but if we go by what the bible says, you may not think he is a believer though he is in church often. So, this friend of mine would cry in worship – I mean when we are in church singing songs of worship, he would lift up his hands to God in worship and you would see tears roll down his cheeks and he looked totally in tune with God, lost in adoration and maybe He was because I know God can reach anyone; he has even been known to reach a donkey - Balaam’s donkey, but certainly that did not make Balaam’s donkey a believer. There is only one way to become a believer, according to scripture, and Jesus says to retain the right to continue to be a believer, you have to continue to obey His word; reality is that we cannot obey what we don’t know which suggests that we are expected to know His word.

 

Romans 10: 10 “for it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”

John 8: 31 “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.”

So this friend of mine would lift up his hands “in worship” and immediately after service, he moves on to lying, fornication, adultery and every evil work; I seriously mean every evil work. O! Sorry, I don’t think murder was part of it except if it was murdering with the mouth which he did well when he felt he needed to. Not that it was his intention to hurt anyone but he felt compelled to do it to get out of some sticky situations. I tell you, some situations really do get sticky like you would find in the book written by Onyinye Chidiebere Nwokeocha “sticky Situations.” So I guess he felt very justified when he had to lie because there was no other way out and for him, telling the truth was not an option in these situations yet He was not just a believer but the type we call “worshipper” because tears rolled down his eyes as he worshipped. Interestingly, he knew that people noticed and he used it to his advantage so that on the rare occasions when the tears did not flow readily, he would make it happen.

Galatians 2: 4 “Even that question came up only because of come so-called believers there- false ones, really-who were secretly brought in.”

One thing is certain, worship is more than singing. It is a way of life which begins in the heart. According to Nathaniel Bassey, who will by the way, be ministering again at our WCO Prayer Conference “God is more interested in where the worship emanates from than the words we sing.” The bigger thing is that if it emanates from the right place, it will impact on one’s entire life because indeed a man is who he is in his heart. God is searching for true worshippers which suggest that there are fake worshippers and also that the true ones are few. Worshippers love and lay their own lives in love. They give everything like Abraham did when he gave Isaac; God never forcefully takes their lives nor does He compel them to give it. Such believers are in a love relationship with God and what makes His heart bleed also makes their hearts bleed. Their love relationship with God is real and means the world to them and their lives are built around that relationship; their confidence, rooted in God so that they know that they cannot afford to be carnal. His is the most precious relationship to them. Whenever they are more carnal than spiritual, they become uncomfortable because they feel disconnected from their lover.

Song of Solomon 1: Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine. How fragrant your cologne; your name is like its spreading fragrance. No wonder all the young women love you! Take me with you; come, let’s run!

Mathew 6: 21 “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Now when such worshippers gather, I do not think anything can stand against them. No wonder the bible says when we agree concerning anything on earth, heaven consents. They rub minds with God so they think alike so that it is a coming together of like minds whose minds are tied to God's mind. Just imagine the gathering of such people. When they gather in worship, God will surely be in their midst. No wonder the gathering of believers is like precious ointment. Deep will call unto deep and iron will sharpen iron and all this, even without singing. Worship cannot be faked. If you think you are faking it well, you deceive yourself alone because the God with whom we have to deal, sees the hearts of men; indeed nothing is hidden from Him.