"Worship is Not a Chore"

We need to worship the Lord because we want to. My mom tells me all the time, “ Matthew clean your room!” or “take out the trash!.” To be honest with you, I DON’T WANT TO! When I do, I do it very slow and with no effort. It can take me a whole day to just clean my little room. That is how we treat are worship sometimes, like a chore we HAVE TO do. We need to worship because we want to and not because we feel like it is a chore or duty. We should be excited to worship are Lord. We shout be ready to dance and shout out to God. We should be like the little girls who see their favorite fan, “O LORD, GOD, OH IT IS HIM! JUST LET ME GET CLOSE! PLEASE, PLEASE!”, Then BOOM, we pass out. I may be going a little over board but, that is how our worship should be. Full of love and joy. God has done great things for you. He has taken out your trash. He has cleaned your room. He has done all your chores and all He asks for is your love. He loves us more than we can ever even love Him. AS MUCH AS I LOVE GOD, HE LOVES ME EVEN MORE! I believe he deserves all our worship and all our praise.

WORSHIP IS A HEART FACTOR

Worshiping God is a heart factor. He knows the truth and he knows your heart. He seeks those who worship him with all their heart and in spirit and in truth. Anyone can lift their hands and sing. Let me say this, there are a lot of people who sit in the front row in church and very well may be going to hell. Sounds harsh but it is true. Just because we can sing, shout, jump, and scream, does not make us true worshipers. God sees the heart. He sees deep down inside of you and knows you, the real you. The you that you think no one can see. Remember, worship is not just the act of singing and raising your hands, it is also a walk of life.

John 4

23But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him.

WORSHIP IS GIVING GOD A HUGE PART OF YOUR LIFE

Genesis 22

2The LORD said, "Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar." 3So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go.

4Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. 5He told his servants, "Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back."

As Abraham is going to sacrifice his first son, what does he describe it as being? “Worship.” As he is going to sacrifice his only son, one of the biggest parts of his life, he calls it worship. We think of worship as offering up a love song. Yet, to Abraham the sacrifice of his son was worship. He listened to God and obeyed what He said. Here is a quote from Max Lucado:

More than a song, more than a gesture, more than a donation of money or a quotation of Scripture. Worship is when you take the biggest part of your life and place it at the altar. What is your Isaac? A dream, a marriage, a friendship? The biggest part of your life might be the best part of your life. Or it might be the worst. Your days might be occupied with disease, doubt or divorce. You may be carrying guilt and anxiety; fear and failure. You may be wondering, “How can I worship? I have so

many problems.” Worship is the act of giving those problems to God. “Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7) Why don’t you do what Abraham did? Give God the biggest Part of your life. If it’s a blessing, do so with gratitude. If it’s a burden, do so with hope. As you give God praise and song... give God your life. After all, doesn’t he deserve it? “The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength, honor, glory, and praise!” ( Revelation 5:12)

- Max Lucado

So, will you give up your Isaac? Will you give into God? He can not give till you want to receive and ready to give a lot. You have to lay things down at Gods altar. Raise it up to him and let him take it away. Or will you hold on and try to wonder, “ Where is God? He sees the problems I am having. The drugs I can not let go of. The depression that haunts me. The lust that fills my mind.”Yet, He just waits for you. He waits for you to cry out and lay down your Isaac at the altar. As soon as you sacrifice your Isaac, it will be gone and you can start walking with God. God can take it away but you can bring it back. You have to guard yourselves and hold on to God. Yes you are forgiven, but I believe you still have a bruise or two on your fruits, that God will heal and restore. That is if you walk humbly with him and worship him in spirit and truth.