The robe

The worship at my church has got me thinking about how I have failed to approach the throne with any amount of reverence or modesty. I have been contemplating the worship that I have been a part of for the last 10-12 years. There have been a handful of times where the Holy Spirit was allowed to be glorified, but by in large the worship has been contemptuous and arrogant. Elements that look like worship, but have come from an orderly response to given parameters. Real worship cannot be faked or replicated, it is genuine or it is nothing. Sure it might look like worship; there is singing, scripture and a sermon, but that is where the similarities end. Worship is not an act that we “do”, it is the overwhelming response to our God and it couldn’t be stopped if we tried.

This past Sunday while praying and singing I was surprised that Heaven didn’t open up into our sanctuary and the glory of God become visible and tangible. I was actually surprised it didn’t happen. Not as if it was just really emotional or that I was just in the moment, but the fact that I didn’t see what Isaiah and John saw astounded me. While the people sang and the Spirit testified in our hearts and minds, Heaven pressed against us in a joyful unison.

Prayers rising in the sanctuary that fill the air like perfume, until the glory of God has saturated you. Brothers and sisters in Christ who will lean forward and put their hands on you and cry when you cry. Scripture treated like a love letter from our God. A sermon exploring the Word, preached unabashed, spoken to the heart of every believer. Blessings presented like expensive gifts, not just packages left on the doorstep of your heart.

All I can say is, if you didn’t have this experience Sunday and if you don’t think it will happen this Sunday, go somewhere it will. You wouldn’t return to a theater that didn’t play movies, why go to a church that doesn’t worship? May God bless you richly this Sunday as you seek Him.