Worship Styles - Part 3

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2)

So what does the Bible say about worship? In Romans we learn that our bodies are a living sacrifice and as such our bodies are made for worship. But with this comes a responsibility. It is your job to be able to discern the will of God. To understand this let me show you how the Bible refers to discernment.

Phillipians 1:9-11
⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Psalm 139: 1-4

1 O Lord, you have searched me

and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O Lord.

Job 34:2
2 “Hear my words, you wise men;

listen to me, you men of learning.

3 For the ear tests words

as the tongue tastes food.

4 Let us discern for ourselves what is right;

let us learn together what is good.

So the Lord tells us that we are the ones who should be discerning, but also that the Lord himself discerns. In Latin the word discern means to sift apart. We are to sift apart what is Godly and what is not. He knows that as imperfect, broken and sinful people this is no easy task. God also knows the way of the devil and his ability to twist the truth just enough that we may feel we are on the right path as we drift away from the Truth. 2 John 1:3 tells us that "the Truth lives in us and will be with us forever."

1 Corinthians 2:10 explains what John is saying by adding " But Some manuscripts read For.

"> it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit" Which leads me back to my original question about worship. If the Holy Spirit dwells within us (and it dwells within anyone who has accepted Jesus as their savior) and we train our ears to hear it's voice above all others, we will know when we are worshiping God. It is not for others to decide, as the Spirit has different words for all of us and only the Spirit is able to tell us the thoughts of God.

All that to say that the Lord knows when you are worshiping him "with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind." Through the Holy Spirit, you will also know if your worship is sincere and complete or misdirected and misguided. Even though we have defined 9 types of worship, we are not limited to those 9. Within those 9 there are also a number of ways to display your worship for His Glory. And, as we are know, we are not to judge how others worship or try to emulate another form of worship, we are not God! "He knows what he has planned for us, plans to proper us and not to harm us." (Jeremiah 29:11).

Use the tools God has gifted to you, strengthen them through his Word and through practice. Study the Godly people who have shared your gift for worship and use their methods to grow your own. Surround yourself with Godly people that have different styles of Worship so that together you can be the hands and feet of Christ. Only Christ, being God, had all of the gifts for worship. We are not designed to isolate ourselves in worship (be careful ascetics, lol) at all times. Your gifts are meant to be used in the world to demonstrate God's grace and mercy to those who do not know Him. We were made to worship. It is in all of us, some choose to use this innate ability to worship false idols. The life of Christ, as told through the gospels, shows us that there is only one true God and he is the reason we are made to worship, He is the One we are to worship...
In the way YOU were created.

So I will conclude this little series with a few of my favorite songs for each style:
Naturalist: How Great Thou Art
Sensate: Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord
Traditionalists: All Glory Laud and Honour
Ascetics: You Are My All In All
Activists: We Are An Offering
Caregivers: It is Well With My Soul
Enthusiasts: Shout to the Lord
Contemplatives: Here I Am to Worship
Intellectuals: Holy, Holy, Holy

Please feel free to share some of your favorites for your worship style. This list is based on Gary Thomas' study guide and is somewhat limited in contemporary Christian music.

I pray that each of you learn your style so that you may worship God to your fullest. I pray that you explore other styles so that you can learn to show the glory of God in many different ways. I pray that you show grace and mercy on Christians with different styles, it is not the style that matters but the will to follow God's plan. I pray that anyone who has felt judged by others for their worship style is able to forgive and find compassion for those who simply did not understand. I pray that you are able to use discernment through the Word and the Spirit. I pray that you love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul.

May the Spirit be in you and guide you on your way.