Helping Believers Worship In Spirit And in Truth
WORSHIP THE LORD with your entire being!
Our Vision at Open Gate Church is to worship God in spirit and in truth and to extend His Kingdom on earth. The Word of God is very specific about worship. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy name. (Psalm 103:1)
I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1)
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
What Is Worship
To Worship God means to show Him extreme devotion, intense love, and admiration. A.W. Tozer defines worship as “to feel in the heart and express in some appropriate manner.” It is not enough just to feel in your heart; worship also involves expressing that feeling. Worship is a heart attitude expressed. Worship is love communicated. The question is: How do we communicate our worship to God? Actually, the question is: How does God want to be worshipped?
How To Worship
The Bible is very clear about how God wants to be worshipped. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1-2)
From this we see that worship involves our whole being. The following verses teach us how to present our bodies as a living sacrifice of worship.
The Bible teaches us to worship with our mouths by:
Praising – I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. (Psalm 109:30)
Singing – Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. (Psalm 47:6)
The Bible teaches us to worship with our hands by:
Lifting Them – Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. (Psalm 134:2)
Clapping – Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God. (Psalm 47:1)
Playing Musical Instruments – Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals… (Psalm 150:3-5)
The Bible teaches us to worship with our bodies by:
Standing – Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord. (Psalm 134:1)
Bowing|Kneeling|Prostrating – Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. (Psalm 95:6)
Dancing – Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with tambourine and harp. (Psalm 149:3)
Other Biblical Expressions of Worship
Giving – Give to the Lord glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh worship the Lord… (Psalm 96:8-9)
The Gifts of the Spirit – When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
The New Song (spontaneous songs of praise) – Sing to the Lord a new song… (Psalm 96:1)
It is our desire, as His people, to worship Him properly in spirit and in truth. We invite you to worship with us in your own way; as a newcomer if you are unfamiliar with our ways of worshipping the Lord and feel hesitant to take part, please do not feel left out! Often we have told our people to adopt the posture that best helps them to worship the Lord. Whether you worship the Lord quietly in your seats or join with us in enthusiastic praise and celebration, let us worship the King together!