Day 3 - Worship In All Directions

[Rogenia]

Inward worshiping – simply means to me, worshipping in the Spirit and Truth. Lifting the Lord up, rather it is singing, praying or praising. Exalting Him for what He is and what He does. He is so worthy of our praise. It sometimes proves to be hard work because of the heart. That why I believe the scripture tell us to “guard our heart;” And it is not talking about feelings, I believe it is talking about the Word of God. Guard what you take in (spiritual realms) of God. So as a man thinks, so is he. And that is when I rely upon the Praise Team to assist me in getting back to where God wants me to be. (Especially when in church services They have such an important role in the Body of Christ.
I also believe that inward worshipping means that we should strive to experience worship on earth as it is in heaven. Worshiping is a 24/7 in heaven. We must long to be holy for God. The more we worship God, the more we become like Him (2 Cor. 3:18). Inward worshiping keeps us in tuned to the things that God wants to do in us and what He wants us to do for others. Inward (Isaiah 6:1-8) is undoubtedly one of the most awe-striking depictions of man's encounter with God. A heart for holiness (v.6) and a willing heart that is sensitive to His Father's need of a vessel (v.8). Isaiah's vision is quite clearly one of God (v.1), one of self (v.5), and one of others (v.8). Worship is more than the two-hour Sunday morning service. It is more than the fifteen minutes of praise and worship or testimony time. Worship is a lifestyle; so as we minister our prayers and praise in song to God, we watch these dimensions unfold, we can't help but to be personally impacted and changed.
Outward worshiping - Micah 5:13 "You shall no more worship the "work" of your hands." Simply means to me outward expressions; All will be brought to no longer worshipping outwardly. Why? Because God is found within the heart, the soul of man; God is not far off, nor is spirit separate from us. Mankind must be brought back to the knowledge of this truth. The knowledge of our oneness with the heavenly Father, Satan (devil; the carnal mind of man - which is led outwardly, physically through the mind and five senses) tried to deceive Jesus by saying in Matthew 4:9, "All these things (outward, physical things in this physical world) I will give you if you will fall down ("the fall" as in Genesis when Adam and Eve "fell" to a lower estate in their minds, not being inwardly led through the Spirit of God; outward worship or leading) and worship me." We too, can easily be enticed with all that the world offers and hope for something to come
one day (such as heaven), while never seeking the truth which already lives within our midst. That is what "falling" to a lower estate (lesser than who we really are in Spirit) is! This battle with Satan (mistaken thinking) occurred within Jesus' mind too, and it also occurs today within each of us.
That is why it is so important for us to of us. Let us follow Jesus' example and be inwardly led, not outwardly led on our life path. Jesus said, "Away with you Satan...for I am to worship God only and only serve Him." To follow the inner leading of Spirit is to worship or reverence the Divine from within one's heart. In contrast, Satan (false ideas/beliefs) is most easily worshipped outwardly. Follow the gentle leading from
within, not the ravaging world outside, for this is the only way to connect with the Divine Spirit.

[Rogenia]

Originally Posted by Wrapped in Jesus Love!

This is such a good comment. Do any of you rush around on Sundays trying to get your own children ready for church or just getting out of bed and getting yourself going only to get to church and be rushing around there to get everything into place and feel exhausted by the time church starts. I have to admit, I don't always take the time I need to before worship to make sure that my heart is in the right place. Although I want to it doesn't always happen. I need to make that a goal of mine also.

I had to make a comment here. That is exactly why I stated that “inward worshiping is hard work sometimes” and I rely on the praise team to assist me. Worshiping should be in truth and spirit; and that was not always the case of me. There are times when so much is going on in my life, that it is hard to get focus on what I believe that God deserves. Wannabe, there were times when I would be in service and think there was a concert going on – instead of praising God, (outward worshiping) and that would put me in another state of mind. I once went to my pastor and spoke to him about it, because I felt so bad and mess up. I felt that I was losing it and not focusing on what God needed from me. I am not sure about the standards or teams you are speaking on; but I do know and believe that if we continue to abide in Him, our worshiping will extend to another level in Christ. I can’t hold a tune (smile) and love exalting the Lord; so it is so important to me right now to learn how to exalt Him in the way that He deserves. Rogenia

[Klampert]

I think for me this study is almost an admonition in that it's basically saying don't just be a sunday Christian.

Worship needs to envelope your life but even beyond that we have to be careful of just going thru the motions.

Now with that said I think it is important to understand that even if we don't feel like worshiping we need to any way. This is like a husband who doesn't feel like holding his wifes hand. Too Bad. Do it anyway. it's relationship first and then feelings. Too often we are hoping the feelings come first.

[jonmark]

the statement that really hit me from day 3 study...

the importance of this inward direction of worship cannot be overemphasized.

that is a VERY bold statement and one that i would tend to agree with...it's not something i've really heard put that way before...usually the focus in on the upward piece to it all...

good stuff so far!!!

[Carmie]

This lesson hit home for me, in so many ways. There was a time when I first started singing on our P&W team, where I knew that God was present, but I couldn't feel him in the space I was in. I had no problem showing the "Outward" praise, but there was something missing from within me. God showed me that it was my lack of intimate time with Him and "Inward" praise. There were many times that I got up to sing and my heart wasn't right, for whatever reason. I have since learned that I can't wait until Sunday morning to begin my worship with Him. I have to take time during the week, busy as it is, to spend some quality time with Him.

Since my enlightenment, I am able to give Him true praise Outwardly. I like the scripture that states "out of the mouth, flows the issues of the heart". I need to desperately meditate on that daily, so that my tongue will not be used to glorify the enemy, but used soley for Glorifying God.