Whether you know it or not, you have it in you to worship in a huge way. Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to "Joni and Friends." And it’s true, you know: whether you are religious or irreligious; whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jew, Zoroastrian, Animist, or Deepak Chopra, every human being is a worshipper. We can’t help it. We are hard wired to worship.
As Tim Keller at Redeemer Church in New York City is given to say, most of us spend our lives worshipping the wrong things in a huge way. Just like Romans 1 reminds us, we worship the creature instead of the Creator. We carve our own idols and then worship them, becoming spiritually deaf and dumb and blind in the process. It could be a certain television program you’re addicted to – you organize your whole week around it, if you don’t have Tivo. It could be a man you love in an inordinate way; or a woman you venerate far beyond what’s normal. You could be emotionally bound to a hobby, or you could worship your youth leader. But to be honest, most of us worship a god we have created, a god who is typically a cleaned up, more noble version of ourselves. And that’s the point: Ultimately, that who most of us worship is – ourselves. It’s sad, but true.
Simply defined, to worship means: “to ascribe ultimate or supreme value or worth to someone or something.” One of the words used in the Bible that we translate as worship literally means “to kiss toward.” So worship is not simply a judgment of value. Far from that, it involves our passions… it grips our heart… it’s the focus of our deepest emotions. When we respond to whatever is seen as worthy or honorable with our affection, admiration, appreciation, and devotion, that’s when we’re worshipping.
In other words, worship brings together the mind (you know, determining what things are worthy) and it brings together the mind with the heart (by responding with affection and devotion). And ultimately, worship involves giving our lives for what we value: giving our time; giving our attention; giving our interest. Those are simply ways we give over our lives for the things we worship.
But! When we begin to understand what God has done for us in giving His Son so that we might be reconciled in our relationship with Him, whoa, our worship begins to change: Our interest and our attention changes… our passions become refocused. And our emotions become occupied with that lifelong journey that takes us away from ascribing value to our own comforts, our own pleasure, our own money, our own stuff, and placing them instead solidly on Jesus, the One and only One deserving of our worship.
Romans 12:1 tells us that when we see the greatness of God and understand what He has done for us in Christ, the only reasonable response is for us to present our bodies as “living sacrifices” holy and acceptable. This, the apostle Paul says, is our reasonable and acceptable service of worship.
And today I really want to help you in your worship of our wonderful Savior. He’s the Lord who heals. He’s the Lord of righteousness. He is God with us. He is the beginning and the end and our provider. All these names of God – all these titles, and there are many more – are names we can and should use in worship. So I’d like to send you a beautiful 12-page laminated foldout detailing the names of God, their meaning, their reference in the Bible, their application, and much more. Just contact joniandfriendsradio.org and ask for “The Names of God.”
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