There are two types of worshippers, and biblically, they can be seen in the life of king Saul and king David. The difference is simple, but it’s profound. It’s the difference between duty and devotion. The fear of man and the fear of the Lord. Jealousy of man and worship of God. Love of man’s praise and longing to please the Father. It’s the difference between compromised worship and consecrated worship.
The last generation of Christians on planet earth will be defined as lovesick. Radically committed. Intensely consecrated. Solely devoted. And completely sold out. It’s going to be a David generation.
If anything like me, you have to first confront the reality that the affection of your own worship isn’t consecrated, committed, or devoted before taking hold of a heart like David. In fact, I have found that I often have to admit that my worship is weak, inconsistent, and tainted. It’s quick to make bold proclamations of allegiance to God. But it’s just as quick to embrace the pleasures of the world and make friendship with its promises.
Like David, the Lord wants our hearts to be stirred with affectionate worship for him because we love him. Not because we need something from him or feel obligated to do something for him.
There are three motives of worship I want to explore, and two God wants to confront in our hearts:
1. Obligated worship. 2. Greedy worship, and 3. Lovesick worship
The Lord is worthy of lovesick worship, and he’s on a mission to get it. He wants to tear down religious forms of worship that are motivated by obligation or greed. That worship because they have to, need to, or because they want something from God other than God. He’s on a pursuit to fill you with passion to worship solely because you want to, and he is worthy.
Obligated Worship
“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:7-9
Obligated worship is lukewarm at best. It ultimately will position you to embrace the praise of man rather than the approval of the Father. In moments of testing, like Saul, you will please the people rather than obey the master. You will worship the acceptance of others rather than adore the beauty of Christ.
If your worship is an overflow of duty, it will die out, and you will become a friend of the world, a son of the kingdom of the earth, and ultimately a hypocritical religious actor. You will sing of God with your mouth but be far from him in your heart. You will draw near to him with your lips but live in rebellion to him in your actions.
All of us can fall prey to this scheme of Satan. We can worship because we should rather than because we want to. We each need to be confronted in our hearts regarding this form of worship. We need to be stripped of duty and filled with devotion. God the Spirit wants to fill you with lovesick longing, love, and dedication. If you will wean yourself off the wine of the world and consecrate your heart to the King of the universe, he will fill you with his glory, and will sear your heart with a fire of love for Jesus you didn't know was available (Eph. 5:17-18).
Greedy Worship
“You do not have because when you ask, you ask with selfish motives, that you can spend what you get on your own pleasures.” - James 4:3
Greedy worship grieves God, as it is motivated by a desire to get something from God other than God. So often, we create a connotation of God the Son being a gift giver on behalf of God the Father rather than the gift himself. Whether intentional or unintentional, when we worship with this heart, he becomes a means to the end rather than the end himself. We end up using him to get what we want. We find pleasure in receiving from him things that are not him.
This is the epitome of what empowers greedy worship. It is massively tainted and twisted. It’s ultimately self-centered and empowered because our focus is on us and ours rather than Him and His. It’s a manipulated form of worship that’s about what we can get from him rather than what we can give to him.
It’s full of greed rather than gratitude and a desire to receive the bounty of the world rather than behold the beauty of God. It’s a deadly substance that has infiltrated the church and massively deceives many into being robbed of the joy and glory of true and pure worship.
Lovesick Worship
“I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” 2 Samuel 6:21-22
The difference between Saul and David was one who worshipped because he should and another who worshipped because he wanted to. David lived in the fields of sheep as an outcast of his family and an overlooked leader before men. His worship wasn’t motivated by what platform God could give him or what gift he could get. It was motivated by pure affection. Deep longing. And sincere gratitude.
Worship isn’t merely songs; it is a heart posture of affection. It’s a desire for intimacy. It’s a longing for love. This begs the question, how’s your heart postured? What’s it stirred with affection for? What’s it desire to be intimate with? What’s it long with love for? What do you worship?
Do you want to watch football more than to be with your Father? Do you desire fame before man more than intimacy with God? Do you long with love for the pleasures of the world more than the presence of God?
The question is sincere, as only pure worship that is birthed from love for God is pleasing to God. Any other form of worship to God is hypocritical in nature and compromised with poison. It is birthed from a desire to do something right in order to get something good. Compromised worship does so because it should not because it wants to. It is not birthed from love for God or longing for Christ. It is birthed from obligatory duty rather than lovesick devotion. It sings about God on Sunday but worships the world every other day. It walks through the doors of the Church once a week but doesn’t take the gospel out of the doors six days a week.
Lovesick worship to God will empower us to live out our mission with God. Our preaching, teaching, and discipling will merely be an overflow in the public place when worship is the heartbeat of our life in the secret place.
Today, if your worship is compromised with greed or empowered by obligation, repent and turn to God. Ask him to give you a lovesick longing. A heart of passion for his Son. A burning desire to pursue first Christ and His Kingdom. Ask God the Father for his heart for Jesus. Ask him for zeal for his presence, jealousy for his Son, and undignified worship for his glory. God is worthy of this worship, and if you ask, he will give it to you.
