Value Sets Priority

What do you value most? Another way to ask this question is what do you worship? We all worship something. Something is getting your adoration. Worship is love expressed. It is our response to whatever we value most. We all have things we think about a lot or things we love to do. Of course, it’s ok to truly enjoy your hobby or to think about your dream, but God should be the priority. He is the only one worthy of being worshipped.

So, what’s the why? Why do we worship? A friend of mine, famous for his worship, told me once that there was a moment in his life when he was leading thousands of people in worship into the presence of God but realized God’s presence was absent in his own life. He realized he had lost his why. When you lose your why, it is easy to lose your way.

We can't afford to minimize worship. Entering God’s presence through worship is one of the most important things we can spend our time doing. Do you value His presence? Worship grabs Gods attention. He is looking for worshippers. Whenever you're worshiping, you have God’s full attention. God inhabits the praises of His people. When we worship, He finds where He is going to live, where he's going to take up residence.

Satan is looking for worshippers too. He was an angel and the main worship leader of Heaven before he was cast out. When he hears worship, he will attempt to distract us, to quiet us. He will bring up our preferences. He does this to disarm the power of worship. In fact, nothing disarms the power of worship quicker than measuring it by our preferences. Your preferences say more about you than about worship. God loves all styles. When we refuse to worship because it's not what we like, we are making it about us and not God and we become the object of worship. Worship is about Jesus. He's the one who died for you. You didn't make the stars. He is the One who heals you. Don't let the enemy influence your worship. Don't let anything keep you from God’s presence. Worship has the power to change your attitude. Understanding your “why” will keep the enemy from wrecking your worship. Here are some “whys” for worship:

1. We are hardwired to worship. Even archeologists note that man is destined for worship. We all show adoration and attention to something. God just wants us to love Him more than anything else.
2. We worship God because of who He is. Worship cannot be based on the kind of week you have had but on what kind of God you have.
3. We worship because of who we used to be. I love the quote outside the Marine Corp Air Base in South Carolina, “Pardon our noise. It's the sound of freedom.” Some may think we are overdoing it during worship and making a big show, but what the critics can't see is what we've been set free from. When you are set free you can't help but worship. Worship like no one is watching. They probably aren’t.
4. We worship because of what is ahead. In Old Testament temple worship, (Ez 46:9) people were required to leave using the opposite gateway from where they entered. They physically left a different way. The New Testament made this a reality spiritually. We do not want to leave worship the same way we came in. If you came in depressed, you can leave with joy. If you came in confused you can leave with clarity. If you came in fearful, you can leave in peace. If you came in broken, you can leave whole. Worship is not something we lay aside when things go wrong; it’s what we pick up to make things right. When we worship, things have to change. When our hands go up, the enemy is put down. When we release praise, the enemy has to retreat. When we lift up Jesus, He lifts us out of frustration and fear. When we declare God’s goodness, His glory floods our situations.

Include worship in your everyday life. Include God in all you do and in all your relationships. He wants you to love Him the most. He wants you to offer yourself to Him, everything you do, all you have. He's really just looking for a relationship and beautifully, life is better when we put God first.