The Heart of Worship

It can be said that the story of the bible can be summarised as a battle over worship. The people of Israel were commanded many times to put the worship of God at the centre of their lives. They were to regularly gather together to hold feasts of worship, to sing, dance, shout and play musical instruments to the Lord. They were to bring various items which were precious and costly and burn them or otherwise dispose of them as sacrifices of praise to Yahweh. Their wealth, energy and time (the sabbath) were to be poured out in costly worship.  

However, they often turned from the worship of God and pulled away from acknowledging him as the centre of their lives. When they stopped worshipping the Lord, they did not worship nothing. Indeed they worshipped anything and everything! They worshipped bits of wood and items of silver and gold and images of idols. And when they stopped worshipping, they also always stopped behaving. They began treating one another badly and exploiting instead of serving their neighbours. When we, as human beings, stop worshipping the Lord, we always find someone or something else to worship.

The health of our worship determines the health of our lives. That is why the first thing the devil always goes for when he attacks us is our worship. He knows that if he can capture our minds attention and our hearts affection he has control of us. In the same way, when we guard our worship of God, when we praise, thank him and adore him in our meetings we will find it easier to live that worship out in our lives. When our worship is to Jesus, for Jesus, with Jesus, through Jesus and about Jesus, then we begin to change. Beholding is becoming. We find healing, peace and joy in his presence. The Lord inhabits the praises of his people. Worship is the activity of heaven. To truly worship is to truly taste heaven.

Let us not settle for second best, for cheap imitations that can never fulfil or satisfy. May his praise be always be at the centre of our lives.

Mike Pilavachi

Mike is the co-seninor pastor here at Soul Survivor Watford Church and planted the church twenty seven years ago. He heads up the Soul Survivor & Naturally Supernatural summer events and has been leading them since they also began twenty seven years ago. Mike studied at Birmingham University before working as an accountant at Harvey Nichols until the age of twenty nine, where he then became the youth worker at St Andrew’s Chorleywood Church. He has a passion to raise up young leaders and equip the church to be able to move in power of the Holy Spirit. Mike’s books include ‘Everyday Supernatural’, ‘Lifelines’, and ‘Wasteland’. When he’s not speaking or traveling the world, you’ll find Mike in the Sahara Lounge Restaurant near Watford listening to Simon & Garfunkel.