WORSHIP THAT PLEASES GOD

From THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE by Rick Warren 

Verse to Remember: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 

God wants all of you.

God doesn’t want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life.

The Bible says, “Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him.” Hebrews 12:28

1. God is pleased when our worship is accurate:

• Worship must be based on the true of scripture, not our opinion about God.

• “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23.  Worship God as He is truly revealed in the bible.

2. God is pleased when our worship is authentic:

• Worship must be genuine and heartfelt.  “Love God with all your heart and soul.”

• Heartless praise is not praise at all! It is worthless, an insult to God.

• God give you emotions so you could worship with deep feelings—but those emotions must be genuine, not faked.  God hates hypocrisy.

• He wants your honest real love.

3. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful:

• Jesus’ command to “love God with all your mind” is repeated four times in the New Testament. God is not pleased with thoughtless singing of hymns.

• If worship is mindless, it is meaningless. You must engage your mind.

4. God is pleased when our worship is practical:

• “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” Roman 12:1. Why does God want your body?  Because without your body, you can’t do anything on this planet.

• One thing worship cost us is our self-centeredness. You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time.

• You don’t worship to be seen by others or to please yourself. You deliberately shift the focus off yourself.

 When Jesus said, “Love God with all your strength” he pointed out that worship takes effort and energy.