Worship Without WallsSample

The Holy Spirit, the Difference Maker in Worship

I recently watched the movie Shrek 3 with my kids, and a scene in the film though funny, showed Shrek, the main character's monotonous lifestyle. In this scene, Shrek wakes up, grunts at his wife Fiona, changes his kids' diapers, takes a walk with his kids, takes out the trash, takes a mud bath, encounters human tourists, and does a host of other things before going to bed. The same routine continued the next day, and the scene seemed like the famous Yogi Berra quote, "it's déjà vu all over again." I immediately identified with these movie scenes as I was experiencing something very similar that day.

Sometimes, in these moments of monotony, we all desire to get away, to fly away from the repetitive cycle of life's activities. Most activities in life, including worship, may need to be more varied and spiced up. Sometimes it feels like we are just going through the motions, and the "spirit" behind our actions is lost somewhere in all the activities.

In the book of Isaiah, God's distaste for the mundane approach to connecting with Him is very clear. Man will need to have a different approach to worship. One that breaks through the walls of religious rules and breaks through inauthentic expressions with monotonous undertones.

The text in Isaiah showed that the essence of worship had become stale and stale in how humanity understood true worship. God knew this would happen, which is why He gave us the Holy Spirit to assist us when life and our acts of worship become boring and without spiritual fervor.

Jesus Christ mentioned the Holy Spirit's role in our worship. In the book of John, Jesus says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and truth." John 4:23-24

Philippians 3:3 echoes the same sentiments as Apostle Paul opines that our confidence in our approach to God in worship is not based on our Christian denomination, liturgy, or religious background but on Christ. While these elements may have their place in our worship, the Holy Spirit empowers us to worship God authentically and in proper understanding.

Spirit-led worship, and a spirit-led life, give us a different reason to worship God. Worship without the influence of the Holy Spirit is like driving a car without tires or gas. It will simply amount to monotonous rhetoric without movement. It is detestable, unattractive, and inauthentic both to God and you.

The Holy Spirit is the difference maker in our worship quest; without Him, our worship is ineffective because true worship must come from the heart, not the flesh. So if you want some spice in your worship and seek to break the boredom of monotony in your worship, engage the Holy Spirit by asking Him to fill you up so that you can worship sincerely and more intimately. Let's engage the presence of the Holy Spirit by requesting in payer that we become more conscious of His influence upon our lives when we worship. We rely on the Holy Spirit's help to convey our most authentic thoughts, feelings, and honor to God as we show respect and reverence to Him. The Holy Spirit also connects to God's truth by unveiling God's personality and character from God's word. This truth provides excitement while reminding us that titles, rules, backgrounds, and our willingness to adhere to our false sense of righteousness will not cut it.