Hosanna Restoration Church

My Bible has a note that describes worship as “the appropriate response to God’s self-revelation.” In this passage of scripture, they worshipped when they realized that God really cared about them. Do you realize that God really cares about you? Of course you do. If not, trust me He does. Now rejoice!

The word I want to focus on in this is the word appropriate. There are lots individual ideas as to what is appropriate. When it comes to worship, I have long been convinced that what people may see as appropriate is far from what God would consider appropriate. In fact it occurs to me that God may well have responded to worship in ways that give us a key as to what He considers appropriate and may like to see from us.

For instance, when Paul and Silas sang hymns, God’s response was an earthquake. Makes me think He might be interested in us shaking the building. What happened when all the believers prayed for power? Again, the power of God shook the building and they were filled. When God spoke over Jesus, it must have been something. Some reported that they thought it thundered. Look at David when He led the ark into the city. He praised so radically that his wife said he made a fool of himself. When Solomon dedicated the temple, God’s response was so powerful that no one could even stand to worship.

I think that people often feel inspired to just let it rip and rejoice in the Lord, but they wonder if it is appropriate. To that I say that nothing deserves greater exuberance than our worship of God. We see people get so worked up over sporting events and superstars that they can’t even control themselves. Doesn’t God deserve even more?

My son Michael loves to dance before the Lord. I love to join him because I want to encourage him, and also because it really is a blessing to let go and dance before the Lord. For years I have encouraged people to find a secluded place if necessary and just begin to glorify God in the wildest way they can without concern of what others might think. I really believe that God loves any display of praise and worship that comes from our heart. The Bible is full of references to shouting and dancing and singing to the Lord. He deserves our best and our most energetic displays don’t you think!

I just have this feeling that there is something wonderful coming from God. It is like we are standing on top of a volcano and it is about to erupt. I really believe that this move of God is going to come in response to the pure hearted worship of His people. No amount of sin or problems in this world is going to keep God from responding to the praise and worship of those who are called by His name. So lets give Him reason to bring it on!