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March 2002 Table of Contents
Dynamics of Worship in Spirit and Truth
Authentic Worship
By Steve Phifer
Worship and Arts Pastor
Suncoast Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Florida
www.WorshipArtsResources.org
 The Father is seeking it. Believers around the world are doing it. Congregations are unified by it. The forces of hell flee from it because the presence and power of Jesus flow in it. What is it? Authentic worship-"True Worship", "worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)
Worship in spirit and truth involves our spirit and the Spirit of God; our personal truth and the Truth of God. First, we worship from our spirits as the Holy Spirit leads, and then we worship in total sincerity according to the truth of the Bible.
Spirit
The spirit of man
Requires total involvement of the whole person, body, soul, spirit. It is not frivolous. Music is the principle art of worship and must engage body, soul and spirit. Emotions are commanded but neither music nor emotions constitute worship; they express it.
The Spirit of God
The Holy Spirit leads worship, guiding leaders both as they plan and in the service. Both preplanning and spontaneity are led by the Holy Spirit. He also empowers worship; His ministry is to exalt Jesus.
Truth
The truth of man
Requires total sincerity. The only motives are love for God and a desire to give God the glory due His name. We must not worship from mixed motives: "Prepare for the sermon," or "Make this church grow."
The Truth of God
The Bible is our worship guide, not tradition or fads. We discover and worship the God revealed in the Bible, not the God of our imagination or culture. We worship Him in ways that please Him, not us.
This is authentic worship. This kind of worship:
- gets God's attention,
- changes people's lives, wins cities, countries and continents to the Kingdom of God and
- Prevents personal tragedies and even national catastrophes.
Authentic worship moves with the most powerful force in creation-God's love. For this kind of worship, we must cast aside our cultural conditioning, trade in our traditional trappings, fold away our feeble fads, and humble our hearts before God.
Authentic worship transcends culture. Culture defines groups of people. Authentic worship goes much deeper than this. All worshipers employ expressions of thanksgiving, praise, adoration, commitment, and prayer. It is essential that believers express these things and it is inevitable that they will sound and look different. Expressions of worship are cultural; the elements of worship are universal.
Authentic worship blends the generations. "One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts." Ps. 145:4 (NIV) It is time to rejoice in the songs of all the generations. Young people should show respect for the songs of their forebears for they give testimony to the move of God in history. The older folk should likewise respect and even rejoice in the new songs of their children and grandchildren; these songs give us a future. Young people are celebrating the timeless truths of the faith in their own musical languages; this is a cause for great rejoicing. When one generation controls the musical language of worship and shuts down the songs of the other generations, authentic worship will not happen. God intends that worship be inter-generational. It takes great wisdom and skill to forge the music of all the generations into a cohesive structure of public worship. But it can and must be done if our worship is to be authentic; inclusive of the whole congregation. "Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints." Ps. 149:1 (NIV)
Authentic worship pleases the Father. Each time we gather, the Father is seeking for True Worshipers. Authentic worship is what He is after. It is more important to please the Father than to satisfy the musical tastes of the congregation. But, this only works when pleasing the Father is everybody's goal. If the people have songs they must hear in order to worship, then the worship is focused on the songs, on pleasing people, not God. The songs need to be about the worship and not the other way around.
Some congregations are like people Jesus described, "... children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.' " Luke 7:32(NIV) Their worship leaders are stuck. Some people want a dancing song and others want a mourning song. If the worship is about the music, the generations and ethnic groups will never come together. But, if the music is about worship, the important thing in everyone's mind is to minister to the Lord. It doesn't matter whether the song is old or new. The people are determined to minister to the Lord-and they do! The wise worship leader facilitates the worship of all the people by employing the songs of the various generations, releasing the heart-song of each group. He isn't playing to these groups; he is enlisting them in the worship of God.
Authentic worship is Pentecostal-that is, Spirit-led and empowered. I do not mean Pentecostal in denomination or culture, but Pentecostal in a biblical sense-led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Authentic worship carries with it the distinctive marks of the Holy Spirit:
- It is centered on Jesus. (John 14:16-18; 15:26, 27; 16:7-15)
- It is beneficial to the whole church. (I Corinthians 14:26)
- It is evangelistic. (John 16: 8-11; I Corinthians 14:24, 25)
- It is performed decently and in order. (I Corinthians 14:40)
Worship must be planned and the Holy Spirit certainly helps in the planning. But God intends for us to experience more than just human activity in our services. He intends for the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to flow. When we study I Corinthians 12-14 we see that worship is intended to include:
- supernatural love, revelation, faith, and proclamation,
- the working of miracles, and even
- Divine healing.
All of these things occur decently and in order to honor the Lord, edify the church, and impact the lost.
Authentic worship is biblical. Authentic worship honors the Word. I believe "worship and Word" is a synonym for "spirit and truth." An authentic worship service will always have both. Seminars, prayer meetings, classes and meetings are not necessarily worship services. A worship service must be balanced with ministry from the people to God (praise, worship, prayer) and from God to the people (preaching, Scripture reading).
Authentic worship is revival. Some people believe that authentic worship will be a sign that revival has come. Others believe that authentic worship will be a cause of revival. Both camps are right. But there is more. Authentic worship is revival, a revival of a personal relationship with God and of the corporate passion of a local church. During authentic worship,
- the Holy Spirit convicts individuals of sin, righteousness and judgment to come;
- the proud are humbled and the downtrodden exalted;
- And the gospel is preached to the poor.
When Jesus moves, doing the works that only He can do-saving, healing, filling with the Spirit, calling into the ministry, admonishing errant believers, opening blinded eyes and prison doors, and setting at liberty those who are bruised-is this not authentic worship? Doesn't this type of worship transform a congregation from spectators to participants, from watchers to witnesses, and from apathetic attendees to passionate worshipers? This is more than a sign of revival or even a cause-it is revival!
Steve Phifer
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