No such thing as "quiet" worship...

What do you think of when you think of worship?

If you have attended more than one modern church service you probably think of music. Somehow, the church has created a recipe for worship that reads something like this: two guitars, bass, drums, three singers, and a "trendy" worship leader. Rinse and repeat weekly.

But the Bible has a much larger picture of what it means to "worship." And the truth is I could never sum up the whole picture of "worship" in one blog post. I do however want to point out two things I have been reminded of personally about worship from my reading in Isaiah 12 this morning.

Isaiah 12 is a prophetic chapter detailing the response of those who are rescued by the Redeemer that God has been promising.

Naturally, the chapter includes a lot of worship "language." Let me show you what I mean.

The redeemed will respond to the salvation they found in Jesus with praise:

You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me." (12:1)

They will respond to God's graciousness found in relationship:

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. (12:2)

God promises that they will with joy draw water from the wells of salvation (12:3).

But here is where it gets interesting. The worship of the redeemed will include two other things:

1) First, their worship will be inseparably linked to evangelism.

God says, And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. (12:4)

He further predicts they will say, "Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth." (12:5)

He says that they will "shout" and "sing." (12:6)

The point is that they will not be content to simply keep their worship "private" or "personal." They will seek to let other in on the story of Jesus. They will make known his deeds, proclaim his name exalted, and let this be known.

2) Second, their worship will be inseparably linked to GLOBAL evangelism.

They won't be content to just share with those in their immediate proximity. They will seek to make known his deeds among the peopleS (emphasis added) and let this be made known in all the earth. They won't whisper but they will shout and sing.

What is my point? Simply this: Worship correctly understood is the joyful carrying of Jesus' message to the ends of the earth. It is done by the redeemed of Jesus who cannot find happiness apart from shouting and singing the praises of their Saviour.

You and I aren't great worshippers because we play an instrument, attend a service, raise our hands, shut our eyes, or sing loudly.

We worship, correctly and biblically, as we joyfully carry the good news of Jesus.

There is no such thing as "quiet" worship because worship includes the sharing of the gospel message.

So, ask yourself this (and believe me I have been asking myself): Are you a worshipper?