RE - AVERIL

Reflection: the "trilogy" of Worship

In worship, we are like a vehicle that requires 3 main components in order to fulfill its function :

1. HEART – the vehicle chassis (engine, mechanical system & frame)
2. HANDS – the vehicle body (body panels covering the chassis, doors, glass, seats)
3. HOLY SPIRIT – fuel for the vehicle (petrol / diesel / other gases)

1. HEART
§ 1 John 4:8 “He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love.” (NKJV)
- Our heart, the centre of our emotions is where it begins ; the 1st touch from God that lead us to the altar; the 1st love that keeps us going & to which we must keep returning (Rev 2:4).

§ 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.” (NKJV)
- Thus, we worship as a response to God’s love.

§ As the vehicle chassis is made up of not only the engine, but includes the related mechanical system & frame, when we mention “worship”, we will spontaneously picture verbal responses like singing, shouting, proclaiming (“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” Matt 12:34b NKJV) & accompanying acts like raising of hands & dancing etc.
With the chassis built, let us now move on to assemble the vehicle body…

2. HANDS
§ John 14:15 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.” (TM)

§ 1 John 4:20-21 “If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar… And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.” (NLT)
- Love must be confirmed by acts / works. How we conduct our daily lives, relate to & serve others (including ministry involvement) is a statement of our love / worship towards God. Worshipping God with only our hearts & not our hands is mere lip service & falsehood.

§ Eze 33:31 “So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.” (NKJV)
Although we’ve now got the whole vehicle assembled & road-worthy, it still can’t function effectively without the energy source – the fuel…

3. HOLY SPIRIT
§ Luke 24:49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” (NLT)
- Many genuinely love God with their hearts & hands but find it a struggle to live lives in accordance to God’s will & staleness in their personal devotions / times of “praise & worship” / ministries due to a lack of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It is equivalent to moving the vehicle by pushing it with our hands - without fuel.

§ 2 Samuel 5:19-20 “ So David inquired of the Lord… & he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” “ (NKJV)
Surely we are utterly dependent on God from beginning to end - to ignite our hearts with revelations of God’s love, overflowing it to respond in action, & to bless, establish & prosper the works of our hands with His empowerment

WORSHIP = HEART + HANDS + HOLY SPIRIT