The unquenchable flame of passion for Christ burning in the hearts of the saints spreads a sweet aroma of worship before God in Heaven. A true worshipper's heart and head is deeply engaged with God uninterruptedly. Worship always sanctifies the true worshipper, with great joy he redefines his commitment to God by always seeking and obeying the perfect will of God in his life. The more deeply you worship like this, the more Christ like you becomes. You can write a thousand books about worship in truth and spirit and can still completely fail to please God in your personal worship. If you are driven by a desire to stay in love with Jesus for ever, your worship will always stay in the glory of God. A true worshipper will always connect and enter the throne room of God to celebrate His presence. When churches fail to do this, God stops rejoicing in them, there the house of prayer becomes a den of thieves.
Thankless hearts do loveless worship and create lifeless churches. These days, on a Sunday you see more pretenders than worshippers. The manifest presence of God never visits such places and people, because their hearts stay far from GOD, they worship in vain without meeting up with God face to face. If you have lost your joy in worship, you can return to God with true repentance and rebuild your worship as a lifestyle.
* Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
* Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
* Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
* Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
* Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
* Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
* Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
* Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
* Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt 5:3-12
Meditating the beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, I found nine spiral steps that takes you higher and closer to the presence of God. Nine steps complete one circle and takes you to the top of one floor and you see step one in the next floor again.
The first step: Climb With A Humble Heart
Blessed are the poor in the spirit. In worship people never meet up with God, if they ignore the first step humility. If our hearts are filled with pride and arrogance, we will fake worship. Without humility, you will worship yourself and get deceived. To receive God’s favor and grace, humble yourself, give God the glory and now make His praise loud and glorious. Thank God with all your heart, remember God exists without your worship, but your existence depends on worshiping Him. Jesus said "take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart"... [Mathew 11:29] . Humility is about denying yourself to live the mind of Christ till the end.
The second step: Climb With A broken Heart
Blessed are those who mourn. A broken heart about disappointing God can renew your mind to please God as you climb step two. A hard hearted Cain will only produce unacceptable worship. Remember Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Come to Him; let your love and devotion produce the thanksgiving tears kissing the nail pierced feet of Jesus. Break the alabaster jar of worship, let your Lord rejoice in you. To bear the fruit of repentance, stay broken. Brokenness is the key to enter into deeper intimacy in worship. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart [Ps 51:17]. Ps 109: 22 says "my heart is broken within me".
The Third Step: Climb With A Gentle Heart
Blessed are the meek. Gentleness is the outward expression of the true inner humility. Gentleness is also power under control. Gentleness is your commitment to stay humble without misusing your position in Christ. Gentleness is the fruit of awareness about your citizenship in heaven so you stay calm or stand still and show maturity even in trouble. Gentleness will give God the glory regardless of what you are going through. Climb step three gentleness with sensitivity, because worship can be loud and explosive or calm and silent. A gentle heart is filled with peace that surpasses all understanding, it makes you inherit the earth. A calm and undisturbed heart is health to the body [Pr14: 30].
The Fourth Step : Climb With A Hungry Heart
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. In the presence of the living God there is fullness of joy. Lack of hunger and thirst can lead you to emptiness and dryness because there is no filling with the indwelling presence of God. Worship is a real encounter with God. Be aware of God's promises to a worshiper.
"Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely [Rev 22:1.7Listen, believe and claim your inheritance from GOD. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Climb step four hunger and thirst to receive more of Him every time when you worship. Lord sets a grand full course meal before the worshiper's enemies .Are you hungry?!!!
The Fifth Step: Climb with a compassionate heart.
Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. A embittered person should renew his mind to put on a heart of compassion and kindness [Rom 12:1, Col 3:12]. Bitter and unforgiving nature disconnects you from God, it distorts your focus on Jesus badly. Staying longer like that with a hard and stubborn heart can kill your sensitivity to feel the tenderness of the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit. Forgive and reconcile with your brother before you start your worship. Climb the fifth step to receive the fullness of God's mercy and grace.
The Sixth Step: Climb With A Pure Heart
Blessed are the pure in heart. Unclean thoughts can blind you. It can block your vision against seeing the beauty of His holiness, remember God is holy and He has called you to live holy. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit; flee from sexual immorality and all impurity .Guard your heart with all your strength, and worship GOD with reverence and awe. Climb the sixth step with a pure heart and clean hands.
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” Ps 24:3-4
The Seventh Step: Climb With A Peaceful Heart
Blessed are the peace makers. A quarrelsome person cannot worship God, because his heart is continuously disturbed. Lord Jesus said "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give it to you, do not let your heart be troubled" [Jn 14:27]. Peace has a major role in worship. Your heart will not condemn you when you stay right with God. You keep peace with every one as much as you can. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, the greatest peace maker became our peace by carrying all our sins on the cross for us. Peace is your security. Peace is the fruit of your commitment to stay silent even when you are absolutely right and your persecutor is completely wrong. You have peace when you know deep within you are hidden in Christ. Peace making has a price, its about giving away your rights willfully. Gospel reconciles the listeners with God and gives them peace.
The Eighth Step : Climb With A Persevering Heart
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. We need to put on a heart of gentleness and patience [Col 3:12].Impatient people never enter the throne room of God and kiss the Son. Persecution is there inside and outside the church. Have mercy, show patience, do God’s will and earnestly wait upon the Lord, don’t give up till he shows up. Climb step eight patience with a persevering heart. Imitating someone is the greatest form of worship. While showing patience you imitate Jesus and worship Him in truth and spirit.
The Ninth Step: Climb With A Joyful Heart
Blessed are those who rejoice in their sufferings for the kingdom of God. Jesus said "you too have grief now, but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and no one will take you joy away from you" [Jn16:22].When you are mocked, criticized, persecuted or rejected you consider it as a blessing to partake in the sufferings of Christ. Paul and Silas when locked up in prison, in stead of complaining, in distress they rejoiced in the Lord and worshiped Him. A joyful heart makes a cheerful face [Pr 15:13]. Climb the ninth step with a rejoicing heart even in unfavorable circumstances. Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad [Ps 105:3].
Going Higher
Climbing these nine steps in true worship can change life and take the worshiper face to face with God . These nine attitudes of the heart can bear the fruit of the Spirit with its nine attributes like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Gal 5:22]. True worship always renews your mind. It sanctify you and make you do the perfect will of God. In Proverbs we read, "Give me your heart son and let your eyes delight in my ways" [Pr 23:26]. By the grace of Jesus let your worship eternally remain acceptable and pleasing to the heart of God. True worship makes every man perfect in Christ. Amen Amen.