Overwhelming Worship

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about worship lately. While worship can occur in many contexts, my thinking has focused on the corporate worship at Dayton Center Church. Yes, we did a study on worship in August & September, but that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Let me ask you a question … When was the last time you engaged in worship of God and felt a shiver run down your spine? I’m not talking about a cold, spooky shiver, but the kind that happens when you realize that you are in the presence of God. It’s a sense of being in God’s throne-room, like Isaiah experienced:
Isaiah 6:1-3 … I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
There’s a sense of awe, a sense of wonder, a sense unlike anything else we might experience. All else is left behind as we consider the glory and splendor of God Almighty. It is like the scene we are told about in Revelation 4:11, where the 24 elders cast their crowns before the throne of God and cry out, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."
That kind of worship has transforming power because of the Holy Spirit. It is not about the experience itself, but about God, Himself. It is not something that leads to pride in what we have accomplished or experienced, but an overwhelming sense of humility and gratitude before our Savior. I pray that God would guide and empower us, so that we truly worship in spirit and truth … that we would be overwhelmed at His grace and glory … that we would realize that we are coming before His throne … that we would experience that sense of awe and wonder… and worship Him!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker