Successful versus Acceptable Worship

What is worship? Where do we direct that worship? What is the outcome of that worship?

I want us to briefly look at a few differences between successful and acceptable worship to be able to understand how we can make our worship acceptable to God.

The main difference is in the audience. Who is gauging that worship?

Successful worship draws in the wows. It receives accolades. It receives honoraria. It is given the high seat and high table. It is paid to perform.

Simply speaking, successful worship is aimed at the people, and the people respond in kind.

Acceptable worship on the other side is directed at a deity with no interest at all on having any audience. God’s ear is the only object of that worship. The audience may come in as simple witnesses of the encounter.

Let me give a Biblical example.

Ezra is in a crisis. Israel has polluted the marriage institution by marrying forbidden peoples. And it is painful as it seems as a slap on God’s face as they have just been delivered from captivity.

He then goes to the closet to plead for God’s forgiveness. He does not raise any intercessory team or start rebuking the offenders. He simply goes to God alone.

What then happens? The offenders are convicted and start on their own volition to come to him providing the solution.

Acceptable worship results in God stepping in. Remember the cloud descending several times in the wilderness when the right worship was exercised? Remember the same when the temple was inaugurated?

It is worth noting that even worship to other gods is accepted on the same terms. Many secular entertainers know that though they do not want the worshippers they lead to know it. Or haven’t you heard of women and girls removing their pants in such an event? You see the god lust is being worshipped and must inspire his worshippers to allow him to manifest his presence.

Worship that is acknowledged by men could very simply be worship directed at other gods, however loud we shout that it is directed at the true God. This is because though it may appear to inspire spirituality, such spirituality does not manifest the holiness that we know God possesses.

Daniel and his three friends were manifest examples of what I am saying here. Though in a heathen nation, their lives were so clear that the spirit of the holy gods were at play in their lives from the confessions of even their enemies.

Compare that with our present day worship leaders. Their level of pride and entitlement sometimes competes with the master of it all, Lucifer.

Let us go to our history. Revivals occur when a small team sees a need to seek God for their community on a consistent basis. Initially nobody outside their group knows what is happening.

Until God steps in. people start flocking to churches. Liquor dens and brothels close. Questionable business deals start closing. Crime dies a natural death and many other positive things happen.

Does that happen in our worship events? Does it happen even in the lives of the worship leaders?

Would I be wrong therefore if I said that this worship is not directed to the God of the Bible?

Where does the business of selling worship events and materials lie? Who qualifies to run that worship? What is the indicator that this worship has achieved anything? And do not talk about the wows.

I know I am speaking very rudely, even offensively to some.

But give me scriptures to defend what you stand for.