How to be a True Worshiper?

Written By Rev. Paul Lawler

What is the authentic heart of worship? How does Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem signify an example of sacrificial worship? In this blog, you will uncover the essence of true worship, learn to be a thermostat in your worship life, and embrace the sacrificial nature of adoration.

  • The Triumphal Entry

    28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

The Crowd Shouts “Hosanna”

At the start of our passage, it should be noted that Jesus goes to Jerusalem at Passover. We acknowledge that because either that’s divine coincidence or God’s highlighting something we should pay attention to.

Passover is a celebration of what God did among the Hebrews when they were miraculously delivered from captivity in Egypt. God instructed the patriarch in each household to take the blood of a lamb and spread it over the doorpost so that the Death Angel would pass over them.

In the context and historical moment of Jesus’ life, God is sharing a message with us. The Apostle Paul writes about it in 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

As Jesus journeyed toward Jerusalem, enthusiasm broke out. There was a presumption that Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom as the new king on earth, which would displace the Roman authority. This is also noteworthy because Jerusalem was the city of the great Kings, such as King David, Solomon, and many others. And now, Jesus was coming to it.

Along the path to the city, the people waved palm branches as a symbol of victory. They shouted, “Hosanna,” which in Hebrew means “please save” or “save now.” The crowd was quoting Psalm 118:

“Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.” Psalm 118:25-26

This phrase was written initially as phraseology for the authentic worship of God. However, they’re not worshiping Jesus as God; they’re worshiping Jesus for what they wrongly think He’s about to do. They ascribed messianic titles to Him, yet their understanding of Messiah was centered in the belief that the Christ would be the earthly king of Israel.

However, Jesus’ arrival was nothing like that of a king of the times. He did not ride into Jerusalem on a war horse, or a chariot with a crown on His head like other kings would’ve done. Instead, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Luke 19:28-36), which fulfilled another biblical prophecy.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zachariah 9:9

Those celebrating Jesus’ arrival had a great deal of revelation regarding who He was, yet they worshiped Him with the wrong understanding. To avoid falling into the same misunderstandings, let’s focus on what it means to be people with the right understanding of worship.

What Does It Mean “The Stones Will Cry Out”

JESUS: “True worshipers will worship in Spirit and Truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the Pharisees opposed Him. Their contempt stemmed from what Jesus taught, which they found problematic because they were jealous and felt threatened by Him. So, when Jesus arrived, some of the Pharisees were in the crowd and told Him to “rebuke your disciples” (Luke 19:39). Their goal was to squash the following and enthusiasm that surrounded Him.

When John recorded this same event (John 12:19), he wrote: “So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him.’” However, Jesus had a response to their misguided reproach.

JESUS: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19:40

If you’re like me, you have to wonder what He’s talking about. This is commonsensical, but stones are inanimate objects, so how will they cry out?

Romans 8:22 teaches us, “…the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The Apostle Paul is referencing the second coming of Christ when Jesus restores all things, and there will be no more death, crying, disease, heartache, or brokenness. In this restoration, there will be a new creation and earth, and we will be fully in Jesus’s presence.

“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17

If that verse is true, that’s on a molecular level. We’re taught that Jesus is the creator of the heavens and the earth, so if that’s true, Jesus is holding everything together. We also know that Jesus lives to glorify the Father, which means the One who holds all things together will one day animate them to glorify God.

The word “animate” means to bring to life. Scripture tells us that God designed us to be animated by the Holy Spirit and brought to life through our relationship with Christ. When we become a child of God and profess faith in the person of Jesus Christ, Romans 8 tells us that His Spirit is to bear witness within and through us but also to build assurance that we are a child of God.

“We should be less concerned about making churches full of people and more concerned about making people full of God.” C. Kirk Hadaway & Dave Roden

I find that when that’s true, when churches make people full of God, the rest will take care of itself. The point is to have God’s fire and presence abound in His people.

Several years ago, a study was done on a very large North American church, and it was titled “The Reveal Study.” The researchers began examining the data and realized that the people of this large church didn’t know the basics of the Christian faith. But the members and attendees didn’t understand:

  • That Jesus was God encapsulated in skin.

  • How Jesus redeems and saves lives.

  • Many Bible basics that equip and fuel a person to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

*Let me be clear: I’m not saying big churches are bad; it’s just what happened

Based on that study, George Barna, in his research, wrote the following:

“We are more impressed by a church of 4,000 people who have no clue about God’s character and His expectations than by a church of 100 deeply committed saints who are serving humankind in quiet but significant ways.”

This is relevant because, in this text, we see people praising God and shouting “Hosanna,” yet they didn’t understand who was in front of them, nor did they understand the things that had been said and taught them.

The disciples, like the people in general, did not understand what was unfolding before them (John 12:16). They lacked the perspective of the cross and the resurrection. They were unaware that Zachariah’s prophecy (Zachariah 9:9) was about Jesus. They missed the fact that Jesus was going into Jerusalem at Passover as the new and final sacrificial lamb, “the lamb of God.”

Thermostat or Thermometer?

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, the crowd had grown quite large. We might want to attribute that to an awareness that the crowds understood something about who Jesus was, but that’s not what Scripture teaches.

“The crowd that had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet Him was that they heard He had done this sign.” John 12:17-18

They were there because the news about Lazarus’s resurrection had spread. Intrigue, not worship, brought them out.

Jesus said, “True worshipers will worship in spirit and truth for they are the type of worshipers the Father seeks (John 4:23).” You cannot truly worship without the truth. You cannot worship without the revelation of God and His character, including its relevancy to your life. Deep and meaningful relationships are defined by concrete, unchanging, and eternal truths that God, in His mercy, has revealed to us through His Word.

Here is a propositional truth: I share a deep and profound relationship with my wife. Our relationship is defined by propositional truths, such as our marriage, four children, one grandson, and living in the same home in Memphis, Tennessee. Those are propositional truths; however, relationships involve more than propositional truths, but they never involve less.

True worshipers worship in spirit and truth. The true worshiper has the revelation of God, and it has invaded their understanding and heart. Let’s also note that Scripture doesn’t say the Father seeks evangelists. That’s good, but that’s not what Jesus said. He said God is seeking “worshipers,” and He seeks them among every tribe, nation, and people (Revelation 7:9).

In light of that, I have a question: Are you a thermostat or a thermometer?

Are you a thermometer that reflects the temperature of the surrounding culture? Or are you a thermostat that adjusts the temperature of your life?

Worship is an adoration of God and His revelation of truth that you’ve received. He’s called you to experience redemption through the forgiveness of your sins. We receive this through the shed blood of Christ, which reconciles us to a God who loves us so much that He has animated us with His Spirit. We receive His revelation when we not only comprehend it with our minds but understand it in our hearts.

Loved one, you have received mercy. You don’t want to pray, “Lord, I want what I deserve.” Don’t pray that because Scripture tells us that if you’ve received Jesus, you’ve received mercy. That means we don’t get what we deserve because of what Jesus did on the cross and our faith in Him.

How We Worship Matters

See how David described worship:

“As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for you, O God, My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:1-2a

Unfortunately, many don’t know the meaning of longing after God as a deer thirsts for water. When God’s people worship like “Davids,” the world notices. In Psalm 57:9, David wrote, “I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among peoples.” This and many similar verses show that David’s praise was unapologetically public. He was a thermostat for God’s glory.

I grew up in a very straight-laced church. However, at my first church plant, we had people who would lift their hands in worship. Truthfully speaking, it made me uncomfortable because that wasn’t how I was raised. However, something transcendent would happen during worship, and you could sense God’s presence.

We often see this pattern when we read the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments. It’s a pattern of nonverbal language and how we worship God that matters. It’s been said that 70-80 percent of our language is nonverbal communication. This matters to God.

Several years ago, while in a parking lot, God called my spirit to worship Him. So, I began singing a worship song. The Lord came back and said, “No, I want you to stop and worship me.” So, I stopped, looked around, and saw lots of people coming and going. The Lord spoke to my spirit again, “Drop to your knees, lift your hands, and worship me right here, publicly.”

I feared people would think something was awry and call the police. But the Lord spoke to my heart very clearly and said, “You care more about what these people think of you than what I think of you. There’s a problem when you value the opinions of others more than me. I’m trying to set you free.”

What David expressed and deeply understood is that his authenticity in worship would draw unbelievers to Himself.

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:3

Worship should be a church’s top priority. You may be asking, “I thought the Great Commission was supposed to be a church’s top priority?” I lovingly submit that no, it isn’t because when we love God with our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that happens in a healthy manner, as David describes, the Great Commission takes care of itself.

Scripture teaches us to worship sacrificially, and David demonstrates his heart’s understanding of that. True worship that’s sacrificial is never about my mood, faith, or public opinion. The biblical goal of anyone coming to know Jesus Christ isn’t just to save the lost from the fires of hell or enlist more recruits but to produce worshipers.

Worship isn’t a noun that you attend but a verb that you express. It’s something you give to God, and we make that sacrificial worship by giving God our worship with our service and adoration.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1

It’s easy for us to miss, but when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He was worshiping and brought a sacrifice to God. He was humbling Himself and submitting to the Father’s will. He later prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “If it’s thy will, let this cup pass from me (Matthew 26:39).” He was willing to be misunderstood by others for the sake of honoring God.

Reader, let us come and adore Him. Let us practice what the Hebrews knew when they wrote the poetic words of Psalm 95:6, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”

They did not come before the Lord with an easy familiarity with God’s presence. No, they were aware of His greatness, majesty, and glory, which were revealed through propositional truths and the witness of the Spirit wed together. These are the kind of worshipers that the Father seeks.

TL;DR

  1. Explore the true essence of worship through Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

  2. Through The Parable of The Stones Crying Out, we understand the significance of “Hosanna” and why Jesus responded that the stones would cry out if they stopped worshiping Him.

  3. Discover the call to be a thermostat in worship, reflecting God’s truth and sacrificial adoration, as exemplified by David and ultimately by Jesus Himself.

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Rev. Paul Lawler
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