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\u201cYou are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created\xa0and have their being.\u201d (Rev 4:11)

It\u2019s not about you. These are the opening words of Rick Warren\u2019s book \u201cThe Purpose Driven Life.\u201d Although they are written about the purpose of our life, they can be extended into the realm of worship as well.\xa0 Worship of God happens when we place God first in our life.\xa0 Jesus plainly said who we are to worship, \u201cYou shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve\u201d (Matt 4:10). \xa0Worship is about valuing God above everything else that runs across our paths and through our minds in order to be transformed and renewed day by day into the image of Christ.

Everyone on earth looks to someone or something to give meaning to their lives.\xa0 Our worship reveals what we most value in our lives. \xa0What we love and what we give our focus to translates into the person that we become.\xa0 Some people value money, possessions, celebrities, power, happiness, approval, success, body-image.\xa0 I could go on.\xa0 Although none of these things on their own are bad or wrong, when we place a disproportionate focus towards them, they become objects of worship to us.

Worship is a verb.\xa0 It\u2019s not a passive verb.\xa0 It\u2019s something we do.\xa0 True worship is not simply attending church on Sunday -- which is a good thing because church attendance hasn\u2019t been so regular over the last 14 months.\xa0 Jesus knew that worship is not just about church services.\xa0 It is about our heart.\xa0 He said, \u201cThese people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me\u201d (Matthew 15:8).\xa0 Worship is a response to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.\xa0 When we come before God in an act of worship whether in a church service, or anywhere else in our lives, it becomes difficult to hold grudges and resentments towards others.

Each one of us is uniquely made in the image of God in order to glorify Him in our own special way.\xa0 But worship is so much more than a type of music or something that happens at a church service.\xa0 Theologian and author Richard Foster writes, \u201cJust as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship.\u201d\xa0 When we stand before Our Holy Lord, He changes us. He transforms us.\xa0

We worship the Lord not only because of who He is, but also for what He has done.\xa0 The Lord our God is faithful, merciful and just.\xa0 We can see this over and over again in the Old Testament as the Israelites repeatedly rebel and turn away, yet God remains steadfast towards them. \xa0We see this in the New Testament as the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ came and died in our place, taking our sin and offering Himself for us.

The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were offered in what Hebrews 9 calls an \u201cearthly sanctuary.\u201d\xa0 Old Testament worship was a shadow of the purer form of worship which is now possible because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ.\xa0 We are now to offer ourselves as living sacrifices because this is our true and proper worship (see Romans 12:1).\xa0 And our worship here on earth is preparation for worship in heaven, where a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, stands before the throne and before the Lamb of God (see Rev 7:9).

The act of worship can touch us deeply.\xa0 But worship isn\u2019t about us.\xa0 It is about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.\xa0 The Lord our God is worthy of all glory and honour and praise! \xa0"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name." (Hebrews 13:15) True worship is based on a right understanding of God\u2019s nature, and a right valuing of God\u2019s worth.

I will end with Romans 11:36, \u201cFor from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.\u201d