Worship is being fine-tuned with God. It is exalting His holy name. It is acknowledging His majesty – giving Him your adoration, your praise, your thanksgiving. Worshipping God is the highest privilege of a believer.

The Church with its emphasis on service sometimes misses this. We tend to honor service more than worship. It wasn’t always this way mind you. There was a time when worship was paramount.

A group of men gathered together some time ago. It was said that these men, all leaders of the early church had gathered together to minister to the Lord, and as they did they fasted. Now this grabs my attention. It says that they were ministering to the Lord. What does this mean, ministering to the Lord?

Get this for it is of great import – worship is ministering to the Lord. It is waiting on the Lord and giving Him what is rightfully his – our praise, our adoration, our exaltation, our honoring of Him. He is the Monarch of heaven, the King of the Universe, our Lord and Master – it is right that we minister to Him. Our worship is a mantle of glory we bestow upon Him.

There is something else here, we dare not miss it for it is too important. As the worshipped, the Spirit of God spoke – and Paul and Barnabas were launched on their mission endeavors. The thing is this- worship always precedes service!

O how we need to learn this. Far too many have created ministries to raise money. Others have created ministries out of need or for personal gratification – most though out of sincere desire to do something for God. Tragically, we have put service before worship.

When ministry precedes worship, there is a great danger. It could well be that this ministry is a ministry born out of the flesh. O my, it can be hugely successful from every worldly standard and be an absolute failure from a spiritual perspective. Worse, it could be that one is deceived by the evil one to waste time and talent upon a wooden horse, as it were.

Concentrate on worship – allow God to consecrate you to service. This never fails, never fails to please God.