Reverent Worship
True worship is characterized by a serious, elevated, and reverent love for Christ, which is Spirit-incited and awe-inspiring.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the need for reverent worship, critiquing popular songs that lack depth and sincerity in their praise of Christ. He argues that many contemporary expressions of worship resemble love songs, failing to convey the true awe and reverence due to the Lord. Tozer highlights that genuine love for Christ should evoke serious and elevated emotions, recognizing Him as both a compassionate Savior and a mighty Judge. True knowledge of Christ instills a sense of awe, making flippancy in His presence impossible for those who truly know Him.
Text
Many of our popular songs and choruses in praise of Christ are hollow and unconvincing. Some are even shocking in their amorous endearments, and strike a reverent soul as being a kind of flattery offered to One with whom neither composer nor singer is acquainted. The whole thing is in the mood of the love ditty, the only difference being the substitution of the name of Christ for that of the earthly lover. How different and how utterly wonderful are the emotions aroused by a true and Spirit-incited love for Christ. Such a love may rise to a degree of adoration almost beyond the power of the heart to endure, yet at the same time it will be serious, elevated, chaste and reverent.
Christ can never be known without a sense of awe and fear accompanying the knowledge.
He is the fairest among ten thousand, but He is also the Lord high and mighty. He is meek and lowly in heart, but He is also Lord and Christ who will surely come to be the judge of all men. No one who knows Him intimately can ever be flippant in His presence.
Sermon Outline
- The Problem of Hollow Worship
- The Contrast of True Worship
- The Character of Christ
- Christ is awe-inspiring and fearsome
- Christ is both meek and mighty
- Christ is the judge of all men
Key Quotes
“How different and how utterly wonderful are the emotions aroused by a true and Spirit-incited love for Christ.” — A.W. Tozer
“Christ can never be known without a sense of awe and fear accompanying the knowledge.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should approach worship with seriousness and reverence, rather than flippantly.
- True love for Christ is characterized by a sense of awe and fear, and is Spirit-incited.
- Christ is both meek and mighty, and should be approached with the same reverence as the judge of all men.