Who is worship for? Colossians 3:16

In one verse, Col 3:16, worship is directed three ways. As we give thanks to God through a variety of music, we teach/remind and console/exhort one another in the truth who Chirst is and what he has done, becasue this truth has found its home in us. So worship is to God and for encouraging one another (and even guests who visit). Participation in worship for other's spiritual benefit lives out Christ's life in me. When it is no longer about me or which psalms, hymns or spiritual songs I want, but about sincerely exalting God and edifying one another, Christ's life, the glory of God, is all the more seen in me, and this is worship.

I shared a story from Skye Jethani, out of his book: The Divine Commodity, Discovering a faith Beyond Consumer Christianity; Zondervan 2009. Some folks asked me for it after the service, so her it is:

Years ago I was walking in New Delhi, India, with my father. We were hoping to catch a break in the traffic to cross the street when a boy approached us. He was probably six or seven years old, skinny as a rail, and naked but for tattered blue shorts. His legs were stiff and contorted, like a wire hanger twisted upon itself. He waddled on his hands and kneecaps, which were covered with huge calluses from the broken pavement. As I had many other times in India, I wanted to close my eyes and pretend people in such misery didn't exist. But this persistent boy wouldn't let me.
He shouted at us, "One rupee, please! One rupee!" The little guy was amazingly fast on his kneecaps, managing to stay ahead of us and in our field of vision. Finally, realizing he wasn't going to give up, my father stopped.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"One rupee, sir," the boy said while motioning his hand to his mouth and bowing his head in deference. My father laughed.
"How about I give you five rupees?" he said. The boy's submissive countenance suddenly became defiant. He retracted his hand and sneered at us. He thought my father was joking, having a laugh at his expense. After all, no one would willingly give five rupees. The boy started shuffling away mumbling curses under his breath.
My father reached into his pocket. Hearing the coins jingle, the boy stopped and looked back over his shoulder. My father was holding out a five rupee coin. He approached the stunned boy and placed the coin into his hand. The boy didn't move or say a word. He just stared at the coin. We passed him and proceeded to cross the street.
A moment later the shouting resumed except this time the boy was yelling, "Thank you! Thank you, sir! Bless you!" He raced after us once again—not for more money but to touch my father's feet. He blocked our way and alternated raising his hands with shouts of acclamation and bowing at my father's shoes. He was literally worshiping us.
This, I imagine, is how our God sees us—as miserable creatures in desperate need of his help. But rather than asking for what we truly need, rather than desiring what he is able and willing to give, we settle for lesser things. And when God graciously says "no" to our misled desires and instead offers us more, we reject him. We turn away, cursing him under our breath. We simply cannot imagine a God who would give five rupees when all we desire is one.
C.S. Lewis says: "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
The dilemma posed by consumerism, including the Christian variety, is not the endless manufacturing of desires, but the temptation to settle for desires far below what we were created for. The forces of marketing have captured our imaginations and convinced us to desire mud pies and sneer at the possibility that even greater pleasures exist. We have been re-programmed to desire immediate satisfaction rather than infinite satisfaction. We do not desire too much, but too little.

Worship: on earth as it is in heaven.

Revelation 4 and 5 give us a glimpse of what worship in heaven looks like. If anyone gets worship right anywhere, certainly it must be in heaven. We can learn something from what we see.

Worship in heaven is overwhelmingly God-centered. The hymn is about Him. Its about who God is, what he as done, he is the subject of every song. When we are found in heaven;'s song, it is only as object of of God's grace, singing about what He has done for us in Christ.

Worship in heaven is corporately and passionately practiced. The 24 elders are all together, the follow worship leadership and actively, passionately participate. worship is practiced repeatedly,it continues and will continue, they do not rest. This is not the bland leading the bland, but obeisance with abandon! You could say that heaven's worship is liturgical in its depth and intentionality and it is charismatic in its zeal and devotion.

In Revelation 5 worship in heaven is a joyful response to God for what He has done in Christ to make all creation right: heaven celebrates humanity reconciled, the rebellion of Satan put down, and paradise restored across all of creation. Their songs suggest that our worship, Sunday by Sunday, should be a joyful response to God, for what He has done in Christ, in anticipation of His making creation right. Although we don't yet see glory restored, we anticipate it in hope, and worship in faith. Believing enables worship.

Allan Ross writes, "If we ever begin to comprehend the risen Christ in all His glory, or faintly hear the heavenly choirs that surround the thone with the anthems of praise...then we can never again be satisfied with worship as usual. So, we join in with Chris Tomlin singing: I hear the voice of many angles sing, "worthy is the Lamb" and I hear the cray of every longing heart, "worthy is the Lamb!" Jesus has overcome, and the grave is overwhelmed. victory is won, He is risen from the dead...

Free to Worship: Let my people go...

The book of Exodus has several major movements: Moses, plagues on Egypt, Passover, the exodus from Egypt, Sinai and the Law, instructions for worship, rebellion and idolatry around a golden calf, yet finally the fulfillment of worship in God's tabernacle. It's a story of grace, redemption and worship, that rings through the ages, as God intended. Jesus himself took the Passover table, that celebrated this redemption, made it the table of the New Covenant, celebrating our salvation in Christ, our passover.
The goal of the Exodus salvation is the same as ours: God says "Let my people go (free from bondage, into new life) so that they may worship me." And not surprisingly, as soon as they crossed the red sea on dry ground, they sang a new song or worship and praise to their great deliverer.
Sinai and the Law drew a line they could not cross, they were unable to approach God on their own and made a god of gold that seemed more reasonable and manageable to them. Still through sacrifices and a tabernacle/temple, God made a way for continuing forgiveness so that they could dwell with him and worship him.
I fail, I'm not worthy, but God desires me, has redeemed me, given me new life to live in, and the focus of that new life is to worship him. Christ has died for my guilt once for all, and He ever lives to intercede for me, to keep on cleansing me. Indeed, I am Free to Worship!