Three things come to mind when I think about the Christian walk—worship, Word of God, works of kindness. “Two are stronger than one, and three are even more powerful. And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart (Ecc 4:12).”
Worship
In Hebrew, the word shachah, translated as worship, means “to prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God):—bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship (Strong’s Definitions).” In Greek, the word proskuneo, means the same as the Hebrew. The words indicate attitude and the physicality that expresses it.
Why is this such a big deal? Humanity has been given two powerful attributes that can either be a blessing or a curse—free will and self-awareness, both operations of the soul realm. The soul is the switch that can either bless or curse the body and the spirit. When self-esteem is healthy, the person is happy in mind and body. On the contrary, when self-esteem is sick, then unhealthy pride reigns and drives the person to do destructive things to self and others. When the soul determines to put self-awareness under healthy control and submission to God, the spirit of a person has the opportunity to take ascendance. The spirit then yields to the Spirit of God, as in worship and prayer, God has access to bless.
We often think of worship as the act of singing, clapping hands, dancing, or shouting. These in and of themselves are not worship. These actions give us the language and expression of worship—the physicality, but worship starts and continues from the heart. Homage and reverence are issues of the heart, not of the flesh, but as physical beings connected to attitudes, physical responses naturally follow (hence, the clapping, singing, dancing, etc.).
Each of us, whether designated to lead a congregation in worship or the congregant, is responsible for what goes on in the heart. When the congregation as a whole merges their heartfelt reverence, adoration, and veneration of the Almighty, His Presence is welcome and manifests. The church body then experiences another threefold cord—God, the church, and the individual—coming together in unity.
Worship can also be a solitary act and a place of dwelling, where the spirit of an individual joins with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in communion and fellowship. This is the secret place of the Most High. This is where the “fervent effectual prayer of the righteous” takes place. Here is where you talk to God and He talks to you. Here is where you can ask and nothing according to His Will and Word is denied you. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Ps 91:1).”
All of the precious promises that are contained in Psalm 91 belong to those who DWELL in the secret place of the Most High God. Dwell does not mean visit on occasion. Dwell means that you live there. It’s the place of frequent abiding. It’s the place where you draw your strength; your nourishment; a place where you rest; a place where you give your care, attention, work; and a place where you converse with others who are there.
Word of God
God gave us His Word so that we can know His character, His nature, and His dealings with mankind as a model of what is righteous. He did not leave us up to our own imaginations, creative as they may be, to figure out the world of the Spirit.
Left to our own devices, vain imaginations have led humanity to create a plethora of idols to explain the supernatural. We have the remnants of that even today, not only in idolatrous culture but in syncretistic practices that purport to be Christian. Vain imaginations have crept into doctrines by way of top-down leadership, those who were more interested in power and wealth than the truth in the Word.
The Church has felt the effects of syncretism for centuries, ever since early ecclesiastical tyrants peppered sound doctrine with superstition. Corrupt leaders in past ages have been known to compromise truth with pagan beliefs to get more bodies into the building and resources into the coffers. But they are not alone in perverting the truth. Multiple examples of church leaders of every stripe start out right, but go off into heresies and end up in disgrace with wounded followers. Some are extreme as in the case of Jim Jones and the catastrophe in Guyana. Others are more subtle and insidious where the destruction goes on for decades and even generations.
It is absolutely imperative that believers know and follow the Word of God as the primary source of knowing who God is, and what His Will is for mankind. How can we stand on His promises if we don’t know them? God is unchangeable, but if we don’t know Him, we cannot rely on His faithfulness. We know this God because of what He has said and done throughout the ages.
Knowing about Him in His Word, and furthermore, knowing Him in the intimacy of prayer, allows His presence to rule and reign in our lives. How can we walk in the power He has promised if we don’t know what it is and that it belongs to us? How do we answer life’s challenges and pesky questions without being grounded in the knowledge of life’s manual? God’s Word is not only a manual for living; it is also the source that affirms a living relationship with Him.
Words have power. When God spoke the universe into existence, it manifested. Incidentally, the word He spoke is still creating – the universe is expanding. We have been given the power to speak life or death over circumstances, and those words have power, whether or not you are a believer. As Jesus declared, “. . . It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD’ (Mt 4:4).”
On an atomic level, sound and light are made up of waves. When the vibration of the waves hit a certain frequency, sound becomes light. All matter is moving at a specific wavelength. When the vibration is in agreement with the intended object’s atomic make-up, it comes into being. Sound wacky? Well, even if we don’t understand all of it, and I assure you I don’t, we know that God holds the universe in His Hand and has designed it to function according to His specifications. He has told believers to command, to take authority over evil, and to heal in Jesus Name. When we, in faith believing His Word, act upon it, we walk in this authority and have the full expectation of successful outcome.
Works of Kindness
Lastly, the third strand has to do with what we know and believe—the works of the Kingdom. I must emphasize that our good works as believers are not intended to impress God or earn His approval or affirmation. We do the works He gives us to do because of His grace and mercy upon our lives out of obedience, humility, and love for Him.
New Testament epistles are dedicated to instructions about how we should live in relationship not only to God, but to each other. People were never intended to be a lone creature. We are social creatures that depend on one another for emotional and physical support. The first apostles gave us principles of kindness by which we relate to our families, in our workplaces, in our churches, and out in the marketplaces.
We are equipped with instructions about how we are to lead, what our attitudes should be, and how we are to work together to advance the Kingdom. We indeed are responsible for helping one another grow in grace and success in living. That may include first giving the man a fish, but then, more importantly, teaching him how to fish.
Everybody has gifts, talents, and abilities, as well as a place to function in the Kingdom of God. When we are functioning accordingly, the body is healthy and the Kingdom is advanced. Not all are called to teach or to preach. Some are called to ministries of mercy; some are gifted in the area of finance to support the works of the Kingdom; some are called to administrative works; some are called to leadership ministry work as described in Ephesians 4; some are called to artistic works; all are called to pray, help, and love.
Whatever the call or talent may be, all are important to God and should be to us. He gives the assignments and we simply hear and obey. None is considered too insignificant. He does not judge greatness the same way mankind does. His judgment is righteous and is according to faithfulness. All of the works that are Kingdom-minded are acts of kindness because they follow the nature of God, for He is kind.
Imagine the church where the three-cord of Worship, Word, Works are fully functioning. With God’s grace, power, and direction, we seek to accomplish all that He has called us to do, and we are believing for the natural and human resources sent from heaven to accomplish it.