Is Praise & Worship Vertical or Horizontal?
Are praise and worship to capture the attention of the audience and in the end make them "feel" elated, satisfied, or fulfilled?

Praise and worship are for God, not man. The church of today appears to have lost sight of that. They are not for man's pleasure but to please the Lord. The Psalmist said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord” - Psalm 19:14.

Church praise and worship are now about the participants being emotionally high or charged. It has turned into "what's in it for me?" The one who should be the focal point - God - has been made the secondary.

The Christian life has its protocols. One of which is 1 Cor. 14:40 - “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” That has been jettisoned in today's praise and worship sessions. The wild expressions in many of these sessions clearly show that it is about the entertainment of the participants and not worship. The two are on opposite sides. And man cannot share in God's glory.

It is therefore clear how far the church has veered off course.

True praise and worship are based on:
1. Knowledge of who and what God is. If you don't know God it becomes emotions. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
Psalms 119:7.
2. Knowledge of God's gift of salvation.
3. Knowledge of the wonders of God's grace toward us.
4. Knowledge of God's immense faithfulness.
5. Knowledge of God's unsurpassed love that cannot be shaken or moved.
6. Knowledge of God's plan for one's life both in time and in eternity - Jer. 29:11.
7. Knowledge of God's wisdom, glory, power, and might. The honor due to God. The esteem God deserves. His inherent power.

True praise and worship are to God and not man. The real concern should be: "Have we offered acceptable sacrifice of praise to God? Is our worship pleasing to God?" Not the "I am..........." (Fill in the blanks) that results after our praise and worship.

We need to evaluate our praise and worship to see if they fall in line with the Scripture. Without them lining up with the Scripture all we have are just noise gongs in our praise and worship.

Was your praise and your worship today in church directed to God or yourself?
The one is acceptable to God. The other is "wood, hay, and stubble".

Hedonism is self-pleasure or self-satisfaction. Are the praise and worship sessions in your church hedonistic? Is God the focus or is man feeling blessed?

To worship Him acceptably God has given us a role model {Matthew 17:5} so we can follow his footsteps closely! 1Peter 2:21

So to gain accurate knowledge about worship and praise of the true God these are the steps to follow:

© Read God's word carefully.
© Meditate thoroughly on what you read.
© Associate with others doing the same thing.
© Ask questions to harmonize thought.
© Humble yourself to accept the conclusion.
Proverbs 2:1-5

Jesus Christ knew it's impossible for one person to understand God's word without mingling with fellow researchers that's why he said:

"where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” Matthew 18:20 compare to Hebrews 10:24-25

When you're always looking for a gathering of researchers whose ambition is to find out what God requires and not what suits each of them at heart you will know the truth and the truth will set you free from false religious ideas! John 8:32

May you have PEACE!

It is tantamount to insanity...

The best form of worship is obedience to the divine laws of God..