Worship Series S01: Who do people say that I am?: Crowd Perspective

Matthew 16:13When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

The story referenced above is well-known and has been read many times. Yet one day, a question dawned on me—and I personalized it: “In all that I have done and experienced, do I have a clear picture of who God truly is to me?” The disciples had walked with Christ for a long time, and there came a moment when He asked them what people were saying about Him. Many perspectives were drawn there. Remember the saying: _“Worship is when all that a man is surrenders to all that God is.” I have also heard ministers say, “Worship is telling God who He is. ”So I come to ask you this day: Do you have something you can say about who God is to you? In the coming days, I will be sharing various perspectives on True Worship drawn from this passage of Scripture. Today we will talk about the Crowd's Perspective - Public Opinion about worship.

Crowd’s Perspective In Christ’s time, people held very different views about who He was—yet all these perceptions were mistaken. Some had witnessed His miraculous acts and concluded He must be John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. Often, we underestimate who Christ truly is because our revelation of Him is limited to the group or crowd we belong. After seeing God heal the sick, we may end up confining Him to just that. Have you ever noticed how spending time with people who hold a certain opinion about someone can lead you to adopt that same view? There are those who end up disliking someone—not because of any personal offense—but simply because of what they heard others say. As Scripture warns, bad company corrupts good morals.

Crowd responses can heavily influence who we become and how we act. If you want to understand someone better, look at the five people they spend the most time with. Be very careful about who you allow to shape your identity. While Scripture encourages us to gather together, we must ensure that the influences we allow are positive—beneficial to the Kingdom of God, our families, and our careers. Many have failed to pursue certain callings simply because they feared being judged. How many times have you held back from doing something because of what you thought people would say? How many times have you hesitated to act for God because of fear of public opinion and criticism?There is real danger in letting public opinion lead us. Even amid the noise of the crowd, we must train ourselves to hear God’s voice. I have heard people using certain words in worship which when being asked couldn’t even explain only because they heard the crowd shouting that way. Worship drawn from a personal experience is better dear beloveds.

True worship goes beyond what the crowd dictates. The shouts, dances, and applause of the multitudes do not necessarily mean they are worshipping in spirit and truth. Some have been swept up in crowd experiences, only to later discover that drugs, hatred, false doctrine, or selfish motives were behind the excitement.