"Pleasing" God vs "Worshiping" God

This last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Men's Retreat with our guys and a few other Calvary's here in Southeastern Virginia.  What a sweet time in the Word and fellowship we all had!  One of the Pastor's who spoke really prompted a question within me to ask myself and meditate on.  Actually his statement prompted me to ask myself this question:     "Do I seek to please God...or worship God?" 

This may be an easy question for some of you, but for me it was a real examination of my heart!  I know those of us who love the Lord seek to "please" Him in every way!  But I know myself only too well...I love to please God in every way!  But I also know that in my "pleasing" Him...I can become really "religious" or "legal" about it; not toward others, but myself!  You know, making sure I get into the Word at "appointed" times weekly, making sure I don't miss every opportunity to "see" Him or "receive" from Him. Those are in and of themselves fine, but the problem is that in the mode of "pleasing"...I forget (or forgot), that it's not in the "pleasing" but in the worshiping. 

That's right!  It's not about pleasing Him daily...but worshiping Him daily!   We tend to forget that God calls us to worship Him...from Matthew 2:2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.".... all the way to  
Revelation 22:9 that says  "Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."

You see, if we just set our hearts on these two things daily...we will please Him!  The first is to Thank Him for our Salvation...that without Jesus Christ we would have no way possible to God; the second is to Worship Him for who He is!  If we seek to just worship Him, then because of our worship to Him...we will (as a by-product) please Him!   But the big difference is that our Worship of Him makes us love Him more and more so that we have no choice but to please Him!   

It's in the Worship of God that He will "abound in us more".....1Thessalonians 4:1 tells us "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;"