God’s desire in regard to our
heart and actions in worship has not changed from “Old Testament”, to
“New Testament” times. Let’s review the following passages in scripture
and compare them to each other.
O come, let us worship and bow
down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we
are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye
will hear his voice,
(Psalm 95:6, 7)
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to
worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:23, 24)
In the Psalms passage we find:
The correct object of
worship - The Lord God
The correct attitude of
worship - Prostrating our self before God, understanding who we are
before the Lord
The correct action / result
- To hear His voice.
In the passage which is in the gospel of John we find:
The correct object of
worship - God who is Spirit
The correct attitude of
worship - worship in Spirit
The correct action / result
- worship in truth
Worship Defined
1.
The Greek - proskuneo - Kissing toward one in reverence
2. American Heritage Dictionary -
“The reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity”
3. Webster’s - To honor or reverence
a divine being
In the New Testament, those sole actions in which the Christian engages
so as to specifically show reverence, obeisance, and honor unto God and
His Son Jesus Christ.
What the object of worship is not
It is not:
Drawing our own conclusions:
“Let no man beguile you of your
reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into
those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly
mind,” (Col 2:18)
Personal entertainment:
“O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all
the earth.” (Psa 96:9)
Some view worship as a form of self expression:
“For as I passed by, and beheld
your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN
GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord
of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is
worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he
giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;”
(Act 17:23-25)
The image of man, or beast, or our
own creations:
“And changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” (Rom
1:23)
A social club:
“But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
(Mat 15:9)
The worship of angels:
“For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And
again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And
again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith,
And let all the angels of God worship him.”
(Heb 1:5, 6)
The object of worship is God
God is the object of
our worship:
For He is holy:
“Exalt ye the LORD our God, and
worship at his footstool; for he
is holy.”
(Psa 99:5)
He alone is to be worshipped:
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
(Mat 4:10)
“And I John saw these things,
and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship
before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he
unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy
brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book:
worship God.”
(Rev 22:8, 9)
His servants worship Him:
“Then
Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and
delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's
word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship
any god, except their own God.”
(Dan 3:28)
What’s our attitude?
What does God expect
of our attitude?
Living as He desires:
“Wherewith shall I come before
the LORD, and bow myself before the
high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a
year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
shall I give my firstborn for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for
the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what
is good; and what doth the LORD require
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy God?”
(Mic 6:6-8)
Focused upon the spiritual:
“If ye then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on
the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
(Col 3:1-3)
Full assurance of faith:
“Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and
living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is
to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let
us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water.”
(Heb 10:19)
“Let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that
promised;”
(Heb 10:23)
A broken and contrite heart:
“The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.”
(Psa 51:17)
“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose
name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is
of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and
to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
(Isa 57:15)
“For all those things hath mine
hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this
man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my word.”
(Isa 66:2)
“But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not
in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
(Rom 2:29)
Actions of Worship
Singing:
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
(Eph 5:19)
“Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts
to the Lord.”
(Col 3:16)
“Is any among you afflicted?
let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.”
(Jam 5:13)
Praying:
“Be careful for nothing; but in
every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God.”
(Phi 4:6)
“I exhort therefore, that,
first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be made for all men;”
(1Ti 2:1)
“And another angel came and
stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him
much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints
upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the
incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before
God out of the angel's hand.”
(Rev 8:3, 4)
Giving:
“For this Melchisedec, king of
Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the
slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a
tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness,
and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;”
(Heb 7:1, 2)
“Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of
necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all
grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may abound to every good work:”
(2Co 9:7)
The Lord’s supper:
“And as they were eating, Jesus
took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,
and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my
blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's
kingdom.”
(Mat 26:26)
“For I have received of the
Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same
night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks,
he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for
you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took
the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my
blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's
death till he come.”
(1Co 11:23)
Teaching/Learning God’s Word:
“And Ezra opened the book in
the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when
he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the
great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up
their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with
their faces to the ground.”
(Neh 8:5)
“And upon the first day of the
week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached
unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until
midnight.”
(Act 20:7)
Our actions:
“Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and
said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath
sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have
changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not
serve nor worship any god, except their own God.”
(Dan 3:28)
“Then the king Nebuchadnezzar
fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they
should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered
unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods,
and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest
reveal this secret.
(Dan 2:46)
“Wherefore the LORD God of
Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father,
should walk before me forever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from
me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me
shall be lightly esteemed.”
(1Sa 2:30)
Why worship?
We are commanded to:
“For thou shalt worship no
other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”
(Exo 34:14)
To glorify God:
“Give unto the LORD the glory
due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the
LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
(1Ch 16:29)
To grow in faith:
“So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
(Rom 10:17)
To receive Grace:
“Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need.”
(Heb 4:16)
It gives you joy/pleasure:
“Thou wilt shew me the path of
life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore.”
(Psa 16:11)
It gives strength/victory:
“Although the fig tree shall
not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the
olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be
cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I
will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The
LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and
he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my
stringed instruments.”
(Hab 3:17-19)
God rewards your efforts:
“But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
(Heb 11:6)
We were created to worship:
“The four and twenty elders
fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth
forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou
art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
(Rev 4:10, 11)
By worshipping you show
that you:
Know
God
Believe God
Trust God
Pro 3:5, 6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths.
Food for thought
What have you
learned about worship that you may not have already known?
Can you think of 3
ways that you worship the Lord that is not related to your time at
church?
How has the
information on worship changed your perspective on actions throughout
your day?