A STUDY ON WORSHIP
“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psalms twenty-nine and verse two.
The church bulletin stated that the Sunday morning worship would begin at eleven. So there was an opening pray followed by some singing and then the offering was received. The pastor then presented his three points and a poem and service was dismissed and the people left the church, never having entered into worship.
That scenario is repeated to often in many of our churches today, we attend service and sings songs and listen to the sermon, and it’s more about us than about our worship to God, the creator, redeemer and soon coming King.
I would like to present a study on WORSHIP, and in this series I would like to explore the MEANING OF WORSHIP, THE IMPORTANCE OF WORSHIP, and THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP AND THE POWER OF WORSHIP. I believe that if we learned the value of worship, we will find ourselves entering into a new and exciting relationship with the Father.
The term worship is like many other great words, such as grace and love, they are difficult to define. It’s like trying to tell someone what a rose smells like, or the flavor of the taste of honey. Worship is more easily experienced than described.
When Jesus spoke to the women at the well He stated, “The hour come and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks such to worship Him.” and then said, “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in sprit and in truth.”
God’s glory is the result of His nature and acts. He is wonderful in character, for He is holy, good and lovely. The actions which flow from His character are glorious, and while He intends that His nature be in His creation, He alone is to be worshipped.
Shall the vessel exalt itself above the one who fashioned it upon the wheel? Shall the dust of the desert strive with the whirlwind? Or the drops of the ocean struggle with the tempest? “Give unto the Lord, all ye righteous, give unto the Lord Glory and strength; give unto Him the honor that is due unto His name.”
In an attempt to define the meaning of worship, one describes it as “The overflow of a grateful heart, with the understanding of Divine Favor.” In other words, worship is spontaneous as it flows from a grateful heart. When you enter into true worship, you will find that the things of life and those around you become less important, for your focus is on Him.
David spoke of this when he sang, “My heart is inditing a good matter.” The marginal rendering is, “My heart boils, or bubbles up.” And again in the twenty-third Psalms David speaks of worship saying, “You anoints my head with oil, my cup runs over.”
Worship is the outpouring of the soul at rest in the presence of God. And from the Songs of Solomon we have these words, “I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet unto my taste. He brought me to the banqueting table, and His banner over me is love.”
Another has defined worship as, “The occupation of the heart, not with its need or even with its blessing, but with God Himself.” Whatever approach we may take to worship it only the regenerated believer that can spiritually and intelligently worship the Father and the Son, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The bible teaches us that “The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Jesus while talking to the woman at the well used the analogy of water to describe the spiritual life which He came to make possible to all who believe. And this living water comes into the believer when he or she is born again, and springs up into everlasting life.
He said to the woman, “But whosoever drink of the water that I give shall never thirst again.” And this water that we have received flows out in our worship and the cycle is completed. The rain falls from the heavens the sun recycles it, and then it falls again.
Long ago Solomon made the discovery that though all the rivers ran into the sea, yet the sea did not become full. “Unto the place from whence the rivers come thither they return.” Thus the spiritual life which flows to us from God, we then returned to Him in our worship.
The word most commonly translated worship in the word of God is, PRO-SKUN-NOE. This word means to do reverence, or homage, by prostration; to pay divine homage, to worship and adore. In Matthew’s gospel the wise men are recorded as saying; “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? We are come to worship Him, and when they saw the young child, they fell down and worshipped Him.”
The same word is used in describing what Jesus said when He was tempted by Satan. “Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve.” In other words, Satan you must bow down.
One of the many rules determining the real meaning of a word in scripture, has been aptly termed, THE LAW OF FIRST MENTION. This rule affirms that the first mention of a word, or doctrine, in the bible determines its meaning throughout the whole range of scriptures.
So let us look at the first mention of the word worship. In the book of Genesis chapter twenty-two, we hear Abraham saying to the young men who accompanied him and Isaac to the mountains of Mariah. “Abide you here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” In this first recorded mention of the word, many things concerning worship are made clear and have everlasting value.
Worship is based on a revelation from God. “And God said,” It was in response to a word from God that Abraham took his son and went forth to worship. Our worship is based on the revelation that Jesus is the son of God, and by faith we have forgiveness through the shed blood of the sacrificed Lamb, so we worship Him.
Faith always presupposes revelation. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Take faith away from Abraham’s act in offering up Isaac, and it becomes murder! Our worship of the Lord, is also the work of the Lord, and should be guided by the word of the Lord.
The believer’s authority in worship is not the traditions of men, but the clear revelation of God’s word. You will remember when Jesus was talking to the woman at the well she stated that “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Then Jesus stated,
“woman believe me, the hour cometh, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. But the hour comes when you will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”
Worship is conditioned by faith in, and obedience to a revelation. Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled the ass, cut the wood for the burnt offering, secured the services of two young men, took Isaac his son, and made his way in the direction God had indicated. And Isaac said to his father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Listen to this prophetic word from Abraham, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering; so he went to the place which God had told him to go. And there builds the altar where he will sacrifice his son. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.”
Worship involves a costly presentation to God. God said to Abraham, “Take now thy son, your only Son, the one that you love and offer him for a burnt offering.” Worship is not cheap and must not be offered without a sense of self sacrifice.
Now when Abraham took the knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord called unto him and said, “Don’t lay your hand upon the lad nor allow harm to come unto him. God had provided a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns to be the sacrifice.”
And Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-jireh, which means, the Lord will provide.
I am sure God will not have us to offer a child in our worship, but it might mean giving of our time, talent and money. David realized that true worship was costly and declared, “Neither will I offer burnt sacrifices unto the Lord my God of that which cost me nothing.”
We should keep in mind what David said concerning our worship. It is spoken of as a Sacrifice of Praise, and sacrifice denotes cost, and you will discover that true worship is a costly endeavor.
When you read about the early followers of Jesus, many had to seal their testimony with their own life’s blood, in order to maintain a good conscience before God in this matter of worship. “The noble army of martyrs” gives amazing witness to this fact. Worship will involve considerable cost in one’s social circles, business and the outlay of money.
Worship must be done by a deliberate separation unto God. “Abide ye here, I and the lad will go yonder and worship.” Abraham ascended the mountain, until he reached the summit, where his act of worship was consummated. In like manner the believer having left the things of earth behind ascends into the presence of God, in reality of being, “Shut in with God, far above the restless cares of the world.”
When we enter into worship, sometimes it means moving away from the status quo. We enter a new and living way, into the most holy place and pour out hearts in adoring worship. We have the privilege to go into the most holy place because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and it’s a deliberate act of separation unto God.
We must say like Abraham, I will with resolve say to all my cares, business affairs, hobbies and activities. “I must leave you here while I go yonder and worship.” Sometimes we have to pull away from the things in life that would burden us down. We may need to separate ourselves from friends and family to spend time in the presence of the Father. This calls for a complete separation and putting aside all self interest, which is by no means pleasing to the flesh.
Worship calls for absolute renunciation of self, in all its varied forms. When Abraham said he was going to worship he knew that it meant the offering up of his son and this involved a total commitment of self. Needless to say this denial of self is entirely contrary to the flesh with its desire for self-will, self-esteem and self expression. There must be a complete surrender of the flesh in true spiritual worship.
Just as Abraham, by this act of offering up his son, denied the appeal of the flesh for self-expression; so each believer must recognize that the true worshipper is one who “Worships God in the Spirit, rejoices in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh.”
As Abraham approached God, with his son to worship; so the believer must learn that, as a worshipper, he must come to God in Christ, and through Christ and also with Christ. And in doing so, this is pleasing to Father. For God had said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Worship glorifies God. This act of worship on the part of Abraham delighted God’s heart, and brought to Him an expression of His appreciation. David, by the Spirit was made to realize this truth, for God said to him: “Whoso offer praise glorifies me, and to him that order his conversation aright, will I show the salvation of God.” Worship gives to God the place of absolute pre-eminence with the exclusion of all others, and this glorifies Him.
Worship is both a privilege and responsibility. Here is the privilege, “Having a high Priest over the house of God;” and the believer’s responsibility is to “draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith.” Worship therefore calls for spiritual activity, or the energy of faith by which the Christian is enabled to go from here to yonder, and worship unhindered in the presence of God.
Here is an awesome thought; the created is able to stand in the presence of the Creator with hands uplifted giving honor, glory and praise to the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and Omega the Almighty God. What a great privilege we have as believers to walk into the throne room with courage and have an audience with the giver of life.
Worship results in blessings to the worshipper. God said to Abraham, “Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld thy son, your only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
The first blessing for Abraham was getting his son back. Abraham may have ascended the mount with a heavy burden; he certainly descended it with a song of praise on his lips and a holy joy in his heart. For those who honor God will be honored, by Him in return.
This is what God does for each true worshipper. He gives back, to the believer. God gave His son to bear our sin, so that we could enter in to His presence with no condemnation God not only gave His son for us, on the cross, for our salvation; but He now gives His son to us, on the throne, for our satisfaction.
Worship is giving back that which you have received. “Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return.” When we participate in worshipping the Father, the cycle is complete.
There is an old song written by Doris Acers, “You can’t beat God giving, no matter how you try.” The verse says, “The more you give the more He gives to you, so keep on giving because it’s really true. You can’t beat God giving, no matter how you try.
Prayer is the occupation of the soul with its needs. “Lord, will you save my soul, for I have need of thee.” Now praise is the occupation of the soul with its blessings. “Thank you, Lord for saving my soul.” And when it comes to worship, it is the occupation of the soul with God Himself. Jesus I just want to thank you, thank you for being so good, I enter into your presence just to thank you for being who you are.
Worship is what we present to God, with a willing acknowledgement of our deep appreciation of who He is and all He has done.
The book of Deuteronomy chapter twenty-six gives us a picture of what is in involved in the phrase, “Thou shall worship before the Lord God.”
The worshipper is one who has experienced what it means to be redeemed by blood. In this chapter God is reminding Israel that they were set free, having been sheltered by the Blood of the Passover Lamb. God instructed them to recall the fact that they were slaves under the bitter bondage of the Egyptians. And the Lord looked upon their affliction, labor and oppressions and brought them out of their dreadful condition.
Now our position, though once by nature, lost in sin and under its dreaded condemnation; yet because of the redeeming work accomplished through the shed blood of Jesus, we have full assurance of everlasting salvation.
Peter reminded the early Christians, “They were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.”
The worshipper is viewed as having an inheritance in the land. Now in this same chapter the people were the subject of divine guidance, for they had been led by the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. They were the object of God’s provisions, for they had eaten of the manna from heaven, and drank the water that flowed from the smitten rock.
The Christian is viewed in scripture as being already, “Seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” He is assured, by God himself, that in Christ he has “obtained and inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will”
The worshipper is one whom God has blessed. He was instructed to take of the first fruits of the harvest, with which God had blessed him, and present it to the Lord as an act of Worship. God’s blessings to Israel were largely temporal and material, and were conditioned upon their obedience to His commandments.
“It shall come to pass if you will hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth.”
In contrast to the earthly blessings of Israel, the blessings of the believer are eternal and spiritual. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”
In the old covenant and an also in the new, the one who worships does not come to be blessed, because he has already been blessed. “The blessings of the Lord, it makes rich, and He added no sorrow with it.”
The worshipper is seen to be a grateful person. He is described as first gathering the gift of the first fruit, then placing it in a basket, and finally bringing it before the Lord. This was not to be a haphazard presentation, but offered as worship with great care in the picking of the fruit, and arranging it in an orderly fashion in the basket.
God is looking for a people who are willing to give Him a sacrifice of praise, a people who appreciates His blessings and willing to worship even when things look bleak, for He is the God of the valleys and also God of the mountains.
It has been the desire of God the Father since the inception of time to have a people that He could have fellowship with. And those, whom God has abundantly blessed, will respond to Him in true worship and will wait in His presence. God’s word to Israel was, “None shall appear before me with empty hands.”
Now if you were invited to have an audience with someone in high office, it would be a privilege and also a responsibility. The privilege, to walk in to that person’s chamber, and stand before him. The responsibility would be to bring a gift as a token of your appreciation.
The obvious teaching is that each believer should select the gift and arrange his basket of first fruit and present it to the Lord. He should bring them with him to the meeting place with a heart filled with appreciation of who God is and all that He has done.
As we bring our gifts to the altar, the spiritual tone of the meeting will be lifted to a higher place of worship, and God will receive that which He seeks, the worship of His beloved, blood bought and Sprit born children.
The worshipper is described as giving to God. “Thou shall set the gift before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God.” Notice that the worshipper does not ask God for a single thing. He does not come to God with a petition on his lips, but with a present in his hand. When we offer a gift to God, let us remember it had already been given to us by the hand of God, yet God is delighted with the gift and credited it to our account.
David was aware of this principle, for he said to God, “But who am I, and my people, that would offer a gift so willingly after this sort? For from your blessings have we received and then return it back to thee.”
If I have learned anything over the years in the work of the Lord, it would be this one thing. That true worship is very costly. And only those who are willing to give will moves into a closer relationship with the Father. When I use the term costly, what I mean is that it will cost you your time, talent and money.
When Jesus talked to the rich young ruler, he told him to sell what he had and give to the poor, and then come and follow. But the young man went away sorrowful, because he had much riches. He was not willing to give up his possession to enter in.
Let us now look at the power of worship. We have noted the meaning, importance, object and ground for worship. We now come to the power of worship. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that man is capable of true worship. The work of the Spirit is so important in our everyday life when it come to the believer’s worship.
There is a large misconception regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes He is referred to as though He is merely an influence, force or energy, and often mentioned as it. Let us remember that God is Spirit and they that worship must worship in Spirit and in truth.
The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is very evident in the word of God. Christ’s own words should be sufficient to establish this fact. Mark the personal pronoun used by Christ in referring to the Holy Spirit.; “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. When the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you unto all truth, for He shall not speak of himself. But whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.”
The Holy Spirit possesses knowledge, or intelligent, feeling, or emotions and will. The scriptures bears record that the Holy Spirit possesses these qualities. The Spirit know what we have need of, He teaches, testifies, guides and will hears us and will also speak to us.
The Holy Spirit has emotions, for it is said He can be grieved, quenched, resisted and despised. He also has a will, for He strives, reproves and makes intercession for the believer.
The Holy Spirit has many titles in the word of God. Each title is full of spiritual meaning and indicates the various aspects of His character and word. The Holy Spirit emphasizes Christ’s absolute holiness. He is the Spirit of truth, because of His perfect trustworthiness. He is called the Comforter, or Paraclete, which means, one called alongside to encourage or help. He is referred to as the Spirit of grace, pointing to the unmerited favor, and there is no other word for grace, but amazing.
These names, with many others show the dignity of His person, the Deity of His character and the glory of His displayed attributes. The work of the Spirit in relation to the creation, He is seen as brooding over the face of a chaotic earth filled with darkness which gave place to light and chaos was succeeded by order and beauty.
Here is a beautiful picture of His work in the awakening of those who are lost and without hope, to relationship with the Father. And we owe the written revelation of God’s word to the work of the Spirit, for we are told. “Prophecy came not in old times by the will of man; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” David testifies. “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was in my tongue.” And Paul declared, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” And the word of God was given to teach us all things.
The angel Gabriel was instructed to tell Mary, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
In the life of Christ while on earth, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him at baptism. The Spirit led the Savior into His temptation and empowered Him during His testing and He came forth as the conqueror. He said, “Destroy this body and in three days the Spirit will raise it up again.” And in His resurrection He is declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead.
The Holy Spirit in relation to the believer, the work of the Spirit awakens the soul and leads to faith in Christ. When the truth of the gospel is believed and Christ is received, He indwells the believer, and thereby seals him unto the day of redemption.
The Holy Spirit enlightens the believer by creating a capacity for spiritual things, and imparting spiritual discernment, thus enabling him to understand what otherwise could not be comprehended. And He guides the believer into all truth, and as we read, meditate and study the word of God, the Spirit will grow us up in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit will empower the Christian for service, this promise was given in the book of Acts chapter one and verse eight. “And ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you hall be witnesses unto me.”
And the work of the Spirit will produce fruit in the life of the Christian. As the Spirit begins to move in the believers life a change will come, “For if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old tings are passed away and behold all things become new.” And people will see the change as it takes place.
The fruit of the Spirit has a nine fold quality. God ward, there will love, joy and peace. Man ward we will see longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness. And self ward there will be faith, meekness and temperance. And the fruit of the Spirit will glorify Christ.
When the word of God is alive in us and the fruit of the Spirit is being manifested, we will find it easy to enter into the most holy place and worship will be a part of our everyday life.
As I close this study may I suggest that as you enter into your place of worship, take the word of God and allow it to become a part of your very being, and say, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
And when the enemies would come in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard. Then you can say, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” So give unto the Lord the glory that is due His holy name.
Keeping your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile, depart from evil ways, and do good, seek peace, and pursue it.
