Worship John 4: 23, 24
I. What is worship?
To worship is
To quicken the conscience by the holiness of god,
To feed the mind with the truth of god
To purge the imagination by the beauty of god
To open the heart to the love of god
To devote the will for the purpose of god. William Temple
Worship is not a human invention rather it is divine offering.
Worth and ship = worthy of reverence and honor
When we worship we declaring God’s worth Rev 5 12-14
The biblical Term Kabod [Hebrew] translated glory means honor or weight of god.Isa.6.3
The N.T Term Doxa = glory = God is worthy of praise and honor Luke 2.14
Worship is as natural for man as it is for him to breathe.
Worship is to Christian what as engine to a car.
It is an absolutely indispensable part of Christian life
Worship is an act of honoring god because of his great worthiness to be honored.
1. Worship is celebration
Worship is essentially the celebration of the acts of god in history.
God’s creation
Provision
Covenant and redemption
Celebration of the victory of Jesus on the cross over
Death
Satan and sin
Celebration of the manifestation of God’s power through the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Worship is practicing the presence of god in every experience
2. Worship is dialogue. Isia.6.1
Worship is both revelation and response
God take initiative in revelation and human kind response in worship.
Moses Ex.3.6 And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God
John Rev.1.1717 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 1
Isaiah Isia.6.5And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Daniel 8.1818 As he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and set me on my feet
God revealed to worshippers through - Bible
- Nature
- Holy Spirit
Human response through -words and music
- Celebration and dedication
Worship is more than conversation
It is also an encounter between god and man
You should have a new revelation about God when you are in His presence….
To realize His holiness and our ungodliness
Paul in Ephesians 3.8To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ
In 1Timothy 1.15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners;
See the journey from least saint to chief sinner .
When we His holiness we will realize our inadequacy , unworthiness
We tell him lord you are holy thank you for let me worship you.
3. Offering
The purpose of worship is not primarily to receive blessings from the Lord but make offerings to God.
OT People presented offering in the form of sacrifices
Psalm.96.8Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the LORD in holy array; tremble before him, all the earth
NT also emphasizes giving as central theme in worship.
Offer the gifts in sincere faith and total obedience
.
Worship is more than speech it is action, it is acting in the word of god in faith.
God has acted towards us so we have to act toward Him 1Pet.2.5, Heb.13.5
Worship is the offering of our total selves to god.
Outward gifts are results of inward dedication
The highest expression of giving is offering us to god.
Rom12.11 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Gen.22.1-18
V.5. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you
Abraham a man on the way to worship not a man who is about to slay his son
Worship is a costly thing, ready to pay the price to participate in worship of such a god.
If your sacrifice will not break you, cost you nothing it will not affect heaven.
David said in psalms 5116 For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
There are different kinds of worship that people explained today and lots of conflicts too. Emotional worship, intellectual worship
Traditional , contemporary high church style, Low Church style, but god still seeks worshippers, sincere worshippers
God has created us to worship and commanded us to worship him also.
Psalms 1501 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
11. Characteristics of true worship that pleases God
1. Genuine worship must coincide with the nature of god John.4.24
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
God is spirit .Any worship that is to reach God must therefore be spiritual in nature.
a. Worship of repentance [god is holy]2 Samuel 12.20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD, and worshiped; he then went to his own house; and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate
Instead of rebelling against the hand of god, he repented .He wrote psalms 51, psalm 32
B. worship of submission [god is almighty] Job.1.20 Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. 21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
He submits to God’s plan for his life even though he doesn’t like it or understand it Rom.8.2828 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose
C. worship of devotion Gen.22.1-18
2. Genuine worship must be centered in the spirit
Genuine worship of God is not the fleshly displays we some time call worship
We are subject to time, space and matter. But God is spirit; He is not limited to these. So it is not important to where or when you worship but how you worship.
David worshipped the Lord in two distinct manners.
a. He danced before the Lord with passionate zeal.2Samuel6:14-16
16 As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
b. He sat before the Lord in humble amazement 2 Samuel 7.18
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far
You can’t tell how much gas in a car by hearing its horn
Worship is an event happens externally but it always begins internally, with in the spirit of man.
Genuine worship from the spirit is
• Worshipping god with the entire spiritual ability of the soul, seeking the most intimate fellowship and communion with Him
• Trusting and resting in God’s love acceptance and care.
3. Genuine worship must be constituted up on the reality of who God is John4.24
• True worship is arises out of spirit
• True worship must be practiced in truth
• Worship must be built up on the knowledge of who God is
How can you learn about God and about His nature, His love, mercy grace character, judgment?
Only through His word and walk with Him
So systematic exposition of the word of God is necessary in worship service
• Worship is an expression of praise from the heart, toward a God who is understood and truly revealed.
• Worship is receiving revelation about God and then rendering back homage for HIS greatness and His glory
4. Genuine worship must be concerned with the glory of God
God seeks genuine worshippers.
Worship for any other purpose other than god’s glory is not true worship.
Worship is God-centered. This is a good reminder because we are not to just get emotional or sing loudly for our own sake. Our focus should not be on how worship makes us feel. Our worship must be centered on God alone. Notice these verses psalms 95:1,2. We are to “sing for joy to the Lord,” we are to “shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation,” we are to “come before Him with thanksgiving,” and we’re to “extol Him with music and song.” David danced and shouted, but he did it “before the Lord.”
We need to make sure our music is “Christocentric,” not man-centered. Instead of singing about how happy we are to be together worshipping God, the Psalms call us to sing directly to God. In other words, we are to not just talk about how we feel when we worship, but rather engage our body, soul and spirit, complete with our emotions, in a total preoccupation with the Rock of our salvation.
111. Why we need to worship?
a. God commanded it
We want to be obedient to God
b. God is worthy of it Rev.4 .11, 511.12 and 7:11,12
He is our creator and our Lord
c. Worship brings us into His presence psalms 100.4Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name
• worship brings us into His presence
• we became aware of His glory and greatness, of His majesty and power
• we turn our attention from lesser things and focus on that which is ultimate
d. Worship gives us His perspective on our situation
When we are in presence we understand His power and ability.
IV. How can we develop a worshiping spirit?
A. We must have a meaningful relationship with God
• Authentic worship of God can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ
• Salvation is the first step in developing a worshipful heart
• The only access to Father is through Jesus
B. We must yielded to the Holy Spirit
• Worship of god is the work of the holy spirit in the spirit of man
• When we yielded to the Holy Spirit in our life worship will be the result.
C. Our thoughts must be centered on God
• worship is the natural overflow of a mind filled with god’s truth
• when we meditate in the word we discover more about Him
D. We must have an undivided heart
• God and God alone are our focal point of our worship psalms 108.1
E. We must have repentant heart James 4.8 psalms 66.18
• Public worship is only the manifestation of private worship
Worship is the power of god enables the church to be the church.
