Worship

Introduction:

Hi My name is Faith and I am honoured to be speaking with you all tonight. Today we are going to be talking about worship. Now I find with this topic that most people feel like they know what worship is. We do it every week in church. We sing to God. We are familiar with it because of the common practice of it amoung us. But is it really just singing in church? Is there more to this than we think?

When I was 15 and 16 I went to El Salvador. And one thing I remember from there was the way the people worshiped. The way they poured out their hearts to God was so beautiful. I remeber going and being so blown away by how these people worshiped. It was carried by such humility.

One thing God was highlighting to me in the last week or two was about worship and prayer. I felt like he was saying when we do not open up and be vulnerable in prayer or worship, pride is holding us back.

Nevertheless, we will be diving deeper into what worship is. What is this thing that we are so familiar with? How do we make sense of worship? How do we know if we are actually worshiping? Does worship always invovle singing and instruments?

Today we will be addressing these three questions:

1. What is worship?

2. How do we worship?

3. Why should we worship?

Application: What gets in the way of our worship?

This brings me to my first point of what is worship?

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8622 worship

The praise, adoration and reverence of God, both in public and private. It is a celebration of the worthiness of God, by which honour is given to his name.

Lets look deeper at those three words:

Praise: Expressing approval or admiration of something or someone

Adoration: love and respect, devotion, glorifying

Reverence: showing deep respect

This is deeper than just complimenting God. It is like your whole being is recognizing who God is. Not only are you actually saying things that show you approve God but you are deeply admiring Him. You are moved by His love to be completly devoted to Him through obedience to Him and His word. We are respecting Him.

John piper says:

“The inner essense of worship is to truly know God and then respond from our heart by valuing God, treasuring Him, prizing Him, enjoying Him, being satisified with Him above all earthly things. Which then that deep, restful, and joyful satisfication in God overflows in demonstrating acts of praise, acts of love and serving others for the sake of christ” - John Piper

We also know that God is the only one we should worship:

Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other Gods before me”

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8623 worship, of God alone

God alone is worthy of worship; the worship of other gods is forbidden. In the NT worship is offered to the Son of God.

We know that God is worthy becuase no other God came and died for you. No other God cares about you so much as to give themselves as a sacrifice to have a relationship with you. He plunged into darkness so that He could raise to life and bring us up with Him.

No other God is called, prince of peace, everlasting father, the begining and the end, anointed one, the God who sees, our healer, bread of life, creator, savior, Emmanual/God with us, Yahweh meaning “I am who I am” etc.

This makes Him the most worthy of all. He is the one who deserves our praise more than any other.

So what is worship?

1. It is giving God glory for who He is. In which can be done anywhere and at anytime.

2. Worship is also should only done to God alone. It is the very reason we exist is to worship God for who He is.

2. So How do we worship?

When we think of how we worship we must think of what is necessary within the act of worship. What is involved with it and how is that done properly? Now, this isnt about getting everything perfect but about what our heart posture like when we worship? For example:

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8625 worship, acceptable attitudes in

True worship is not the mechanical repetition of rituals, but should be wholehearted and reverent. It should be based upon trustful and obedient lives, in that obedience is itself to be seen as an act of worship.

All true worship is a matter of the heart. Something needs to be happening in your heart for it to be worship. If you are coming to church and your raising your hands but nothing is happening in your heart it is not worship. Because it is not about ritual.

Or if you go for a walk in nature and your just walking without thinking about God your not worshiping your just walking. But if all of a sudden you start becoming in awe of God and what He created, you are worshipping.

We should also worship with the right motives

I remember this girl in summer came always saying that she was distracted in worship by thoughts like “omg my future husband could be in this room”. News flash, he wasnt, but she did get married years later. But there was this distraction there of I should be worshipping because I want my future husband to see how spiritual I am. (Trust me when you are going to marry somebody they will see how you love God in your walk with God, not how high you raise your hands).

Neverthe less 1 Corinthians 13:1 says:

English Standard Version Chapter 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Back in this time people used cymols to worship the god of wine. Paul is saying here that if even if you have spiriutal gifts if you do not have love, you are no different than non-christians.

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8632 adoration

An attitude of worship characterised by love and reverence towards God. It can also describe the love between man and woman.

When you truly love somebody your love is backed up with actions. What is inside our heart will flow out.

How do we worship? We know now it is done with the right motives but HOW is it done? Is it always singing? Or is there more to it?

When we think of worship we often just go to singing. Not only because that is how worship is depicted in church but also there are many examples of singing and using instruments in worship in the Bible (like in the psalms) but what else is there? If it is an expression of Gods glory then we must be able to express it in many ways.

For example, there was a woman living a sinful life and she was known for the sin that she had done. Most scolars assume she was a prostite based on the words Simon used about her. But, one day she had discovered that Jesus was eating with the Pharisee’s house so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. Luke 7:36-50 says,

“As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them...”

The pharases began to cristise Jesus for allowing such a sinful woman to do this. So Jesus turns to Simon (the pharisee who Jesus cured of leprosy) and said,

“You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown.”

This woman was worshiping from the absolute depth of her heart. She knew who she was. She carried shame, she knew that she was a sinner, but she came to acknoweldge who Jesus is. She came to bring Him glory, honour, respect, adoration. She poured out everything that she had and her faith in Jesus saved her.

Now we know that how we worship is by having good motives

it can be done in many ways as long as it is coming from the heart

next we we learn that true worship is in spirit and in truth

English Standard Version (John 4:23–24)

when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

To worship In spirit means to worship from within. It must come from the heart, be sincere and motivated by our love for God and out of a place of thankfulness for who He is and what He has done.

Authentic worship involves an inward change of heart, not just outward observance. Real followers of God worship in complete sincerity.

To worship in “Spirit” maybe also reference for the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who puts an understanding of God in us. He is the one who opens our eyes to Himself and draws us near.

To worship in “truth” is to worship God based on His word. We could not ever worship God in heresy because that is simply not true. We must also not just sing or think thoughts about God that make us “feel good”. Rather we need to be worshiping based on the truth that God gave us.

True worship in truth is not mindless or based on ignorance. It is grounded in scritpure and focused on the truth of Jesus.

Sometimes we associate true worship with feeling closeness to God in his presense. This is mostly depicted in times where we sing to God together. Gods presence is a gift God gives us but it is not required for us to feel in order for us to be worshipping. What is required though is it to be motivated by our love for God and rooted in what is true about Him. I want to be clear that this does not always mean you will feel something.

“Any affection or feeling or emotion stirred up by error or false doctrine is worthless.”

John piper says this “Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy (beleif/doctrine) and a church full . . . of artificial admirers. . . . On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the disciple of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.

This leads me to my third quesion: Why should we worship?

This is what we were created for

We should worship because God made us, and saved us. There is no person more worthy than Jesus to be worshiped and praised.

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8630 worship, results of

Worship not only gives God what is due to him but also results in many benefits for his people.

There are benefits to worship like:

Brining joy, brings us into God’s presence, brings victory,

Application: What gets in the way of our worship?

Dictionary of Bible Themes 8628 worship, hindrances to

True worship goes beyond mere form and can therefore be hindered by a wrong relationship to God or to others.

When we are in sin or have difficulty in relationship with others we find it hard to worship because of the sin that is blocking us from God. To get over this we must turn to Jesus in repentance and then accept the forgiveness He has freely given to us.

Matthew 5:23-24 says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”

This means that if somebody has a legitimate complaint about you go and be reconciled with them. Repent for your sins and make things right. The command to love is the heart of Jesus’ teaching.

Let’s not hinder our worship from unrepetance. Repentance is to agree with God. And lets agree when we do something wrong. Do not try to defend yourself when you know your wrong, do not try to hide. Come forward in humility and bring to light the wrong in order to be free.

Another hinderance could be when somebody is going through a hard time. In these situations I often found people say that they had a hard time to worship. They have a hard time because they are suffering in some way or another.

And even me, I am guilty of this as well.

On October 13th I woke up super early and I was talking to my mom on the phone. And we were remembering that on that day it had been a year since she almost died. In that conversation we also talked and shared about how the last year was for us.

She opened up and shared how those who knew her and what we went through were shoked on how she was handling everything. They would often ask her “Michelle how are you coping with all of this?” And with tears in her eyes she explained that she does not cope, she worships. She puts on her christian radio station or her maveric city and she worships God over and over and over again. She declaired that God is the one who walks with her and carries her through it.

This testimony moved me. That we can still have such deep reverence and worship to God despite the worst situations.It honestly inspired me.

Conclustion:

Worship is giving God glory, adoration, respect for who He is

We can worship by making sure our hearts are in the right place

We worship becuase this is what we were created to do

Let us not allow anything to hinder our worship. Especially sin.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The footrace was one of the longest and most significant events in the Greek Games.

Prizes were often set before these athletes to provide motivation.

Jesus in the race we run is the main focus. Regarding the footrace medaphor, the idea here might be that Jesus, who pioneered the course of the faith, awaits beleivers at the finish line.

The ultimate prize for Jesus is YOU and me. It is US. Its you.

We will struggle with sin, we will have to resist it. To lay aside sin is to abandon, cast aside, reject and renouce it. This requires such surrender and humility.

We need this to worship.

Pray