It’s Personal W5

Today we are going to be in John 4:19. Before we jump into the teaching, I want to show you this video, it’s a bit old but I think it gives us a good perspective of the topic we are talking about today

Main Point: Worship requires your mind’s attention and your heart’s affection. Have you wasted your worship this week?

In order to answer that question, we must define worship.

Worship: refer to the act or action associated with attributing honor, reverence, or worth to that which is considered important. In the Bible, one of the Greek words for worship literally means to bow down to something or someone more important.

To be clear God is the only person is worthy of our worship- Honor, reverence and respect-

However, by this definition, many acts of worship have nothing to do with God. People worship rock stars, athletes, and other celebrities. They lose themselves in the adoration of wealth, fame, and power. We need to be careful to what we give honor and what we worship-

Are you considering friendships, relationships, videogames, cellphones, sports, band and music more important than God? If so, you are worshipping the wrong thing.

Worship is not about the 10-15 min we sing on Wednesday but about the attitude of surrender towards God.

Let me make a quick distinction-

Praise means giving God thanks for what he has done- Thank you Jesus, you save me. We sing songs of praise because God has done great things.

Worship means acknowledging God is greater and is due the highest honor.

Just as praise is intertwined with thanksgiving, worship is intertwined with surrender.

We must understand who is being worshiped. God is holy, just, perfect, powerful, loving, etc. We are sinners saved by grace coming before a holy God because of His mercy.

Let’s read a passage in John 4 that I think gives us great principles about Worship. The context of this passage is Jesus and a Samaritan woman who met at Jacob’s well, around noon. After having a back and forth conversation this woman realizes that Jesus is not an ordinary man and directs the conversation to a pretty controversial topic at the time in between Samaritans and Jews. Let’s read

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

Samaritans and Jews had a major disagreement about the place on which they should worship- Samaritans believed in was on the Mountain where God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issac but then God provided a ram, where the Jews believe that they should only offer worship to God in Jerusalem. Let’s keep reading

23 But the hour is coming, and is now, here 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.” Jn 4:19–24

Here are 4 principles you can write down.

Worship is not constrained by a place. And for that matter a song, or a time. Verse 21

Worship is intentional. Verse 22

Worship is tied to our emotions. Verse 23

Worship is a spiritual event, and true worship comes from the heart. If our worship is not heartfelt, it doesn’t matter what posture or expression of worship we use. If our worship is from the heart, God accepts our worship

Matthew 15:8

Worship is based on the truth.

Through worship, we realign our priorities with God’s and acknowledge Him once more as the rightful Lord of our lives.

Why do we sing then? Because singing is a great way to use our spirit and sing truth about God. Although singing songs alone is not worship- it is biblical that many people on the Bible used songs to ascribe (attribute) honor to God. We are a student ministry whose Worship is based on the truth of God and it’s expressed with the Spirit.

Takeaway:

Worship can include praying, reading God’s Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. Are you honoring God when you worship him?

Worship is not restricted to what we do when we come together in church, but about the way we relate to God throughout the week

Worship requires your mind’s attention, that’s the truth and your heart’s affection, that’s the spirit. Have you wasted your worship this week? Have you been giving time and honor to something other than God? The good news is that we can repent from giving worship to the wrong thing and start giving our worship to God. Would you join me in giving God the honor He deserves?