Worship God, God’s Way

John 4:23–24 NKJV

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

What does it mean to worship? How do we worship?

Those questions are plaguing the church today, and sadly, many people are trying to answer those questions with opinions, preferences, emotions, personalities, and music styles instead of the Word of God.

Worship is not defined by culture. Worship is not defined by denominations. Worship is not defined by traditions.

Worship is defined by God Himself through His Word.

If we truly want to worship God, then we must worship Him according to what He says worship is.

According to the Bible, worship has very little to do with personal preferences or musical styles.

Some people think worship is modern praise songs. Others think worship should be traditional hymns, but neither style has anything to do with worship. If your worship is based on a style of music, you have more issues than the songs sung.

Some think worship is emotional excitement. Others think worship is quiet reflection, but worship is much deeper than emotions, preferences, or performances.

True worship is about the worthiness of God and the surrender of the believer.

Jesus settled the matter when He said:

The Father is seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Spirit means worship is led by the Holy Spirit and not personal preferences, and truth means worship is guided by what God has said, and that is it.

So today, I want us to see three things:

The vanity of false worship

The value of true worship

The response worship requires

1. The Vanity of False Worship.

Not all worship is true worship.

The Bible describes false worship as empty, futile, and insincere.

It is possible to look religious outwardly while being spiritually dead inwardly.

Matthew 15:8–9 NKJV

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

False worship is honoring God with your lips while your heart is far from Him.

It is worship without sincerity. Worship without obedience. Worship without genuine devotion.

And Jesus said it is vain.

That word “vain” means empty, useless, and worthless.

There are churches full of people going through religious motions every week who have never truly worshipped God.

A. False Worship Is Heartless Lip Service.

Have you ever read about Ananias and Sapphira in the Bible?

They wanted to look spiritual. They wanted recognition. They wanted the appearance of sacrifice without genuine surrender.

And what happened?

Acts 5:5 says Ananias fell down dead, and Acts 5:10 says later Sapphira fell down dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit.

Their worship was external, but their hearts were corrupt, and churches are still filled with that kind of worship today.

Some people raise their hands on Sunday but live like the world on Monday. Some sing loudly in church but never pray privately. Some talk about loving God while living in open disobedience to His Word.

Dear friend, worship is more than saying the right words. It is more than outward activity. God looks at the heart.

B. False Worship Is Hypocrisy.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for false worship, calling them hypocrites, super-actors.

Matthew 15:3–7 NKJV

He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

The Pharisees looked holy on the outside. They looked the part, but on the inside, they were far from God.

False worship treats worship as a performance instead of a genuine encounter with God, and may God help every singer, musician, preacher, and teacher never to perform for people instead of ministering unto the Lord.

These Pharisees honored traditions while ignoring obedience, and churches are full of people today who claim to worship God but refuse to obey Him.

You cannot separate worship from obedience.

How can we claim to worship God while refusing to:

Love Him with all our heart?

Love our neighbors as ourselves?

Share the Gospel?

Forgive others?

Live holy lives?

Isaiah 29:13 NKJV

Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

You cannot live in rebellion and worship God at the same time. It is impossible, and Isaiah says that man has substituted what man says for what God has said, and worship will never happen without obedience.

C. False Worship Ignores God’s Word.

Have you ever considered Nadab and Abihu?

Leviticus 10:1–3 NKJV

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace.

They offered strange fire before the Lord. In other words, they approached worship carelessly and outside the boundaries God established, and God consumed them with fire. You better be careful offering up something to God that is not yours to offer up.

God takes worship seriously, and whether you believe it or not, each of us have a role and a responsibility in worship.

Then the Bible tells us about King Saul in 1 Samuel 13:8-14.

Saul offered sacrifices when he had no authority to do so because he refused to wait upon Samuel and obey God’s instructions, and because of that disobedience, Saul lost his kingdom, his family, and eventually his life.

God honors worship that is offered His way, and dear friend, we must remember that when we gather in this place, we are gathering on holy ground.

God told Moses Exodus 3:2-5:

“Take your shoes off Moses, you are on holy ground.”

Now, I am going to say this. We say we are here to worship, yet we leave trash in the pew, we leave crumbs in the floor, and we have no respect for the house of God, and as God told Moses, to truly worship, you must understand that this is holy ground.

We ought to enter the house of God reverently, humbly, and prepared to meet with Him. Yet many people stroll into church unprepared, distracted, careless, and casual about the presence of God. I guarantee you that Moses did not approach that burning bush casually, and we better not approach or treat this house casually either.

Worship is serious because God is holy, but false worship dishonors God. Let me ask you a serious question. What do we expect God to think about our so called attempts to worship in this place if we do not treat this place holy, if we leave trash lying around, if we do not clean up our area? Is it possible for us to worship in a place that we treat that way? I am just relaying to you what I have received from the Holy Sprit. Don’t get mad at me. Take it up with God.

True worship delights the heart of God.

2. The Value of True Worship.

So what is true worship?

True worship is not confined to music. It is not limited to Sunday mornings. It is not merely emotional excitement.

True worship is a life surrendered to the glory of God.

It is offering your entire life as a living sacrifice in response to God’s worthiness.

Romans 12:1 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

True worship happens when your deeds, words, heart, mind, and emotions are aligned to glorify God.

True worship begins when you walk out those doors. If you live for God Monday through Saturday, you will be prepared to worship when you walk back into church on Sunday.

A. True Worship Involves Corporate Praise.

Worship is personal, but it is also corporate.

When the church gathers together, we are collectively celebrating the worthiness of God, and we should not neglect the assembling of ourselves together according to Hebrews 10:23-25, and as a matter of fact, if you read those verses, without a doubt, that is a command and a suggestion.

One disengaged, indifferent believer affects the entire congregation. What happened with Ananias and Sapphira affected the entire church.

Acts 5:11 NKJV

So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

True worship is not about us. It is about God.

And if some people dislike worshipping here, I do not know what they are going to do in heaven because heaven is filled with worship.

Revelation 4:9–11 NKJV

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

In heaven they cry: “Holy, holy, holy.” They cast their crowns before Him.

Why? Because He is worthy, and dear friend, He is worthy here in this place, too.

Now listen carefully: Emotion is not the same thing as worship. You can get emotional and never worship, and you can worship deeply without becoming emotional outwardly.

True worship involves your entire being:

Your mind

Your heart

Your will

Your emotions

Your obedience

All focused upon the glory of God.

B. True Worship Involves Individual Devotion.

Do not tell me you want to worship publicly if you never worship privately.

If you never pray…If you never read Scripture…If you never thank God during the week…

Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

If you never pray, if you never read the Scripture, and if you are not thankful, how in the world can you expect to worship?

Worship requires preparation.

Athletes practice. Musicians rehearse. Students study.

But many Christians ignore God all week and expect deep worship in one hour on Sunday. It does not work that way.

You prepare your heart for worship throughout the week, and that includes preparing for Sunday School, Bible study, preaching, and singing.

We have wonderful Sunday School teachers, but lessons fall flat when people come unprepared and disengaged.

The same is true with preaching. I send outlines ahead of time because I want you in the Scriptures before the sermon ever begins because that prepares you and inspires me. We are in this together.

During the sermon, you ought to be praying:

For the preacher

For lost souls

For conviction

For the Holy Spirit to move

Worship is participation, not spectatorship, and nobody here is trying out for American Idol. The words are on the screen for all of us to sing together unto the Lord. You are not singing for Simon Cowell or EPIC records. You are sing for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the glory of God Almighty. Worship is a matter of individual devotion.

C. True Worship Involves Repentance and Faith.

1 John 1:7–10 NKJV

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

You cannot worship God while clinging to sin. Sin disrupts fellowship with God.

That is why Scripture commands us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to examine ourselves.

We need examine ourselves and we need to allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts regularly.

When He reveals sin, we confess it. We repent of it. We turn from it.

Ananias and Sapphira refused honesty before God, and judgment followed.

Dear friend, worship requires repentance.

And worship also requires faith.

You cannot truly worship a God you have never trusted.

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Jesus Christ made salvation possible through His death, burial, and resurrection. Have you confessed your sin and your need for God to forgive your sins through Jesus Christ?

Salvation is by grace through faith according to Ephesians 2:8-9. And once you are saved, your life becomes an act of worship unto Him every single day and everywhere you go.

Conclusion

What kind of worship have you been offering to God?

True worship? Empty worship?

There is a difference.

You can sing songs and never worship. You can attend church and never worship. You can raise your hand, say “Amen,” teach a class, sing in the choir, or even preach a sermon and still never truly worship God.

Why?

Because worship is not outward performance. Worship is a heart surrendered to Jesus Christ.

The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

That means worship must be:

Genuine

Biblical

Spirit-filled

Christ-centered

Worship is not confined to this building. True worship is how you live every day.

It is how you talk. How you work. How you treat people. How you obey God when nobody else is watching. The Bible tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God.

True worship costs something.

Cain brought an offering. Abel brought worship.

The Pharisees brought religion. Mary brought worship when she broke the alabaster box before Jesus.

Ananias and Sapphira brought hypocrisy. The early church brought worship.

So now the question comes to us:

What are you bringing before God?

Because one day every one of us will bow before Him. according to Philippians 2:10.

The question is not WHETHER you will worship. The question is WHEN.

Did you know you are going to be judged according your worship?

Romans 14:12 NKJV

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Maybe there is sin in your life. Bitterness. Compromise. Disobedience.

You cannot worship while holding onto sin. The altar is open for God’s people to come and get honest before the Lord.

Maybe you are here and you have never truly been saved.

Religion cannot save you. Church membership cannot save you. Baptism cannot save you.

Only Jesus Christ can save you.

Jesus died for your sins. He was buried. He rose again the third day.

And if you will repent and place your faith in Him, He will save you regardless of your past.

Maybe you need to join this church. Maybe you need to surrender to Him. Maybe you simply need to come and say:

“Lord, teach me to worship You in spirit and in truth.”

As we sing, you come.