Praise the King (2)

We will see today the 8 Greek levels of praise.In English there is only one word for praise or worship. So In our Bible we only see the word praise or worship.But in the original language of the Old Testament - Hebrew there is 7 different words for praise. (Completion)In the Original Language of the New Testament - Greek there is 8 (new beginning)What is interesting is that In Hebrew the 7 words of praise are heart expressions of worship, but in Greek it is an attitudes of the mind.

At some point in this study you will find yourself at one of these levels of worship.Once you identify with what form of worship you are giving God ask yourself “Am I satisfied with what I am giving God"

1. σέβω –Define:Means - an outsider’s worship of GodYou can see the definition of this word well here: Acts 17:22–23 “22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:”σέβω is a person who has a moment where they acknowledge God but does not acknowledge God in their lifeBasically σέβω is someone saying something great about God but God is not great in their life

Jesus uses this word to describe the Pharisees in Matthew 15:9 “9 And in vain they (pharisees) worship Me.Teaching us that you can be religious and/or do good things and still be an outsider to God.Simply Sebo - is a bunch of words and no real action.

Conclude:So you can be giving God σέβω if youAcknowledge God for only a moment but you don't acknowledge God for life.or if you think your right with God because you do good thingsWe are NOT saved by the good we do but by the goodness of Jesus who saved us from sin.

All Sebo Verses:Mt 15:9Mk 7:7Acts 16:14Acts 17:17Acts 18:7Acts 18:13Acts 19:27

2. Θρησκεία (the most common form of worship God receives today)Define Θρησκεία mainly is translated to mean religion (Acts 26:5; Jas 1:16; Jas 1:17)Θρησκεία is only translated once to mean worship and it speaks of false worship.Colossians 2:18 “18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,”Simply Θρησκε is when our actions worship Jesus but not our heart.To go back Sebo was all words and no action, theskia is action but no heart.

For ExampleΘρησκεία is when God consumes your Sunday morning but not your life.Θρησκεία says “God is good”… but also enjoys things God wouldn't say is good.Θρησκεία says “I am a Christian” but no one would call you Christ-likeΘρησκεία says “He worships God/Jesus” but really He is worshipping another god/idol Θρησκεία acts godly in front of people but your family wouldn't say you are godly.Here is a test:Would your wife, kids, or close friends say you are chasing after whatever you desire or chasing after Jesus?

The sad truth is that many people fall into this category of worship.This type of worship really can be called hypocrisy.Where God is worshiped at church but not at homeGod is worshipped publicly but not privately

You are guilty of Θρησκεία type worship if…If there is anything more important to you than God,If there is anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, If there is anything you seek to give you what only God can give you, then you are worshipping an idol. - (paraphrase from - Tim Keller)

3. δόξα –glory Define:From root word “dokeo“ – to acknowledge or realize So this means to realize who God is.Now Christians have come up with a Christianize phrase for this not knowing there is a Greek word for it: - “The light bulb came on”, or “then it clicked”

But δόξα literally means to honor or give glorySo In order to give God δόξα you first need to recognize who God is and then act in giving Him honorThe nt never uses doxa with the meaning of “opinion,” as is most common in secular Greek, and uses it only occasionally to convey the related concept of reputation or honor (e.g., Luke 14:10; John 5:44; 2 Cor 6:8). The meaning of the word in the nt seems to be shaped less by secular Greek usage and more by the Hebrew word כָּבוֹד (kābôd, “glory”), which the lxx usually renders with doxa.Example:δόξα happens when the weight of guilt from sin becomes too heavy to carry and then you realize that Jesus came to take that weight away.δόξα may be realizing that you have been selfish in your living but that Christ was selfless in His dying for you.

Fun Fact/ConclusionAt some point everyone will give give God δόξαPhilippians 2:10–11 “10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”Some will give God δόξα in peace with God (Revelation 4:9–11)and some will give God δόξα from the wrath of God (Revelation 11:13 )It is your choiceBut if you chose today that Jesus is God and that He is your savior I can assure you that you will only give God δόξα in peace with God.You all feeling the heat?

4. εὐλογέω- (our word from eulogy comes from this word)Define means to blessFrom root word “Lego”- to sayso εὐλογέω literally means to speak a blessing

For ExampleThe book of Luke ends in Luke 24:51–53 “51 Now it came to pass, while He (Jesus) blessed (eulogeo) them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they (disciples) worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing (euloggeo) God. Amen.”Teaching us that when Jesus blesses us we should respond in worshiping HimIf Jesus blesses you with a house to live in worship HimIf Jesus blesses you with good finances - worship HimJust think if you only have the things you thanked God for yesterday… what would you be left with today?Would you still have your wife?Would you still have your kids?Would you still have a house?Would you still have a job?God has blessed us all with something don't forget to thank God.

we are also to bless Jesus. Do you speak blessings to Jesus?Whats interesting is that we bless Him by responding to His blessings.

Fun Fact/Conclusion Did you know that most of the time (25 out of the 45) εὐλογέω is used in the Bible to God blessing us?Only 5 times it speaks about us blessing God. (Luke 1:64 Luke 19:38; 24:53; Hebrews 7:6; Jas 3:9)So if εὐλογέω -ing (blessing) is a challenge God is winning.This proves Ephesians 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed (eulogeo) us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

5. αινος (root) –Defineliterally means - to tell others about the good things God has donealso to tell others how great God is.Matthew 21:16 “16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’” ”We call this a testimony, or evangelism but to the Greek World in Jesus time this is αινοςSo while the previous Eulogeo was to speak a blessing to God.. this word Ainos is to bless others with Jesus.

About αινοςIn order to give God αινος we have to give others Jesus.If Jesus is so important to your salvation don't you think Jesus is important to another person’s salvation?Why not tell your family, friends, and coworkers? Any excuse you make to not share the gospel is so selfish because no persecution for caring the gospel is worse than everlasting fire.

If you believe Jesus is real, and that heaven and hell is real what is holding you back?Unfortunately most Christians think sharing your testimony or evangelism is for someone else to do…but really it shows God that He is not even worth getting past the 5th Greek form of worship in your life…. and yet you call yourself Christian.Christian means Christ-like. Its easy to tell that Jesus told others about GodSo if you call yourself a Christian who are you telling about God?

ConclusionRomans 15:11 commands us “11 And yet again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.””Tell the world who your savior isSo have you made it to this form of worship?Where evangelism and zeal for the Lord is present?Why is the church (general) so miserable and dry? Because we are not doing what we are called to do.

6. ὑμνέω – to sing praises Definefrom root word “hymnos” – hymnὑμνέω basically is αινος but sung

Fact Out of all the words used in scripture for praise and worship ὑμνέω is one of the fewest and possibly the least used.Just because it is an uncommon word does not mean it is not significant to the ChristianJesus gave ὑμνέω in Mark 14:26 “26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.”Paul and Silas gave ὑμνέω in Acts 16:25 “25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.”And the author of Hebrews quotes Ps. 22:22 in Hebrews 2:12 “12 saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

Conclusion If Jesus sang, and Paul sang to the Lord so will I!What is awesome is that some of you actually gave ὑμνέω today.You proclaimed the greatness of God through song.

7. λατρεύω DefineTo work for or to be in service toSo for God it means to serve as a form of worship

Example Jesus said to Satan in Matthew 4:1010 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”Teaching us that Satan will try to get you to work for your desires not for the LordIt is easy to want to work for my desires but Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 “24…“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”Now while αινος was all about evangelism to this word λατρεύω is all about serving GodGod has given us all a gift and calling in the church. And we need you to go for it.if you don't know what it is… start with hospitality Clean, set up tear down.

Conclusion It was Joshua who said in Joshua 24:15 “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”And remember the zeal for the Lord’s house consumed Jesus (John 2:17)Have you reached the Greek level of worship where the zeal for the Lords house has consumed you?

8. προσκυνέω –(NT most common word for worship (used 60 times in the NT)Define Proskyneō literally means to To bow down in reverence… but Προσκυνέω is a compound word…“Pros” – toward, or go before”kyneō” – kiss like an annoying dog kissing His master’s hand. (Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.)Teaching us that your worship at best (according to Greek worship) is equalled to a dog licking his masters hand.I hope you have been put in your place.And to make it more intense dogs were hated in the culture in the world proskyneo was used.So God used one of the lowest status. Not to make us feel bad but for us to realize how great He is compared to us. TBH I think it is awesome that I worship a God who is far greater than I am!Because I know that my life is really nothing without God, and I am blessed to know that I can at least kiss His hand

So we can see that God really desires for us to bow down in προσκυνέω worshipBut what is it exactly?It is giving up your desires for God’s plan (Pro 16:9)It is dying to self to live for Christ (Gal 2:20)It is surrendering all into the hands of God (Jas 4:7)When you bow down you are submitting to GodAnd so when you read the Bible and see worship it is likely that this is the worship being talked about

Bible Examples John 4:23–24 (each time worship it is this word, not worshippers)“23 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 (present) such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””God is continually looking for those to bow down to Him

Conclusion at some point everyone will bow down before GodRomans 14:11 “11 For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.””I would rather bow to God as my Master than as my Enemy.. how about you?

Summary:Σέβω - outsiderΘρησκεία - religious δόξα - realize / honorεὐλογέω - blessing God αινος - testimony/evangelismὑμνέω - singing αινοςλατρεύω - serveΠροσκυνέω - bow down