Genuine Worship
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Genuine Worship
5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
Confession of Faith
I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name!
Introduction:
Worship
Worship
There is a principle called “The Law Of First Mention”.
The First mention of the word “worship” in the bible is Genesis 22:5.
This passage sets the standard for what genuine worship is all about.
The word “worship” means, “reverence or devotion for a deity”.
It comes from Anglo-Saxon meaning “worth ship”.
This means “ascribing worth to a person or object.”
When we “worship” God, we are saying “God is worthy of all my love, my attention and my devotion.
He is worthy to receive all that I can give Him.
The word translated “worship” in verse 5 comes from a Hebrew word that means “to bow down, to prostrate oneself”.
In the New Testament, “worship” comes from a word that means “to kiss the hand in a token of reverence”.
It was used to refer to “a dog licking his master's hand”.
It is an image of absolute love and complete trust and devotion.
People have some strange ideas about worship.
Some think that it is Something that can only be done in church.
Some think it is going to a church and sitting quietly while religious exercises are conducted.
Some think it is a time of singing, preaching, testifying and shouting
⇒ “We really worshiped Sunday! - The preacher didn't even get to preach!”
So today - as we look at scripture i want us all to come away with an example or picture of genuine worship demonstrated!
Now as we dive in we see Abraham!
Abraham was being tested! In his test and he shows us genuine worship!
Genuine Worship Is Submissive
Genuine Worship Is Submissive
1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
Here is the context
God's gave Abraham a command!
The command was hard, and unbelievable.
Still the command was clear.
God said “Go, worship and sacrifice your son.”
God does test people
God will test us to show the world that there are some who do reverence, love, stand in awe, and truly worship God!
This was the very reason God gave for testing Abraham:
Genuine worship focuses on a love of God above all else!
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
Abraham did not hesitate; he did as he was commanded!
He did not seek excuses, he got up early and he went,
A true heart for God is marked by obedience
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
Nothing says that we are His and that we love Him like doing what He tells us to do!
God did not test Abraham that Abraham might prove himself to God.
God knew Abraham's heart. God knows all things.
But Abraham needed to know his own heart!
Just like you and I need we need to know where our heart is when it comes to God!
We need to see a picture of what absolute surrender to God looks like
We need to see and hear a testimony of a love of God above anything else!
We need to see a man or woman operate in absolute surrender and sacrifice of to God!
We need to see someone give to God all he or she has and all he or she is!
We need an example of someone trusting that God can take care of them, no matter what may confront him.
This test of of Abraham took place in order to show and teach several things to both Abraham and to us!
Worship is not only something a person does; worship is what we are!
Every obedient moment of our lives is an act of worship. (⇒Attendance, tithing, witnessing, praying, studying the Bible, praise, etc.)
Genuine Worship Is Unwavering
Genuine Worship Is Unwavering
33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God.
Abraham knew that the Eternal and everlasting God would always be there to take care of him
We find Abraham in worship declaring to God how much he needed God's help to live as he should for the remaining years of his life.
Abraham's life is marked by worship.
Abraham worshiped God during times of blessing and prosperity
Abraham worshiped the Lord when times were good.
2 Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Kill him there and offer him as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
Now things take a turn for the worse. God and His ways are not making sense, but Abraham still worships Him!
It’s Easy to worship God when things are good. But not so easy when hard times come!
Genuine worship looks beyond the crisis of the hour and sees a God Who is worthy of worship regardless of how life is going. Genuine worship sees a God Who is in control of all the situations of life and it bends the knee to Him.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Far too many people are looking for an excuse not to worship. Genuine worship sees the hand of God in all of life and loves Him through the good and the bad.
Genuine Worship Is Separated
Genuine Worship Is Separated
5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. My son and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.”
• When they arrived at the mountain, Abraham separated himself from every worldly care and went to worship.
Abraham came ready to worship and he let others take care of worldly matter.
• Genuine worship shuts the world out and separates itself unto the Lord.
Too often our worship is contaminated and controlled by the world.
Genuine worship should be the first priority of our lives.
We should do nothing else until we have worshiped God
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
15 Jesus knew that the people planned to come and take him by force and make him their king, so he left and went into the hills alone.
Worldly concerns should not contaminate our public worship .
Church is not the place where wordly things reign! when we enter this place of worship - whether in your home, car or job or building the sold purpose is to honor God!
Right now - where you can Stop! If you are doing anything else other that hearing from God, listening for the Holy Spirit, Stop! Don’t let wordly things contaminate your worship time!
Genuine Worship Is Sacrificial
Genuine Worship Is Sacrificial
5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together,
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.
This worship was going to cost Abraham very dearly. He was called to give up the Son of Promise, Isaac.
Abraham's response was never to waiver - He never waivers!
He gathers what he needs and he goes to do what the Lord has asked of him. He is willing to sacrifice everything he has and everything he has been promised at the command of God. He holds nothing back!
• Genuine worship is costly because it requires us to make sacrifices. Things like time, plans, pride, pleasures, secret sins, etc will all have to be taken to the mountain and placed on the altar.
• Genuine Worship It is not cheap!
Some people will give a cheap variety of worship and they get what they pay for !
Genuine worship requires that everything of value be placed on the altar and given to God
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 such to worship Him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Genuine Worship Is Secure
Genuine Worship Is Secure
• Abraham did not know all that was going to happen, but he went up that mountain expecting a miracle, and that is just what he received.
17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,
18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”
19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
Abraham knew that his worship would not be in vain!
Genuine worship does not understand all of life.
Genuine worship is not pleased with every twist in the road.
Genuine worship gives itself wholeheartedly to God, in spite of the things it cannot comprehend, and it bows before Him in the face of everything.
Genuine worship knows that what we express on earth is merely practice for what will be perfected in Heaven.
• Genuine worship bows before God because it realizes Who God is, what God has done and where the road of faith will end up.
Genuine worship knows that the real miracle is that it is allowed to occur in the first place!
Conclusion
Conclusion
What made all this possible was Abraham's availability. He was in his place, listening for the voice of the Lord and he was ready for worship. God is seeking genuine worshipers,
23 The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, and that time is here already. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
So I ask you this question - From my heart to your heart
Is your worship genuine; or does it need work?
Genuine Worship Is Submissive
Genuine Worship Is Submissive
Genuine Worship Is Unwavering
Genuine Worship Is Unwavering
Genuine Worship Is Separated
Genuine Worship Is Separated
Genuine Worship Is Sacrificial
Genuine Worship Is Sacrificial
Genuine Worship Is Secure
Genuine Worship Is Secure
God’s Word Meets Your World
God’s Word Meets Your World