Worship Part 1 - Worship
Has Innumerable Forms
Exodus 34:14
by Paul
George
Worship has innumerable
forms. The Moslem worships Allah in prayer by turning toward Mecca five times a
day and repeating the same prayer. At some time in his life, he makes a
pilgrimage to Mecca where he will walk around the Kabala seven times and kiss
the sacred black stone. A Native American may have worshiped by erecting a totem
pole, offering up tobacco in the peace pipe. Satan worshipers allegedly
sacrifice infants and use some of the organs of mutilated animals. There are the
pagan forms of worship that we find within civilized America. There are those
who worship the sun by taking off their clothes in nudist colonies. There are
those who would have us understand that they find it much easier to worship God
on the golf course, out on the lake or in the woods on Sunday morning. Then,
there are those who do not have the foggiest idea what corporate worship really
is and why God wants people to worship Him.
Why is the worship of God
and knowing how to worship Him important? First, we need to know how to worship
God because of the severe consequences of false worship. God rejected Cain’s
sacrifice because it was false worship (Genesis 4:5). Three thousand people died
in one day because of the false worship of the golden calf fashioned by Aaron
(Exodus 32). The kingdom of Israel was divided because of the idolatry and false
worship of the nation (1 Kings 11:31-33). The fall of Jerusalem was directly
attributable to the apostasy and false worship of the nation (Jeremiah 1:16;
16:11; 22:9). Misdirected worship was the cause of untold hardship and suffering
in the Old Testament. In the first chapter of Romans, Paul wrote that God was
justified in condemning man because he worshiped in error, he “exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25). Satan fell from heaven because
he sought worship for himself rather than submission to his Creator. Satan today
seeks those who will worship and serve him (cf. Matt. 4:9).
A second reason and the
primary reason is because worship is of great importance to God. That is the
clear teaching of passages such as John chapter 4. “But an hour is coming, and
now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers (John 4:23).
God is seeking men and women
to be worshipers of Him. However, this worship must be worship that is “in
spirit and in truth.” It is not enough to be a worshiper of God; God is seeking
true worshipers. It is only in the Word of God that we can learn what worship is
pleasing to God.
If our worship of God is to
be pleasing to Him, we need to know the essence of true worship. In the Bible,
there are three primary elements of true worship.
First and most frequently
found in the Bible is “humility.” The word “humility” conveys the act of bowing
or prostrating oneself in submissiveness and reverence. The outward posture
reflecting an inner attitude of humility and respect, it denotes a high view of
God and a condescending opinion of self. Thus, true worship views God in His
perfection and man in his imperfection.
The second word used in the
Bible is “reverence.” The word reverence refers to an attitude, an awareness of
our finiteness and sinfulness in the light of His infinity and perfection and a
focusing of the awesome majesty of God. Irreverence is an obstacle to worship.
No doubt, it was the irreverence of the Corinthians at the Lord’s Table that
required such severe discipline as sickness and death (1 Corinthians 11:30).
Paul said that they did not ‘judge the body rightly’ (1 Corinthians 11:29).
Partaking of the elements that symbolize the body of our Lord in a light or
irreverent way is to bring upon ourselves the discipline of God.
The third word is “service,”
in the Old Testament this service referred to the service of the priest. In the
New Testament we are told that we are all priests of God (1 Peter 2:5,9), so
that this term does not apply only to the service of the few, but of the entire
congregation of believers in Christ.
Why do we worship God?
From a human viewpoint,
worship is something that man devised to give expression to inner desires and
needs. From a Biblical viewpoint we worship God because God has revealed Himself
to us, we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Love does not find
its origin in man, but in God. Our love is only a response of God’s love toward
us. We worship God because He has made Himself known to us and has instructed us
to worship Him.
Fallen man could never
approach a righteous and Holy God, so God in the person of Jesus Christ made us
just and righteous by His work on the cross for us (Romans 3:21-24). The Holy
Spirit of God works within us to enable us to worship (Philippians 3:3) and
worship is directed to the Father (John 4:23). Worship is from God, through God,
and unto God. Apart from God’s revelation of Himself and of how man can approach
Him in worship, man could never worship God in a way pleasing to Him.
If worship is a response,
what is the nature of this response, adoration and praise that God rightfully
expects of His creatures? Though worship is an act of the one who has placed his
trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ in the present age it is also that
which our Lord shall receive from those who reject Him, for in the book of
Philippians we read:
“Therefore also God highly
exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth,
and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 3:9-11).
The second response is
sacrifice. When Abraham worshiped God in Genesis chapter 22, the offering was
termed worship. The offering of the first fruits was an act of worship
(Deuteronomy 26:10). When the wise men came to worship the baby who was the
Savior of the world, they came with gifts to give.
In the New Testament, the
sacrifice is self. The apostle Paul told the Romans, “I urge you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Romans
12:1).,
What is worship? Worship is
the humble response of regenerate men to the self-disclosure of the Most High
God, based upon the work of God, achieved through the activity of God, directed
to God, expressed by the lips in praise and by the life in service.
The Activities of
Worship
First, prayer, although
prayer can be worship, it most often falls short of it. Why do our prayers often
fall short of true worship? They fall short when they lack adoration and praise,
do not focus upon who God is and what He has done. Our prayers fall short of
true worship when they are a list of petitions for our needs. This does not mean
it is wrong to make our requests known to God for we are instructed to do so
(Philippians 4:6). What we need to do is set aside certain times for prayers
that are exclusively devoted to adoration and praise.
Second, testimonies, there
are some who might question whether or not testimonies would qualify as worship.
A testimony that places the spotlight upon us would not be worship. However, as
we look at the Psalms, we must recognize that many of them are based upon some
experience on the part of the writer. This experience becomes a vehicle that
turns the attention of the psalmist to the greatness of his God. He knows that
God is merciful and kind not only because the Bible tells him so, but because
God has been at work in his life. A testimony is an excellent opportunity to
praise God for who He is and what He has done.
Third, singing and music,
Israel sang many of their praises to God. The praises of the people were set to
music and sung. Music can be used to quiet our hearts and minds and focus them
upon God and His goodness. Music can also be an instrument through which our
praise and adoration can be expressed to God. However, so-called Christian music
is not the music of worship. Some music is worthless, either because of its
message or because of its medium. Some music is intended for other purposes than
worship such as encouragement and comfort. For example, the song ‘Trust and
Obey’ is not directed toward God, but toward the saints. If we intend to worship
God in music, let us be careful to select music that focuses upon God and
expresses adoration and praise to Him, such as “Great Is Thy Faithfulness’ or
“How Great Thou Art.”
If worship is the highest
calling of the Christian, how are we living up to our calling? May God enable us
to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
