John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk preached on how God wants us to worship Him and wants us to take a look at how we are doing in that regard, developing a sound Theology (study of God) in worship. The word “worship” is chiefly and eminently defined as, the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; or the reverence and homage paid to him in religious exercises, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like. In order to improve our practice of worshipping God, we need to identify the necessary and essential elements of worship. God created all of the creation in six days then rested on the seventh day, making it holy. Leviticus 23:3 commands God’s people, “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.” Jesus Christ’s resurrection on Sunday became the Lord’s Sabbath for the Christian church, and the body of Believer’s gather weekly for corporate worship in spirit and in truth at church together. Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The Sunday worship service is the spiritual act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being and the reverence and homage paid to God, through Christ our Savior, in the power of the Holy Spirit; we are not there to be entertained. The reason for being at church is to worship, praise and exalt our Lord. Contributing to this, we need to be actively involved in in worship from the time that we walk into the walls of the Sanctuary until the time that we leave. The church Sanctuary is a sacred place, a house consecrated to the worship of God; a place where divine service is performed. A set-apart place of protection to worship – an ark, a shelter in the presence of Almighty God. What can we do personally to make our worship the best that it can be for our loving Father in Heaven. With all that God has done, is doing and is going to do for us, what can we do for Him, other than obey His Word and Commands, learn and walk in His ways, Love Him and share His love, be about His kingdom Gospel work and worship Him in spirit and in truth; righteously holy and pleasing in His sight? It’s not about us; it’s all about Him.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?
What is an essential for worship? Adoration, confession, prayer, praise and thanksgiving are an honest expression of strong loving joy in biblical worship and important to us. Worship of God is a privilege and a vital part of our relationship with our heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We need to review in our hearts and minds what is the object of our worship, what is our system of belief, and what is the resulting lifestyle that accompanies our worship? Lamentations 3:40-41 says, “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven.” We live in a “fallen in Sin world full of ungodly temptations, sinful pleasures and alluring distractions that need to be kept in check. Psalm 119:59-60 declares, “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.” Why is this a constant issue and concern?
Galatians 5:16-17 brings to light and instructs us to, “walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do.” It’s like those cartoons where the character has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, speaking in their ear. See them both and listen to the angel. We want to be able to say, as King David did in Psalm 26:1-7, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence; so I will go about Your altar, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works.”
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on "spirit and truth" worship in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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