Psalm 95:6-7 “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk of Little Church in the Pines continued in his sermon series on “Worship”, stating that it is one of the most important things in our lives, because we were created for … to worship God. Like prayer, our worship can always improve, getting better and better. The word “worship” is defined chiefly and eminently 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. The word is Old English worðscip meaning "condition of being worthy, dignity, glory, distinction, honor, renown." Sense of "reverence paid to God” who is worthy to glorify. It has been said that “Worship” is living in a constant state of gratitude. Everyone worships today. It is not about how you worship; it’s about who or what you worship. We always have God’s mercy to be grateful for.
Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
“In view of God’s mercy” is a prerequisite to worshipping Creator God. It doesn’t say “in view of your righteousness, brilliant mind or impressive spiritual resume, but in view of God’s mercy. Mercy is the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. It is not getting what you deserve for sin. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being. The prerequisite to God’s mercy is that you first have to have done something wrong in the eyes of God. The point is to not let whatever is wrong with you, keep you from worshipping what is right with God.
We hear that people are hindered from worshipping God because they do not feel that they are good enough, that they have been a horrible person, doing horrible things and not worthy to worship a pure, just and holy God. To come into a church and worship God, who they have sinned against seems hypocritical. So, they either stay away or come and feel like an unworthy charlatan. Nobody is worthy, but God is merciful. The truth is, church and Sunday worship is not about the unworthy; it is about God, who is worthy of our gratitude, praise, glorification and worship. It’s all about Him and His great mercy, so we need to be focused on that and not upon our inadequacies, our failures and our weaknesses we feel that we have. Those distractions get us so hung up that we get held back. Because God is merciful, that doesn’t give us a license to sin. God tells us in scripture to “be holy, for I am holy”. Our focus needs to be on God.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on "worship" in the next post/
In Christ, Brian
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