A little boy asked his father what was the highest number he had ever counted to.
“Well, I don’t know,” his Dad replied, “ I never thought about it.”
Wondering why he asked, his Dad inquired, “What’s the highest number you ever counted to?”
Without hesitation he responded, “973. “
”Well, why did you stop there?” his dad asked.
“Church was over,” the little fellow responded.
I suspect maybe you have sat through some services like that where your mind was wandering. You weren’t focused. Maybe you weren’t counting, but your thoughts were somewhere else.
Thinking about something else instead of God. It’s easy. To think about a ball game. What’s for lunch. A vacation. Or a cute, cooing baby. We are all susceptible to the least little thing which may distract us.
However, worship must be taken seriously. It’s fundamental to our faith. In Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well He offered this insight regarding worship.
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23-24).
From this text we learn three important aspects of worship which please God.
#1 God pleasing worship must be absolute.
Defined, worship means to “pay homage to. To venerate. To bow down to.” It literally means “to kiss the hand towards.”
In the Old Testament, God commanded Israel to have no other gods before Him (Ex. 20:3). He condemned those who worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth along side of Him (Judg. 2:3).
Today, Jesus is clear. The Father seeks worshipers. Those people who absolutely, completely, and unconditionally worship Him. When the Devil tempted Jesus to fall down and worship him, He responded, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Lk. 4:7).
When John became enthralled by the revelation from the angel, he fell down to worship him. The angel rebuked John and simply said, “Worship God” (Rev. 22:9).
While we may not be guilty of worshiping angels or idols of wood or stone, it’s possible to put something, or someone in the place of God. A profession. Money. Possessions. Power. Or position. Ironically, some may go to church and actually be worshiping their church or denominational dogma instead of Him who commands them to assembly for worship.
#2 God pleasing worship must be accurate.
Jesus’ two words, “in truth,” encompass more than most folks realize. The concept of “truth” today has fallen into disrepute. People speak of “my truth” or “your truth.” But Jesus affirmed God’s Word is Truth (Jn. 17:17). When we worship in Truth we worship as God has revealed to us in Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The book of Acts and the letters written to churches, reveal five expressions of worship in which New Testament Christians participated.
- They ate the Lord’s Supper (communion) every first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 11:17-34).
- They praised God in song (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12).
- They contributed financially to support the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7).
- They preached the Word of God (Ax. 20:7; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; 2 Tim. 4:1-2).
- They prayed to God (Ax. 2:42; 4:23-41).
When we’re worshiping God through these five avenues of worship, we can know that we are worshiping according to Truth.
#3 God pleasing worship must be authentic.
Worshiping “in spirit,” speaks to the heart, the soul, the passion or emotion which we pour into our worship. It’s possible for worship to be accurate, but lack authenticity. To be spiritless. To become ritualistic and rote. To just go through the motions with little or no emotion.
Of course, our emotions must be genuine, not fake. God hates a phony. He abhors hypocrisy. Worship is not a show. Or a time to show off. But an occasion for us to earnestly, fervently, and sincerely praise God for who He is, what He means to us, and how much we love Him. Michael Catt was correct when he wrote, “If we are going to worship in Spirit, we must develop the spirit of worship.”
Is your worship God-pleasing?
If it is not absolute, open your eyes and refocus on God.
It is not accurate, 0pen your bible and follow the Truth.
If it is not authentic, open your heart and put the right feeling into worship.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
ThePreachersWord 
True!
LikeLike
Amen! 🙂
LikeLike
I appreciate your articles. I know that it is not easy to write everyday. I wanted your feedback on the difference between “worship” and “serve” in the biblical sense towards God.
>
LikeLike
God’s word it truth, therefore any and all of what Jesus taught or the other inspired Bible writers taught is truth. We must not stress only five items as worship. Whenever we are purposefully obeying (doing) any of Jesus’s commandments, we are worshiping God. In this way we worship God throughout the week and not just the two hours on a Sunday morning. I liked what you said about our spirit. The Bible names some of the emotions that individuals can have while they may be trying to worship but God will not “accept” their worship. Even if we gave a thousand dollars to a good charity or any church, if we did it grudgingly, God would not account that as worship. The spirit or attitude was incorrect. Romans chapter 12 is talking about how to worship God every day of the week.. We have to be eagerly and joyfully doing the task the Bible talks about in order for God to accept it. Sermons should be made showing the attitudes or spirit that we can’t have to be pleasing to God. If we get out of our car on a Sunday morning and are still angry with our children for the behavior or our wife for something she suggested we do, when we go in and start to sing, God will not accept our singing as worship so why should we even sing if we know God is not accepting our singing as worship. Keep preaching and keep your heart open to new understandings of God’s word. We should be worshiping God every day of the week in obeying the little ways we obey Jesus’ teachings. God bless.
LikeLike
Pingback: Weekly Recap: April 8-12 | ThePreachersWord