Tonight I wanted to bring
us back to something I touched on in a lesson a couple of years ago. It is really at the core of our Christian
life, once we have the matter of our salvation settled. I’d like to look at W is for
Worship! The word “worship” appears in the English
Bible some 102 times, “worshipped,” 69 times, and “worshipper” twice, so it is
quite often mentioned in God’s Word!
John
9:31 tells us, “Now
we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”
I’d like to
explore avenues tonight to make us better worshippers,
so that God will hear us!
I.
Worship means “to bow down”
In the Old Testament, there is a Hebrew word from which
we regularly translate the English word, worship.
That Hebrew word is shachah and it means, “bow
(self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do
reverence, make to stoop, worship.” However, it is not always translated
into our English word, worship. The first time the Hebrew word, shachah, appears in our Bibles is in Genesis.
Do you remember
the story of Abraham when he was visited by God, just before God destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah? Look with me at Genesis 18:2. When Abraham saw the three men (later revealed as the Lord and two angels) approaching, it
says, “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and,
lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them
from the tent door, and bowed
himself toward the ground.” In that verse, “bowed” is
the Hebrew word, shachah. So, worship means to “bow down” oneself,
essentially, to the will of the one deserving worship.
William Bates, a minister in the 1600’s said this, “The more
we magnify God and exalt His authority in our judgments, the more our wills are
prepared to yield to Him.” [1]
Now, in
the New Testament, the Greek word translated worship is proskuneo, which means, “to fawn or crouch to, i.e.
(literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to,
adore):--worship.”
One of the best examples of this is when the wise men were seeking the
baby Jesus. We find them first in Matthew 2:2 approaching King Herod: “Saying, Where is he
that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him.” They
recognized that this baby was not
just a baby but was “God in
the flesh” and they came to “bow down”
to one who alone is worthy to be worshipped!
Again, we read in Matthew 2:11, “And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had
opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh.”
When
we worship, we must understand, it is not that we must always physically
bow down (not that that wouldn’t do us some good, sometimes) but that we must
bow our wills. We must understand that it is the same as when Jesus was praying
in the Garden, “not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) It is an attitude of complete surrender. Do we WORSHIP in that way?
Do
you remember when Pastor was teaching us verse by verse through 2nd
Samuel and we studied the life of David?
Do you remember the heartbreaking story of when David’s son was severely
ill and David would not eat or sleep and continued in prayer for the life of
his child? Turn to 2 Samuel 12, so we can look at it together:
15 And Nathan departed unto his house.
And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was
very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the
child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17
And the elders of his house
arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would
not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18 And it came to pass on the seventh
day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the
child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake
unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex
himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But
when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was
dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said,
He is dead. 20 Then David arose from the earth, and
washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the
house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required,
they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Do you see what happened? After the child died, there was an acceptance
of God’s will. David’s fervent prayers
had been answered. Not the way that he
would have chosen, because his own sinful life had led to this point, but there
was an acceptance of God’s will. Verse
20 says he “came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped.” David did not
become bitter. He did not rail against
God and cry, “WHY?” No, he went church and he worshipped. He showed by his
actions that he accepted that God’s will was best, and life went on.
II.
Worship is to honor
A gifted
Puritan theologian wrote, “The whole life of a Christian should
be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor drink nor
sleep, but eat to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and
praise.” [2]
In other words, he was saying, everything that we do
in this Christian life, whether we are eating or working or praying, ALL of it
should be an act of worship that
brings honor to God. Doesn’t that give
you pause? It does me! What have I done with my day today? Did my actions, did my words, my speech, did
my prayers, did they all bring honor to the Lord?
1
Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
If we want to know about honoring the Lord in our worship, the best place to learn about
it is in the Book of Psalms! Read
the following with me:
Psalm 5:7
-- But as for me, I
will come
into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in
thy fear
will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Psalm 22:27 -- All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psalm 29:2 -- Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 66:4 -- All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Psalm 86:9 -- All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
Psalm 96:9 -- O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Psalm 22:27 -- All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psalm 29:2 -- Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 66:4 -- All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Psalm 86:9 -- All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
Psalm 96:9 -- O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Psalm 99:5 -- Exalt ye the LORD
our God,
and worship at his footstool; for
he is holy.
Psalm 99:9 -- Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Psalm 132:7 -- We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
Psalm 99:9 -- Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Psalm 132:7 -- We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
We must grasp the concept that we
serve a HOLY GOD. None of this idea of
the world that He is “the man upstairs,” or the flippant use of OMG. We serve a HOLY GOD! God is holy,
beyond the capability of being anything but without sin. HOLY.
John 4:23 says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when
the true
worshippers shall worship the Father
in
spirit
and
in truth:
for
the
Father
seeketh
such
to worship him.”
Revelation 15:4, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
Revelation 15:4, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
We mustn’t forget the admonition that Moses gave to
the children of Israel when he presented the Ten Commandments, when God Himself
was teaching the nation of Israel about worship:
Exodus 34:14 – “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is
Jealous,
is a jealous
God:”
Let us learn to honor God with our whole hearts and to
worship Him accordingly!
III.
Worship requires obedient action
We tend to think of "worship" as singing, or testimonies, or hearing a message. However, worship
is so much more. If we understand the
majesty and holiness of the omnipotent and omniscient God Himself, we will
understand that everything we do is for Him!
Deuteronomy
6:5, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with
all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
When a scribe came to Jesus asking about the greatest commandment, He
said in Mark 12, “(28)
And one of the scribes came,
and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered
them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? (29) And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments
is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (30) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is
the first commandment.”
And
Jesus said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
So what does loving God with all of
our being and keeping His commandments have to do with worship?? Let me see if I can show you from the life of
Abraham. Let’s look at Genesis 22. We come to the life of Abraham, when he is
with his son of Promise, Isaac, his beloved and long-awaited son. I think one of the things God is trying to
find out is who does Abraham love most – God or Isaac? Or perhaps God is helping Abraham to find out
or even showing us -- let’s read:
1
And it came to pass after
these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he
said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he
said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get
thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one
of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And
Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his
young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt
offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw
the place afar off. 5
And Abraham said unto his
young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid
it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife;
and they went both of them 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 And Abraham said, My son, God will
provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and
Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his
son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And
Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do
thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast
not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold
behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and
took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Now look back with me
at verse 5. What does it say? "And Abraham
said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go
yonder and worship, and come again
to you."
(Genesis 22:5) Let’s
think about that for a moment. What
could that mean? Does it mean that
Abraham and Isaac were going up to the mountain to sing and pray and hear a
message? Did Abraham know why they were
going up to the mountain? What were they
carrying? Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us,
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it was said, That in Isaac
shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able
to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in
a figure.” So, we can be sure
that the worship that Abraham was
talking about was the obedient offering he was prepared to make of Isaac on a
sacrificial altar in accordance with what God told him in verse two, “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son
Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him
there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”
IV.
Worship brings wisdom
Psalm 111:10
says, “The fear of the LORD is
the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his
commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” We also know from Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” And if you look at Nehemiah 9:3, you find this:
“And they stood up in their
place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth
part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.”
When we put it all together, we are
to understand that worship requires that we spend time in God’s Word! By doing that, when we worship, we follow
God’s commandments and we grow in wisdom!
But it all begins in God’s Word!! Is it any wonder, then, that we find
this – Psalm 138:2, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
V.
Worship in Action
Let’s
see if we can sum up what we’ve learned and try to apply it to our daily
lives. Remember where we started? With this thought from John 9:31, “Now we know that God heareth not
sinners: but if any man be a worshipper
of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” That’s our goal, to be a worshipper that God will hear,
right? We understand that we serve a
HOLY, sinless God who deserves our worship
-- Psalm 29:2, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto
his name; worship
the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” And we know that worship requires obedience which brings wisdom. 1
Chronicles 16:29 says, “Give unto the LORD the glory due
unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
The more value we place on God, the more worthy of a life we will
live. We have a Savior Who is worthy and should be worshipped. We are worth something when He is worth
everything! Colossians 1:27 & 28 says, “To whom God would make known what is
the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in
you, the hope of glory:
Whom we preach,
warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
I was reading a devotion recently
which helped me to formulate a method whereby we might begin each day in worship, even while we are busily
preparing for the tasks that are in front of us. If we try to keep these thoughts while we go
through our morning rituals, we can perhaps become worshippers that God will hear!
The devotion author, Thomas Gouge said, “Good
and holy thoughts first let into the heart of a Christian will keep it in
better tune all the day after.”[3]
As
you are rising out of your bed, take a minute for holy and heavenly
meditations. Here’s how --
·
Rise from bed – remember the resurrection
of Christ giving you a life of grace – Romans 6:4 (Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.)
·
Undress – when you takeoff your
clothes, be reminded that God in heaven knows all about you, there is nothing
hidden, take time to confess your sin – Hebrews 4:13 (Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes
of him with whom we have to do.)
·
Put on your clothes – as
you dress remember you are a new creature – Ephesians 4:22-24 (That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts; And be renewed in the spirit
of your mind; And that ye
put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness.)
·
Look outside – when
you look outside, remember Who created this world! – Psalm
19:1 (The
heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.)
When Morning Gilds the Sky – Edward Caswall
1.
When morning gilds the skies, When
evil thoughts molest,
My heart awaking cries: With this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer The powers of darkness fear,
To Jesus I repair: When this sweet chant they hear,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
My heart awaking cries: With this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer The powers of darkness fear,
To Jesus I repair: When this sweet chant they hear,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
2.
To Thee, my God above, When
sleep her balm denies,
I cry with glowing love, My silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
The fairest graces spring The night becomes as day,
In hearts that ever sing, When from the heart we say,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
I cry with glowing love, My silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
The fairest graces spring The night becomes as day,
In hearts that ever sing, When from the heart we say,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
3. Does sadness fill my mind? Be
this, while life is mine,
A solace here I find, My canticle divine,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss? Be this th’ eternal song
My comfort still is this, Through all the ages long,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
A solace here I find, My canticle divine,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Or fades my earthly bliss? Be this th’ eternal song
My comfort still is this, Through all the ages long,
May Jesus Christ be praised! May Jesus Christ be praised!
[1]
James Stuart Bell, From the Library of
Charles Spurgeon (Minneapolis:
Bethany House Publishers, 2012), 19.
[2]
James Stuart Bell, From the Library of Charles
Spurgeon (Minneapolis: Bethany House
Publishers, 2012), 21.
[3]
James Stuart Bell, From the Library of
Charles Spurgeon (Minneapolis:
Bethany House Publishers, 2012), 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment