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November 11, 2012 |
| Worship | ||
There are words in Christianity that many Christians use without really understanding what they are saying. One of those words is 'worship.' We say that we are going to church to worship God. But if someone asks us what worship is or what you do that is worshiping we often don't have an answer.
In this lesson we will learn about worship, what it is, why we do it, and how we do it.
If we look at a dictionary to understand worship we don't get a lot of help. We find that it is associated with words like devotion, respect, adore, venerate, and admire. The help we get though is the understanding that it starts in the heart. We know this because true devotion, respect and admiration come from the heart. Together these words show us the root of worship is a deeply seated love. This love motivates us to engage in acts of worship.
That's the dictionary, but what does the Bible say about worship. John 4 speaks of worship this way:
23 But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in the Truth, for the father also is seeking such worshippers as these. 24 For the Spirit is God, and it is fitting that those who worship him worship in the Spirit and in the Truth.
From the context of these verses we can tell what Jesus means by "in the Spirit" and "in the Truth." He has been saying to the Samaritan woman at the well that the time is coming when people will not worship at her mountain or in Jerusalem. Instead they will worship in the Holy Spirit and location will not matter. He also tells her that she is worshipping what she doesn't know and contrasts that with a time, soon to cone, when people will worship in the truth.
But there can also be false worship, worship that is not in truth or worship that is not acceptable to God. The actions of worship that we do can be done for the wrong reason. Instead of coming from a loving heart they can come from tradition (we always go to church on Sunday, always have) or they can come from a sense of duty (I go to church because that's what God wants me to do).
Both of these were often a problem for Israel and God rejected their worship, sacrifices, and offerings because they were not worship but merely acts.
Some people might ask what is it about God that he needs to have humans worshipping him? Does he have some kind of an ego thing going on? What value does he get from it?
These questions show a misunderstanding that is important to correct. God gets as much out of our worship of him as we would get out of the ants in our driveway worshiping us. Worshipping God is for our benefit, not his. It may seem a little odd that the honor we give to God is for our benefit, but that is the way God created us.
The humility that comes with understanding the greatness of God is good for us as are the various acts of worship that are an expression of our love for him.
The topic of acts of worship came up earlier, but what are these? In some other religions these acts of worship included acts of self-mutilation like cutting oneself or acts of immorality such as sex with temple prostitutes. In some cases there were acts of human sacrifice. We know that some acts of worship from other religions are not acceptable to God.
Part of Jewish worship involved animal sacrifices. We might wonder why God commanded them to sacrifice in this way but we do not. It is, after all, the same god that we are worshipping. The answer comes in Psalm 51 from the time of King David
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
God did not want only sacrifices. David is specifically speaking of sacrifices for sin. If God wanted them he would have also wanted his people to sin. Plainly he didn't want his people to sin. David says that God really wants humility and repentance / remorse (contrition). Out of this kind of heart come the sacrifices God does want.
Isaiah 66 says the same thing that David said.
2 […] These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.
When David says "My Sacrifice …" his words tell us something about the worship God does expect from us. God still expects sacrifices of us but not the physical sacrifices of the Jews. He wants spiritual sacrifices. In fact he wants the same spiritual sacrifices that he wanted from the Jews - the sacrifice of your self. He wants a humbled heart, a repentant attitude and a deep respect for his word.
The apostle Paul takes this a step further in Romans 12.
1 I beg you therefore, my brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God by a logical service.
Of course Paul isn't talking about the physical sacrifice of your body, but the sacrifice of all the desires of your body and your self. God wants the complete devotion of all of you. This is the worship God desires and always has desired.
This love and devotion naturally result in expressions of worship. One of the minor prophets, Hosea, says this in chapter 14
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.
Translations of this verse like the one above change what the author actually said to make it easier for modern readers to understand. But in making that change they have removed something of value. A more direct translation of the verse would end more like "offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls". The author is talking about words of repentance and praise for God from our lips and saying they are like the sacrifices of bulls.
From this we see that repentance and praise are part of worship.
In Hebrews 13, Paul says something very similar to Hosea
15 And through him let us offer sacrifices of praise always to God, which is the fruit of the lips giving thanks to his name. 16 And do not forget charity and sharing with the poor, for with these sacrifices a man pleases God.
The way Paul looks at it, all worship is through sacrifice. In this lesson we have heard about these specific sacrifices
But to these we could add
From this we see that there are many ways to worship. And we see that everything about attending a Sunday service is worship … unless your mind is on the Spurs game at 2:00. From taking the time to attend, spending the money to get there, singing the songs, joining in the testimonies, learning from the Bible, giving to the church, helping others in the church, it's all worship.
But worship is useless unless it is done in spirit and truth. Fasting is just dieting unless we do it in spirit. Songs become just repetitious words unless we stop to think about what they mean. Praise is worthless unless it comes from the heart. Some people shout out "Praise the Lord" or "Hallelujah" so automatically that it seems mechanical. In one case I remember one person even sounded mechanical.
With so many things being acts of worship we might wonder what things would not be part of worship. Here is a list of characteristics that will help to separate out acts that are not for worship.
God accepts our worship like a parent receives a gift from a child. There is nothing we can do or give that would impress God. God might be impressed at how far we have come relative to other people in similar circumstances just as a parent might not be impressed by a drawing given by a child but would be impressed at how much better it is than the last one. Just like a parent, God wants to know that the gift was given with the right heart. Was it given in love or was it an attempt to get the parent to do something? Was it done because the child has gotten in the habit of doing it?