Discovering the Essence of Worship

Last week, we introduced the most important series of messages that you will ever hear on radio.  Please understand me:  I’m not the most important speaker you will ever hear, but I’m bringing you the most important message you will ever hear.  It is an ancient message.  Yet, it’s the most important message for today, and it will continue to be the message for generations to come. 

This message comes from God, who loves you and loves me so much that He gave us this message in His Word, the Bible.  This message is not a survey of everything in the Bible; that’s too broad.  It is not a presentation of one singular doctrine in the Bible; that’s too narrow.  This message deals with the purpose for the Bible, which in turn presents God’s purpose for creating you and me.

We began last week by telling the true story of a young couple, whom we called Charles and Kay.  As they followed God, seeking to obey Him and serve Him with all their hearts, their lives were turned upside down, from apparent success to apparent failure.  Charles was suddenly asked to resign from his work.  This unexpected turn of events went against everything they had anticipated.  They were very puzzled, yet they realized that God was still God, and if God was in control of the situation, they were only responsible for their response to the situation.

You’ve probably been there at one time or another.  You may be there right now, wondering if God has deserted you so He could give more attention to other people.  If so, you’ll be interested in what this couple experienced during the months following their sudden loss of work, loss of income, loss of confidence and loss of self respect.

 I mentioned last week that God preserved this young family in three important ways during their winter of disfranchisement: (1) He brought them to His Word, to give them perspective; and (2) He brought friends to their side, to give them encouragement and help.

The third life preserver that God threw to Charles and Kay, to which today’s message is devoted, gave them a better grip on some disarmingly fundamental issues and relationships in life. It has affected me profoundly, and may have a similar impact on you.

For a number of years prior to this crisis, God was graciously at work, opening their eyes to life's most basic, important, all-encompassing feature: worship.  “Worship?” you ask. “What’s so basic, important and all-encompassing about worship?”  Well, let’s talk about worship, and see if we can answer your question.

If you’ve read much of the Bible, you’re probably aware of God's desire for us to worship Him. Time after time, Scripture tells us stories about men and women who worshiped God.  In addition to these numerous examples of worshipers, the Bible is actually rather upfront about directing you and me to worship the Lord.  Listen to these verses:

• (Exodus 34:14) …You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
• (2 Kings 17:36)  …The LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear; Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice.
• (Psalm 29:2) Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
• (Psalm 95:6) Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
• (Psalm 99:5) Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool -- He is holy.

This theme continues in the New Testament:

• (Luke 4:8) Jesus answered, "…It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"
• (John 4:24) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
• (Romans 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  The New International Version translates this phrase like this: “…this is your spiritual act of worship.”
• (Hebrews 12:28) Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  The NIV translates that last phrase like this: …let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
• (Revelation 14:7) …Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

No, with these and many other verses of Scripture chanting this challenge to us, you and I have no problem recognizing that God wants us to worship Him. Our problem is that we don’t understand what God means by “worship” and we often don’t worship Him in ways that He accepts.

Tomorrow, tune in again as we explore the meaning and significance of worship.
     

© 2007 John Garmo. If you would be interested in using this article, please contact us at Info@MissionToChildren.org.