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Is God Pleased With My Worship?
(Adapted from a sermon by Alex Caldwell)
Intro:
A. Jesus
preached on worship (John 4:19-26); so did Paul on Mars Hill (Acts
17:22-31); 2nd recorded controversy God had with man was
over the matter of worship (Gen 4:1-10). Therefore, this matter of
worshipping God must be of great importance.
B. Please
observe that the word worship in some form or another appears 119 times in
the Bible.
C. There
is a need in the body of Christ on the subject of Christian worship. It is
evidenced by the fact that, “Most people evidently do not enjoy
coming to worship; they are late in coming, so early in leaving, and so
bored while there.
1.
Too many church services start at 11:00 dull. The clock struck 12 at Sunday
noon and the church gave up her dead.”
2.
John 4:24
3.
An analysis of this text reveals:
I.
The “Action” Of Christian Worship – Worship
A.
Webster defines worship – courtesy or reverence paid to worth; hence,
honor; respect. The act of paying divine honors to a deity; religious
reverence or homage.
B. A
study of Greek words for worship:
1.
Proskuneo – occurs 6 times in NT and is
always rendered worship. (Matt 4:10; Jn
4:21-24). Defined by Thayer as “To kiss the hand, to fall upon
the knees & touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of
profound reverence. Hence, in NT, by kneeling or prostration to do homage
(to one) or homage shown to men of a superior rank, homage rendered to God
and the ascended Christ.
2.
Sebomai – occurs 10 times in NT and is
rendered worship 6 times & 4 times by equivalent. Word appears in Matt
15:9; Mk 7:7; Ac 16:14. Thayer defines this word as “to revere,
to worship; to stand in awe, to venerate, to reverence, to worship, adore.”
3.
Latreuo – occurs 21 times in NT and 17
times rendered by the word serve and 4 times by worship. Thayer says,
“In NT to render religious service or homage, to worship; to perform
sacred services; to offer gifts; to worship God in the observance of the
rites instituted for his worship.” Word appears in Phil 3:3; Heb
12:28; Rev 22:3
C. From
studying what worship IS, we can see that true worship entails participation
1.
We must be participants, NOT spectators.
2.
I don’t get anything out of the worship services anymore.
3.
Worship is boring.
4.
Must remember true worship is act of paying honor to God, paying homage,
expressing respect, offering gifts, & serving Him
POINT:
Attendance must NEVER be equated with worship!!! Worship involves drawing nigh unto God, not nigh to
the building. (Matt 15:8). We come nigh to the building with our
bodies, but we come nigh unto God with our hearts. EX: An atheist might
attend services, but does he worship? A tramp may wander in to get warm,
but is he worshipping God?
II. The
“Aim” Of Christian Worship – “Him”
A. The Bible very plainly teaches us that God
is the sole object of our worship.
1. Ex
20:1-5; Matt 4:9-10; Jn 9:31; Ac 10:34-35; Heb
12:28-29; Rev 19:10; Phil 3:3; Rev 22:9
B. Since
God is the exclusive object of our worship, a number of things are excluded:
1.
Worldliness (I Jn 2:15-17; James 4:4; Matt
6:24)
2.
Angels (Heb 1:6; Col
2:18; Rev 19:10)
3.
The Devil (Matt 4:9)
4.
Preachers (Ac 10:25-26)
5.
False materialistic gods (Is 1:8, 20; 46:6)
C. Remember:
In Christian worship, God is in the audience!!
III. The
“Absolute” Of Christian Worship – “Must”
A. The word
“must” is a modifier
1.
Bible teaches that faith is a “must” (Heb 11:6). The new
birth is a “must” (Jn 3:7).
Baptism is a “must” (Acts 9:6; 22:16). And in Jn 4:24 we are taught that Christian
worship is a “must”
B. “Must”
modifies all three elements that constitute Christian worship.
1.
The object of worship – Him
2.
The attitude of worship – in Spirit
3.
The standard of worship – in truth
IV. The
“Attitude” Of Christian Worship – “Spirit”
A. “In
Spirit” is the fountain or spring of Christian worship; “In
Truth” is the regulator of Christian worship.
B. New
Testament worship is spiritual.
1.
We are to offer up spiritual sacrifices (I Pet 2:5)
2.
We are to draw near unto God with a true heart.
3. Heb
10:22; Col
3:16; Eph 5:19
Christian
worship must spring from the heart, from the Spirit, from way down deep
within him. (Matt 15:8-9;
Ephesians 5:19; I Cor 14:15; Heb 12:28)
C. What
are some matters that will help us really worship God from the bottom of
our hearts, from the depth of our souls?? In spirit? We need to:
1.
Prepare our hearts for the worship service. Many Christians come to
church unprepared to worship.
2.
Develop and maintain a worshipful and reverential atmosphere in assembly. (Neh 8:1-8; Ps 89:7; Hab
2:20)
POINT:
All things that disturb worship service should be avoided, such as: Being
late, giving infants noisy objects, whispering, eating, fingernail
clipping, sleeping, clock-watching, and anything else that would disrupt
someone’s ability to give their full attention to God.
3.
Cultivate the right condition of the heart (Matt 5:23-24)
4.
Cultivate a deep awareness of the presence of God (Prov 15:3; Heb 4:13;
Matt 18:20)
5.
Joyously anticipate the worship service
6.
Not let Lord’s Supper or other activities of worship become
commonplace.
7.
Put some heart into the worship service (Jn
4:24; Matt 22:37; Col
3:23; Eccl 9:10)
V. The
“Authority” Of Christian Worship – “Truth”
A. The Truth
– authority or standard of Christian worship is the word of God. (Jn 8:32; 17:17; 1:17)
B. In
worship, we must do all things “in the name of the Lord” (Col 3:17;
I Pet 4:11)
1.
This means that all we have to do in worship must be done by His authority
(II Jn 9-11)
C. In
worship, we’re to walk by faith (II Cor 5:7; Rom 10:10)
God’s word must authorize ALL that we do in worship unto Him
D. Nadab and Abihu are examples
of unauthorized worship (Lev 10:1-7)
1.
They offered that which had not been authorized.
2.
Many religious people and even our own brethren’s worship is
unauthorized worship.
E. God’s
word authorizes only five items or avenues through which we worship Him:
1.
Singing – I Cor 14:15; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16
2.
Praying – Acts 2:42
3.
Preaching – Acts 20:7
4.
Lord’s Supper – I Cor 11:20-30
5.
Giving – I Cor 16:1-2
F. What
are some “current” practices that are in violation of this
principle?
1.
Mechanical Instruments of music
2.
Plays
3.
Women Preachers
4.
Homosexual preachers
5.
Omission of lord’s Supper on every first day of the week.
6.
The list goes on and on.
Conclusion:
A. Is God pleased with my
worship to Him?
- Worship should be the highlight of each
week’s activity for the Christian.
- Nothing should stand in our way when it comes to
the worship of god.
- Where do we stand today?
(II Cor 13:5)
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