What Do You Worship?
John 4:19-24
Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well is one of the most beloved stories in the Gospels. While sitting at the well, Christ discussed with her their differing views of worship. In that discussion the Lord made this profound statement, " Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship..." That statement raises a question that I would pose to you today. What or who do you worship? Do you have the right object of worship? In order for us to be able to answer that question we must understand what worship means.
I. Worship defined
A. The word worship is derived from the Old English weorþscipe, meaning honor shown to an object. In its simplest definition worship is to give worth to something.
B. A dictionary definition of worship is reverent honor and homage paid to God or a personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
C. John MacArthur says that worship is honor paid to a superior being. It means to give homage, honor, reverence, respect, adoration, praise, glory to a superior being.
D. 1 Chronicles 16:29 “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!”
E. Romans 1:20-21, 25 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” …They “exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…”
F. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The gods we worship write their names on our faces, be sure of that. And a man will worship something have no doubt about that, either. He may think that his tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of his heart but it will out. That which dominates will determine his life and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.” - copied
G. Speaking on worship Augustine rightfully said, “We do what we worship, and we worship what we love and desire.” We can easily understand that statement when we remember that in Scripture the word for love is “Agapao” which means totally giving oneself over to something - to surrender all to it, to be fully committed to.
II. The Gods we worship
A. While we may not bow down to idols made of stone or metal as people did in ancient times although some people in the world still do that does not mean we don't have our own "idols"
B. Worship stems from the heart. We worship what we love. We crave what we love. We fill our lives with what we love. We submit to what we love. We are controlled by what we love.
C. 2 Timothy 3:1-5a “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power…”
D. The god of pleasure
1. 1 Corinthians 10:7 “Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play."
2. Israel’s sin of idolatry was rooted in their love and desire for the pleasures of life, which held a higher place in their affections than God did.
3. Duly warned, Adam and Eve made the critical decision to ignore God and to secure pleasure on their own terms. Eve saw the forbidden fruit as a source of pleasure in the form of food and increased knowledge — nothing inherently wrong with food and knowledge (Genesis 2:16, Proverbs 2:1-7). But by choosing to eat the fruit, she chose to enjoy a pleasure God had forbidden. Adam followed his wife’s sin; and, as God had previously warned, the disastrous consequences were forthcoming. An immediate pleasure, enjoyed self-autonomously apart from divine favor, proved utterly ruinous. - Dan Miller, Getting Pleasure Right
4. Proverbs 16:11 "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
E. The god of learning
1. Daniel 12:4 "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
2. Until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today it is estimated that on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months.
3. We live in a society where education is worshipped by many. Someone has said that "it is the master passion that drives many people's lives - to be more educated, smarter, accumulate more degrees, and graduate from more esteemed institutions."
4. Many worship at the altar of science and education.
5. At the end of the 18th century, Founding Fathers like John Adams and Alexander Hamilton were becoming increasingly troubled by the revolution that was unfolding in France. Unlike the American Revolution, which was founded on the Christian principles delineated in the Declaration of Independence, the French version was virulently anti-religious (particularly in regard to Christianity). The revolutionaries sought to replace religion with human reason, even going so far as suggesting that Notre Dame be renamed the “Cathedral of Reason.” Adams observed of France with great alarm: “I know not what to make of a republic of 30 million atheists.” Hamilton was just as appalled by the arguments undergirding the revolution. Commenting on French attacks against Christianity, he wrote in disbelief: “The very existence of a Deity has been questioned and in some cases denied. Death has been proclaimed an eternal sleep." - copied
6. History seems to repeat itself as in our nation the belief in God and the Bible is continually under attack by "the scientific community", the ACLU, the NEA, and academia. Belief in God and the Bible is seen as anti-intellectual. Man is seen as no more than a higher form of life on an evolutionary chain. Post moderns declare that we don't need God anymore because we have the human brain.
7. Many Christian parents have been caught up in the world's idolatry of education and are only too eager to see their children graduate from an obviously secular college or university without regard to the fact that those institutions are radically against the teachings of the Lord. Having a degree from the world is viewed as much more important for their children than their children having child-like faith in Jesus. This does not mean that it is wrong for a Christian to attend these institutions, remember the secular training of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Babylon. They remained strong
8. Romans 1:22 " Professing to be wise, they became fools."
9. 1 Corinthians 3:19-20 "... the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
F. The god of self
1. Isaiah 14:12-15 " How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to hell,
to the lowest depths of the Pit."
2. If you really look at all the different sins that a person can commit from the smallest to the biggest, you will begin to see that ALL sin in our life stem from one thing – SELF.
3. The god of self is seen in...
a. The Philosophy of Individualism - “What’s in it for me?”
b. The Philosophy of Hedonism - “If it feels good, do it“
c. The Philosophy of Minimalism - “What is the least I can do?” - adapted from "Faithful in Prayer"
4. 2 Timothy 3:1-5a “,,, men will be lovers of themselves"
G. The god of money and materialism
1. 2 Timothy speaks of men as being "lovers of money".
2. The Bible teaches that material wealth can be a great blessing from God, but also that it can become one's god. Things in themselves are not wrong but when the pursuit and love of things controls you it has become your god.
3. Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
4. The pursuit of wealth as an end in itself, or the desire for luxury and personal indulgence are strong evidences of materialism.
5. Proverbs 16:8 "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right."
H. The gods made in our image
1. " Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true." - The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer
2. They see God as only a god of love that demands nothing - They see a god who is so loving and so kind that he would never send a "good person" let alone anyone to hell.
3. They see God as only a god of law that is merciless - They see a god who is vindictive and cruel who slays the innocent without a thought - inflicting death upon man through storms, tragedies, disasters and disease.
4. They see God as only a god of aloofness that is unapproachable - They envision a god that no matter what they say or do nothing will bridge the gap between God and them.
5. They see God as only a god of indifference who could care less about your needs - seeing a god who can't be bothered by their insignificant needs.
6. "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. ... Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God." - The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer
7. Ray Stedman wrote, “This last spring, as you know, my family and I were privileged to be in various parts of the ancient world where we visited many temples, temples dedicated to idols. Though these temples had fallen into ruins, in every place a certain god had been enthroned in the temple and worshiped there. Apollo, Venus, Bacchus, Zeus—you have seen these temples. It suddenly struck me, after returning home, that though these temples have been abandoned, yet the worship of the god has not ceased. We still have the same gods. We have changed the names, but the gods, the idols, are exactly the same.” - Stedman, Christian Certainty
III. The God we should worship
A. People may bow down to many gods today, just as they did in the ancient pagan world but understand that there is but One True God.
B. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 "there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him."
C. Isaiah 45:5 "I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me." Isaiah 46:9 "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me" Isaiah 42:8 " I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another."
D. God alone is to be worshipped.
1. Matthew 4:10 ""You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve"
2. People are not worthy of worship, and neither are gods that people make. The Lord God Almighty alone deserves our worship. He alone deserves our praise.
E. If it is true as Augustine said that we worship what we love, for our worship to be genuine it must come from us as a response of agape love, a complete surrender and commitment to God alone.
F. If our worship is to be acceptable we must know Who we worship.
1. John 4:22 "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship."
2. 2 Timothy 1:12 " For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."
G. For our worship to be pleasing it must be complete.
1. True worship is not lip service, but life service. It is to be as much a part of our lives as breathing and eating. Worship should be demonstrated in every area of our lives, every day of our lives. - copied
2. Romans 12:1 (NCV) "So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship."
