THE WHAT, THE WHERE and THE WHY of WORSHIP 7 20 25
Ask ourselves today Why do we worship? Is it because that is what “good people” do? Is worship coming into a building every Lord’s Day, singing a few songs,,Throwing a few bucks in the plate and fulfilling a duty to worship , maybe going out for a nice lunch afterwords and then call it a day? Or is Worship more than what we do every Lord’s Day?
I hope by the end of the next 3 hours we will have a better understanding of a few of the many aspects of worship.
1. The questions for us to answer today are: what is worship? What does it look like in the Christian’s life? Where do we worship and Why do we worship?
Throughout this message I want you to keep in mind Genesis 22- Where God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As they draw near to the mountain Abraham tells his servants, “stay here and watch the donkeys we will go and worship” ( in the Hebrew shachah) Worship in this context was faithfulness and obedience to God to kill Isaac.
To unpack the answers to these questions allow me to start with a little “word study”
Worship appears in the NIV translation 254 times- many times describing what Worship is NOT
(1)The Vine’s Expository dictionary says this: “ The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture. A consideration of the following words shows that it is not confined to praise. Broadly, worship may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment of God...whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deeds done in such acknowledgment of God.
(2) Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible dictionary reads: Worship is “Reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God.”
The word Worship- in the Hebrew shachah - (shaw-chah) the word literally meant to bow down before God, prostrate and that is consistent with one of the Greek words proskuneo- (pros-koo-neh-o) denoting the worthiness of the individual to be worshiped. Not just a physical bowing down like a performer would take at the end of a recital, but more we have a posture that is face down reflecting a recognition that God is Lord and Master. It has this connotation about it, that our lives do not belong to us, but they belong to God. and although proskuneo is the most common translation found in the NT for worship occurring some 71 times another word that I like to describe this act of worshiping God is found in Romans 12:1 and in 10 other NT passages. The word is Latreia (lat- ri- ah) it describes worshiping God by the Spirit of God, using the Spirit of God to do it. It has the connotation of service to God-that includes sacrifice for others. Those literally are the ones who are worshiping Him . Maybe that gives a whole new meaning to what we commonly refer to as a “worship service”
2. I believe what worship and service mean when combined is that we worship God, bow down to God, through the humility that is in our hearts when we live obedient sacrificial lives of service that glorify Him.
One author explains bowing down as a NT Christian this way: “The Hebrew word translated as “worship” literally means “to bow down.” In Psalm 95:6, the psalmist uses three different terms to describe bowing down, which is the foundational posture of worship in the Old Testament: “Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker” Each of these words conveys the image of bowing low face down, bending the knee, and kneeling. They are meant to inspire the worshiper to bring himself low before God, but physically bowing down is not the true essence of humbling oneself in worship.
Bowing down is merely an outward expression of an inner attitude of humility, reverence, and submission. (3)
TRANSITION
However, I believe there is one major problem that STOPS us from being the kind of worshipers that God desires
And That problem is:
It is these bodies we live in. You see because we live in the flesh, because we are actually trapped in these bodies of death, because the flesh battles against the spirit, we struggle to be true worshippers. Although we struggle in these bodies, the fact remains and must be dealt with is that we live in these bodies.
I maybe like you, when I am hungry I want to eat and when thirsty, I want something to drink. If I don’t eat I get Hangry and I am NO fun to be with. When my heartburn kicks in I want an antacid to take away the pain.
But because we live in the body we become influenced by externalities. Because we live in the flesh and have to satisfy our flesh to live. Before too long our flesh and its desires becomes our ruler. We actually begin to believe that because our flesh is satisfied by what we like and that is pleasing to us, we should, therefore always get what we like because it feels right for us.
Satisfying the desires of our flesh- (what we like and want) turns into a habit and a way of life very quickly. Before long we grow up with our flesh as our ruler. The result of having our flesh as our Ruler is we become complainers. Our complaints go against what God has provided. As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness between Egypt and the land of Canaan, the Lord led them. He cared for them. He provided for them. In fact, the Bible says that He “sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing” (Nehemiah 9:21). Did the Israelites show gratitude for God’s wonderful mercy and provisions? Not hardly. What they did was complain. And complain. And then complain some more. As a consequence of their dissatisfaction and frequent complaining, God punished them in a variety of different ways.
One of the most intriguing accounts is found in Numbers 16, where we read about Korah, Dathan, Abiram, “the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pits; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly” (Numbers 16:31-33). All this because they let their flesh rule over them.
God is NOT HAPPY with complainers!
We must be careful as Christians NOT to develop these taste & preferences of what we want, what satisfies us and what we like. Because before too very long as we continue to satisfy the flesh-life becomes all about us and NOT about God, or His provision or our Worship or our service.
So it is our flesh that STOPS us from being true worshipers! Praise through music and song can be an aspect of worship, BUT NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS ALL OF WHAT WORSHIP IS!
As I look at the instruments over here, I see keyboard and piano. They are externalities certainly they are not Jesus. But because I have developed certain likes and dislikes over the past 74 years in this process of satisfying my flesh, I may love the piano or the organ, but I may hate the drums and guitar. Or I might be tired of the “Old Hymns and prefer some contemporary Christian music.
Worse yet I may love the piano and keyboard, but dislike the people playing them. (NOW TED AND SKIP I LOVE YOU GUYS and I am very grateful for your service)
The problem is if my focus is on externalities, if my focus is on the drums or the guitar, the worship leader, the preacher’s voice or his clothes, I can actually miss Jesus. I can actually be in the presence of God and not even know it.
If my primary focus is to have it my way, I am living in the flesh and I am not in the spirit.
I cannot be a true worshiper, the kind the Father seeks.
In John Chapter 4: (in verses 4-21) Jesus meets the woman in Samaria at the well. It looks to me based on their conversation that she wants to know the THE WHAT, THE WHERE and THE WHY of WORSHIP you can read for yourself the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well. There is a great deal in there to unpack.
She was there with Jesus, but look at the things on which she focused.
v6 Jacob’s well was there, it was a great well archaeologist say it was 200’ deep. The water was cool, clean, clear and pure but it was just the same an externality, it was a thing like a guitar or a pipe organ, it wasn’t Jesus.
V9 The Samaritan woman is quick to notice that Jesus is a man and on top of that a Jewish man and Jewish men just did not speak to women especially Samaritan women in that culture.
V10 Jesus offers her Living Water . But she was focused on drinking water and that He had no way to get it.
V12 she asks are you Greater than Jacob?
V19 After continued conversation she is beginning to catch on to who Jesus is and here it comes: The point of today’s message:
21“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
That statement begs the Question: How do we become Christians who worship in Spirit and in truth becoming the kind of worshipers the Father seeks?
What He (Jesus) says may confuse us:
John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
What it means to worship God in spirit and in truth is to recognize that worship is not dependent on any externality, not a temple, not a pipe organ, not a piano, not a guitar or a drum set. Not a worship style, Not a certain location-because frankly, there is only one style of worship and that is a style of bowing down in obedience, humility and sacrifice to our God. To worship God means honoring Him with our entire being—heart, soul, mind, and strength. (3)
To be a true worshiper of God we need to set aside the preferences and desires of our flesh- of what we want. We must not focus on our likes or our dislikes, but we must focus on Christ and others.
Oswald Chambers wrote this in My Utmost for His Highest
To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender—complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever, I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
I ask Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?
We can become so focused on externalities and on things that we feed the flesh and then the flesh ends up winning the battle against the Spirit. If we live satisfying our flesh, what we want then our entire focus is not on God, where it should be, but on us and the things we like and what we want.
Some of us really feed on externalities especially in America.
Big Businesses like Amazon have made absolute fortunes off of us Americans, studying what our taste and preferences are and then providing those goods and services for our consumption.
I heard the story of the fellow who was involved in a very serious automobile accident and as the FHP approached him, he was lamenting “oh my Mercedes, my Mercedes.” The FHP asked the victim, “he said sir are you ok?” The man cried out, “ How is my car, my car?” The FHP said, “sir your car is totaled, however, I would not be overly concerned about my car if I were you, because your arm is lying in the middle of the road.” “Oh no,” the man said; my Rolex, my Rolex.”
I will say it again-We live in these bodies and we must overcome our flesh and its desires if we will be the kind of worshipers that the Father seeks.
Jesus is the source of the living water, the only water that truly satisfies. Crystal clear, cold and pure well water is a good thing, but it is not Christ.
Material things and comforts are GOOD, I love them and thank God for them. I am happy when my Amazon package comes. But if they get in our way, if they are our focus- we can miss Jesus! We can completely miss worshiping God in spirit and in truth.
So our first principle today is: To be the kind of worshiper the Father seeks means we must crucify the flesh and its desires, simply so our flesh does not get in our way or anybody else’s way and cause them or us to miss seeing Jesus.
We get another picture of worship from our main text today in Isaiah 6.
Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
Isa 6:3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Isa 6:4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Isa 6:5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Isa 6:6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
Isa 6:7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Isa 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Isa 6:9 He said, "Go and tell this people: "’Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.
Now if you are looking for a true worship experience Look at Isaiah’s!
In vv 1-4 Isaiah was aware of:
1. The awe of God’s presence
2.The conviction of his sin v5
3 A reminder of God’s Grace and provision for his sin and guilt vv6&7
4. The acknowledgement of hearing God’s voice v8
5. The inspiration to serve
6. The Act of serving [Going or doing]
Our second principle of worship- taken from this passage. Is asking the right question and that is: “God, what do you want from me?”
And then we must go and do.
Our third principle is: To have value to God our worship must involve sacrifice.
We need to understand that there is only one style of worship that has real value to God and that is the model Jesus gave us a life of sacrifice, serving, humility and obedience that is what God seeks from us.
We all know there is NO shortages of needs in this world that we can help with, No shortage of people we can serve.
True worship in Spirit and in Truth goes outside of this building 2X.
There can be any style of praise, it could be hymns, it could be psalms, it could be choruses with many externalities like pipe organs, pianos or guitars involved. But there is only one style of worship that has value to God and that is a life surrendered.
So to continue answering the question is how do we become the kind of worshipper’s the Father seeks? I want to close with a couple more VV,
(do you remember the comm med verse?)
True worship emulates the way Jesus led His life-sacrificially
And God has shown us that way. I believe He answers that for us in Rm 12:1-2.
Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. A picture of the Christian climbing up on that sacrificial altar and dying to the selfishness of our flesh and living as a servant of Christ our Master.
Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. If we love the world then we are enemies of God. We must look different. We must be careful of what we watch and listen to. God calls us to be Holy-and Holiness is separation from the world. How will the world know us, if we look just like them?
The Question for us is: As Christians have we really died to ourselves, to what we like or believe we have to have to be happy. Have we actually joined Jesus in death of self when we came out of that Baptismal pool or have we breathed new life into the old man?
If we want to worship God in Spirit and in truth we need to make our10 bodies living holy sacrifices and stop conforming to the pattern of the world that believes we need to enjoy our rights. To die is gain to live is Christ. Dying to self, considering others as greater than ourselves to be content with what we have and serve others this is bowing down in submission to our Master.
Can we change our minds today about what it means to worship God? If we can it comes with a promise.
A promise that we will know God’s good and perfect will?
Worship remember means bowing down to the one true God. It must happen in every area of the Christian’s life. That means living an upright, righteous and just life. Worship to God happens in our marriages, our families, our workplace. It happens when we take the Lord’s supper, it happens when we give our tithes and offerings. It happens when we give our time. What I am trying to say is it is who WE Are or who we should be in every aspect of our lives. Worshiping a Holy God HAPPENS when our Actions bring Him Honor, Glory and Praise.
INVITATION
God’s good and perfect will starts with us becoming a Christian
Hearing the truth and by Faith accepting the fact that Jesus is who HE says HE is.
Realizing we are sinners in need of a Savior and turning away from our flesh, repenting of our sins
Confessing Christ as Lord
Being immersed in the Baptism of salvation receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and cooperating with and feeding Him that we may overcome our flesh and the world living an obedient life.
If you have not yet received Him as your Master, to whom you will bow down, if you have not yet become His slave you can do so today. Just come forward as we sing this song of invitation.
(1) Vine Expository Dictionary Thomas Nelso Publishing 1997
(2) Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary
(3) https://www.gotquestions.org/let-us-worship-and-bow-down.html
