The Importance Of Worship

The Importance of Worship

Genesis 22:1

Today I want us to look at The Importance of Worship.

In every worship experience there are only two people involved: God and you, the worshiper.

I want us to look today at the importance of worship for the worshiper. What does worship do for the worshiper? We know we are to worship God and when we worship God He is praised, honored and glorified. But what do we receive from worship?

Worshiping God, for the believer, is the highest of all priorities. We see this in that worship is a key theme in the Bible.

David in Psalm 29:2 "Give unto the LORD the glory due His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."

Psa 81:9 "There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any other god."

Psa 95:6 "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker."

Jesus said,"… You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' Mat 4:10

He also said, John 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

The Apostle John in Revelation 15:4 wrote, "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You…."

And John again at the end of v9 of Revelation 22 wrote simply, “…Worship God."

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but one reason Jesus died was so we can worship God. We cannot worship God in our sins. He’s holy. Jesus died to take away our sins enabling us to worship God in spirit and truth. That is, it cost the Son of God his life so we can do what we are doing right now. That and that alone shows us the importance of we do here every Sunday.

So what does worship do for the worshiper? How can we benefit from worship? We only have time for one thought and that is worship washes away worry.

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but worship is a cure for worry. In fact, it is the cure for worry, discouragement, anxiety and nervousness.

David the great Psalmist, said this about worship. Psalm 16:11 He said, “…In thy presence is fullness of joy and… pleasures for ever-more.” In God’s presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forever more. Worship ushers us into the presence of God where there is fullness of joy washing away worry. Joy and worry cannot abide in the same heart.

Let me show you a story in the Bible that illustrates this.

It’s the story of Abraham and his son Isaac.

Gen 22:1-2

Understand what’s going on here. This is huge what God is asking Abraham to do. Get this or you will miss the whole story. This is serious, life and death.

God is asking Abraham to go to Mt. Moriah to worship him by taking his son, his only son, that he loves very much and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. God is not only asking him just to kill Isaac but cremate him.

Before we go any farther let me take you back a few decades and remind you of Abraham and Sarah’s story.

Abraham and Sarah have gone all their marriage without having any children together of their own. God promises them a son. When their son Isaac is born, Abraham is now 100 years old and Sarah is 90.

God blesses them with a son and now he is asking them to sacrifice him and offer him as a burnt offering.

Now put yourself in their shoes. Abraham must be asking him-self, “I’ve waited all my life for a child, God gives me one and this is how it ends?” Can’t you hear Abraham asking himself this?

And although there is no indication of worry or anxiety on Abraham’s part, he must have some. Don’t you imagine?

Let’s continue reading. See if you sense any worry.

Gen 22:3-10

I read this and I do not sense any worry or anxiety on Abraham’s part. Do you? And yet, I can’t help but to believe that there has to be some anxiety.

There must be some apprehension. There must be in the back of Abraham’s mind, a questioning what is God asking me to do?

And yet he seems so calm in this whole situation. He seems to be at peace about this. Look at v:3 again. Did you hear that? He rose up early … saddled his donkey… , took his son…, the wood for the burnt offering…, and went.

No resistance. No reluctance. No worry. No debate. No discussion. No delay. No anxiety.

There is no indication of any worry. No inkling of any anxiety in this whole story. Abraham doesn’t seem shaken. He’s not rattled.