Last week we looked at “How do we worship today?” I missed putting emphasis on worship through prayer, tithing and time given to God’s work. These are all parts of worship.
I left you with the request to give me your definition of Worship. Unfortunately, no one came forth, so I do not know what any of you think worship is. My hope is that after these messages, you are more aware of what worship can be.
Today my message is “Who do we Worship?” The theme is “Our reverence and respect for God who is worthy of worship.”
Who do we worship, God or job, wealth, fame, objects, people, health, ideals?
We get busy everyday with more and more things that are important. Do we allow them to push God aside? Do we begin to lose sight of what is the most important?
God gives us a very clear message about this in both the Old and New Testaments.
Deuteronomy 5:7-9a NIV (First of the Ten Commandments Moses was given to give to the people)
7 “You shall have no other gods before me.
8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
9a You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
Matthew 22:37-38 NIV (Jesus responding to a question from a church leader)
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
Then we find many verses on this topic – here are a few that I like:
Rev. 4:11 NIV
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created,
and have their being.”
Romans 14:11 NIV
11 It is written (Isaiah 45:23)
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.’”
Psalm 96:4-5 NIV
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
William Temple said, “The world can be saved by one thing and that is worship. For to worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” 1
A statement found in Day 2 of the devotional “Seeking God in Worship” says:
True Worship is exclusively found in exalting Jehovah, the one true God of the Universe! He alone is worthy. 2
Revelations 5:11-14 NIV
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
12 In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
God is awesome and worthy to be praised, so why do we find it so difficult at times to worship God?
Karen Burton Mains tells us, “If Christ walked our aisles, we would hasten to make amends with that brother or sister to whom we had not spoken. If we would volunteer for service, the choir loft would be crowded. If we knew Christ would attend our church Sunday after Sunday, the front pews would fill the fastest, believers would arrive early, offering plates would be laden with sacrificial but gladsome gifts, prayers would concentrate our attention.
“Yet Christ is present.” 3
Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted saying, “It behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming.” 4
Where does your focus sit? Is your position in the world more important than your relationship to God? We need to seriously look at what is most important in our lives. God designed this world to be perfect and gave it to us to walk with God and worship God in all things.
Amy Groeschel, in “Seeking God in Worship”, says “True worship comes from a sincere, humble heart and a broken, yielded spirit. A heart that walks in the truth, obeying God’s laws out of love for Him. A heart that has come to the realization, that apart from God there is no hope. God deserves our all – all our heart’s affection, mind’s capacity, multi-faceted emotions and physical strength. 5
Now as we close, I want you to close your eyes and just listen as I read two short Scripture passages that focus on who we should worship and why!
Psalm 100:1-5 NIV
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Isaiah 45:21-22 NIV
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.22 “Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
In closing, I will ask this question: Who will you worship?
Let’s pray!
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