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What is the True Meaning of Worship?
We are to truly commanded to worship God; but just exactly what does that word mean and how do we apply it to our everyday lives? First of all, God gave us instructions in His Word on how we are to worship. Beginning with the ten simple rules for worship as found in the Ten Commandments. First of all, worship demands obedience to God in order that we may worship God in all truth. It is important for us to know the history in the Old Testament in order to see the entire picture and the evolving of the time of Christ's appearance on earth. Obeying the Ten Commandments is the highest calling toward worship.
God's Word also lays out a pattern of how to worship Him in the Lord’s Prayer and Twenty-Third Psalm. We take these edicts for granted sometimes either because we don’t know or understand them or because they have become “old hat,” to us and we simply have lost their meaning and purpose. True worship comes from being obedient to God and His Word.
Perhaps we should go back to “Worship 101,” so to speak, first taking a look at what so many people worship today. The dictionary quantifies worship as: A feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity, i.e. the worship of God. Other words to define worship are reverence, veneration, adoration, glorification, exaltation, thanksgiving, homage and honor.
Sadly, today we have prostituted the word by the flagrant use of it toward things other than of God. We hear expressions like, “I just worship the ground she walks on.” We hear of those who “worship” the almighty dollar. This form of the word takes on a new idea in that it takes on the meaning of extravagant respect, admiration or devotion to a person, group, or object. Many people worship their children, their jobs, cars, homes, their lifestyles and in many cases, themselves.
There are 188 verses in the Bible that defines the word, Worship! https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Worship&qs_version=KJV
But one of the most important is found in the Book of John:
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 Just a few words but so potent. To worship in the spirit is to worship in our hearts and minds and not just by repeating words by rote. We need to “feel” the worship and not just speak it.
Worship of gods (little g) have taken on many forms throughout history. For some it means you have to go to a certain place in order to worship. Some have to take a particular poster to worship their god; others see worship as a form of singing and praising generally.
For many years, it was common place at every Baptist church service to have the congregation rise and sing what is called the Doxology written in 1674, “Praise God from Whom all blessing flow, Praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above the heavenly host; praise Him, (as) Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
In the old King James version of the Bible the Holy Spirit was called the Holy Ghost. If this practice is foreign to some, the word, “doxology” comes from the Greek word doxa meaning glory, splendor or grandeur.” Most doxologies are just short hymns or poems that are often quoted or sung by rote.
The Catholic Church is familiar with what is called the, “Gloria Patri,” which is “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”
The word worship is bandied about in various forms such as a “worship leader” or a “worship” service.” The word doxology itself is not found in the Bible; however, there are verses that indicate how they are used as a form of worship.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 (This verse ascribes to God all the blessings He bestows on the people of His creation.)
“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever!” Romans 11:36 (This implies that everything man, animal, plant, and the celestial heavens were all created by Him.)
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost! Matthew 28:19 (This is a wide-open verse that indicates the pathway of the Christian in that they are to Go….and teach...all nations… and then baptize them into the Christian faith.”
This verse expresses worship in the best form in that it is not just a lot of loud music, strobe lights, and people waving their arms in the air; but a down to the earth on bent-humble knees giving God His “due!”
When we describe back to God who He is, then it helps us to really know Him. In the book, "Who Needs God Anyway?” (See Home Page) We see a feeble attempt to write God’s biography…which is totally impossible. How can you write the life story of someone who has no beginning and no end? God is not Who we “think” He is… He is “WHO,” He is. We can only know what God chooses to reveal. It is easy to turn a “blind eye” to that which we have not seen with the “naked” eye. The idea of this book is to understand what can be known about God and to accept what we can never truly know about Him.
God created the first man and woman in the Garden for the express purpose to have fellowship with them and to spend time with them and for them to worship Him in truth. They had no formal church, no song books and no written Word; but their worship was to be in fellowship with God. He is not some kind of ego maniac just wanting people to fawn over Him and be His slaves; but to have a true relationship with those He created; with the reward far outreaching anything ever to be seen on this earth or any earth yet to come. He created within us the need to worship and when we don’t worship Him, we find many destructive ways to worship other people and things. Our daily living and witness is the greatest form of worship; one which God honors mightily.
How often in our prayers do we express true worship among all the “thank-yous” for what we have got and the pleas for things we don’t have; or just a flippant “God bless you expressed to others; which has little or no meaning!” While many mean this expression with all their heart; for many it has just become a phrase' much like, "Have a nice day!"
Lord, teach us to worship, honor, and glorify Who You ARE and not just what You DO for us. Help us to use words such as: magnificent, honorable, superb, wonderful, brilliant, splendid, and glorious and know the meaning of them and really mean them in our hearts. Help us to learn that worshiping You means to give You credit for all that You are and for all that You have done and are still doing in our lives. Worshiping God is not just a feel good exercise that makes us feel elated for a short period of time; but true worship comes from honoring God in all things with all our hearts, and being and not just at a meeting or rally but in the every day world we live in.
God draws us closer to Him through worship or satan will pull us away. Help us to turn pain, sorrow, struggles, and joys into a celebration of worship through praise. Lord, help us to love You as much as we love the temporary things of this life and world. For we know that we cannot truly love without God for God IS Love. Lord help us to spend time with You and Your Word on a regular basis so that we can better learn how to worship You.
We need to be careful what and how we worship... "Who turned the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator; who is blessed forever." Romans 1:25
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Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World; and our only hope.
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