In Search of the Lord's Way
by Phil Sanders
Unless otherwise noted all scripture is taken from the Amplified Bible
"Prepare for Worship"
We need to start off the lesson by saying that worship is an intentional act of the heart, but many people take little time to prepare for worship. God expects us not only to prepare our hearts but also our lives when we come into His presence. How do we prepare for worship?
The English word "worship" comes from an old word "worthship"! It's by our attitude, our words, and our actions that we tell God that He IS worthy of our praise and adoration. He deserves our love and thanksgiving.
Worship is not an "experience" that we have in the presence of God, but the act of offering God our best when we are in His presence. Let me say that again. Worship is not an "experience" that we have in the presence of God, but the act of offering God our best when we are in His presence.
But, worship is a spiritual act, that entails a sense of awe and reverence in the presence of the DIVINE. Worship comes from the Greek word proskuneo, which means "throwing oneself on the ground to show respect and awe."
When Moses
saw the burning bush, he thought it was a marvelous sight. He wanted to know why the bush didn't burn up. God called to him from the bush and told
Moses -
Exod. 3:5 Then God said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet [out of respect], because the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
When we come into the presence of God for worship, we are entering holy ground.
The Bible
says in Hebrews 12 verses 28 and 29,
Heb. 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe;(Why?) 29 for our God is [indeed] a consuming fire.
So, worship is, by its very nature, an act of reverence and awe. It focuses on honoring and pleasing God. Worship that pleases God requires some preparation. And today we're going to explore the scriptures to see how we can show God reverence and awe.
Our reading today comes from the
book of Revelation chapter 5 verses 11 to 14.
Rev. 5:11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and [the voice] of the living creatures and the elders; and they numbered myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (innumerable), 12 saying in a loud voice, "Worthy and deserving is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." 13 And I heard every created thing that is in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in Hades, the realm of the dead] or on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying [together], "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Christ), be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
Isn't that a beautiful scene.
What are we doing when we gather for worship? Well, what does it mean to worship and praise God? Now if we are to prepare for worship, we must know something about worship and about God.
As we begin this lesson, let's explore what worship is all about. First, worship is internal; It comes from the heart. One can worshipinternally without doing anything externally, but one cannot worship externally without doing something internally.
Zechariah 7 verses 5 and 6 says that the Jews of Zechariah's day feasted and fasted for themselves and not for God. They went through the motions but didn't involve the heart.
William Temple rightly said, "To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God. Worship is to feed the mind with the truth of God. Worship is to purge the imagination by the beauty of God,
Worship is to open the heart to the love of God, and Worship is to devote the will to the purpose of God. Our worship must come genuinely from our hearts.
In a
discussion with the woman at the well, Jesus said in John 4 verses 23 and 24,
John 4:23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
God isn't seeking worshipers who have their minds elsewhere or are simply going through the motions; He is seeking worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Second, worship is intentional. We don't worship God accidentally; it must be an intended act.
Perhaps you remember Naaman the leper, whom God healed through Elisha. Naaman said that he would only worship the Lord God. In 2nd Kings 5:17 to 19 Naaman was worried and told Elisha that he had to bow in the house of Rimmon to another god as a part of his duties.
Well, Naaman makes the point that he must bow, but that worshiping a false god is not his intention. Elisha understood that unless you intend to worship, it's not really worship. Unfortunately, some Christians come to church to socialize or to see a production; and they never intend to worship. I hope you're a true worshiper.
True praise is not merely "going through the motions." Jesus spoke about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees; whose worship was only an outward show and not from the heart.
The Lord said in Matthew 15 and verse 8, that this not only revealed itself in their worship, but also showed in their lives. They had forgotten God's commandments but concentrated on their human traditions.
Matt. 15:8'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.
This not only revealed itself in their worship, but also showed in their lives.
The Lord
said,
Matt. 15:9'But in vain do they worship Me, For they teach as doctrines the precepts of men.'"
Genuine praise to God comes from a sincere devotion and obedience to the Lord.
Third, worship is vertical. Yes, true worship will edify the church; but the primary purpose of worship is vertical. Worship takes place when our hearts and spirits show our thanksgiving and praise to God our Father. We sing praises to God.
We're not worshiping to please ourselves but to adore and glorify God. While we may sing to edify or teach others, the primary focus is to praise God.
Fourth, worship is momentary. Like eating, it has a beginning and an ending. While worship is something that we do throughout our lives, it is an intermittent, heartfelt act, occasional, wherein we put everything else aside and we focus our minds and our hearts for a time on God.
Someone might say, "The Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 5 verse 17 that we are to pray without ceasing." Well, that's true, but nobody can pray 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What this passage is saying is that we ought never to quit praying to God. We should pray every day throughout our lives.
John 4:23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
God wants you to give Him your heart and glorify His name.
Let me ask you this. Have you considered how important God regards worship? The Lord said to Israel through the prophet
Malachi in Malachi 1:6-9, that
Mal. 1:6 "'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear and respect due Me?' says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, 'How and in what way have we despised Your name?'
Mal. 1:7 You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' By thinking that the table of the Lord is contemptible and may be despised. 8 When you [priests] present the blind [animals] for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer such a thing [as a blind or lame or sick animal] to your governor [as a gift or as payment for your taxes]. Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you graciously?" says the Lord of hosts. 9 "But now will you not entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering from your hand [as an imperfect animal for sacrifice], will He show favor to any of you?" says the Lord of hosts.
I fear some have little sense of holiness about coming into the presence of God. God deserves our best; we shouldn't give God what is common or profane or leftovers.
Exod. 28:2You are to make sacred garments [official clothing reserved for holy services] for Aaron your brother, ...
Why?
Exod. 28:2 ... for honor and for beauty (ornamentation).
How the priest dressed mattered to God. You know, as Christians, God considers us His priests.
Psa. 29:1Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;Worship the Lord in the beauty and majesty of His holiness [as the creator and source of holiness].
I Tim. 2:9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and discreetly in proper clothing, not with [elaborately] braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but instead adorned by good deeds [helping others], as is proper for women who profess to worship God.
When the Israelites gathered for worship at the temple, they didn't simply show up. They lived in a world of ceremonially clean and unclean. We have little sense of that concept today.
Israelite pilgrims who traveled to a feast in Jerusalem in ancient times first went to a ritual bath to become ceremonially pure, before they ever entered the temple area, according to John 11 verse 55. In fact, archaeologists count as many as eighteen ritual baths surrounding the temple mount today.
These purification rituals stressed cleanliness and worthiness to serve and worship the Lord. In fact, Jehoiada (Ja-hoi-ada) the priest stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean (2 Chronicles 23 and verse 19).
Isaiah spoke of his
experience in the presence of God in the year that King Uzziah (ah-ziah) died
in Isaiah 6 verses 1 to 8. You remember
that Seraphim proclaimed that the Lord God, is
Isa. 6:3... "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; The wholeearth is filled with His glory."
Isa. 6:5 ... "Woe is me! For I am ruined, Because I am a man of [ceremonially] unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
Isaiah was humbled by his own sense of uncleanness before God. He expected to die because he was unclean, but God forgave him as the Seraphim touched his lips with the burning coal.
You remember that when the apostle John came into the presence of the Lord Jesus on the island of Patmos, that he fell at His feet as though dead. He understood the awesome and special nature of the occasion. Many worship assemblies have become so worldly there is little sense of being in the presence of God or of the reverence of the occasion.
I fear we have lost a sense of the awesome nature of God.
Also, there is constant going in and out to get a drink or go to bathroom, constant talking in the foyer, constant talking in the pews, texting on the phone, passing notes in worship, or clipping fingernails during the sermon. Yes, I care about everyone, and I want everyone to come for worship, but I wonder if God feels honored when our hearts and lives are so far from Him.
In addition
to all of this, we also must think of our
lives as we approach God in worship. The Bible says in Psalm 66 verses 16 to 20,
Psalms 66:16 Come and hear, all who fear God [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],And I will tell what He has done for me.
Then in verse 17 the writer says,
Psalms 66:17 I cried aloud to Him; He was highly praised with my tongue. 18 If I regard sin and baseness in my heart [that is, if I know it is there and do nothing about it], The Lord will not hear [me];
And the
writer continues in verse 19,
Psalms 66:19 But certainly God has heard [me];He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His loving kindness from me.
When people cherish sin more than they do God, it should not surprise them that God closes His ears to their prayers.
The New Testament says in James
1:26 to 27 that,
James 1:26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious [scrupulously observant of the rituals of his faith], and does not control his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person's religion is worthless (futile, barren). 27 Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.
If we wish to worship God in private or in public, we need to serve God by living holy lives every single day.
The apostle Paul was concerned about the unruly assemblies at Corinth that kept the people from worshiping properly and from taking the Lord's Supper in a way that pleased God.
He said in I Corinthians 11:27 to
30,
I Cor. 11:27 So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord.
And in verse 28,
I Cor. 11:28 But a person must [prayerfully] examine himself [and his relationship to Christ], and only when he has done so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks [without solemn reverence and heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ], eats and drinks a judgment on himself if he does not recognize the body [of Christ]. 30 That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason why many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [in death].
Because of that, when we worship, we ought to please God and we need to do this for two reasons. First, it honors God to worship the way that He desires. Second, true worship calls us to live a purer and nobler life.
Let's prepare to praise and glorify God beforewe come into His presence. Let's get our hearts and minds focused on God. Israel worshiped in vain by living immoral and ungodly lives according to Isaiah 1 verses 12 to 20. They needed to repent of their sins before they came to worship God. What will please God most is a heart that is right with Him! Is your heart right with God?
To get right with God one must believe that Jesus IS the Christ, the Son of the living God. He must regard Jesus as Lord and turn away from sin in repentance.
Anyone who loves the Lord will not remain in willful sin. He wants to change his life and to confess Jesus as the Christ. He'll also be baptized as quickly as possible for the forgiveness of his sins—as the Bible teaches in Acts 2 and verse 38. If a person loves the Lord, he won't want to spend a single moment outside the love and grace of God.
