CENTRAL THOUGHT
It is only those who worship God in Spirit and in truth that are true worshippers.
HYMN: OH, Worship the King
TEXT: Leviticus 6:8-13; Romans 12:1-2; John 4:23-24
INTRODUCTION
Worship can be defined simply as an ardent devotion or reverential love and allegiance accorded a deity or a sacred object. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein”, Psalm 24:1, is the only One that deserves our worship. He is the only one that we should worship. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve”, Matthew 4:10. Therefore, it is only God, the Creator of all, that qualifies to receive our worship. As a matter of fact, the Scriptures make us to understand this as recorded in Revelation 4:11, “thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”. It follows from this therefore, that the reason for our being is to offer acceptable worship to God our maker. “O come let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker”, Psalm 95:6. Worship is a reasonable service we must continually offer to God. It must be rendered in such a manner that is acceptable to God for it to be a true worship. It must be offered in spirit and in truth; sincerely from our hearts, without hypocrisy but in total allegiance to God.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are:
1.) To explain what worship means.
2.) To know why we should worship God. 3.) To discuss how we should worship God.
4.) To identify some of the hindrances to an acceptable worship.
5.) To highlight the benefits of offering an acceptable worship unto God.
BIBLE TRUTH
Q1. WHAT DOES WORSHIP MEAN?
Psalm 141:2, 100:2, 95:6-7; 1 Chronicles 29:20; Genesis 18:2
Worship is an in-depth acknowledgement of the supremacy of God as the King of kings and Lord of lords. It involves the submission of the totality of our spirit, soul and body to the Almighty God. The period of worship in a Christian gathering is a time during which we must forget about ourselves and whatever situation that is confronting us and be fully focused on God. He alone deserves our reverence, honor, and glory at all times. When we come before God in worship, we should make ourselves open and ready to minister to Him and He will in return minister to us. We must learn to approach God in absolute humility during worship.
Worship has to do with bowing down, prostrating in humility to God to acknowledge His supremacy, sovereignty and might. It also involves lifting up holy hands to God in surrender to His Lordship and Rulership over our lives. It is a means of honoring God for who He is and what He has done in our lives. Psalm 141:2 says, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice”. It is worship that ushers us into the presence of God in the place of prayer. No wonder Psalm 95:6 has this recorded, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker”. Thus, worship is a vital aspect of our prayer. Although the period of worship is not a time for rolling out a catalog of our requests, God may in His infinite mercies and grace decide to meet our needs even as we worship Him in spirit and in truth, Acts 16:25-26.
Q2. WHY SHOULD WE WORSHIP GOD?
Exodus 34:14; Revelation 4:11; Psalm 95:7; 1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:21; Romans 12:1-2
“The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth His handiwork”, Psalm 19:1. First and foremost we should worship God because He is God. When we consider God’s manifold works, they all point to the fact that He is the Almighty and therefore deserves all adoration. He deserves our worship because of His creation, our salvation, provision, protection, deliverance, and His faithfulness to us at all times. In fact, there are so many things around us that constantly remind us that God deserves our worship.
There are so many other reasons why we should worship God. It is a command form God. “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”, Exodus 34:14. Secondly, we should worship God because He created us for His pleasure, and He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. In addition, we are enjoined in Romans 12:1 as follows: “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”. This implies that worship is a reasonable service we must render unto God. Therefore, it is compulsory that every believer must make out quality time for worship considering God’s manifold mercies He has bestowed upon us and for the fact that He has make us partakers of His divine nature.
Q3. HOW SHOULD WE WORSHIP GOD? Romans 12:1-21; John 4:23-24; Luke 1:64-75; Leviticus 6:8-13:
Ephesians 6:6-8; Colossians 3:23-25; 1 Chronicles 16:29
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”, John 4:24. It is not just enough to offer worship to God, but it must be done in an acceptable manner. Therefore, we must worship Him acceptably. We must come to Him with a true and sincere heart void of deceit and hypocrisy. In our worship, we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. We must not be conformed to this world; but be transformed by renewing our minds through constant study of the word of God. We know that God is a Spirit and therefore we can render an acceptable worship to Him only in spirit and in truth. We must serve and worship God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives. Our worship must involve our whole being, not just a mere ritual, but in sincerity from our innermost being in total submission and humility before our heavenly Father by Whom all actions are weighed. Our worship involves prayers, praises, singing of psalms, hymns and any other activity we carry out at our various fellowships which are acceptable to God. Examples are tithes and offerings. We must worship God in the Beauty of holiness. This means that no iniquity should be found in our lives; we should come with clean hands, and a pure heart and our soul should not be lifted up unto vanity. In summary, whatever we do, it must be done heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men.
Q4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HINDRANCES TO ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP?
Matthew 15:7-9; Mark 7:5-7; 1 Samuel 15:1-23; Psalm 24:3-4, 66:18
God desires and takes pleasure in our worship. However, it is only when it is offered acceptably before Him that He will take delight in it. There are many hindrances to acceptable worship. Some of these hindrances may be as a result of hypocrisy. Any worship offered in hypocrisy can never be accepted by God. Our motives are very vital and when they are not right, then whatever is done does not bring any delight to God. Disobedience is another hindrance to acceptable worship. God demands our total obedience. We are instructed that to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams, 1 Samuel 15:22. Anything we offer God in disobedience is not only unacceptable but our persons are also not acceptable. Sin in its entire ramification is a big barrier between the one who has sinned and God. Whatever is offered to God when one is in sin is an abomination unto Him. The Psalmist realized this when he stated in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”. We must lay aside anything that may constitute a hindrance to our worship from being acceptable. We must therefore constantly live lives that are pleasing to God.
Q5. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WORSHIPING GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH?
Psalm 5:11-12, 37:3-7, 149:4; Romans 5:5; Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:13; 1 Peter 1:5
Many benefits accrue to us when we worship God in spirit and in truth. One important feature of true worship is the inner peace we enjoy as we follow Him. In Isaiah 26:3-4 the Scripture says, “thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength”. In addition to the perfect peace, we also receive everlasting strength from our Father, who is the Almighty, all powerful. We are so empowered that we can boldly exclaim as in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”. We exchange our weakness for His strength as we offer Him true worship, 2 Corinthians 12:9.
We also receive divine direction and guidance from God as we yield all to Him in the place of worship. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths”. We experience joy unspeakable in our lives in the presence of God as we worship Him in spirit and in truth. “For the joy of the LORD is your strength”, Nehemiah 8:10. God’s blessing will follow, as stated in Psalm 5:12; “For thou LORD wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield”. God will be delighted in us and beautify us, as we worship Him in spirit and in truth. “For the LORD taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation”, Psalm 149:4.
One thing we must remember is the fact that the only assignment we will be engaged in when we get to heaven all through eternity is to worship God. We shall join the four beasts and the twenty-four elders and the innumerable company of angels to continually fall down before him that sits on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever. What a glorious honor and privilege this will be for us to be counted worthy to stand in worship continually before the KING of kings and LORD of Lords throughout all eternity.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
Our worship is a very important part of our reasonable service to our heavenly Father and God. This calls for total surrender of our whole being; spirit, soul and body in humble adoration while acknowledging His Lordship over our lives. We must give our total allegiance to God. He delights in our worship when it is offered with a pure and sincere heart. God deserves our worship because of His greatness, grace, mercies, and most importantly for our salvation and redemption. At the place of worship, we receive strength from God and are refreshed as the anointing of God is released for greater in-filling. Worship involves both our attitude and action which includes loving service to God who is worthy to receive all glory, honor and power.
MEMORY VERSE
John 4:24
“God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”.
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Monday: Approaching God in worship.
Psalm 95:6, 100:2,141:2; 1 Chronicles 29:20
Tuesday: Why we should worship God?
Exodus 34:14; Psalm 95:7; Romans 12:1-2
Wednesday: How we should worship God?
John 4:23-24; Romans 12:1-2
Thursday: How we should worship God.
1 Chronicles 16:29; Colossians 3:23-25
Friday: Some hindrances to true worship.
1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 66:18; Mark 7:5-7
Saturday: Benefits of worshiping God in spirit and in truth.
Psalm 37:3-7, 149:4; Philippians 4:13; 1 Peter 1:5.