CENTRAL THOUGHT
True worship leads to righteous living and righteous living enriches congregational worship.
Hymn: “Oh Worship the King”
TEXT: ISAIAH 6:1-5, JOHN 4:19-34, 2 CHRONICLES 5:1-14
INTRODUCTION:
God Almighty, the Creator of the universe and everything therein and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed mankind from death, destruction, deserve our praise, thanks, honor, adoration and worship. We can do nothing without Him because He is our source. After creating the heavens and the earth, God created man in His image and likeness to live in comfort and enjoy His creation and reciprocate by serving and worshiping Him all the days of his life. When man sinned and became separated from God, He sent His only begotten Son to redeem him from death and destruction. For these reasons every living soul ought to serve and worship the Almighty God for His goodness, loving kindness and mercy. True worship arises from a heart that is fully or totally yielded unto God, which begins with the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Savior and is reflected in total obedience to the will of the Almighty.As believers we must acknowledge that we are privileged to be partakers of God’s divine grace, as made available in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In response to His divine grace, we must approach Him reverently, in faith and humility, yielding our Spirit, Soul and body unto Him without any reservation. The believer must also live in constant consciousness of the constant presence of the Almighty. This will enable him or her to faithfully live for Him and not soil his or her life with sin.Conclusively, it is not enough to worship but there is also need for the believer to stand in awe of Him.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. To explain the meaning of worship.
2. To identify who to worship.
3. To know how to worship.
4. To understand what is meant by making a joyful noise unto the Lord.
5. To know the hindrances to worship
BIBLE TRUTH:
QUESTION 1) WHAT IS WORSHIP?In Great Illustrated Dictionary, ‘worship’ is defined as the reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity; ardent devotion; adoration.The Christians worship the Almighty God who made the heavens and earth, and everything therein. Through God we live, move and have our being. By God, our redemption was made possible through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son who told us not to fear since He holds the keys of hell and death. Hence with gladness we solicit for God’s divine presence through worship as He is our comforter, defender, provider, healer, etc. Also, God promised that He would be with us always even till the end of the world.In worship, we make a joyful noise unto the Lord with singing, praises and thanksgiving, proclaiming His good and mighty works. As revealed in the “Lord prayer” in Matthew 6:9-10, we hallow God’s name through worship as done in heaven. The angels and the twenty-four elders do not rest day and night in heaven, glorifying, honoring and thanking God, Revelation 4:9-11. Worship is total surrender to God of our all, appreciating and giving Him credit for everything we have or have achieved since wecan do nothing without Him, 2 Chronicles 5:11-14; Psalm 100:1-5.
QUESTION 2) WHO SHOULD WE WORSHIP?
Exodus 20:1-5; Luke 4:6-8
As the Creator of the universe and everything therein, God Almighty tells us in the Holy Bible that we should have no other gods before Him, we should not make any graven image in the likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. “Thou shall not bow down thyself to them nor serve them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God…” Exodus 20:5, God emphasized.While trying to make a mess of the earthly mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, the devil took Him up unto a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. The devil told Him “All these things will I give thee, if thou will fall down and worship me”, Matthew 4:9. The Lord Jesus Christ answered and said unto him, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve”, Matthew 4:10.As offspring of God, it behooves the whole world to worship the Creator rather than the creatures. For He alone is worthy of our thanks, praise and worship.
QUESTION 3) HOW ARE WE TO COME BEFORE GOD IN WORSHIP? Psalm 100:4; Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
The Almighty God, the Creator of everything deserves and is worthy of our reverential worship, adoration and honor for who He is. We need not approach Him as unto a man but reverently, in faith and humility, yielding our totality unto Him. We should enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise for what He has done and what He is yet to do. This should be done with a cheerful disposition and gratefully. For the Bible says in Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name.” This should be the attitude of the believer both in personal worship and congregational worship.It is very important that believers should exercise absolute faith in God’s ability as the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful and ever present God as they come before Him in worship. For the Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”, Hebrews 11:6. It is also very important to approach God humbly in worship because not only is the proud worshipper resisted; such will not be blessed by God.When we come before God either in personal or congregational worship we should exercise self-control not to be rash with our lips or not to be hasty to utter anything; but selectively choose our words and be conscious that we are in His presence, Ecclesiastes 5:2. For God has promised in His word that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be in their midst, Matthew18:20. Looking around, talking to or eyeing of friends, fidgeting, unnecessary side talks should be avoided during worship. We should be conscious of His presence, and reverently express our gratitude, praise and thanks, unto Him.
The Bible says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”, John 4:23-24. True worship demands total surrender or yieldedness. We must yield our spirit, soul and body, and be thankful and sincere unto Him if we are to please Him.
QUESTION 4) WHAT DOES MAKING A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE LORD ENTAIL? PSALM 66:1-5, 81:1-5.
Making a joyful noise unto the Lord involves praising Him with songs with joy in the heart and soul. It also entails rejoicing in God our King with humble reverence and holy awe. In making a joyful noise unto Him, we must speak or sing forth His praises out of the abundance of a heart filled with love, joy and thankfulness. We must praise God in concert, in the solemn assemblies and we must come together before his presence.In making a joyful noise unto the Lord, we must consider it a privilege to be admitted into His presence. It is vital to note that the call to praise God or to make a joyful noise unto Him is not to the Jews alone but to all people, all lands and all the earth. God made it the duty of man to praise Him at creation and it is required of every creature or every living soul to worship Him. We must be hearty, open and public, as those that are not ashamed of their Master, in making a joyful noise to glorify Him.
QUESTION 5) ARE WE ONLY TO BE CONSCIOUS OF GOD’S PRESENCE IN THE CHURCH/FELLOWSHIP?Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5
Some Christians think of the presence of God only in relation to Church/Fellowship and prayer times. It is true that God Manifests Himself in a special way in the gatherings of His people especially when they deliberately seek the face of their God in prayer. It is comforting to note that God has promised that He will be with us always. We need to be constantly conscious of His constant presence. This consciousness will strengthen and encourage us when we face adverse situations. It will also help us to live in the fear of God.
QUESTION 6) HOW DOES A CONSTANT CONSCIOUSNESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE AID OUR LIVING FOR HIM? Psalm 119:11, 139:7-12
When we are constantly conscious of God’s presence, we are inspired to live for Him. We are not likely to soil our lives with sin. We will not want to do anything to disappoint the Holy One who loves us so much that He does not leave us for a moment. This consciousness increases our consecration. It also increases our reverential fear of Him. We do not want to talk or act rashly. Such a consciousness also boosts our faith; and we want to talk to Him because we are sure that He will hear and answer us. We cannot be terrified by adverse situations because He is with us. We cherish Him and love Him intimately because He cares to stay with us all the time, as the faithful shepherd.
QUESTION 7) WHAT ARE THE HINDRANCES TO AWE IN WORSHIP?
Sin is a major hindrance to awe in worship. The believer that indulges in sin cannot worship God freely. Even if he does, his worship is not acceptable unto God. In fact, his worship is an abomination unto God. For the Bible says, “For all that do such things, and all that do un-righteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy GOD”, Deut.25:16. The only thing that can make the worship of such a believer to be acceptable unto God is when he asks for forgiveness and turns away from them.Knowing fully well that worship is the believer’s highest occupation, the devil always contends with it by making some to be critical of what is being done during worship and others’ thoughts to wander away during worship. These make some proportion of the congregation to lose concentration in worship. Believers are therefore encouraged not to allow their thoughts to wander during worship or not to be critical of what is being doing. Gross disobedience to the word of God and lack of proper understanding of who God is can constitute hindrances to awe in worship.Lack of self-control which include looking around, talking to or ‘eyeing’ of friends, fidgeting, unnecessary side talks, etc., can hinder awe in worship. It is important to note that true and sincere worship demands absolute concentration. Hence, believers are encouraged to concentrate during worship.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION:
God made the heavens and the earth and everything therein; and through Him, we live, move and have our being. By God, our redemption was made possible through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who ransomed us with His precious blood. For these reasons, every living soul ought to serve and worship the Almighty God for His goodness, loving kindness and mercy.However, true worship arises from a heart that is totally yielded unto God, which is reflected in total obedience to the will of God Almighty. Therefore, believers must acknowledge that they are privileged to be partakers of God’s divine grace as made available in the Lord Jesus Christ. In response to His divine grace, we must approach Him reverently, in faith and humility, yielding our spirit, soul and body unto Him and be conscious of His presence. This will enable the believer to faithfully live for him and not soil his or her life with sin, and live in awe of Him.
MEMORY VERSE:
HABAKKUK 2:20 “But the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
MON: BE DEDICATED AND LOYAL TO THE LORD.2 Chron. 25:2, Mal. 3:10, Mark 7:6
TUE: SHOWING DEDICATION AND LOYALTY IN OUR PERSONAL AND DEVOTIONAL LIFE.Ezra 7:10, 2 Tim. 2:1
WED: SHOWING DEDICATION AND LOYALTY IN EVANGELISM.Mark 16:15, Jam. 1:27, Heb. 10:25
THUR: SHOWING DEDICATION AND LOYALTY IN OUR MARRIAGE AND HOME.Eph. 5:21-33, 2 Cor. 12:14, 1 Tim. 5:8, Tit. 2:4
FRI: SHOWING DEDICATION AND LOYALTY IN OUR CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES.Rom. 13:1-7, 1 Tim. 2:1-4
SAT: BLESSINGS FOR THE DEDICATED AND LOYAL BELIEVER TO THE LORD.Exo. 23:25, Isa. 56:4-5, Matt. 6:2-3, John 10:28
