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Worship can be defined simply as an ardent devotion or reverential love and allegiance accorded a deity or a sacred object.\u00a0 The Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and the earth and all that dwell therein, Psalm 24:1, is the only One that deserves our worship.\u00a0 He is the only one that we should worship.\u00a0 \u201cThou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve\u201d, Matthew 4:10. Therefore, it is only God, the Creator of all, that qualifies to receive our worship.\u00a0 As a matter of fact the Scriptures make us to understand this as recorded in Revelation 4:11, \u201cthou 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\u201d.\u00a0 It follows from this therefore, that the reason for our being is to offer acceptable worship to God our maker.\u00a0 \u201cO come let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker\u201d, Psalm 95:6.\u00a0 Worship is a reasonable service we must continually offer to God.\u00a0 It must be rendered in such a manner that is acceptable to God for it to be a true worship.\u00a0 It must be offered in spirit and in truth; sincerely from our hearts, without hypocrisy but in total allegiance to God.<\/p>\n
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Worship is an in-depth acknowledgement of the supremacy of God as the King of kings and Lord of lords.\u00a0 It involves the submission of the totality of our spirit, soul and body to the Almighty God. \u00a0The 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.\u00a0 He alone deserves our reverence, honor, and glory at all times.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 We must learn to approach God in absolute humility during worship.<\/p>\n
Worship has to do with bowing down, prostrating in humility to God to acknowledge His supremacy, sovereignty and might.\u00a0 It also involves lifting up holy hands to God in surrender to His Lordship and Rulership over our lives.\u00a0 It is a means of honoring God for who He is and what He has done in our lives.\u00a0 Psalm 141:2 says, \u201cLet my prayer be sent forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice\u201d.\u00a0 It is worship that ushers us into the presence of God in the place of prayer.\u00a0 No wonder Psalm 95:6 has this recorded, \u201cO come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Thus worship is a vital aspect of our prayer.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth His handiwork\u201d, Psalm 19:1.\u00a0 First and foremost we should worship God because He is God.\u00a0 When we consider God\u2019s manifold works, they all point to the fact that He is the Almighty and therefore deserves all adoration.\u00a0 He deserves our worship because of His creation, our salvation, provision, protection, deliverance and His faithfulness to us at all times.\u00a0 In fact, there are so many things around us that constantly remind us that God deserves our worship.<\/p>\n
There are so many other reasons why we should worship God.\u00a0 It is a command form God.\u00a0 \u201cFor thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God\u201d, Exodus 34:14.\u00a0 Secondly we should worship God because He created us for His pleasure, and He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power.\u00a0 In addition, we are enjoined in Romans 12:1 as follows: \u201cI 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\u201d.\u00a0 This implies that worship is a reasonable service we must render unto God.\u00a0 Therefore, it is compulsory that every believer must make out quality time for worship considering God\u2019s manifold mercies He has bestowed upon us and for the fact that He has make us partakers of His divine nature.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGod is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth\u201d, John 4:24.\u00a0 It is not just enough to offer worship to\u00a0 God, but it must be done in an acceptable manner.\u00a0 Therefore, we must worship Him acceptably.\u00a0 We must come to Him with a true and sincere heart void of deceit and hypocrisy.\u00a0 In our worship, we\u00a0 must present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto\u00a0 God.\u00a0\u00a0 We must not be conformed to this world; but be transformed by renewing our minds through constant study of the word of God. \u00a0We now that God is a Spirit and therefore we can render an acceptable worship to Him only in spirit an in truth.\u00a0 We must serve and worship God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Examples are tithes and offerings.\u00a0 We must worship God in the Beauty of holiness.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 In summary, whatever we do, it must be done heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men.<\/p>\n
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God desires and takes pleasure in our worship.\u00a0 However, it is only when it is offered acceptably before Him that He will take delight in it.\u00a0 There are many hindrances to acceptable worship.\u00a0 Some of these hindrances may be as result of hypocrisy.\u00a0 Any worship offered in hypocrisy can never be accepted by God.\u00a0 Our motives are very vital and when they are not right, then whatever is done does not bring any delight to God.\u00a0\u00a0 Disobedience is another hindrance to acceptable worship.\u00a0 God demands our total obedience.\u00a0 We are instructed that to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams, 1 Samuel 15:22.\u00a0 Anything we offer God in disobedience is not only unacceptable but our persons are also not acceptable.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The Psalmist realized this when he stated in Psalm 66:18, \u201cIf I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me\u201d.\u00a0 We must lay aside anything that may constitute a hindrance to our worship from being acceptable.\u00a0 We must therefore constantly live lives that are pleasing to God.<\/p>\n
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Many benefits accrue to us when we worship God in spirit and in truth.\u00a0 One important feature of true worship is the inner peace we enjoy as we follow Him.\u00a0 In Isaiah 26:3-4 the Scripture says, \u201cthou 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\u201d.\u00a0 In addition to the perfect peace, we also receive everlasting strength from our Father, who is the Almighty, all powerful.\u00a0 We are so empowered that we can boldly exclaim as in Philippians 4:13: \u201cI can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me\u201d.\u00a0 We exchange our weakness for His strength as we offer Him true worship, 2 Corinthians 12:9.<\/p>\n
We also receive divine direction and guidance from God as we yield all to Him in the place of worship.\u00a0 \u201cTrust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.\u00a0 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths\u201d.\u00a0 We experience joy unspeakable in our lives in the presence of God as we worship Him in spirit and in truth.\u00a0 \u201cFor the joy of the LORD\u00a0 is your strength\u201d, Nehemiah 8:10.\u00a0 God\u2019s blessing will follow, as stated in Psalm 5:12; \u201cFor thou LORD wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield\u201d.\u00a0 God will be delighted in us and beautify us, as we worship Him in spirit and in truth.\u00a0 \u201cFor the LORD taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation\u201d, Psalm 149:4.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
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Our worship is a very important part of our reasonable service to our heavenly Father and God.\u00a0 This calls for total surrender of our whole being; spirit, soul and body in humble adoration while acknowledging His Lordship over our lives.\u00a0 We must give our total allegiance to God.\u00a0 He delights in our worship when it is offered with a pure and sincere heart.\u00a0 God deserves our worship because of His greatness, grace, mercies, and most importantly for our salvation and redemption.\u00a0 At the place of worship, we receive strength from God and are refreshed as the anointing of God is released for greater in-filling.\u00a0 Worship involves both our attitude and action which includes loving service to God who is worthy to receive all glory, honor and power.<\/p>\n
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John 4:24 \u2013 \u201cGod is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Intimacy with God Central thought: It is only those who worship God in Spirit and in truth that are true worshippers. Text: Romans Leviticus 6:8-13:\u00a0 Romans 12:1-2; John 4:23-24 Worship can be defined simply as an ardent devotion or reverential love and allegiance accorded a deity or a sacred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions\/558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}