The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise,
exalt, and please God. Our worship must show our
adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing
us with the way to escape the bondage of sin, so we can
have the salvation He so much wants to give us.
The nature of the worship God demands is the prostration
of our souls before Him in humble and contrite
submission. James 4:6, 10 tells us,
"God resists the proud, but gives
grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up".
Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action.
Jesus says in John 4:23-24, "But the
hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will
worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the
Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is
Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and in truth." It doesn’t say we can
worship God anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in
spirit and in truth". The word "must" makes it
absolute. There is no other way we can worship God
and be acceptable to Him. The word "must",
according to Webster, expresses "an obligation, a
requirement, a necessity, a certainty, and something
that must be done". When "must" is used it means
that it is not optional. Here the word "must" is
expressing that in spirit and in truth is the only way
to acceptably worship God.
God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as
those who "worship Him in spirit and in truth".
Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done
from the heart. Worshipping God in truth means
that it must be done according as God has specified in
the Bible. Worshipping God in spirit and in truth
is a serious matter which must not be taken lightly.
If we have any regard for our own souls, we will want to
make sure we are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
Since God is the object of our worship, He and He alone
has the right to determine how we are to worship Him.
We read in Jeremiah 10:23, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is
not in man who walks to direct his own steps."
We are not granted the option of directing our own ways
in religion. God is the One who we look to for
guidance and direction in our lives.
Our very best in worship is due God and is prescribed by
Him in the Bible. The worship God has prescribed
is the only way we can be pleasing to Him in this life
and finally attain everlasting life with Him in
eternity. The Christian’s worship is of the
greatest importance.
Worship is a time when we pay deep, sincere, awesome
respect, love, and fear to the one who created us.
Acts 17:24-25 says, "God who made
the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of
heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with
hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives
life, breath, and all things."
God is the one who holds our eternal destiny in His
hands. Philippians 2:12 tells us to,
"work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling." Our salvation is a
very serious matter and will not happen by accident.
We must work it out "with fear and trembling". Our
salvation depends on whether our worship is pleasing to
God or not. On the Day of Judgment it will be too
late to make any corrections.
Worship should cause us to reflect on the majesty and
graciousness of God and Christ, contrasted to our own
unworthiness. God does not have to have our
worship, but we must worship Him to please Him.
Our singing, praying, studying His word, giving, and
communion are designed by God to bring us closer to Him
and to cause us to think more like He thinks, thus
becoming more like Him. James 4:8 tells us to,
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
Our worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is
also for our own edification and strength. Worship
helps us develop a God-like and Christ-like character.
We become like unto those we admire and worship.
When we worship God we tend to value what God values and
gradually take on the characteristics and qualities of
God, but never to His level. As Philippians 2:5
says, "Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ." How do we take on the
mind of Christ? In Romans 12:2 we read,
"And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
We renew our mind as we study and meditate on God’s word
and worship Him.
When we worship God we develop such traits as
forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity,
kindness, and love. All of this is preparing us
for eternal life in heaven with God and Christ. As
we are told in Colossians 3:2 to,
"Set your mind on things above, and not on things on the
earth."
Questions
Lesson 1
The Purpose Of Our
Worship Of God (click on the button of the answer of your choice)
1) (James 4:6,
10) God resists the
Humble.
Obedient.
Proud.
2)
God does not want us to be
humble.
3) (John
4:23-24) How is God to be worshipped?
Any way we want to as long as we are sincere.
God must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.
The way the majority of people worship Him.
4) God will accept our worship even
though it is not in spirit
and in truth if we are
sincere.
5)
(Jeremiah 10:23) Who is to direct our ways in religion?
God.
What the majority believes.
Our preacher.
6)
Only God has the right to
determine how we are to worship
Him.
7) (Acts
17:24-25) Who should we worship?
Nature, since we evolved from nature.
God who gave us life and breath and made all things.
Mankind, since man has become so great.
8)Since we evolved by accident
there is no God to worship.
9) (Philippians
2:12) How are we to work out our own salvation?
With fear and trembling.
Any way we want to.
Let the church do it for me.
10)God will determine our eternal
destiny.
11) (James 4:8)
If we draw near to God.
He will not draw near to us.
He will move away from us.
He will draw near to us.
12)
God wants us to draw near to Him.
13)
(Philippians 2:5) Whose mind should we try to imitate?
The mind of some famous person such as the president
of our country.
The mind of Christ.
We should develop our own mind the way we want.
14)We should not try to
imitate the mind of Christ.
15) (Romans
12:2) How do we not become conformed to this world?
By the renewing of our mind as we study and meditate
on
God’s word.
By being a rebel.
There is no way to keep from being conformed to this
world.
16)We should be conformed to this
world.
17) (Colossians
3:2) What should we set our minds on?