Worship: Living in Awe of God

Worship: Living in Awe of God
Hebrews 10:21-22

INTRODUCTION:
When Rachel and I lived in Romania, our mission team decided that we would take 3-4 years to mail an advertisement for Bible study into all 100,000 homes in that city of 350,000 people. On one occasion, we mailed these flyers into a neighborhood of Iasi where college students live. There was a security guard named Constantin who picked up one of those flyers and mailed it in to us. He lived in a village about 15 miles north of Iasi called Podu Iloaiei.

For five or six weeks in a row, I traveled by train up to Podu Illoaiei to study with Mr. Constantin. He was a very pleasant man to visit with. He is married and has at least one daughter. His wife and daughter would not sit in our Bible study; I studied with him through the Jule Miller Bible study series. But, his daughter, in particular would come into the living room when we finished with our study and she would ask me questions. She was in her early 20s at the time, if my memory is correct.

One question she asked me was whether we in the churches of Christ used icons in our worship and if not, why not. It was very typical of people from the Orthodox faith to ask that question of all non-Orthodox people. As I discussed with her, I pointed out that the Bible teaches that we have one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5). And where the Bible speaks, we are obligated to remain silent. She pushed back, as you could imagine, but then I used this illustration that many of you will recognize.

I asked her if we could add sarmale (a Romanian dish of stuffed grape leaves) and Coca-Cola to the Lord’s Supper. She responded with an empatic “no.” I asked her why not. She said because the juice (she said “wine”) and the bread (the Orthodox church actually does not use unleavened bread) were what Jesus used and that’s what He taught us to use.

Now, even though her Bible knowledge was rather shallow, she knew enough to correctly understand that If Jesus commanded something, then anything else is without His authority.

How would you feel if we added Hawaiian punch or some red soft drink, or Coca-Cola, along with bread from Freshies bakery to our Lord’s Supper? Of course, Jesus commanded bread and fruit of the vine; we won’t take away from that. We’ll eat and drink those too. We’ll just add some things that will make our Lord’s Supper more enjoyable and more like the 21st century. After all, Jesus did not say “not to…”

What is worship, anyway? Next year, I anticipate having a whole series of sermons / studies on worship. But, I decided to go ahead and do a lesson on the topic today; and next year I will not do this specific sermon.

When Jesus was tempted to worship Satan, Jesus responded with words from Deuteronomy 6:13: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matt. 4:10). Jesus also taught in John 4:24 the proper manner in which to worship God: “in spirit and in truth,” which is Jesus’ parallel to Joshua’s words in Joshua 24:14: “in sincerity and truth.” As we studied the first Sunday of this month from Hebrews 1, Jesus Himself is worthy of our worship.

WHAT IT MEANS TO “WORSHIP”
The apostle Paul preached to the Greeks in Athens: “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:24–25).

The English word “worship” is derived from two parts: “worth” from (worthy) and “ship” which means “condition or quality.” So worship is attributing “worth” to someone or something, that is ultimate worth. To worship God means that He is worthy to receive our ultimate praise, loyalty, love, and trust.

The NT, of course, was written in Greek and the most prominent word translated “worship” in Greek is proskuneo. It literally means “to kiss the hand toward.” Its derived meaning is to “prostrate oneself.” It was a word used when people bowed down before someone who was more important or had a higher rank than himself. There are passages in the life of Jesus were the word is used but the meaning is ambiguous. We do not know if the person is actually worship Jesus as God or if the person was simply respecting Jesus as a person of higher importance than them.

But, of course, the term came to refer to one bowing before God Himself recognizing that He is the “King of kings, the Lord of lords,” the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Some can worship a fellow human being as Cornelius did to Peter (Acts 10:25) and of course Cornelius was corrected. One might worship false gods (Acts 7:43) or even the devil, as he tried to get Jesus to do (Matt. 4:9). One might worship angels (Rev. 22:8), and of course, John was corrected. Or, one can worship the one and only true and living God.

There is another word used for worship which gives us the English word “liturgy”: leitourgia. “Liturgy” refers to the organization of a public worship service. The emphasis of this Greek word is the idea of “service.” That’s why it can refer to serving the public or serving God in religious terms. The common use of this word in the NT has reference to the acts of worship or “service of worship” in the temple of the OT.

A similar word used for worship, which also emphasizes the nature of worship as acts of service, is latreuo. This is the word used by Jesus in Matthew 4:10 when He tells Satan that we must worship God alone and “serve” Him alone (Matt. 4:10). Paul used this word to describe his service to God in Romans 1:9. In fact, Paul often described his service to God in terms of sacrifice. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote in Romans 12:1-2 that we should offer our bodies as a “living sacrifice,” which is our “reasonable act of service.” He is certainly not saying that “all of life is worship.” That concept is so strange I am surprised that anyone seriously repeats that statement. I can think of lots of things I do in my life that in no real way can be considered worship to God. But, as Paul says here, our entire life should be offered as a sacrifice to God, which is reasonable.

One more word used and translated worship is sebomai and this word simply means to “show respect” or reverence to someone. Its related noun is eusebeia which refers to religion, a godly attitude, and devotion to God. It could refer to one’s attitude and response to one’s parents, so it can be used in a non-worship context. But in the context of worship, it refers to engaging in certain acts of devotion toward God with a godly attitude.

THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF WORSHIP:
Again, Jesus told the woman at the well: “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

Our worship of God reflects the nature of God. If God were a naturalistic God, man would worship Him through some type of naturalistic rites. If God were a philosophical principle, it could be worshipped through meditation. But because of Who God is, then our worship has to reflect His nature and what He has required of us:

1) God is spirit. Thus our worship is spiritual behaviors. Worship is not an appeal to the flesh nor does it involve things of the flesh as Paul had said in Acts 17. Worship is our spirits communing with God’s Spirit with sincerity and genuineness, based on what the Truth reveals.

2) God is light. God’s worship should draw us out of our world of darkness and teach us and instruct us in righteousness, in contrast to sin. That’s why our singing must teach and encourage one another. We need to reminded that we as Christians live and walk in the light.

3) God is love. Our worship should challenge us to take our thoughts off of ourselves and focus on God and on our service to our fellowman, to express to others the same love that God has expressed to us.

4) God is holy. Our lives are to reflect the holiness and righteousness of our God. But our worship should also reflect the holiness and righteousness of God. Worship should not look like a concert that you go to on Friday night to appeal to the emotions and the flesh. Worship is holy; it is different. It is stepping into the awesome presence of our holy God.

5) God is present. Listen to the words of the Hebrew writer: “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28-29). In that context, the Hebrew writer had talked about God appearing to Israel at Mount Sinai in the middle of a mountain that was quaking and with lightning and thunder. It is the God who appeared in that fearful revelation at Mount Sinai that we worship today. For that reason, we need to approach God in worship with the understanding that He is present with us and He is still a consuming fire.

6) God is alive. We do not worship God as the Jews did, with dead animals. We worship God today through the living and in-dwelling Son of God. To worship God as the living God is to be reminded every time we worship that we have God’s presence with us all the time.

ACTS OF WORSHIP FOR THE NEW COVENANT:
Without going into further detail, the NT reveals to us that our God, who is sprit, light, love, holy, present, and alive, is approached through five acts of devotion:

1) Prayer. As we pointed out earlier, our prayers are not authorized to be addressed to God through anyone except Jesus Christ.

2) Singing. As we pointed out, our song service is to teach and instruct one another in the doctrines of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

3) Lord’s Supper. This act of religious devotion is uniquely attached to the Lord’s Day and through it, we are reminded weekly of the love of God and His power, His promises, and His provisions.

4) Giving. It is through our giving that we truly show that we love God supremely and that our heart is in His mission for the church of His Son. Giving shows our love and our trust in God’s provisions.

5) Bible study. When we come together to help one another understand God’s message better and then we challenge one another to live according to His teachings, then we show that God is worthy to be obeyed to the ultimate extent.

Take home message: Put your spirit into your every act of worship, reflecting your love for your Savior, letting your light shine and showing the presence of God in your life.