The Importance of Worship to the Christian

What does the word worship mean?

· Excellence of character and dignity
· Worthiness.
· A title of honor, used in addresses to certain magistrates and other of respectable character.
· Chiefly and eminently, the act of paying divine honor
· Exercises adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving.


The Greek word for worship is proskuneo (Pros-koo-neh-o) to prostrate oneself (reverence and adoration). It also means to fawn or crouch. The Bible says “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship (to prostrate oneself, reverence and adoration) Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:20-24

Who does our worship belong too?

The world says:
We are the world
We are the life
We are to be worshipped
We are all gods
We deserve to be praised and adorned

What does the Bible say about this worship?

· Acts 14:15 “and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,”
· Acts 10:26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man."
· Isa 42:8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
The disciples knew this form of worship was wrong and false and unpleasing to God. We MUST worship the true living GOD.
Exo 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me.”
John 5:23 “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him”
1Cor 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Rev 4:10- 11 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

Real worship acknowledges God as extremely valuable and precious. Worship means ascribing all glory to Him because He is:

1. Perfectly holy
2. All- powerful
3. All- knowing
4. Omnipresent which flows A) Goodness
B) Mercy
C) Truth
D) Wisdom
E) Power
F) Salvation

Worship:
Is NOT optional
Is NOT a suggestion
Is NOT a take it or leave it suggestion
Is NOT about what we can get out of it
Is NOT about making myself feel better

To be perfectly blunt Worship has absolutely nothing to do with us. Worship is and always will be all for the One who gives us life and air to breath, so that we can glorify the Lord of our salvation to the world. Something to ponder for the Christian if our worship does not come from the heart then it’s vain and empty, it’s not authentic worship. Which means worthless and unpleasing to God.
TURN WITH ME TO PSALMS 95

(Ps 95:1-11) Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' "

This is what it means to worship Him. It’s not the mountain or a thing or a ritual, or to make you feel good about yourself. Here are 7 Biblical truths to help you in your Christian walk when it comes to the importance of worship.

1. Worship is personal (v2)

2. Worship requires participation (v2)

3. Worship is practical (v2)

4. Worship’s point of meeting is focusing on God (V3)

5. Worship’s purpose is to bring glory to God (v6-v7)

6. Worship is primarily a matter of the heart (v8)

7. Worship is a humble desire of the spirit (v9)

John Piper said “All of history is moving toward one great goal, the white-hot worship of God and his Son among all the peoples of the earth. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.... When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever” So worship Him with a genuine heart of adoration and praise for His sovereign goodness. How through a living sacrifice “ Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name”. Heb 13:15

To Him Be the Glory