Worship

True Worship

John 4:21-23"Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God's way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

23-24"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

I have seen people worship God in many different ways. Recently, I asked myself what the bible says about worship. Most of us know the very well known scripture that says we are to worship in spirit and in truth, but can you describe that to me, define it… That is why I have done this study. The verse above is that very scripture, we worship in spirit and in truth, but it is the message translation. It clearly demonstrates what it means. Your worship- must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth.

Merely clapping your hands, and singing a song does not constitute true worship. I would categorize that as praise, if you fully engaged during that time. Merely clapping your hands and singing, I found, ended up being more like lip service, going through the motions, and playing church.

Isaiah 29:13 (NKJV) Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.”

Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

When I looked up worship, it was different then praise …I have always put them together- not realizing they were very separate entities.

Worship is a verb (an action word). It means to bow down, to depress, to lower, and to prostrate oneself. It occurs 108 times in the King James Version. In many of the verses-it tells you what not to worship, and in Ex 34:14 it gives the commandment to worship God alone. What I really want to focus on is how the people worshipped God. What was there “action,” the verb…

Genesis 24:26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshiped the LORD.

Genesis 24:52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

 Joshua 5:14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?

Nehemiah 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Psalm 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

Hebrews 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Revelation 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God

1.      Bowed their head

2.      Bowed on the ground, on their face

3.      Lifted their hands and bowed their heads

4.      Kneeled

5.      When they were old, they leaned upon their cane.

…They worshipped after or before they gave an offering…

2 Chronicles 29:29 And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped.

 1 Chronicles 16:29

Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!

 Matthew 2:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

…they did it during song service

2 Chronicles 29:28 And all the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. (During a song service)

 Praise is also very important; it is mentioned 248 times in the King James Version. It also is a verb an action word). It means to throw, shoot, cast, to give thanks, laud, and to confess.

I wanted to define both words so you can see that they truly are different things. You would not call running- walking or walking- running. They are two different verbs and someone might get confused if you use them interchangeably.

Lets worship in truth and spirit...engage yourself, it will transform your walk.

John 4:23-24"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."