TRUE WORSHIP - 5

E – TRUE WORSHIP – 5

As we think about worship giving honor to God, His gracious mercy must ever be remembered.  In the O.T. there were 35 sins that had capital punishment.  For the most part, this punishment was executed immediately.  Disobedient to parents was one.  Adultery was another.  How many would be taken out and stoned today if this was still in effect.  Rom. 6:23   Consequences of sin remain but God in His mercy allows time for repentance and change through Christ.  2 Pet. 3:9; 2 Thess. 2:10…Satan tempts us to put repentance off until a convenient time but he makes sure there is no convenient time.  We never know the day nor hour when the Lord will appear.  Matt. 24:36; Rom. 13:11   That is why it is so important to realize that now is the day of salvation.  2 Cor. 6:2  God is full of mercy, but we cannot take advantage of His mercy.  Eph. 2:4   We need God’s mercy and Paul tells the process as he writes to Titus.  Tit.3:5; We were not always able to have God’s mercy but through Christ, we are now able to receive it.  1 Pet. 2:10   We honor and worship God as we recognize His mercy on us but do not violate it in taking it for granted.

God is worshipped as the Father of Jesus Christ.  We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Matt. 16:16   The Jews wanted to persecute Jesus because He claimed that God was His Father, but it was true.  Jhn. 5:18   As Jesus prayed to God the night before He was crucified, He called upon God as His Father.  Jhn. 17:3-5   More is explained by Jesus in Matt. 11:27.  We cannot worship God without worshiping Him as the Father of Christ.

As the apostles worshipped, they also were constantly mentioned God as the Father of Jesus Christ.  Eph. 1:3,17   In 2 Cor.1:3  Paul recognizes God, the Father of Christ as well as the God of mercies as mentioned above.  Paul glorified God as the Father of the Lord in Rom. 15:6.  Peter worshipped in the same way as he wrote in 1 Pet. 1:3.  John follows suit in 2 Jhn. 3.  It is important for us to remember that Christ is the way to God.  Jhn.14:6  

The Holy Spirit is never spoken of as an object of worship but He is the energizing force of worship as we worship in spirit and in Truth.  Rom.8:14-16;  Gal.4:6   There is a chorus the goes like this:  “Father, I adore you and I lay my life before you.  How I love you.”  The 2^nd verse if the same but changes “Father” to “Jesus.”  The 3^rd verse supplies the word, “Spirit.”  How true this must be in true worship. 

The Spirit is called the “Spirit of God” in many Scriptures.  A few are:  Matt. 3:16; Rom.8:14;  Eph. 4:30   The Spirit is also called the “Spirit of Christ.”  Rom.8:9;  

1 Pet:1:11 

As we think of honoring God in our worship, we honor Him as the Father of Christ, our Savior, and we honor the Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son.  A quote from MacArthur explains it well.  We come “to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.”

It has already been mentioned that worship is a way of life.  It is both personal and also corporate or together.  Personally, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.  1 Cor.6:19  Since we worship in the spirit and the Spirit helps us to worship, we can worship at any place and at any time for we take our “temples” or our bodies with us.  We do not have to go to a certain building, a prayer room, or a certain geographical location to worship.  We can be thankful for that fact providing we don’t forget how important our personal worship is.  It is our lifeblood spiritually. 

Corporate worship or worship together cannot be stressed too much.  This is neglected.  It is easier to say that I’ll just stay in my comfort zone and read my Bible and pray and then I don’t have to dress and get out.  We don’t want to put that much effort into it.  The following story shows the importance of worshiping together.

A preacher was visiting a person that missed services often.  This person could not understand what difference it made in his life or that of anyone else.  The preacher went over to the fireplace and began moving the coals around until not one was touching another.  It wasn’t long until all the blazing coals died out.  Then the preacher turned to the person and said, “My friend, that is what is happening in your life.  As soon as you isolate yourself, the fire goes out.” 

We stimulate one another to love and good works and honor God in our worship together. We could not stimulate one another if we are not together in love.  Heb.10:25   The first church was “together.”  We are family and are called a household of God.  Eph. 2:19   Together we are also called a building—a holy temple.  Eph.2:21   Peter calls the church a spiritual house.  1 Pet. 2:5   God is in our midst when we meet together.  2 Cor. 6:16   We must take care of the temple of God which together we are.  We are told not to defile it for it is holy.  1 Cor. 3:9;  1 Cor. 3:16,17

We can defile the church in a number of ways.  Attitudes that are not in keeping with God’s Holy Word become a reproach on His name.  Gal. 5:15,16   “Togetherness” will not tolerate division.  1 Cor. 12:25   Pride is not in keeping with the body of Christ who was humble even as the Son of God for He left heaven to become a man.  1 Cor. 4:7   Our lives, individually, show the world what the body of Christ is corporately as we live lives in faith to serve and love one another.  1 Jhn. 3:23,24   In these ways, we can worship God with clean hands and a pure heart in spirit and in Truth.