Worship

Biblical Definition

¡  “Worship is breaking in to the Shekinah of God or, better yet, being invaded by the Shekinah of God.” Richard Foster

¡  Worship is to give homage, honor, reverence, respect, adoration, praise, or glory to a superior being.

¡  The common New Testament word for worship is proskuneo, which means “to kiss toward, to kiss the hand, to bow down, to prostrate oneself.”

Biblical Images of Worship

¡  Exodus 30:34-38: Incense : Worship is to be a unique, separated, sanctified, holy act that arises out of a person’s heart to the senses of God.

¡  John 12:1-3 : Mary’s ointment : That’s the essence of worship. It’s self-humiliating and profuse in its giving.

God’s desire

¡  John 4:19-24

¡  God is seeking worshippers

¡  Worship in both Spirit and Truth

Worship in Spirit

¡  We are to worship from the spirit; i.e. from the inside out. Romans 1:9; Psalm 103:1; Psalm 51:15-17

 The Method

¡  Possession of the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 2:11b; Philippians 3:3

¡  Undivided attention on God

• Nature – Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20
• Scripture – 2 Timothy 3:16
• Own experience – Romans 12:1

¡  An undivided heart: Psalm 86:11; Psalm 57:7-11

¡  An open and repentant spirit: Psalm 139:23-24

Worship in Truth

¡  Based on the Word of God: John 17:17; Psalm 119:142 and 160

¡  Based on our understanding of God: Psalm 47:7

¡  Based on sound Biblical teaching and sound doctrine: Acts 2:42, 46-47

¡  Based on meditation on Scripture: Colossians 3:16-17

¡  Regardless of our own situation or feelings, worship proclaims the truth about God: Job 1:21; Habakkuk 3:17-18.

The nature of true worship

“So what is the nature of worship? It’s offering God worship from the depths of our inner being in praise, prayer, song, giving, and living – but always based on His revealed truth. It’s difficult to keep the church conformed to that because on one hand it tends to get cold and lifeless, but on the other hand it gets emotional, fanatical, and feeling-oriented. The balance is in the middle because God is to be worshiped in spirit and in truth.”                   –              John MacArthur

A Biblical Model for Worship

1. Preparation

¡  We must motivate and prepare ourselves for worship through:

• Saving energy for worship
• Prayer for self, worship team & preacher (1 Cor. 2:4)
• Reflecting on God and the Cross

2. Thanksgiving

¡  Psalm 100:4 “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart!”

¡  As you enter worship / wait for worship to being, thank God for His goodness to you.

¡  This causes us to focus – 2 Cor. 10:5

¡  Ephesians 5:18-20 – Thankfulness is a manifestation of being full of the Spirit.

¡  Thanksgiving is a choice! – Hebrews 13:15

3. Praise

¡  Webster’s Dictionary: “The act of glorifying and extolling God”.

¡  Praise declares the virtues of God.

¡  True Praise in this sense is inevitably vocal!

¡  Words for praise

¡  “Halal” = “to be boastful, to be excited, to enjoy”;

¡  “Yadah” = “to acknowledge in public” (e.g. Psalm 138:1); “to throw out the hand” (e.g. 2 Chronicles 20:19-21); “to raise our hands in praise” (Psalm 63:4)

¡  “Barak” = “to bless” (e.g. Psalm 103:1-2)

¡  “Zamar” = “to make music in praise of God” (Psalm 92:1)

¡  “Shabach” = “to address in a loud tone” (e.g. Ps 117:1; 63:3-4)

¡  “Tehillah” = “Singing our halals” (e.g. Psalm 22:3)

¡  “Ruwa” = “make a joyful noise” (Psalm 95:1; 100:1)

¡  Note: All of these words for praise are words of sound. Praise is always accompanied by sound!

4. Offering

¡  The offering happened in the Courts of the Temple – 2 Kings 12:9-10; Mark 12:41

¡  Offering is a thankful response to God’s goodness which we have just acknowledged.

5. Confession

¡  Examine ourselves (1 Cor. 11:31; Exodus 38:8)

¡  In the light of God’s Word (Ps. 119:9-11; John 15:3; Eph. 5:26)

¡  We then confess our sins to God and pray forgiveness(1 John 1:9)

¡  Christ bore the punishment for our sins (2 Cor. 5:21; Hebrews 9:26-28)

¡  Having confessed we thus accept God’s forgiveness by faith in the blood of Jesus.

6. Adoration

¡  The expression of our adoration and our emotions of love to God.

¡  Symbolised by the incense.

¡  Psalm 18:1; 116:1

¡  John 12:1-3

¡  Take time during corporate prayer to express your true feelings towards the Lord!

7. Intimacy

¡  Through faith in Christ we enter beyond the point of just thanking, praising, and confessing. (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12)

¡  As God’s people we are invited to enjoy the presence of the Lord – Psalm 36:7-9

¡  In His presence we bask in the light of His Word – Philippians 2:15-16; Psalm 119:105

¡  We must make every effort to focus on the Word being preached!

8. Holy of holies

¡  We are now moving beyond the place of adoration and intimacy to the place of receiving MERCY and GRACE (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19-22)

¡   Worship culminates in us throwing ourselves at God’s mercy for our needs to be met.

¡  “Mercy” = “racham, chesed and chanan” which mean “compassion, kindness and generosity”

9. Leaving the Presence

¡  Psalm 48:9 – Meditate immediately on what God has done in us AND THANK HIM.

¡  1 Chronicles 16:1-3 – There is a place for fellowshipping with the family of the Lord;

¡  1 Chronicles 16: 43 – It is vital to return home and to take the blessing to your household;

¡  Psalm 119:15-16, 97 – We should meditate on the Word we have received;

¡  Matthew 7:24-27 – We should immediately begin to strive to put it into practice;

¡  Luke 2:41-50 (n.b. verse 46) – Important to discuss the Word of God together! See also Acts 2:42