SERMON - WORSHIP GOD ONLY (part 1)

Worship

God

Only

 

Part 1

 

 

I recently received a copy of a letter that was written by a Coach asking about Worship in church. What struck me was his recitation of the many church services he had attended but never quite felt that true worship of God was being set forth.

 

Like this Coach I have been to church services wherein the Pastor greeted everyone, lead in a hymn of praise, had everyone meet one another, delivered a sermon and that was that. Everyone was walking around, both before and after the service, voicing, “God Bless you,” and not much else other than small talk.

 

Where is the worship?

 

In a series of sermons I will tell you what God directs me to say and to reveal. I will not try to tell you any of my personal imaginations and will say only that which God, through the Holy Spirit, places in my mind to be edified.

 

First, to properly define worship I will say this:

 

Worship – Noun – Reverence paid to a Divine Being. A form of religious practice.

 

As a transitive verb – To honor, as a Divine Being. To regard with extravagant respect or devotion. An expression of devout love.

 

Worship is characterized by prayers and hymns. ‘Responsible prayers,’ are the prayers sung by the, ‘prayer leader,’ with responses made by the congregation, mostly sung in return.

 

As Christians we must worship in spirit and in truth.

 

John 4:21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."  

 

The apostles of Jesus were the first Christians and not only followed Jesus Christ, but worshiped in a manner that was pleasing to God. We must do as those men and others that followed that were true Christians and not follow apostate teachings.

 

In order to truly worship God we must obey all of His Commandments as set forth in God’s Word, the Christian Bible. Any failure to do as He Commands is sinful and He will not accept the worship of those that are in sin.

 

Here in the United States of America there are an excess of 600 denominational and nondenominational claiming to be Christian. Most have established man-made doctrines and laws that are not in God’s Word. Allow me to make this known; any that are contrary to God’s Word must be stopped! God alone dictates how He is to be worshiped and that is set forth in the Bible.

 

Everything we do in a church setting we must pray and give from our hearts. Every sermon we listen to must be in accordance to God’s Word. We must also realize that hearing a sermon does not qualify as worship. True worship must glorify, honor, exalt, praise and be pleasing to God for it is He and He alone that has the right to determine how we are to worship Him.

 

Most do not follow these basic principles!

 

Worship must be performed with a humble heart and with contrite submission to God.

 

James 4: ⁶But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
   "God opposes the proud       but gives grace to the humble."

 

And

 

James 4: 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

 

Regardless of what any others might say, there is no ‘optional way’ to worship God, there is ONLY His way!

 

Jeremiah 10:  ²³ I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own;
       it is not for man to direct his steps.

 

When we prepare to worship we must be aware that God expects us to pay a deep, sincere, awesome respect filled with fear and absolute love for He who created us.

 

Acts 17:  ²⁴"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

 

Our very salvation depends upon Him and it is not by accident that we exist. It is with fear that we must worship and through righteous fear and trembling will we attain our place with Him for all eternity.

 

Philippians 2: ¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 

 

Our worship should cause us to reflect on the majesty and graciousness of God. We, if true to our desire to join Him in Paradise are to become more like Him. As we prepare to worship we must set aside all worldly thoughts and allow Him to be our strength and take on the mind of Christ.

 

Philippians 2: ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 

 

As we worship we must develop such traits as forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity, kindness and love. All of these traits are to prepare us for eternal life with Him.

 

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

 

In our learning of the Word of God we must be ever aware that:

 

God resists the proud; God wants us to be humble before Him; God wants us to worship Him in spirit and truth, He will not accept any worship that is not in spirit and truth, He alone is to direct our way in religion, He alone has the right to determine how we are to worship Him, He alone is to be worshiped as He alone gave us life and breath; we did not evolve by any accident, We are to come before Him in a fearful and trembling manner as it is He who will determine our eternal destiny.

 

Further, we must not conform to the ways of this world; we must set our minds on things that await us in heaven and not those here on earth.

 

We must not allow ourselves to be directed by anyone, me and any other Pastors included, as only God has the right to determine how we are to worship Him and He has set this knowledge before us in the Bible.

 

(Closing prayer)  

 

 Father in Heaven, Almighty God, Lord, we come to you asking that You receive our praise and our worship in the manner we wish to convey. We are Your children and ask that You allow us to love You in our hearts and minds. We humbly beseech You to forgive our transgressions and see us as worthy of Your presence.

 

Lord, we are weak and You are strong. Forgive our weakness and know that You are our strength and our reason for living. It is You that will decide our eternal life and we ask that we be allowed to walk in the path of life in a manner that is pleasing to You.

 

Just as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, called You, Abba, Father, we do as well. Help us to lead more Christian lives and to repent from our sins and to You.  It is our desire to live in accordance with Your dictates and laws.

 

We ask that You enlighten the ways of our elected officials, that You protect our Military, our judges, our police officers and any charged with keeping our nations safe from those who would do us hard. Be with Your children throughout the world and see them home to You.

 

We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever,

 

Amen, amen and amen.  

--

Pastor Lee S Gliddon Jr
God's Word Christian Ministry
Conservative Patriot http://conpats.blogspot.com