What True Worship is. Part [5] 04/26/2024 (Morning thought)

Matthew 15:8 This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Having a great choir is good, and having pipe organs or your favorite Hammond B3, could add a whole lot to a worship service, and congregants could sing the praises of God until the roof is blown off, and yet, if there is no obedience, coupled together with praise, the Scriptures say it amounts to nothing. Again, prayer for us, as Christians is a must, and we do encourage everyone, both believers and persons who have not yet believed, to pray as never before.

But prayer without obedience, or without a person intending to obey God, amounts to minus zero, for as was stated before, obedience to God is the basis of all true worship. In fact, there are times when one might be praying long and hard about some issue or problem, and for some unknown reason the answer just seems to be evasive, or not forth coming.

The problem could be some cherished sin that may be interfering with a person’s worship, and, unless it is diligently sought out and confessed, true worship wouldn’t be happening. Especially could this be the case if one deliberately tries to hide any known sin which is a violation of God’s law.

Psalms 78: 35 And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. 36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. 37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!

What True Worship is. Part [4] 04/26/2024 (Evening thought)

1st Samuel 5:4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 586] The Philistines removed the ark in triumph to Ashdod, one of their five principal cities, and placed it in the house of their god Dagon. They imagined that the power which had hitherto attended the ark would be theirs, and that this, united with the power of Dagon, would render them invincible. But upon entering the temple on the following day, they beheld a sight which filled them with consternation. Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. The priests reverently lifted the idol and restored it to its place.

Thus, manifestations of extreme reverence do not always mean that true worship is taking place. As a matter of fact, what devils have succeeded in doing is to invert the order of priorities, as it pertains to the various aspects of worship. They’ve succeeded in placing praise first, reverence in second place, prayer in third place and obedience last of all if not nonexistent, through the teaching of the law of God being nailed to the cross.

The same is true of praise, for a person’s mouth can be full of praises while at the same time the worship could be vanity. The Scripture warns as against this particular type of worship, because praises without obedience is equivalent to flattery. In many of the great cathedrals of earth, when the pipe organ begins to play, with the deep bass tones reverberating throughout the building, one is filled with a sense of awe and reverence as the music will thrill every fiber of your being and yet, for all of this, God is nowhere to be found in many such churches.

2nd Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!