What True Worship is. Part [2] 04/25/2024 (Evening thought)

1st Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Obedience is the highest and most important aspect of any worship which produces reverence in the one who obeys. When satan had rebelled against God in heaven, he did show up for worship, but there was a strange and fierce war taking place in his heart, and therefore, even though he had bowed in reverence before God, his worship could not be accepted. Here is where many persons in our day struggle to differentiate reverence and true worship, because the external aspects of worship are misinterpreted to be true manifestations of acceptable worship.

A pastor or televangelist, or a priest may dress up in sacerdotal garments. They may carry their Bibles reverently and they may speak softly and walk quietly in the sanctuary but all of the good outward manifestations are not definite signs that true worship is taking place. Lucifer participated in worship up in heaven, and as the angelic choir raised their voices in praise to God he actually joined them, because, not only was he the choir, and music director, but it is a known fact that music has the ability to melt stubborn hearts in some instances, even though it may be temporary.

Ezekiel 28: 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him Thus, saith the Lord God; you seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets, and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that you were created.

1st Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

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

What True Worship is. Part [1] 04/24/2024 (Morning thought)

Revelation 14: 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The last issue to be decided on planet earth, before the close of human probation is the issue of worship which is the basis for the three angel’s messages, in Revelation chapter 14. Throughout Revelation 13 & 14 the word occurs no less than eight times and this tells us that the issue must be addressed so that the truth in the matter would be made plain to all. Webster’s dictionary describes worship as reverence for a deity, or supernatural being, but this definition falls far short of what true worship is.

Reverence is no doubt an integral part of true worship, as is your prayers, and praises, but all of these do not capture the essence of true worship. Obedience is the foundational aspect and the most important part of any worship, for obedience could stand on its own two legs, without prayer or praise, whereas the other aspects can’t. In fact, one of the most reverent churches in our day, where you can hear a pin drop during services, is the church that is farthest from God and the truth.

In many churches, congregants are required and/ or encouraged to turn off their cellphones, as an act of reverence and respect to the unseen God. In other churches there are codes of decorum, and behavior, and speaking while the service is going on is in some churches prohibited. These efforts are all well and good for they promote respect and reverence to God, but the truth is, that in and of themselves, they do not make a church or the members thereof partakers of true worship. All of these ingredients pertain to the external aspects of worship, but, of themselves, they do not render the worship acceptable to God.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

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