Worship the Lord
By Nell Stevenson

The Webster dictionary defines Worship as a noun meaning reverence, homage or honor paid to God // ceremonies or services expressing such reverence.

Worship can include praise but it is not the same thing. A teacher praises a student, a parent praises a child, a wife praises her husband, but this is not worship. Worship is reserved for Almighty God. He alone is worthy. “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; He is holy.” (Psalm 99:5)

Taking part in public worship on the Lord’s Day is a priority for most serious Christians, and so worship often occurs in the “church” setting. What constitutes worship? As Christian Israelite called-out ones, how should we express our worship or reverence to God? Are we attending this worship service out of habit or obligation, to be seen or for a social time? Do the words of reverence come from the heart? Do we tremble before God, recognizing his greatness as in Psalm 95:6: “Come let us bow down in worship, Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”

Perhaps some of you have been with the same congregation for decades and have grown accustomed to a particular form of worship. In the last 28 years since I have attended a number of different Protestant denominational and non-denominational services, I’ve learned that different people feel comfortable with various styles of worship. In the traditional and more liberal evangelical assemblies there are obvious differences, but the basic elements are the same.

There is a routine that is followed week after week with hymn singing, announcements, some prayer, a homily, and a collection of tithes, sometimes called an offering. It seems apparent in most traditional churches that the Gospels of the Kingdom and of Salvation have been replaced by the gospel of humanism. In the Evangelical churches the gospel of salvation is still preached along with love and humanism.  A “worship team” may lead the music and singing which sometimes gets loud and repetitious. Clapping in approval is now quite common. Over the years this is how our ideas of worship have developed.

Is this true worship that is pleasing to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? He is very specific concerning His expectations of His people. What is his idea of true worship that honors Him alone? 1 Chron. 16:29-30 gives us quite a good description to follow and although our times are much different the principles should remain. “Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name. Bring an offering and come before him; Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth.”

These clear instructions indicate that worship is not something to be taken lightly. It is your personal encounter with Almighty God. Paying homage to Him demands submission. Perhaps the most important aspect of worship is our spiritual condition and our attitude. Are we prepared to humble ourselves and elevate Him? Have we brought our offering? That is a very individual thing but it is crucial to true worship. God forbid that we should be like the teachers of the law, of whom Christ said,  “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; Their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Mark 7:6,7) 

“God is spirit and His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (Jn.4:24) Israelite or not, this requires a spirit connection that can only come by accepting the gift of salvation by faith in the blood of Jesus. Ephesians 2:12 reminds us that once we “were separate from Christ…But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Now we can commune with God spirit to spirit. We look forward to meeting with God to “worship the Lord with gladness; (and) come before him with joyful songs.” (Ps.100:2) The more often we worship the closer we come to Him and the greater our blessing.

Most dedicated Christians have a regular time for private worship also. In a corporate setting with other believers or alone in your home, in your office or the garden, worship can happen anywhere. Yet, there is one other element of worship that seems to be forgotten both in public and private worship – the offering. (1Chron, above)

Today, just as in ancient times, an offering is crucial to worship. Abraham’s sacrificial offering, demanded by God, was his own son, Isaac. This indicated total submission to God. He asked his servants to “stay here…we will WORSHIP and then we will come back to you.”  (Gen.22:5) As we know, God did not negate the offering but provided another offering, a ram.

When was the offering replaced by a tithe? In Malachi 3:8 God chastises the Israelites - “you rob me…in tithes AND offerings.”  Perhaps we are still robbing God. The monetary tithe is easy to give and easy to collect. We’ve helped to support the church and feel that our duty is done for another week. But, what about the offering?  Were we not asked to bring an offering? It is not a dove or a goat; that was put away with the New Covenant. But an offering is still important! How can we worship a Holy God without bringing an appropriate offering; one that is precious and sacrificial? Without it our worship cannot be complete or sincere.

As Christ offered himself for us, we must now “offer (y)our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is (y)our spiritual act of  worship” (Rom.12:1) This is how we satisfy the homage that is due the King of kings and Lord of lords.