What is Worship? - The Service of Worship
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What is Worship?
What is Worship?
Text: John 4:20-26
20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Title: What is Worship? Pt. 2 - The Worship of Service
Context
Context
Context Recap:
Jesus has just been preaching and teaching in Judea:
Judea is the region where Jerusalem is. The Jewish temple is in Jerusalem.
When Jesus finds out that the Pharisees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John, He leaves Judea and returns to Galilee.
Galilee is a region north of Judea on the other side of Samaria. Nazareth is in Galilee, which is where Jesus spent most of His childhood after they came back from Egypt.
So Jesus is going home.
Here’s the catch: The Jewish people hated the Samaritans… They often skirted the whole region just to avoid them.
But Jesus chooses to go through Samaria. There was a road that went out to the East, across the Jordan and through the desert that many Jews would rather take when traveling north, but Jesus traveled right through the heart of the region to the city most despised by His jewish counterparts.
Remember there was a real tension between Jews and Samaritans.
Context: Their schism dated back to the Babylonian Exile.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Religion)
They (Samaritans) contended that Mount Gerizim was sacred because it was the site where the patriarchs made sacrifices, and where the Israelites made the first sacrifice upon arriving in Canaan.
In fact, the Samaritans saw the Jewish temple in jerusalem as illegitimate because the Samaritans were largely made up of the group that was allowed to stay during the exile…
That’s why when the Jews come back from exile in Ezra 4, the samaritans are opposed to the building of the temple in Jerusalem…
The Samaritans claim to be the true inheritors of Israel’s tradition because the rest of Israel was dismantled by the Babylonians and taken to another land. When they came back, they trried to restore things the way they were, btu the Samaritans claimed they were the ones who were left and should carry on the traditions…
So when Jesus shows up on the mountain to drink from the same well Jacob dug, the woman immediately brings up the conflict.
9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Modern translation: “See, this is exactly the problem with you Jews. You come to this region, on this mountain, sit at our well, I’m drawing with MY bucket and you think you’re entitled to a drink? Just like you think you’re entitled to the way you worship. You think we are less than you, you look down on us, and now you’re entitled to even what we have?
The answer that Jesus gives takes the argument completely outside the current political climate:
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
He piques her interest with this and she wonders where the water is at. He tells her, Go call your husband… John 4:17 “17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;” John 4:18 “18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.””
This is the part where I can see the political divide: John 4:19-20 “19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.””
This woman is given a word of knowledge. Jesus knows things that He shouldn’t, and she even acknowledges that He must be a prophet, but then returns right back to the argument…
It reminds me of people who will come to church, have an experience with God, then return back to their life and argue about politics rather than focusing on the kingdom…
They believe that Jesus is coming back, but they are filled with anxiety about the what ifs…
What if he gets re-elected… What if he doesn’t get re-elected… Will the real president please stand up… Are we sure that’s what happened?
Well, I think the government is out to get us… Well I think we should all share… So I don’t have to work....
Well what if....
AND THE WHOLE ARGUMENT, JESUS IS TRYING TO GET THROUGH TO HER… YOU’RE MISSING WHAT’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!
Aren’t we just like that woman? Rather argue about politics, or church preference, or which songs to sing, or which color the carpet should be, and Jesus is going, do you not see what’s happening?
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!
What you think is important pales in comparison to the magnitude of the situation that is transpiring while we speak…
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
It’s bigger than that! It’s bigger than politics, it’s bigger than church splits, it’s bigger than theological disagreements, it’s bigger than the stresses of every day life. It’s bigger!
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!
But before He completely dismisses the whole argument He says,
22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
In other words, there is an opinion to be had in this argument… It does matter to some degree that you know a bit about it.
We aren’t supposed to just stick our head in the sand and pretend the world isn’t spinning. We are responsible for being the voice of reason and ethics and morals to this country with our vote.
But it’s not the main thing… I participate while I’m here, but this world is not my home!
There’s something bigger waiting for me! Something so grand my mind can’t conceive. There’s something better waiting for me.
23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
What is Worship?
What is Worship?
When I started my word study on this idea of “worship” I found out that we have one word in English that is “worship” but there are several words in the original languages that describe what worship is…
Worship is a deep concept that is hardly described by one meaning or word, but spans across language and testament consistently
Both the Greek and Hebrew words that are translated as worship are all verbs that indicate some type of activity…
In other words, Worship is not simply words, but action… Worship isn’t just something you can say or declare, but it is an action that must be taken…
In other words, it is not just praise… We have relegated worship to the song service, but the worship described in the Bible is so much deeper than praise… It is a different phenomena altogether…
In the original language, there are two pictures of worship.
The Posture of Worship
The Posture of Worship
The first is the Posture of worship…
The posture of worship is often described as being bowed down or prostrate… It is a symbol of humility and reverence and awe…
When we are before the throne of God, we will be so overwhelmed with His majesty that we will be found prostrate in the posture of worship…
When Paul was on the road to Damascus, he was knocked off his Donkey and found himself prostrate on the ground and said, LORD LORD…
The posture of worship is the activity we participate in when we say we are having “praise and worship”… We are pairing our practice of praise with the posture of worship…
We are bowing ourselves down at the feet of Jesus, showing our humility and reverence for Him… That is the posture of worship…
The Pharisees were good at the posture of Worship… They were good at looking the part…
8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
Their reverence… their worship… they have the posture of worship, but their hearts are far from me…
You can be good at the posture of worship but like this woman at the well, miss the big picture completely…
The Jews and the Samaritans were so caught up in squabbles over the law and geography that they missed the point completely…
The point is not where or how, but that you do it in Spirit and in Truth…
The Posture of Worship should be a reflection of your spirit…
The Posture of Worship should be a reflection of your spirit…
Some people are good at the show, but their heart is far from him… That’s why we have preachers and worship leaders that are falling prey to the schemes of the enemy…
Scandals and backsliding… People get so caught up they miss the heart of God…
The Posture of Worship has to stem from what’s happening in your Spirit…
If it’s not originating in your spirit, it results in a posture of worship that is shallow and fake…
The Posture of Worship must be true…
The Posture of Worship must be true…
If you are just going through the motions, your posture of worship is not in truth…
It profits no one if we come in here and go through the motions, but allow our minds to be on something other than Him…
He is the focus of our worship! He is the focus of our affections…
Our Posture of Worship must reflect what is happening in our Spirit and it must be true…
This was another shortcoming of the Pharisees… Their worship of God was done for their own sake, not because they were in Love with Him…
They would spend their time worshipping out of ritual and tradition… To be seen by men…
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
They have received their reward, because their reward is to be seen by men....
The Posture of Worship is not a show!
The Posture of Worship is not a show!
True worship is done because our affections for Him are true…
The arguments over stylistic preference, furniture choice, carpet color, music genres, all seem pointless and arbitrary when worship is the result of our affections toward him…
I think the reason we have so many church splits, and scandals, and criticisms is because we have formed a posture of worship that is concerned more with the show of worship rather than the root of our affections…
The church today has lost what it means to worship in Spirit and in Truth…
Their posture of worship has been reduced to a 15 minute song service that comes before a motivational speech they call a sermon…
I would rather have a dozen people who would get vulnerable with God in the sanctuary and love on Him and allow their worship to be the result of their Spirit’s affection toward Him, than a room full of people who sing a song because it sounds good…
Story about worship night where I banned any hype songs…
We need honesty and vulnerability and humility and reverence… The style of music is of secondary importance to me… The skill of the musicians is of tertiary importance to me…
There is nothing more important when it comes to worship than our having genuine affections toward Him…
I have my own stylistic preferences like everyone else, but when it comes to my worship, it’s not my preferences that shape my affections for Him!
Part 2: The Worship of Service
Part 2: The Worship of Service
The second meaning that is held in the connotations of the words translated worship from the original language is this idea of service…
As one source puts it, “Worship, then, is the dramatic celebration of God in His supreme worth in such a manner that His “worthiness” becomes the norm and inspiration of human living.”
In other words, Worship is both Posture and service… It is celebration and living… It is Communal, but individual… it is both a ceremony and a lifestyle…
Worship is deeper than simply playing church… Worship demands a response… Worship is not worship without the posture leading to working…
If your lifestyle doesn’t put love on display, you haven’t been in worship…
If your lifestyle doesn’t reflect the Character of God in love for one anotherr and love for Him, you haven’t been in worship…
Worship isn’t just an emotional experience, because emotions alone will leave you wanting…
Worship is a lifestyle lived day by day…Luke 9:23
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Worship goes far beyond celebration and reaches into the depths of your soul, eliciting a response in your life…
The first time in all of scripture that Worship is mentioned, it is the posture of worship…
1 Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,
3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.
In this scripture, Abraham bows himself down before the Lord and immediately gets to work…
Let me wash your feet.. let me bring you bread… let me give you meat…
His bowing down was paired with action! He didn’t take the posture without the service…
The next time we hear about Abraham worshipping we are given an entirely different account of worship…
5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Repeat: I and the lad will go over there.. We will worship and return to you…
Explain Context… Abraham knew when he was headed to this mountain it was to sacrifice his son… and he describes this sacrifice as WORSHIP…
What a radically different picture of worship than what we have allowed it to be reduced to today…
Repeat: I and the lad will go over there.. We will worship and return to you…
Imagine those who would hear the term worship having been taught these scriptures from their childhood and one of the very first instances of worship they learn about is worship through sacrifice…
This is the foundation of worship that is built on from here on out… Worship is not just celebration or posture, it is also sacrifice and obedience…
This is the reason worship was central to the story of Shadrack mishack and abdendego in the book of Daniel…
Context of this story…
14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15 “Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Serve or worship… Serve or worship… Both the king and the three men knew that service and worship were two sides of the same coin… You cannot have one without the other and it be true…
True worship is always paired with service…
We will not serve or bow… We will not worship any other God but the Most High....
Serve or worship…
Exodus 20:5 (NASB95)
5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”
Worship and Serve… If we think we can come into the building and have our worship stop when the music does, we misunderstand what worship really is…
Worship is a lifestyle!
Worship is adoration, but it is also devotion…
Worship is a primary concern of God for us… We were created to worship…
It was the want for worship that got Satan kicked out of heaven…
It is worship that God requires of His people…
It is worrship that is central to the shortcomings of the people of Israel time and again…
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Worship is centered around our affection for Him, and our obedience to His commands is evidence of our love for Him…
Worship is found in obedience… Worship is posture AND service…
Here’s where Spirit AND truth come in… If someone says they love Him, but don’t obey His commands, they are not worshipping in TRUTH…
Their posture of worship is done as a lie! They look the part, go through the motions, but their hearts are far from Him…
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 4994 Worship in Barber Shop
4994 Worship In Barber Shop
“I was in a barber shop,” remarked former President Woodrow Wilson, “when I became aware that a personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself, and sat in the chair next to me. Every word that he uttered showed a personal and vital interest in the man who was serving him; and before I got through, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. Moody was in the next chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he left, and noted the singular effect his visit had upon the barbers in that shop. They did not know his name, but they knew that something had elevated their thoughts. And I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship.”
—Mrs. Ruby Miller
One of the most egregious mistakes I think I’ve seen in my lifetime was during the pandemic and the news stations were reporting that businesses were shutting down, restaurants couldn’t serve food, and CHURCHES COULD NOT WORSHIP....
NO NO NO! THAT IS INCORRECT! We may not have met, but worship doesn’t only happen when we meet here…
Covid was a test of the vitality of the Church’s understanding of worship!
Our worship cannot be limited to the posture and still be called worship!
One more story…
There were to preachers being introduced at an inaugural event in front of the press and there was a sudden stir in the crowd…
Out of the crowd started flying objects from a few protestors who had come…
The first pastor was hit and let a cuss word slip from his mouth… The second was hit and began to say, “Thank you Jesus”
When press interviewed the pastors later, they asked the second pastor, why was it that when the first pastor got hit, he cussed, but when you were hit you began to praise?
The second pastor answered and said, “Well I guess he had a cuss in him and I had a praise in me. When we got hit what was on the inside came up on the outside”
Worship is exactly that, what’s on the inside spilling over in excess on the outside…
Make no mistake… You may think you can fake it for a while, but eventually what’s on the inside will show up on the outside!
This is worship in Spirit and Truth… Celebration and Devotion… Loving and living… It is POSTURE and SERVICE…
Altar Call…