FOUNDATIONS OF WORSHIP PART 3

  Have you ever noticed that some people regularly come to church for the Word but miss the worship? Worship proves the heart. Worship brings revelation of Jesus and, His Word and gives prophecy to believers. It builds relationship and brings us into His presence.

Image by ChatGPT

When believers constantly miss out on worship, they can reduce their relationship with God to simply knowing about Him through knowing His Word. They may know the Scriptures but fail to acknowledge Him as sovereign God. They may know about Him without truly loving Him. They may know about Jesus without building faith in knowing that Jesus is God. We must know Him deep inside of us.

In previous blogs we found that worship is about service, obedience, reverence and submission. It is the surrendering of our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to Him. Even in serving as a housemaid, you must be subject to an authority. Worship involves submitting ourselves to the authority of God. We must worship Him because of who He is, and not simply when we have a feeling. 

In Foundations of Worship Part 2,  we examined the difference between worship and praise. Today, we will look at what it means to worship in truth. Worship in spirit will be covered in another blog because it requires a little more explanation.

WHAT IS TRUTH?

Truth is factual and proven. It is not simply what we feel, what we prefer, or what we want it to be. 

In John 14:6 Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Therefore, when we talk about worshipping in truth, we are not merely talking about having correct information. We are talking about worshipping according to the truth of who God is and who Jesus is.

We worship acknowledging this truth that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus's existence is proven from non-Biblical sources and there were eye witness accounts of His life, death, and resurrection. Throughout the New Testament, the Apostles testify of what they saw and experienced as they exercised the power of God and what they witnessed while Jesus ministered, how He died and resurrected. But they also clarified issues concerning the true doctrine of Jesus.

This is important. How can we worship God according to a false teaching about Jesus? If the Jesus we are worshipping is not the Jesus revealed in Scripture, then we may actually  worship a false Jesus.

Paul warned the church about those who preached “another Jesus” and “a different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4). This shows us that what we believe must be intentional and specific. It must be truthful and honest.

Christians worship with the knowledge that Jesus is the true and living God. Jesus is called “Faithful and True” in Revelation 19:11. When we worship Him, it is to submit ourselves and obey the One we accept as the only true and living God.

Worship is a choice. We have to choose to worship Jesus as our Saviour, our Lord and our Master because all worship belongs to Him.

GOD'S TRUTH OR “MY TRUTH”?

Nowadays, the culture is to personalise truth. We hear people say, “This is my truth.” But there can only be one truth. They are actually basing the statement on experience.

Experience is different from truth. Our experiences can be influenced by ourselves, our emotions, our desires, our circumstances and even by other people. Experience is therefore subjective. It is not absolute. But the Word of God stands the same. God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

God's Word is absolute. This does not mean that our experiences are meaningless. It means that our experiences must be tested against God's truth. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God…” 1 John 4:1

Truth can withstand interrogation. If something is true, it does not have to be protected from examination. God's truth does not become less true because we question it. If the Word of God were to change, then the stars would fall out of the sky. Why? Because it's His word that He spoke that put it there.

And let me give you a little joke: God's Word is like vodka—it is absolute! It cuts through and leaves no residue. 😂

TRUTH BRINGS US INTO ALIGNMENT WITH JESUS

Through worship we build our faith. Our faith walk is designed to pull us into alignment with Him and His purposes. Worship accomplishes this. But we also become repentant.

Our repentance produces fruit. And our lives increasingly come into alignment with His Word and His purposes. This is why worship cannot simply be about singing.

Worship is a response to truth. We worship because He is worthy. We offer true worship in love for a Father who loves His children and sent His only son to die as a sacrifice for us to pay the price of our sin. We worship because He is God and we have the victory over satan and death because of Jesus's perfect work on the cross.

We worship because He is true. We worship in truth because our human minds cannot create a Jesus according to our own feelings, experiences, desires or imagination that can die on a cross for us. We cannot comprehend it fully. So, we worship the Jesus revealed in the Word of God.

In the next part, we will continue to look at worship in truth. But first ask yourself some really deep questions:

Who do I worship?

How do I worship?

Why do I worship?