The Worship of God - Hosea 12-14 and Revelation 4
Worship is not complicated. Worship is ascribing worth to something or someone. When we worship God, we are ascribing to Him all of the worth due Him. The fact is that He is totally worthy of all of our worship, because He created everything, He sustains the universe, and He provides the way of salvation. Therefore, without Him nothing would exist, nothing would be able to live, and no one would be saved from sin. He is worthy of all of our praise and thanks, and He deserves all of our devotion. Nothing is more important than holding the Lord in the highest esteem and giving Him all of the honor and glory for everything we are and everything we have. If we have this understanding of worship, we will always obey God, too, because obedience is an act of worship. If we realize His wisdom, power, and love, we will respond to Him in loving obedience.
Now, consider the last time you attended a worship service. Did you truly worship God? How did you ascribe total worth to Him? Was your mind set on Him or on other things? Was your heart divided, or was it focused on Him? Did you give Him all your praise and thanks from a heart of love? Did you respond in obedience to His Word, because you hold Him in highest esteem? If anything distracted you, or heaven forbid, you were trying to worship God and idols at the same time, it was not true worship, and God was not pleased. Hosea's message to Israel was that He was offended when the people tried to worship Him while worshiping idols, too. He was disgusted when they forget Him, because of their wealth. They were focused on their money and not God. We must be very careful not to fail to worship God. That is the beginning of ruin in our lives and in our church.
Revelation 4 shows us the worship of God in heaven. It is perfect worship. It contains all of the elements I already mentioned. It is glorious humble submission to the Creator of all things, the Holy God. Then, chapter 5 continues the worship with the recognition of the Lamb of God, Jesus, who died for us. Do you realize that God wants this kind of worship to happen every Sunday in our church? He does not receive half-hearted worship. He is worthy of so much more than that. Not only every Sunday, but every day our lives should be filled with total worship for the Lord. If not, we will fall into the same pit that Israel fell into. We will begin to ascribe worth to things that are not worthy at all. They are idols, which take God's place. Then, when we try to worship at church, our hearts are divided, and He does not accept that kind of worship. Let's take worship seriously! Let's realize that worship is central to all we do as Christians.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joel and Revelation 5.
Now, consider the last time you attended a worship service. Did you truly worship God? How did you ascribe total worth to Him? Was your mind set on Him or on other things? Was your heart divided, or was it focused on Him? Did you give Him all your praise and thanks from a heart of love? Did you respond in obedience to His Word, because you hold Him in highest esteem? If anything distracted you, or heaven forbid, you were trying to worship God and idols at the same time, it was not true worship, and God was not pleased. Hosea's message to Israel was that He was offended when the people tried to worship Him while worshiping idols, too. He was disgusted when they forget Him, because of their wealth. They were focused on their money and not God. We must be very careful not to fail to worship God. That is the beginning of ruin in our lives and in our church.
Revelation 4 shows us the worship of God in heaven. It is perfect worship. It contains all of the elements I already mentioned. It is glorious humble submission to the Creator of all things, the Holy God. Then, chapter 5 continues the worship with the recognition of the Lamb of God, Jesus, who died for us. Do you realize that God wants this kind of worship to happen every Sunday in our church? He does not receive half-hearted worship. He is worthy of so much more than that. Not only every Sunday, but every day our lives should be filled with total worship for the Lord. If not, we will fall into the same pit that Israel fell into. We will begin to ascribe worth to things that are not worthy at all. They are idols, which take God's place. Then, when we try to worship at church, our hearts are divided, and He does not accept that kind of worship. Let's take worship seriously! Let's realize that worship is central to all we do as Christians.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joel and Revelation 5.