Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation chapter 7 as we are concluding our study on worship, or as I have called it, “What About Worship?” This is part 3 of our study and we have seen so far WHAT IS NOT BIBLICAL WORSHIP. And we saw that it was not just music and singing, or emotionalism.
We saw WHAT BIBLICAL WORSHIP IS in our first study and we found out that it was reverence unto God, that it was sacrifice, that it was praise, that it was giving, that it was converts to the faith, and that it was loving the body of Christ.
Last week, in part 2 of our study we saw THE IMPORTANCE OF WORSHIP. That it is the Father’s desire that we worship Him. We saw that it was the greatest commandment that we worship Him. And we saw that it was our eternal purpose as God’s children to worship Him.
We also saw last week that THE OBJECT OF OUR WORSHIP is God and we can only worship God as we know Him and we can only know Him through His Word. We then moved to THE ACT OF WORSHIP and we focused on UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP. We saw that unacceptable worship is the worship of false gods, the worship of the true God in an unacceptable manner, the worship of God in a self-styled manner and the worship of the true God with the wrong attitude.
This morning, as we conclude our study on worship we will continue to look at THE ACT OF WORSHIP but this morning we will focus on ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP and what that is all about. And then we will sum it all up with our CONCLUSION about worship. Before we get to our text this morning, let me share with you this story. We are told:
Paul Brand is a brilliant medical doctor who did pioneering work in the treatment of leprosy. He has received the Albert Lasker Award, been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen, served as the only Westerner on the Mahatma Ghandi foundation, and had medical procedures named after him.
Brand grew up in India, where his parents were missionaries. At the age of nine he was sent to boarding school in England. Five years later, while a 14-year-old student there, he received a telegram informing him that his beloved father had died of blackwater fever. Brand cherished fond memories of his father, a man who had a great love for people and a great love for the natural world around him.
A short time after he received news of his father’s death Paul brand received a letter from his father. It had been posted prior to his father’s death but took some time to reach Brand as it came by ship. It’s words impacted deeply upon the young son. Paul’s father described the hills around their home and then finished with these words: “God means us to delight in his world. It isn’t necessary to know botany or zoology or biology in order to enjoy the manifold life of nature. Just observe. And remember. And compare. And be always looking to God with thankfulness and worship for having placed you in such a delightful corner of the universe as the planet Earth.”
- Philip Yancey, Soul Survivor
How important that is, not to lose sight of who God is and all that He has done for us. With that said, lets begin reading in Revelation chapter 7, starting in verse 9 and see what the Lord has for us as we conclude our study on worship.
As we have seen, heaven is filled with the worship of God. Now, why does it seem that the enemy is trying to attack our worship of God? Think about that for a minute. If Lucifer was the worship leader in heaven before his fall, and since in his fall he wanted to be worshiped, it makes sense that he will try to corrupt the true worship of God and in doing so he will get the attention. Thus, our study over that past few weeks has focused on what worship is and isn’t and like I said, this morning we will focus on what acceptable worship is all about.
Here in Revelation chapter 7 we see heaven break forth in the worship of God for in the midst of His wrath being poured out upon a Christ rejecting world, we see Him make sinners into saints through the shed blood of Christ applied to their lives by faith. And as these martyred Tribulation Saints stand before God, all heaven breaks forth in worship for God’s grace and mercy that He extends to people, even during this time.
What that as our take-off point you might say, let’s focus on our last point in this study that is in our section THE ACT OF WORSHIP, and that is ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP.
B. ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP
What is acceptable worship all about? I think Jesus explains it to us in John 4:23-24 as he tells the woman at the well in Samaria, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).”
You see, Jesus didn’t say that those who worship Him “Should worship Him in spirit and truth.” Nor did He say “It is a good idea to worship Him in spirit and truth.” Not even, “Why not worship Him in spirit and in truth?” But He says that if we are going to worship God we “must worship in spirit and truth.” What does that mean? Let’s look at this a little closer and you will clearly see what Jesus was saying.
1. IN SPIRIT
What does it mean that we must worship God in spirit? In John 3:1-7 John explains it to us as he tells us, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.”’”
Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again, or he must be saved. You see, he was born of the flesh in his natural birth, but he must be born again or born of the Spirit, the second birth. The unsaved person is controlled by his flesh because his spirit is dead. Only Jesus, by His Spirit can take that which is dead and make it alive again and the point that Jesus made is that if you are not saved then you can’t worship God!
Also, Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 9, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. . . . For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:9-10, 14.
Again we see that an evidence of being saved, of being born again is that the spirit of God dwells in you and you are thus, born of the Spirit! How can we tell if a person is born of the Spirit, because words can be deceiving? Listen to what Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:8-11, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Here Paul is saying that if you are born again, if you are born of the Spirit, then your life will manifest that new life you have in Christ. You see, some may say, “Yes, I am saved, I am born again!” but their lives do not show it, there is no evidence showing that they are saved! They are living in sin with no remorse, no regret. That just tells me the person made a false confession of faith, they are not saved!
Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” You see, it is just lip service; there is no relationship with God.
Also, in Matthew 7:21-27 we are told, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Here we see two groups of people, those who just gave the Lord lip service and Jesus tells this group that He NEVER knew them. How did He know that they didn’t love Him? Well, He is God of course! But there is even more to it, there is the external evidence that shows it and that is the point I believe Jesus is making here. They continued to practice lawlessness even though their lips said they were serving the Lord, and even though they were very active for the Lord, they did not follow the Words of God, they did their own thing. They were not saved, they were not born again, the Spirit of God did not indwell them!
This second group of people were saved, they were born again because they not only heard the Words of God, but they obeyed them. Their good works did not save them, but it was the evidence showing that they were saved.
So, as we have seen, to worship God you MUST be saved, you MUST be born again, you MUST give your life to Jesus, asking Him to be your Lord and Savior or you are not saved and you cannot worship God. And if you try, God will not accept this kind of worship. You see, you must worship Him in Spirit!
2. IN TRUTH
What does it mean that we must worship God in truth? Simply, we must worship God according to His Word, which is truth. Remember what Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Now I do understand that some people try to say that God is bigger than His Word and He can do whatever He wants. Thus, they do all kinds of bizarre behavior in their efforts to worship God. We see people barking like dogs, laughing uncontrollably, they will run around the church like a warrior, get slain in the Spirit, glued to the floor, roar like lions, and all kinds of strange behavior, strange activity that they say is of the Spirit. Well, it is not of the Spirit and it is not of truth! Folks, this is not worship. How do I know that? Because their actions are not found in the Word of God, which is our guidebook, or instruction manual!
But still, couldn’t God go beyond His Word, does He have to stick to what He has said? God can do whatever He wants, that is not the issue. I believe He does stick to His Word otherwise we would not know what is of God and what is not. You see, if you would only go be feelings, then we could be wrong, we could also be right, we would never know! It would be very subjective and what is right for me may not be right for you! It would be an anything goes faith. But, if we stick to God’s Word, we will not be wrong. You see, in Psalm 138:2 we are told, “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” The Living Bible puts this verse like this, “I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!”
If God went outside His Word, then His name would be meaningless and we would be in trouble. But He doesn’t, not that He can’t, He just won’t and we should rejoice in that for what God has said is truth and that will NEVER change! Thus, if you want to know if something should be practiced in the church, in our lives, here is something to follow. Did Jesus teach it? Do we see it in the early church in the book of Acts? And do we see it taught in the Epistles? If not, avoid it!
So here’s the thing. We can’t worship God in a way that is acceptable until we are first born of the Spirit, which means we are saved. Folks, God ONLY accepts worship from those who are redeemed. Secondly, God only accepts worship that is consistent with the truth He has revealed to us in His Word about who He is and how He desires to be worshiped. And so, as Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24.
3. CONCLUSION
As I begin to rap this up this morning, and keep in mind that I said begin to rap this up, the true worship of God is three-dimensional. Let me explain.
A. THE OUTWARD DIMENSION
The outward dimension consists of loving the brethren and we did cover this one in our first study on worship, but it truly is important that we understand how this works. Paul tells us in Romans 14:12-19, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. . . .
. . . Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”
You see, as we are reaching out to the brethren it is an outward form of worship unto God. It is as Paul said in Philippians 2:3-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” And The Amplified Bible is even stronger in what is says in these verses, “Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.”
And we also see this in I Thessalonians 4:9-12, “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.”
Not only is this outward dimension of worship seen in loving the brethren, but it is also seen in saving the lost. Paul, in Romans 15:16 tells us, “that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” And so, the outward dimension of worship is seen loving the brethren and seeing the lost saved!
But there is more to it than that. Another aspect of outward worship is seen in helping the poor. Paul put it this way in Philippians 4:18, “Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.” As we help those in need it is a form of outward worship to the Lord.
And so, the outward dimension of worship is seen in loving the brethren, saving the lost by ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them, and helping the poor. You see, it is reaching out in the love of Christ to others and as we do it is a form of worshiping God!
B. THE INWARD DIMENSION
The inward dimension consists of godliness. Paul put it this way in I Timothy 2:2-3, “for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” You see, what is going on inside of us will then be manifested in our outward actions, the things we do and say and they should reflect the heart of God.
Not only should we have godliness flow from our lives, but also righteousness. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 4:1-8, “Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”
In other words, we need to do what is right, to live our lives in such a way that it brings honor to God. Paul put it this way in Philippians 1:9-11, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” And so, the inward dimension of worship is seen in living godly lives, righteous lives. Not that we are perfect, but it is our hearts desire to bring glory and honor to God through the things we manifest in our lives!
C. THE UPWARD DIMENSION
The upward dimension consists of praise unto God and thanksgiving unto God. Paul, in Hebrews 13:15 said, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. [Lev 7:12; Isa 57:19; Hos 14:2.]” You see, our upward dimension of worship unto God is all about Him, praising Him and thanking Him for who He is and what He has done in our lives. Paul said in Ephesians 5:20, “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is the upward dimension of worship.
Thus, as we have seen, worship is three-dimensional. It is outward or ministering to the hearts and lives of others with the love of Christ. It is inward as we live lives that reflect godliness and righteousness. And it is upward as we give praise and thanks unto God. That is worship folks, acceptable worship before God!
Let me share with you these words from David Jeremiah in his book, My Heart’s Desire. He wrote:
Paul Azinger was at the top of his profession, and that profession was a pretty desirable one: PGA golfer. But at the age of thirty-three, he faced his greatest crisis. He was diagnosed with cancer.
. . . Azinger had just won a PGA championship and held the championship trophies from ten PGA tournaments. Why now? Why this? He wrote:
A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die
from cancer. Then another reality hit
me even harder. I’m
going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something
else. It’s just
a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became
meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live.
Azinger had a close friend named Larry Moody, who was leading a Bible study for golfers on the tour. Moody had made a statement that completely changed Azinger’s paradigm of life and death. He said, “Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living and heading for the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living.”
Paul Azinger had never thought of it that way. Not even close. Moody’s statement caused him to rethink his entire approach to life as he submitted to chemotherapy, worked through his recovery, and eventually returned to the PGA tour. Soon he was playing golf again, just as he had before. But his perspective was no longer a temporal one. He wrote:
I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but the happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole.
Most of us live under the enduring illusion that this earth, so filled with pain, is the land of the living. We know it’s not much, but it’s home after all. On the other hand, we don’t know about the next world. It’s cloaked in mystery.
But we should know. We devote our lives to studying God’s Word, worshiping Him, and anticipating eternity in His presence. This life is only a brief prelude, a puny grain of sand compared to the vast, infinite seashore of eternity. It’s important how we live today, but why should we fear the final, glorious culmination of which this life only hints? I had my own bout with a life-threatening disease, and I’m none too eager to leave the ministry God has given me here. But I have a deeper appreciation, and a more eager anticipation, of the joys still in store. Now, having looked into the face of eternity through so many anxious moments, I feel that I’m better able to possess that frame of mind that enables us to superimpose God’s outlook on the moment’s details. It’s called an eternal perspective and it’s the very key to worshiping God in every moment of your daily life.
- David Jeremiah, My Heart’s Desire, pp. 189-191
Folks, as I bring this study to a close, let me sum it up like this. Worship that is true and acceptable to God is A WAY OF LIFE! It should affect every area of your life. As the Scriptures admonish us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies (the sum total of your life) as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.” NIV. Romans 12:1.
May we learn the lessons that God is showing us that we too may move from the “land of the dying . . . to get to the land of the living!” That we truly learn how to worship God! As we begin our journey, I want you to think about these words written by Edward More who lived from 1797 to 1874. He wrote:
That is the one we are worshiping folks, let us not lose sight of that fact. Don’t let the enemy confuse you but as Jesus said, and I will leave you with these words, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” May that be the passion of our hearts, the passion of our lives! He alone is worthy of our praise, He alone deserves our worship!