Revelation 13:1-4 (KJV)
And I stood upon the
sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and
ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of
blasphemy.
And the beast which I
saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his
mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat,
and great authority.
And I saw one of his
heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the
world wondered after the beast.
And they worshipped the
dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying,
Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Full Definition of worship[1]
1: chiefly British :
a person of importance —used as a title for various officials (as magistrates
and some mayors)
2:
reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also :
an act of expressing such reverence
3:
a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
4:
extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem <worship of
the dollar>
The subject of worship
is an important one among we who call ourselves Christians, but one that we
might find a bit illusive.
On the one hand, we
probably think we worship at 11:00 every Sunday morning because, after all,
that service is called the worship service.[2]
On the other hand, it is
very possible that we sort of confused about what worship is. The definitions
can become quite convoluted.
One definition says, “Worship is giving God the best that He
has given you.”[3]
Another definition I found is, “…worship, rather than primarily consisting of receiving or
giving, is about being. Above all else, worship is an encounter with the
living, true, holy, sovereign, triune God of the universe.”[4]
Most recently worship
has become associated with music so that song leaders are often called “worship
leaders.”[5]
I have heard Baptist
preachers attempt every sort of sermon on the subject of worship.
· Some say it’s wrong to raise our hands in worship
· Some say you should only raise one hand in worship
· Some would say worship has nothing to do with whether or not
we raise our hands
I have personally
attempted to preach on the subject of worship by researching out the meaning
and etymology of the word itself.
The word originally
referred to a dog licking its master’s hand. From there I suggested that we
might learn best how to worship by watching a dog’s relationship with its
master.
· He keeps his eye on his master
· He comes when his master calls
· His world revolves around pleasing his master
This week, while reading
the Book of the Revelation in my personal visits with God, I found where the
Bible actually defines what worship is.
I am going to need to
look at two separate passages with the Book of the Revelation and I will
confess that, in order for this definition to be valid, we will need to see it
from the negative perspective.
Worship is:
I. AN ACT
Revelation 22:8 (KJV)
And I John saw these
things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship
before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
I confess that John is
rebuked in this passage.
He is not supposed to do
what he did.
But he himself called
what he did “worship.
John said he “fell
down to worship.”
You will find this same
action repeated in many places in the Bible, both positively and negatively.
Worship involves the act
of prostrating (bowing) before another.
Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego would not bow before the statue the Nebuchadnezzar had set up
Daniel 3:4-5 (KJV)
Then an herald cried
aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
That at what time ye
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all
kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar
the king hath set up:
Daniel 3:14-15 (KJV)
Nebuchadnezzar spake and
said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve
my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
Now if ye be ready that
at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery,
and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which
I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver
you out of my hands?
It would appear to me,
from this passage, that this act of falling down to worship is incredibly
important.
· They were willing to die, not to worship the false god
· Are you willing to die in order to worship the true and
living God?
2 Kings 5:15-18 (KJV)
And he returned to the
man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he
said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel:
now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
But he said, As the LORD
liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it;
but he refused.
And Naaman said, Shall
there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of
earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor
sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
In this thing the LORD
pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to
worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of
Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy
servant in this thing.
After Naaman was cured
of his leprosy he knew that there was only one true God.
But he also knew that,
when he got back home, he would be expected to bow and worship a false god.
He called it that.
His bowing, even when
his heart wasn’t in it, he knew was a sort of worship.
He asked that the Lord
would forgive him of the thing, but he knew that the thing was worship.
Matthew 28:6-9 (KJV)
He is not here: for he
is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell
his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you
into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
And they departed
quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his
disciples word.
And as they went to tell
his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held
him by the feet, and worshipped him.
After Jesus was
resurrected the disciples worshipped Him how? By holding Him by the feet.
They prostrated
themselves.
Worship involves the act
of bowing, of falling down before the Lord.
It is an act of
humility.
Luke 14:11 (KJV)
For whosoever exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
I want to be careful not
to imply that if we have a “humble heart” we should not need to have a humble
body.
I think what has
happened too often is that
We have defined away the
physical act as some sort of legalism – I don’t need to bow physically
if I bow:
· Emotionally and
· Spiritually
And pretty soon we are
not bowing
· Physically,
· Emotionally or
· Spiritually
In order to accomplish
this, some churches have taken to having a brief time in the service
specifically to invite people just to bow.
They believe that is
their worship time.
I believe the very same
thing is done at the invitation. It is when we invite those who have heard
God’s word to bow before the Lord in response to the message they heard.
We give an opportunity
to worship, therefore, in every service.
Revelation goes on in
defining worship.
Worship is:
II. AN ATTITUDE
Revelation 13:4 (KJV)
And they worshipped the
dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying,
Who is like unto the beast? …
They worshipped the
beast with the attitude that there is none like the beast.
God told Israel in the
first of the Ten Commandments,
Exodus 20:2-3 (KJV)
I am the LORD thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other
gods before me.
The idea is that no
other god could be before God because no other thing or being compares to God.
When you have met One
who is so much above all others that there is no real comparison, why would
you give those other things or beings a
second thought?
1 Samuel 2:2 (KJV)
There is none holy as
the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our
God.
2 Samuel 7:22 (KJV)
Wherefore thou art
great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside
thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
1 Kings 3:12 (KJV)
Behold, I have done
according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding
heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall
any arise like unto thee.
· He is before money
· He is before fame
· He is before success
· He is before material possessions
· He is before pleasure
· He is before health
· He is before heroes
· He is before politicians
· He is before leaders
· He is before role models
· He is before celebrities
Because none of them are
like Him.
· You think about Him before you think about them
· You give Him time before you give them time
· You dedicate your things to Him before you dedicate your
things to them
Because none of them are
remotely like Him
It is no contest
· You love Him
· You adore Him
· You esteem Him
Because there is no one
like Him.
Finally the Book of the
Revelation teaches us that,
Worship is:
III. AN ADMISSION
Revelation 13:4 (KJV)
…: and they worshipped
the beast, saying, ….who is able to make war with him?
I believe this is an
absolute surrender to Him.
We know those who
worship do not worship God in this way because they will make war with Him,
won’t they?
Usually when we hear the
word war, we think of something bigger than ourselves because most of us aren’t
going to enlist in the devil’s army against God.
But we can fight God,
can’t we?
· We can fight against God’s will for our lives
· We can fight against God’s preaching
· We can fight against the still small voice
· We can fight against the conviction of the Holy Spirit
Whenever we know what is
right and choose not to do it, we are warring against God.
Romans 7:23 (KJV)
But I see another law in
my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members.
Galatians 5:17 (KJV)
For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Can you see that in each
of these verses, it is possible for a Christian to fight against God?
And when we fight God,
we are certainly not worshipping Him.
I have one other passage
that is going to begin right there and then take us into the solution,
James 4:1-7 (KJV)
From whence come wars
and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in
your members?
Ye lust, and have not:
ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have
not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and
adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Do ye think that the
scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
But he giveth more
grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the
humble.
Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The obvious application
is that the fighting that goes on sometimes in churches is making war against
God.
It is the opposite of
worshipping God.
It is wicked and
devilish and that is something to fight.
How do we fight it?
By humbling ourselves
and then by submitting to God.
That act of surrender is
an act of worship.
Conclusion
Worship then is
1. Bowing ourselves before God
2. Adoring God like no other and
3. Surrendering to God in absolute obedience
[1] "Worship." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 11
June 2016.
[2] As opposed to Sunday
school, Sunday night preaching service and Wednesday night prayer service. The
fact is, every one of these services looks and feels a lot like the others.
[3] http://utmost.org/worship/ accessed
6-11-16
[4] http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/seriousness-worship/
accessed
6-11-16
[5] Generally in churches
whose music program lasts longer than the sermon and is much more about
entertaining the audience than glorifying the Lord.
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