Sunday: We All Worship Something
There’s something in us – something, no doubt, that was originally woven in us by God but, as with everything else, became warped by sin – that longs to worship. Obviously, in the beginning we were to worship the only One worthy of worship, our Lord and Creator. But since the Fall, all this has changed, even greatly.
Image © Philippians McKay at Goodsalt.com
But, yes, we all worship something, someone, whatever. This helps explain why all through human history, and even today, humans practice worship. In ancient Egypt, some people worshiped the pharaoh; at other times, in other lands, people worshiped statues of fish, multiheaded gods, and other supposed deities. Some people worshiped the sun, the moon, the stars.
Today, most people are too sophisticated to bow down before a statue of a frog (but, apparently, not a statue of Mary), yet this hardly means that humans, even secular humans, don’t worship something: money, power, sex, themselves, rock stars, actors, politicians. Whatever we love the most, whatever we focus most of our attention on, whatever we live for, that is what we worship. And, warned secular author David Foster Wallace, if you worship the wrong thing, it “will eat you alive.”
What does the story in Daniel 3 teach us about the importance of true worship?
The three Jewish boys obviously took the second commandment (Exod: 20:4-6) as seriously as God had meant it to be taken. After all, it’s part of the Ten Commandments, right up there with prohibitions on murder and robbery and so forth. Worship, proper worship, is so important that, in fact, it becomes central to the issues in the last days, before the second coming of Christ. Thus, Christian education needs to include the whole question of worship: what is it, how do we do it, why is it important, and whom do we worship?
| Read Revelation 14:6-12. What do these texts teach us about how central the question of worship will be in the final crisis before Christ returns? |
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Right at the outset, we need to recognise that worship is more than just a couple of hours of liturgy on Sabbath, or even the time spent in devotional sharing and praying morning and evening. It is a totally immersive experience. I mentioned yesterday the expression in the marriage vows; "With my body, I thee worship" as a meaningful example of what worship is really about. Just as in marriage, you make a total commitment, not just a mental assent to an intertwined love relationship, so our spiritual worship is a whole life expression of our love relationship with God.
It is easy to worship God in a "defined worship" event, but the true test of our worship is when we are away from the event and our relationship is being tested. That is when we worship God with our body.
I have a little jug that is silver-plated. It is a family heirloom piece with a rather interesting history. It has had a lot of use and you can tell it is silver-plated because the base brass metal is starting to show through due to wear and tear. If it was solid silver it would not show evidence of brassing. It would polish up like new every time. Likewise, our spiritual worship cannot be a few atoms thick on the surface, but solid silver all the way through.
I particularly like what Maurice's combined phrases "totally immersive experience" within a "whole life experience" conveys. It reminded me of what I suspect Moses experienced.
In Exodus 33:12,13, Moses expresses that God knows him (Moses) intimately, but Moses doesn't yet know God as intimately as Moses desires to. Moses is hungry (the 'starving' kind depicted in Psalm 42:1,2) to know God and His ways.
And in response to Moses hunger, God reveals His nature and character to Moses as directly as is possible (Exodus 34:6,7).
Moses 'reflexive' response to this revelation is described in Exodus 34:8. I suspect the words under-reflect that Moses 'worship' would have been a "totally immersive experience".
I also suspect that a "totally immersive experience" was incorporated within Jesus words to the Samaritan Woman in John 4:23.
And I cannot help but suspect that this is the depth of desire that is necessary for Revelation 14:6-12 to resonate with someone in the way it was/is intended to when it was revealed by Jesus via John to humanity.
For those who are interested, perhaps you would like to share something of the way in which your worship is a "totally immersive experience" within your "whole life experience"?
Phil - how would you define a "totally immersive experience" for a Christian; were does totally start?
I think, before we can have a 'totally' immersive experience, we have to have a 'totally' changed heart, mind and soul.
Prov.3:3-6KJV - We first need to be filled with the Spirit of God toward loving Him and loving man as we have been loved by the Father; this forms our spiritual fellowship/disposition/readyness to worship Him. Flesh/form - the will - cannot dublicate this; if it tries, it will become works. The disposition for true worship can only be generated by God's Spirit in the changed, the ever willing to be 'cleansed', heart. The heart, because man worships whith the spirit that governs his heart; if it is filled by God with love, this Love and Truth comes back to God. It depends fully on the Grace and Mercy of God through the Holy Spirit to experience true worship.
Matt.6:21KJV - As the lesson points out, we all worship something. If worship comes from the heart, don't we want to know which Spirit guides our motivation to worship?
In my opinion, this is the type of immersive education we need to undertake and what needs to be studied, clarified and understood; effectually worshipping God in Spirit and Truth depends on it!
After all, it is God's Spirit and Truth which is released in worship and lifts man to touch God! If God's, from His Spirit born Love and Truth are not present in the heart, I do not believe that we can be effectually or fully immersed in the Worship of God, which is Spirit.
I'm not Phil, Brigitte, but having "coined the phrase" my intention wasn't to imply perfection. A bit of a quick illustration: If we are dirty, we can have a totally immersive bath in warm soapy water and come out clean! The totally immersive experience is a growing experience where change occurs.
Yes, Maurice I 'conditionally' agree that 'total immersive experience' does not imply perfection.
My original question to you included the term 'consecrated' which does not mean perfection, it means ongoing willingness due to and motived by the heart's transformation and the following submitting obedience of the will.
In my request to Phil to share his opinion were "total immersive experience" starts, I explained my understanding of 'immersive starting' by saying: "The disposition for true worship can only be generated by God's Spirit in the changed, the EVER willing to be 'cleansed' heart"; this means willing, ongoing process toward perfection, which will in its final stage be obtained only in our new life.
I conditionally agree that 'total immersive experience' does not imply perfection, but by God's Righteousness imputed to us by the Faith of Christ Jesus, we have a standing of rightousness sufficient enough that, if God's Spirit - Love and Truth - reign supreme in our heart, we can rightly and fully worship Him in Spirit and Truth - and this could mean 'imputed perfection' - 1Cor.1:27-30KJV; 2Cor.5:21KJV.
I think that true worship is living out the first commandment - allowing God to be first in our lives - all day, every day. When we first come to Jesus, we may start our day dedicating ourselves to Him, but we find that not too much later, we have essentially forgotten about Him.. From personal experience I believe that the way we grow in our worship experience and our sanctification is through gradually spending more and more of our time in this "zone" of worship that begins with consecrating ourselves to Him first thing in the morning.
When Jesus said, "Seek first the Kingdom of God," I believe He was referring to this same experience of living in the "zone" of full consecration to Him - what I think you mean by "a totally immersive experience."
Hello Maurice - would you, please, take a moment to help me understand the meaning of this week's lesson title 'Worship in Education'?
Am I understanding you correctly when interpreting your statement: "That is when we worship God with our body" to mean that we worship Him with our, to Him consecrated, life?
Also, how do you define what "our spiritual worship" looks like in our everyday life? - Thank you!
I am as mystified as you are about the authors' use of the title. My guess is that the theme for the quarter is "Education" and they somehow wanted to tie it to worship. As it stands I think the title is a bit awkward and if I had been making a title I would have used something like, "Using Worship as an Educative Experience".
With the statement, "That is when we worship God with our body", I was referring to the fact that worshiping God is a whole life experience, not limited to defined events that we typically label as worship. Part of the issue here is that we use the word "worship" in two different but related ways. 1) Events like church services and family worship, and 2) an attitude of mind the permeates our living.
Spiritual worship: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor 10;31 Does that make sense?
Yes, thank you, Maurice -
This week we will look at worship - what is it, how do we do it, why is it important, and whom do we worship?
The first thing I discovered is that the action bow down is always connected to worship. Whenever people come into the presence of the LORD they either kneel or bow or even prostrate themselves - fall face down on the ground Mat 17:6, Lev 9:24, 1Kings 18:39, 2Chron 7:3
So what does that teach me about worship?
Firstly, it is acknowledging that the LORD has power over me and I am His loyal subject.
I look forward to learning more about worship this week.
Shirley,
You stole my thunder by giving the definition for worship "to bow down". I like to think of bowing down as one of the Elements of worship not worship itself. What do you think?
Yes, Bud the action of bowing down and the attitude of submission are the first elements of worship, we will discover more in the following day's study guides.
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Neh 8:6
-Bowing down is a form of submission. But who are we bowing to?
-Raising our hands is a form of submission. But who are we raising our hands to?
Bowing down to God, the Creator, the Sustainer is to recognize that he is the Great I AM. King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
He told us not to bow to anything. Ex 20:4; Deut 5:9.
E.g John beheld all nations worshiping God in submission.
Rev 15:2-4.
Bowing down to man is a form of submission to that nation or man, recognizing that he is greater than you.
E.g Isaac blessings to Jacob- nations shall bow down to you. Gen 27:29.
Haman was seeking honor and wanted all the people to bow to him for which Mordecai refused- Esther 3:5.
'What does the story in Daniel 3 teach us about the importance of true worship?'
To me, the story is saying worship should not be situational. If we are not in danger- then anything goes. If we are in danger then we can compromise. We have Heb 11:1-40 written for us, here we see men and women choose death instead of compromising. These people, as well as the Hebrew boys had a 24/7 worship relationship with Jesus. They walked and talked together.
Raising our hands is a form of submission.
In the bible raising of hands is also a form of submission similar to bowing. People in recognition to Jesus have submitted themselves to him by lifting hands.
E.g Ps 63:4; Ps 119:48; Lam 3:41; 1 Tim 2:8.
Solution- All who worship Something, let that something be Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.
What I have done- I try daily to let my life be a life of worship to others. Many of my non Christians friends and families will not read the bible, the only bible they can see and know is the Jesus that is dwelling in me. I pray that they in turn will grow to worship the Jesus I worship.
The three Jewish men in the story referenced had been thoroughly educated early in life and it stood them in good stead, all their lives. The following quote from the lesson sums up the idea of what parents and other educators do in this process. " Thus, Christian education needs to include the whole question of worship: what is it, how do we do it, why is it important, and whom do we worship?"
If there is an illustration in scripture of absolute worship, it would be Jesus' prayer, offered 3 times in Gethsemane. "Not my will, but Thine be done". This prayer is consistent with Jesus' reply to Satan in the wilderness that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God"(Matt 4:4).
There are two very interesting passages of scripture that help to define worship as well, and perhaps many have not noticed them or linked them together. Rev 13:8 and 17:13, considered together, bring to light this experience of worship as heaven views it. Yes, these verses are referring to the world/wicked, who in the end will reject the clear truth and go with the popular choice at that time, and for many it will be nothing more than a pretense to satisfy the powers that be just to preserve temporal life(see Rev 13:15). Yes, fake worship, but it is worship nonetheless because they choose earthly demands over the Sovereign Creator.
Do a word study of "power" and "strength" from Rev 17:13, and see how worship is defined by what is given to the object of worship. By this we can know better just what/who we truly worship.
I don't like the title 'We All Worship Something' The Title should have been, 'Choose: Worship God or someone else'
I suppose that if I were not a genuine Christian I would get affended by the latter title. We all worship something, is still wrong because, money, power, sex, themselves, rock stars, actors, and politicians, really boils down to worshiping someone other than God. We have a choice between God and darkness. Ye are my witnesses, I choose life. Deuteronomy 30:19.
John, I think the title is actually perfect. This is how it is. Perhaps eliminate "something" and just say "We All Worship". We will find in the end that this will be between two options. Either worship Him who made...all things, or the beast/dragon. Yet the beast/dragon only symbolize the worship of self over God. So the two choices are God or Self. And yes, we all worship.
The Lesson title was "We All Worship SOMETHING" not "SOMEONE". Sex is not a person but a thing, so is money, with our Free will God allows us to choose Him or any other substitute even though that choice is destructive. To me the title is accurate.
Whatever the vice or object of worship, like Eve, it is the personal choice to indulge that sets one's self above the Sovereign authority of God.
If one keeps the Sabbath Holy, they do not worship the Day. They worship the One who said: "Remember...".
Does the title 'We all worship something'take into consideration the concern and plight of the Atheists?
Simeon, could you expand your question to help us understand what you mean. Initially I would answer that Atheists "worship" their own reasoning which tells them there is no God.
I am careful not to stereotype all atheists into the antithesis of Christianity. Just because they do not make noises that sound like Christian liturgy does not mean that they do not show respect (one aspect of worship) for something. Many of them think of something outside themselves such as nature, the great principle of life, future generations, as the creator/judge in their thinking. In fact, as I have mentioned a number of times, some of them may indeed be surprised to find that they have been worshiping God and following Jesus anonymously.
Among my atheistic friends there are many who have though deeply about Christianity and reject it because of the hypocrisy they see among Christians and Christian religions. I would argue that their deep sense of moral compass is based on Christianity but they do not want to admit is because of what they have experienced at the hands of those who call themselves Christian.
Of course there are those atheists who reject Christianity so that they can live a hedonistic selfish lifestyle at the expense of others. They worship themselves and believe they only need to answer to themselves.
Simeon, the bible tells us that all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast, who's names are NOT in the book of Life. What/who is the beast? Beast = creature. In the end, it is self or Christ. Jesus has other sheep who are "not of this fold", and one day they will hear His voice and follow Him.
There are more calling themselves followers of Christ who worship self than those who cannot accept the popular views of God. Good works will glorify God and lead the honest seeker to Him.