The Divine Pattern of Acceptable Worship – Part 1

A. Human beings are instinctively worshiping creatures. When the David declared : “As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after thee, O God.” Psa. 42:1. he expressed a need that is basic to the human soul. Historians say, “As far back as the time of Cicero in the first century B.C., or even earlier, pagan thinkers had observed that religion in some form or other is a universal trait in human nature.”
Men are going to worship something or someone. It may be the sun, a cow, a golden idol, the true God, or oneself! It is a fact, Humans worship. The issue is, then, is what or whom, and how, will people worship? The issue Jesus stated in Jno. 4:23, was, and still is, Will we be “true worshipers or false worshipers?”
a. Worship is a dominant theme in the Bible and involves a deep sense of religious awe that
expresses itself in ritualistic acts of devotion and service. The word worship, denotes a being
or object that is deemed worthy of devotion. So, before exploring God’s “pattern” of worship, we
need to look at, and understand, some popular false theories regarding worship.
(A) Some people see no relationship between the existence of God and the need to worship.
They View God as an abstraction. They believe, “if God is self?sufficient, He does not
need human worship; therefore, acts of religious devotion are futile, useless.
(1) But, that ignores the fact that God has commanded us to worship Him. It must be
understood though, that God does not demand worship because of His need. Instead, true worship is prescribed for man’s benefit. Serving God will result in humanity’s greatest happiness, Eccl. 12:13.
Example: There is a vital connection between genuine worship and character of life Rom. 1:18?32. When men turn away from genuine devotion to the true God, all sorts of vileness and discontent ensues, Prov. 13:15.
Others say worship is merely an emotion; thus one is actually worshiping all of the time. But, that’s not true. The Bible plainly indicates that worship in ancient days, in addition to the emotion involved, was something practiced at specific times, places, following specific practices.
2. Abraham went to Mt. Moriah to worship, Gen. 22:5; The wise men came from the East to worship the newborn Messiah, Matt. 2:2.
(1) Some people argue that worship is unregulated; They say, “God has spelled out no formula for the worship of Himself.” Therefore, one is at liberty to improvise his own worship agenda.
(2) That was the mistake of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who, after the division of the Hebrew nation, initiated his own worship program 1 Kgs. 12. He authorized golden calves as representatives of God. And then He substituted the cities of Bethel and Dan for Jerusalem as centers of worship.
(3) The new king selected priests for his apostate system from tribes other than the tribe of Levi. Finally, Jeroboam started a religious feast different from those given to Moses by God. Vs. 33, says, “All of these changes he “devised out of his own heart.” No wonder he was called into question by God, No less than 21 times God calls him the one who caused Israel to sin.
(4) We must remember that these examples were written for our learning and our understanding, Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 0:6, 11. Why do we need to be reminded? Because we still will have “Jeroboams” with us today. People who want “Spiritual and Cultural” canges in the church today that allow God’s people to fellowship and become like the denominational world who has departed from God’s New Testament pattern of faith and worship.

What is New Testament worship Beside Jacob’s well near the city of Sychar, Jesus talked with a woman about what is true worship and what is not. He told her that “God is seeking people who will, worship him in spirit and in truth.” Jno. 4:23.
He then stated the components that constitute the kind of worship God requires in Vs. 24. Those elements of required worship are three in number: Object, Attitude and Action. The proper object of worship is “God,” Jehovah God and no other God. The correct attitude is “in spirit.” And the standard by which these acts of worship are to be measured is “the truth.” That truth is God’s Word, Jno. 17:17.
(5) Each of these is crucial. The object of our worship is Deity. Our God is Deity and that Deity is made up of three personages. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
(b In Matt. 4:10, Jesus debated with Satan, and declared that “Only God is worthy of worship.” By the term “God,” the entire Godhead is indicated – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is deity, Eph. 1:3, The Son is also deity Jno. 1:1-3, and the Holy Spirit is deity, Acts 5:3- 4.
That’s who David is talking about in Ps. 18:3, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised...” Col. 2:9?10, speaks of Jesus and says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
(6) The term “deity” simply describes the nature of the Godhead. Some people define this Godhead as a Trinity. These Persons possess the qualities or traits that constitute Godhood. Thus, the Godhead is worthy of worship = Since only God is to be worshiped, all others are excluded.
(7) That excludes Angels, other people, money, power, prestige or anything else. Idol worship comes in many forms and is condemned and covetousness is idolatry, Col. 3:5; Lk. 16:13.
3. “In spirit.” As one created in God’s image I am a spirit being who worships a God who is spirit. To be spiritual and worship in spirit my entire heart being enters into the act.” “The whole soul is thrown into the worship.” A sincere disposition must characterize the worshiper’s mind.
(1) The Old Testament says, in, Josh. 24:14, “Now, therefore, fear Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and in truth.” Isn’t that the same thing Jesus said in Jno. 4:24? One says we “SERVE God in spirit and in truth” and the other says, we “WORSHIP God “in spirit and in truth.”
(2) When we serve God we worship Him. Rom. 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God?this is your spiritual act of worship.”
(1) What is worship? It is serving God. We are to worship and serve God in spirit and in truth. And doing it According to to God’s will is vitally important
(2) We are to sincerely worship God and serve God in spirit and in truth.
(3) Acts 20"32.

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