The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Isaiah 29:13
I am not a person that expresses his emotion in ways that everyone readily accepts. So when I hear sermons that we should be excited about the Lord they are speaking a foreign language to me. You might say I am passive as very little interests me and excites me to the point of laughter or being able to reflect all my emotions effectively through my actions.
Still I am learning that worship is not totally what comes out of the mouth as God says they honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). Words can be more than saying nice things about God but flattery can be consumed by the wrong motives by serving self more than God.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24
The treasure of the heart comes out of our mouth. A man stores his beliefs in his heart which become the foundation he lives by. By the same token men won’t say what they don’t believe unless it was meant to deceive. Flattery can be manipulated to compliment another person with a motivation for what they get in return; in like manner the words that come from the mouth can be as deceptive as the heart is.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
The worse thing about a deceptive heart is that you don’t know it until you have been caught in a trap of your making. We are always hearing sales pitches from the world that are outright deceptive. The ways of the world have an impact on us and that influence becomes memory in our mind. Separating the mind from the heart depends on who we are listening to - for instance there is a distinction between God ways and the way of the world. The reason, the foundation God of beliefs is entirely different from that of mankind.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24
There has to be truth in your personal worship as God doesn’t like to be lied to. God could have been gracious enough to forgive Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) but they also serve as an example of what happens to those who lie to God. When I think of truth there has to be an accurate agreement between the words of your mouth and the actuality you create.
The actuality you create is seen through your deeds. We have seen many during our lifetime that advise one thing and did things contrary to their advice. Their advice is somewhat confusing and over time becomes worthless and untrustworthy.
The same is true of worship of those who worship in song Sunday Morning but normally are a stranger to God the rest of the week. However I believe our spoken worship should be how we address a person, your honor, your majesty and the like. Jesus taught us to say hallowed is your name, and when he prayed he addressed a Holy and righteous Father.
On the other hand, God wants to know the truth and truth becomes clear when your treasure of your heart is displayed through evil deeds. Wickedness does not honor God nor is it a form of reverence God desires.
God deserves the honor of being our creator, a supreme being who has always been God and always will be God. There is no question of his existence and no excuse for not knowing or revering him because he has made himself known to mankind through his creation (Romans 1:20). The bible says.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the reverence for the Lord and to revere the Lord is to know him. When we consider this passage we see the fool every day, he is the person who tells you to leave him alone, don’t preach at me and your crazy if I am going to believe that. These people don’t know that they are despising the wisdom of their creator.
The knowledge of God stimulates a personal reverence for God by knowing who he is and what he is capable of doing. That knowledge about God makes him worthy of committing your life to him. God may not hold your deeds in high esteem but the knowledge of God humbles the heart of man to where worship of God becomes natural.
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. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
Worship has a broader view than what comes out of the mouth. Words can be deceptive but actions reveal the truth of the heart and makes the love for his or her creator known to all. One cannot honor God while despising his wisdom; for without the knowledge of God one cannot live to please him. At the same time actions speak louder than words.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5
Worship of God also involves things done in the flesh to show your love for God. Like kissing the hand of a king or bowing the knee in his presence is an act of worship so is taking the word of God to heart. True worship is responding to the love of God through our actions. Worship takes God’s word to heart and instils God’s wisdom into our being. In other words worship should express our beliefs of our heart through our deeds.
Instilling God’s wisdom into our actions is a form of devotion and it may be prudent to first consider and then mimic the devotion Jesus had towards his father.
For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 12:49-50
Doing the will of God is a part of total worship. Nothing honors God more than accepting his wisdom as truth and then following his advice. Your action is a tribute to his wisdom as well as honoring him with your obedience. Obeying the Ten Commandments is a form of reverence as these series of thou shalt not’s restrict our actions so we may love one another. By the same token accepting his discipline honors God with the respect due him for in the long run God’s discipline drives wickedness from the heart (Proverbs 22:15). We also should consider that a child’s respect for his father honors him when he thinks and acts like his father as an adult.
To me worship is a sacrifice of the heart to look and act like my heavenly father. It’s nice to be excited about the Lord but excitement is not worship. Excitement lifts the emotions of the spirit temporarily but excitement won’t compel you to be intentional or truthful for any length of time. Resolve drives the spirit to go where you steer it and from the desire to know your heavenly father and becoming Christlike, the worship of God is derived.
There can be no greater worship when God is given control of your life. Worship is a state of denying self and proclaiming God above everything. Your faith and trust speak of your love for God so is a reliance on God’s authority. God is so great that it will take an eternity to know him and most Christians are just beginning to know him.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 2/26/2014
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