What JESUS taught about WORSHIP

Praise God for using Mrs. Len Sabio who came all the way from Baguio City to lead us in our morning devotion, her message earlier was taken form John 4:19-24, WHAT JESUS TAUGHT ABOUT WORSHIP.

The summary of the message are as follows:

"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

If the worship of God is not the first priority of the church then worship of something else is.

Return to the basic truth of authentic worship.

Know the rules of the game so that we can be sure that it is the game that is being played.

God is calling His own people back to the priority of Himself in everything and over everything in the church and in the world.

Worship is the most fundamental expression of the priority of God in one's life. To worship God is to express that priority in the whole of one's life.

Worship services take place in buildings; worship takes place in the heart of men.

This is the most extensive teaching of Jesus in worship.

What does Jesus say about worship?





5 Fundamental Truth/ Biblical Norms

I. God is seeking (true) Worshipers

- God is seen as the prime seeker
- No self-initiation in the spiritual world
- All man's initiative in seeking God is the result of God's prior initiative towards all man.
- All forms of right and appropriate human action towards God are the result of God's prior initiative towards man.
- The search begun at the beginning... Adam and Eve did not seek God after the Fall; God did.
- All true worship was a response to the One who was seeking first.

Isaiah 43: 1 - I have formed you, I have Called you by name... You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you...

The human race is not running after God but away from God.

Worship is an aspect of humane nature
- Whom do you worship? How?
- The God who seeks us is in hot pursuit.

GOD is the object of worship...

Worship deals with ultimate priority of our lives.
- To follow God is to be His worshipers.
- To be His people is to be His follower.



II. Only True Worship is acceptable to God

Three types of Worship

1. False Worship- worshiping the wrong god; idolatry
2. Vain Worship- worshiping the right God at the wrong way.

Mark 7:6- He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.

Mark 7:7- They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.

Mark 7:8- You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.

When is worship in vain?
a. When it is merely external behaviour; merely external routine, when behaviour learned; habits developed, nothing inside, just going through the motions of worship.
b. When human traditions take precedence over God's word and God's commandment; abandoning the commandments of God and clinging to the traditions of men.
c. When sin is tolerated and goes unconfessed in the lives of believers; when we left sin find a place to live in our hearts, sin in the church and sin in the world do the same thing; they destroy the Kingdom of God; it ruins, destroy, kills.




Isaiah 1:11-20- "The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

"Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;

but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword."
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

- God hates sin


d. When we are living in broken fellowship with other believers.
e. when our motives are wrong; doing the right thing for the wrong reason is nver acceptable to God, pure worship can easily be diluted by self-seeking motives (Jesus at the temple when he overtuned the tables of those selling animals), the Pharisess were right... but they were dead right.

3. tru worship- worshiping the right God at the right way; according to God's word, according to God's commands; in spirit and in truth, only true worship is acceptable to God.

III. True Worship is the Fruit of True Salvation

- You worship what you do not know.
- A little bit of truth is dangerous.
- Worship is not a means of salvation but rather a fruit of salvation.

John 5:30- By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Luke 19:10- For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

- Salvation is the method of God's mission, worship is the goal.
- Without God's rescue operation there is no true worship.
- We worship what we know for we have true salvation in Jesus Christ.


IV. We are living in the age of True Worship

- There were very little true worhip in the Old Testament.
- In Malachi's time, God's judgement on vain worship.
- As worship goes so goes the rest of life.
- There are 5 areas of life in Israel: personal spirituality, personal morality, social ethics, fidelity, blessings.
- The hour is comming... what makes the difference?



V. The Holy Spirit is the Energizer of True Worship

- We are the true circumcision who worship by the spirit and glory of Christ Jesus
- We worship by the spirit of God
- The Holy Spirit makes the difference; not concered about style, packaging, formats and worship services.
- What do we judge this activity by that we call worship? -by WHAT JESUS TAUGHT, the biblical norms by which the church understands and practices true worship.
- Imperative Standard for true worship
- IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.