Please turn to the book of Genesis.
And Abraham said unto his young men, “Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you.”
And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.
And He came, and He taketh it out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne.
And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sing a new song, saying, “Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth.”
And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a great voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things in them, heard I saying, “Unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever.”
And the four living creatures said, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshipped.
Our heavenly Father, how we pray and thank Thee that Thou hast given us the right, the privilege, to worship Thee as Thy children.
Oh, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast revealed Thy Son to us, that in Him and through Him we can be true worshippers.
And Father, we do desire at this very moment that, by Thy Holy Spirit, Thou wilt teach us what worship is, that we may be true worshippers of Thee, heavenly Father.
Lord, we do desire to be such, and we ask Thee to teach us and to lead us into this truth through Thy Holy Spirit. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Last Lord’s Day, we began to fellowship on this very basic but very profound subject of worship.
We realized that our Lord Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman on this matter of worship. I think this shows us that worship is not a theological matter. Worship is a spiritual experience.
Everyone whose conscience has been awakened by the Spirit of God returns to this matter of worship. And everyone who is redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb is qualified to be a worshipper, a true worshipper of the Father.
Now, after we shared last Lord’s Day that the hour is coming, and now is, when we worship the Father in spirit and truth, I feel that probably we still need to lay some groundwork. That is, we still need to have a clearer understanding of what worship really is.
You know, it is very strange that in the Bible, in the Word of God, you really do not have any definition. The Bible does not define things as we want it to be.
And the reason is because the truth that is in the Bible is so inclusive that it is impossible to define. Because when you try to define a thing, in a sense you confine it.
Now, worship is something that is not defined anywhere in the Bible. We find it everywhere in the Word of God, and yet it is never defined.
And I think probably this is one reason why we have such a vague idea of what worship is. You know, modern men like to see things defined in concrete terms. Then we can understand; we can grasp it. But in spiritual things, you will find it is beyond our human comprehension, because it is spiritual.
So I think the best thing to understand worship is not to try to define it, but to find in the Bible how worship is illustrated. In other words, you do not have a definition of worship in the Bible, but you have plenty of examples of worship.
And I think we learn by examples more than by definition. So, if the Lord enables us, we will go through the whole Bible in a very rapid way and try to find the examples of how people worship God.
What is worship? How do we worship? On what occasion, at what time, do we worship? And what kind of worship really touches God’s heart?
We often say that the first mention of a word in the Bible gives somewhat of a clue. Now, the word worship in the Old Testament, of course, is Hebrew. Where is it first mentioned in the Old Testament?
Well, that is the verse that we read as a beginning: Genesis 22:5. There you find Abraham telling the young men, “Stay here. I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and then will return.”
This is the first mention of the word worship in the Bible. And that word in Hebrew means to bow oneself down, to bow oneself low in worship.
Now, of course, it does not mean that before Abraham worshipped God, God was not worshipped at all. No doubt, when Abel offered the lamb on the altar, he worshipped God. No doubt Noah, after he came out of the ark and built that altar, and the sweet-smelling savour went up to God, was worshipping God.
But in Genesis 22:5, that is the first time the word is mentioned. Why? Because in this incident, it reveals to us the very essence of worship.
Abraham had a long life with God, and through his long experience with God he knew God in a very deep way. God had revealed Himself to Abraham in a way that He had never done to anybody before him.
But then God tested Abraham. God said, “Abraham, offer your son Isaac to Me, your only son.”
Without hesitation, Abraham rose up early in the morning. He took his son Isaac, and he travelled three days’ journey to Mount Moriah.
God gave him enough time to think things over. But his heart was fixed upon God; he never looked back.
When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, he told the young men to stay behind. And that was very wise, because he was going to do something that, humanly speaking, was horrible.
So he asked the young men to stay behind. And what was he going to do yonder? He said, “I and the lad will go yonder and worship.”
How did Abraham worship God? He worshipped God by offering His only begotten son, Isaac.
He did not hold back anything from God. In other words, he considered God as worthy—worthy of his very best.
God was worthy not only of his sheep and his cattle, but God was worthy even of his only begotten son, in whom was all his hope. He considered God as more worthy than his son.
He did not hold back anything from God.
And of course, we know the story. He bound his son, and when he took up his knife, he heard a voice: “Abraham.”
He looked around and saw the ram caught in the thicket. So he offered the ram instead of his son. But God was so pleased with him, and God blessed him.
Brothers and sisters, this is worship.
You know, in old English the word worship is spelled worth-ship—W-O-R-T-H-S-H-I-P. And that is very true. Why? Because worship comes out of worth. Because you consider Him as worthy, therefore you worship.
But here you find worship is not a matter of words; it is an act.
Now, oftentimes we think of worship always in terms of words—that is, when we sing, when we pray, or when we praise, we are worshipping God. Now, of course, when we worship, we do sing, we do pray, and we do praise Him. These are all expressions of worship. But worship is more than just words.
Worship must be an act. So here you find Abraham worshipped God through an action. And that action proved that God was worthy—more worthy than anything else—and that he was willing to give up everything to honour God, to glorify God.
That is worship. And you know, the result of worship is blessing. As Abraham worshipped God with such devotion, God blessed him with such a blessing that even all the nations shall be blessed through his seed.
Now this is the first mention of worship in the Bible. The second mention is in Genesis 24. There you find Abraham sending his steward to go to his native land to get a wife for his son Isaac.
So here you find, in Genesis 24, the steward travelled to Padan-aram. As he arrived there, how he prayed. He stood by the well and prayed, “O God of Abraham my master, if Thou wilt prosper me, and send me to the home of my master’s relatives, that I may get a wife for my master’s son.”
And as he was finishing his prayer, we all know the story: Rebekah came. And he tested Rebekah. When he discovered that this was of his master’s family and kindred, immediately, you find in Genesis 24:26, at the side of the well, he worshipped God.
He bowed down and worshipped God—that God had prospered him, answered his prayer, blessed his master, and led him to his master’s kindred.
And you know, he went into their home. He related the whole story. He told them how God had prospered his way. And when the thing was settled, again he worshipped God.
Worship is because God is above all. Worship is because God has provided.
You know, oftentimes we receive something from God. God has given us grace, and yet we just take what He has given and walk away. We never return to give thanks to Him. We forget everything. We are ungrateful, and that hurts the heart of God.
What is worship? Worship is when you receive something from Him, when He answers your prayer, when He has made provision for you, when He has blessed you, you do not forget to return and give thanks to Him. You tell Him how you appreciate what He has done. And that is worship.
Well, chronologically speaking, probably we should consider Job, because Job actually lived in the time of the patriarchs.
Here you find a man, Job. He was perfect, upright, and feared God. And God used him to challenge Satan.
God said, “Hast thou considered My servant Job? There is no one more righteous than he. He feared God and turned away from evil.”
And you remember how Satan said, “Is there not a reason why Job fears? Because You put a hedge around him. You bless him. You protect him. Suppose You take off the hedge, and then we attack him and take away all the things that You have given to him. Then we will see.”
God said, “All right, go ahead. But do not touch his body.”
And Satan attacked Job with attack upon attack. He took away not only all his cattle and all his herds, but even took away all his children. And these news came in one day, one after another.
And after Job heard all these calamities, what did he do? He rose up, he rent his garment, he shaved his head, he bowed down, and worshipped God.
“The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Brothers and sisters, this is worship.
Worship is not only something you do when God has blessed you, given something to you, and provided for you. Worship is also what you do when everything is taken from you, and yet you realize that God has the right to take it away.
You know, brothers and sisters, sometimes we think it is easier to worship God when He gives, even though oftentimes we are not that grateful. But when God begins to take away things from us, can we worship? Will we not rather murmur, and sometimes rebel against Him?
But if we can worship God only when He gives, when He blesses, and we cannot worship Him when He takes things away—when He afflicts us—brothers and sisters, we do not know what worship is.
Why? Because worship does not depend upon things. Worship depends upon God Himself.
If worship is dependent upon things, then when God gives you things, you worship. Now whom do you worship? You do not worship God; you worship the things that you receive.
But when God takes away things and you still can worship, you see Him. You see God as God. You see Him as having every right. He has the right to give; He has the right to take away.
“Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
That is worship.
And we remember, towards the end of the book of Job, when God revealed Himself to Job as the Creator, Job realized it. He said, “I repent in dust and ashes. I realize You are God. You can do anything. There is no one who can say, ‘Why do You do it?’ You are God.”
Brothers and sisters, the very acknowledgement of God as God, and the realization that you are but dust and ashes, that is worship.
Worship is seeing God as God and seeing yourself as dust on the earth.
Jacob worshipped. Even though the word worship about Jacob was used in the New Testament instead of the Old Testament, in Hebrews we are told in Hebrews 11 that Jacob worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
Before Jacob died, he worshipped God, leaning on the top of his staff.
You know, this staff of Jacob was something. Why? Because if you go back to Genesis, you remember what he said: “With this staff I crossed the river.” In other words, when he left home, he had nothing but a staff.
This staff was very lively. This staff was his cleverness. With this staff he manoeuvred for twenty years, staying with his uncle Laban. With this staff he tried to build up his own house. He leaned upon the staff for his very living. That was his cleverness—the history, the symbol, of his life.
But, dear brothers and sisters, God had transformed that staff through so much dealing with him.
As God dealt with him again and again and again, until it was consummated at the ford of Jabbok, Jacob’s thigh was touched and he was crippled.
That staff became a symbol of the cross. Instead of being a sign of his own cleverness and his own strength, that staff, after the Lord had done so much in that life, had become a symbol of the cross.
The cross had worked so much in that life that from then on he leaned upon that staff—the cross. He could not live without the cross. And even when he was dying, he leaned on the top of that staff and worshipped God.
Brothers and sisters, who knows worship? Not someone who lives in the energy of his own flesh. If you live your life by the strength of your flesh, you worship yourself. You do not know how to worship God.
But it is only those who have known the cross. When the cross works deep into your life, you begin to realize how weak you are, and you begin to realize how strong God is.
And it is through the working of the cross in your life that you are able to lean on the top of the staff and worship.
When the cross works in our lives, it is painful. It reveals the worst in you. It exposes you completely. But if you allow the cross to perfect its work in you, you will become a true worshipper of God.
You begin to realize that it is the cross that gives you Christ. It is the cross that gives you the knowledge of God. And you will lean upon the cross and worship God.
Hannah worshipped God. We know how God shut up her womb, how she was embarrassed, how she was provoked, how she cried before God, how she wept, and how she could not eat or drink.
How she made a vow to God: “O God, if only You will give me a son, I will give him back to You as a freewill offering.”
And Eli noticed that her lips were moving. Eli, being old and dim in his eyes, could see only very vaguely, and he thought Hannah must be drunk. What a judge!
But when Hannah said, “No, I am not that kind of woman. I am a woman afflicted. I am crying before the Lord,” Eli said, “God hear you.”
And immediately, you find, she went back, ate and drank, worshipped God, and returned home.
What is worship? Worship comes through faith.
Hannah prayed and asked God for a son. Even before she received the son, she believed in God. And because of her faith in God, she could worship.
Now, oftentimes we have to wait until our prayer is answered; then we worship God. Before the prayer is answered, we are waiting to see if God is dependable, if He is to be worshipped. We have to wait until the thing is accomplished, and then we worship.
But, dear brothers and sisters, if you have faith, you can worship even before the answer. Why? Because you know He has answered. The answer is on the way. So why not worship Him before you see the answer?
David—oh, David is a worshipper.
David sinned, and we call David’s sin a sin. The discipline in the hand of God was upon him. God smote the child that was born out of that sin.
David lay on the floor, fasting, hoping that God would look upon his affliction and be merciful to the child.
But the child died. And after the child died, the servants dared not tell David, because they said, “While the child was living, look—King David would not eat and would not drink. Now, if he knew that the child was dead, what will happen to him?”
But while they were whispering, David noticed. And David said, “Is the child dead?” “Yes.”
He rose up, washed himself, put on his clothes, went and worshipped God.
Isn’t that strange? God did not answer his prayer, and yet he worshipped God. Why? Because he knew God.
He prayed, hoping that God would be merciful. But when he realized the discipline was necessary, he accepted it. Because he accepted the discipline of God, he worshipped God.
Brothers and sisters, oftentimes we cannot accept discipline; therefore, we will not worship. How can you kiss the hand that strikes you?
But if you know that hand—whose hand it is—you can worship the One whose hand smites you.
Brothers and sisters, the reason why there is so little worship today is because we know so little of discipline. When we are disciplined, we rebel. We resent it, reject it, and murmur.
But if we see the love behind discipline, we can worship as David did. He rose up and worshipped God.
As you read on, you will find again that the discipline continued in his house. Even his own son Absalom rebelled against him. His son Absalom was able to stir up the whole nation, as it were, to rebel against him. David had to flee for his life.
And as David was fleeing out of Jerusalem, as he climbed to the summit of the Mount of Olives, what did the Bible say? He worshipped God.
He worshipped God when he was fleeing for his life. He worshipped God when his own son wanted his life. He worshipped God when he seemed to have lost everything—his nation. And yet, as he climbed to the summit, he worshipped God.
David knew worship. David was a true worshipper of God.
And we all know that David is the sweet singer of Israel. If you read the Psalms, that collection of one hundred and fifty psalms, most of them were written by David.
And as you read these psalms, dear brothers and sisters, you find a worshipping spirit in the Psalms. Oh, how he worshipped God on all occasions. He worshipped God when he was in trouble. He worshipped God when he was in prosperity.
Not only did he himself worship God, but he called the heavens and earth to join with him to worship God. Why? Because he considered God as worthy.
Now, of course, we can go on and on. And you find in the Old Testament many, many examples of worship. You find that they worshipped God under all kinds of circumstances.
Even though under the law, as we mentioned before, in the dispensation of the law the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem, in the temple, three times a year. The Samaritans had their own tradition; they worshipped on Mount Gerizim.
And yet, brothers and sisters, even in Old Testament times, when people really were drawn into true worship, you find they worshipped in spirit.
They worshipped at all times, under all kinds of circumstances. It is based upon their knowledge of God. When you see God, you worship.
But make no mistake in thinking that worship belongs to the Old Testament. You know, oftentimes when we try to worship, we go back to the Old Testament, as if worship belongs to the Old Testament, as if we do not find worship in the New Testament.
How people today, trying to learn worship, always go back to the Old Testament.
But thank God, the hour is coming, the Lord said, and now is. The Father is seeking true worshippers, those who worship Him in spirit and truth.
Dear brothers and sisters, today we are in a much better position in the matter of worship than the people in Old Testament times. If the people in Old Testament times knew how to worship, how much more we in New Testament times should know how to worship.
Why? Because with them the revelation of God was limited, but with us it is unlimited. They knew God only as God, but we know God as our Father.
They knew God only as transcendent, but we know God as immanent. We have a relationship with God our Father that they did not have.
So under the New Testament, we ought to worship God much more and much better than the Old Testament saints. We should not in any way be behind them.
Now go to the New Testament, and you will find the New Testament is full of worship.
When Christ was born, you remember the Magi, the wise men. They saw the star, so they travelled from afar. It took them almost two years to arrive at Jerusalem.
They inquired, saying, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we saw His star.”
Then, directed by prophecy and then by the star, they came to that house in Bethlehem. Remember, it was no longer the manger; two years had passed.
Joseph and Mary, with their firstborn, were living in a house there. They entered into the house, they saw the Child, and they worshipped Him.
They did not worship the mother, nor the father. They worshipped the Child.
As they worshipped the Child, they offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Brothers and sisters, worship comes through revelation. If there is no revelation, there can be no worship.
If the wise men did not see the star, they would not have been able to come and worship the Child. If we do not have revelation from above to see Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God, how can we worship Him?
Worship is based on revelation.
But even when the wise men worshipped the Child, they did not worship merely with physical postures. They worshipped with offerings.
They offered something worthy to the Child. They offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are precious things in the eyes of men. And yet you find these wise men offering gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Lord.
Some people say gold speaks of the divine nature of God. Yes, the Child is the Son that is given.
Frankincense speaks of the life of our Lord Jesus on earth, like a sweet savour, the odour of frankincense. The incense, as it goes out, speaks of the life of our Lord.
Myrrh speaks of the death of our Lord. It is bitter, and yet it has healing power. And of course, Joseph would need some gold, because they had to flee to Egypt and stay there.
So here you find these wise men came to worship through revelation, and they worshipped with offering.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is worship? We worship because we know Him. But when we worship, do not just worship with empty words. Offer something to Him.
As we come to worship Him, we bring our offerings to Him. This is called the sacrifice of praise. Even when we praise Him, there is a sacrifice there.
In other words, something that we have gone through, something that we have experienced—oh, yes—we bring back to Him.
As a brother read during the time of the breaking of bread:
Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, as we worship, we offer. Even when we offer praises, they are not just words. It is a sacrifice. It costs you something.
We offer back to Him that which He has given to us: His divinity, His pure life, His atoning death for us, His resurrection, His glory, His coming. We are offering something to Him. Never come to worship with empty hands.
Worship surrounded the birth of our Lord. Do you know, when our Lord Jesus was eight days old, He was presented at the temple? And Simeon came.
This man Simeon took the Baby in his hands and said, “Now, Lord, Thou lettest Thy servant depart in peace, because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
Dear brothers and sisters, even though the word worship is not used, you know this is worship. What is worship? Worship is treasuring the Son. That is worship.
To Simeon, his whole life on earth was lived for one purpose: to see the salvation of the Lord. When he saw the Saviour, he said, “I am ready to go. There is no more desire in me.”
That is worship. Brothers and sisters, do we have such a worshipping spirit? Are we desiring so many things that even when we have Him in our hands, we are not satisfied?
Do we really live for Him and for Him alone? That is worship.
And of course, Mary—the mother of Jesus. You remember, she went to visit Elizabeth.
And when Elizabeth heard her voice, the babe in Elizabeth’s womb began to leap with joy. And Elizabeth said, “Blessed art thou among women.”
And you remember Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
And there you find in her words that she worshipped God. Now, worship began with her spirit. She said, “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,” and then, “My soul doth magnify the Lord.”
Now this is important. Remember, worship does not originate from the soul. Worship originates from the spirit.
It is in your spirit that you have been given a revelation of something of Him. And when you see Him in your spirit and you have rejoiced in Him in your spirit, then your soul takes up and magnifies the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, how do we magnify the Lord? We magnify the Lord by praises. We magnify the Lord by singing. We magnify the Lord by prayer.
But when you magnify the Lord, when you express with your emotions, with your mind, and with your will, remember: it has to begin with your spirit. And that is worship.
Well, it is true: Mary was the most blessed of women, favoured by God. She was the only one; no one else was given this privilege. And yet, on the other hand, it cost her everything.
Her praises were a sacrifice of praise. When she magnified the Lord and rejoiced in the Lord, it cost her everything. That is worship.
Dear brothers and sisters, if worship does not cost you something, it is very shallow, very superficial.
The more it costs you, the deeper your worship. Why? Because you see more of His worthiness.
Come to the life of our Lord Jesus. The whole life of our Lord Jesus is characterized by worship. It comes out in many forms.
Look at the prayer life of our Lord. The prayer life of our Lord Jesus is worship. Why? Because He shows us how He depends upon the Father, how He seeks the will of the Father: “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” That is worship.
It comes out in the form of praise. In Matthew 11, He laboured hard in Capernaum, in Chorazin, and in Bethsaida; and yet the people did not receive Him.
At the point of disappointment, He turned to God and said, “Father, I thank Thee. Father, I thank Thee, because Thou hast revealed these things to babes, but Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent. Father, it is Thy good pleasure that it should be so.”
Dear brothers and sisters, how we want our work to be successful. How we want our labour to be rewarded. But when these things do not happen, we murmur. We say, “Why?”
And yet, with our Lord Jesus, He said, “God, if this is Thy will, I thank Thee. I am happy. I rejoice in it.” That is worship.
When our Lord Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice on the cross, that is the consummation of worship.
You remember in Psalm 40, it is said:
Sacrifice and offering Thou hast no delight in;
Mine ears hast Thou opened:
Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast Thou not required.
Then said I, “Lo, I am come;
In the roll of the book it is written of Me:
I delight to do Thy will, O my God;
Yea, Thy law is within My heart.”
Brothers and sisters, the whole life of our Lord Jesus is worship. His life is worship. His death is worship. Everything about Him is worship.
Why? Because His whole life is exalting God, honouring the Father, glorifying the Father. That is worship.
Our Lord not only sets before us an example of worship, but our Lord teaches us much on worship.
You remember when He was tempted in the wilderness and the devil came and said, “If You will just bow down and worship me, I will give You all the kingdoms of the world. Yes, I will give them to You.”
Do you think the devil will give all the kingdoms to you without a string attached?
In the first place, the world does not belong to him; he usurped it. In the second place, when he wants to give the world to you, he wants your soul as the exchange. But when he gets your soul, he gets his world back. So you get nothing; you lose yourself.
What doth it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his soul?
But when Satan tempted our Lord, what did the Lord say? “Satan, go away, because it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’”
The Lord teaches us very clearly that there is only One who is to be worshipped. That is God, our Father. He is the only One that we must serve.
And of course, in John 4, He said, “We worship the Father in spirit and truth.”
And again, you find the Lord in Matthew 15. He says that the Pharisees worship God with their lips, but their heart is far away from God. It is vain for them to worship because they violate the commandment of God and keep the traditions of men as teaching.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord tells us what worship is not. Worship is not lip service. Worship must come from the heart.
If the heart is there, then the words will be accepted. If the heart is far away from God, then whatever is said is in vain.
And worship must be in truth—that is, according to the commandment of God, not the teaching of men. If we worship according to the teaching of men, it is worshipping in vain. But if we worship according to the commandment of God, keeping the commandment of God, that is worshipping in truth.
In Luke 17, our Lord Jesus healed ten lepers. Only one returned to give thanks.
And the Lord said, “Did I not heal ten? Where are the nine? Only this stranger, a Samaritan, returned to give thanks to God.”
In other words, our Lord is looking for worship. God is looking for worship.
What is worship? Worship is to return and to give thanks. That is worship.
Do we ever receive healings and blessings from God, and we just go away? Do we ever return? Worship is to return. It is to return and give thanks to God. That is worship.
Oh, in the New Testament you find many places where worship is given. For instance, in Matthew 8, the leper came to the Lord and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”
Why did he worship? Because he believed. He believed that the Lord was not only able, but that He was willing. If we believe, we can worship.
In Matthew 9, you find the ruler whose daughter was dying. He came and worshipped the Lord and said, “My daughter is dying. Come; Thou canst heal her.” Again, you find worship is based on faith. If you believe, you worship.
In Matthew 14, you find the disciples. The Lord said, “Let us go over to the other side.” They were in the ship, and there was a storm. The Lord was sleeping in the stern. They woke Him up and said, “We perish.” The Lord calmed the sea. When they saw this, they worshipped Him.
Revelation—seeing—then worship.
In Matthew 15, you find the Canaanite woman. She came to the Lord and said, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” The Lord did not answer her.
When the Lord entered into the house, she came forward, and the Lord said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.” Remember, the dogs here are not wild dogs, but household pets.
So the woman took that lower position and said, “Yes, I am but a little dog; but the little dogs under the table do eat of the crumbs.”
She worshipped the Lord because of her faith in God.
Well, of course, we can go on and on. But I think we can mention another one, and that is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.
Even though the word worship is not used, when you read the Gospel according to John, chapter 12, you find that our Lord was sitting at the table, and Lazarus was sitting by.
Martha, as usual, was busy preparing the food. And Mary came with an alabaster flask of pure nard. She broke the flask and poured the ointment upon the Lord.
And the fragrance filled the house. That is worship.
Brothers and sisters, there was no speech, but there was worship. Why? Because to Mary, the Lord was worthy.
She saw the worthiness of the Lord. She was willing to give the very best, and her very last, to the Lord. That is worship.
Of course, if you go to the epistles, you find that worship is there. Just take Paul as an illustration, and then I will conclude.
Paul knew how to worship. How do we know? You know, as he writes, sometimes you find in the midst of his writing, worship breaks forth.
Now, Romans, we say, is a treatise—that is, a dissertation—because there you find Paul giving the whole range of the salvation of the Lord.
And when you are writing a dissertation, well, it may be a mental exercise. But here you find in the book of Romans, while he is writing that dissertation, he breaks forth into worship time and again.
Just for example, Romans 9. There he was talking about the privileges of the children of Israel, and in Romans 9:5 he said:
Whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, Who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Now, that is not a dissertation. That is praise. That is worship.
When he thought of what God had given to the children of Israel, when he thought of Christ, he could not contain himself. He said, “This Christ is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.”
Then in Romans 11, when he was telling us about what mercy, what grace, what compassion God has given to us, finally you find in Romans 11:33:
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor?
Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of Him, and through Him, and unto Him, are all things. To Him be the glory for ever. Amen.
That is worship. It is not just cold discussion or arguments. There is that worshipping spirit in Paul.
And of course, in the last chapter, Romans 16, you find the same thing. He concludes in Romans 16:27:
To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory for ever. Amen.
Oh, brothers and sisters, the apostle Paul did have a spirit of worship.
You know, worship is more than just some forms, some expressions, some places. Worship is a spirit.
Why? Because we are worshippers. Now, being worshippers means that this is what you are. You do not just worship once in a while. You do not just worship at certain occasions, at certain places, or at certain times.
No. To be a worshipper means that is what you are. And how can we be worshippers unless we have the spirit of worship?
The spirit of worship is always there. Therefore, you find it should break out at every occasion. There is no limitation.
Now, I have to add a little bit more, and that is: the whole book of Revelation is a book of worship.
Someone says God created man as worshippers, and He has been working through the sixty-six books until He comes to the last book, and there you find worship is there.
God is surrounded with worshippers. They shall see Him, they shall worship Him, they shall serve Him, and they shall have His name upon their foreheads.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we are called to worship.
Now, what is worship? It is impossible to define.
We only know that worship is the spontaneous response of the created, of the redeemed, to the Creator, to our God.
Worship is because we see through revelation.
Worship is to abase ourselves and to exalt Him.
Worship is spiritual in nature. It involves the whole being, not just part of our being. Worship is all-inclusive. It is our very love.
Worship is service. It is our work.
Worship is that which the Father is seeking, and worship is that which we can give.
Someone said, “When you pray, you ask. When you worship, you give.”
We ask all the time, but how often do we give?
God does not require anything from you. If we say we are to repay what He has given, we do not know what grace is. We can never repay.
But there is one thing that God does look for in us, and that is that we appreciate Him.
All He wants is our appreciation—that we will give back to Him that which He has given to us, in gratitude, in love.
Worship is disinterested.
If we are interested in ourselves, we cannot worship; we will not worship. But when we become disinterested in ourselves and interested in Him, we begin to worship.
So, dear brothers and sisters, remember: the Father is seeking worshippers, true worshippers, those who worship Him in spirit and truth.
Oh, heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee because we do have that cloud of witnesses surrounding us, encouraging us to worship Thee, to adore Thee, and to love Thee.
Oh, Lord, we do pray that we may be true worshippers, whose worship is spiritual. Deliver us from ourselves, that we may see Thee at all times, in all circumstances.
Oh, that we may give Thee worship as we ought, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.