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Evangelical · 09-28-2016, 11:27 PM

The following is inspired by Genesis 22:2-5.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham is about to make a sacrifice to God. But Abraham tells the servants in verse 5 that they are going to worship.

So worship is about sacrifice.

The concept of worship today is to express some sort of love and devotion to God, by singing worship songs. Many churches today prioritize the music and worship over the Lord's table. Worship happens every service but Lord's table once a month or so. They can hold a service without communion but they cannot have a service without music and singing.

For all of the importance of singing songs and providing entertaining performances that churches give today, there is surprisingly little said about it in the New Testament.

This is because singing songs is not what worship is about. Worship is not even about telling God how much we love Him and adore Him. Worship is not about expressing our-self to God.

What is worship? Worship is giving worth to God for who He is. Who is God? God is love, yes, God is loving, yes, God is kind yes. But this is not who He really is. Who He really is, is God - God is God. God does what He likes. No one can tell Him what to do. Genuine worship is saying "you are God, I am not, here is my Isaac, do what you want with my Isaac".

Genuine worship is when Abraham offered up Isaac on the Altar, and basically said "God, do want you want". Worship involves offering up our Isaacs to God.Worship is saying to God "God, you are God, you do what you want, not my will but yours be done". This is what real worship is.

Every Sunday millions of people go to churches and sing songs of love and devotion to God. But unless they offer up their Isaacs, they have not worshiped God at all. A person who has never offered up an Isaac to God has actually not truly worshiped God. This is not saying that what they do has no value. It has value, but it is not biblical worship, it is expressing love and devotion to God through song.

Today many equate worship with music and music styles. The majority of churches that use rock music in worship do so to cater to the likes and dislikes of the congregation. At one point they may have used classical hymns, then someone came along and said "we want to attract young people, the music is too old fashioned". So they change the music to suit the people. This is based on the wrong concept that worship is about expressing ourselves in a way that we like.

When Abraham worshiped God, did he sing God a song? No, did he ask others to come and play music that he liked? No. If we realize that the real meaning of worship is sacrifice and submission, then the style of music is irrelevant, and even the concept of different methods and ways of self-expression is irrelevant.

Knowing the true meaning of worship puts Jesus's words in better context:

John 4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.""

-in Spirit - God does not want us to grab our children and try to kill them on some mountain here or mountain there. Spiritual worship is to offer up to God those things that we hold dear in our hearts, and we can do that anywhere we are and any time of the day.

"in truth" - in truth means God wants sincerity. God does not want lip service, but something genuine from the heart.

When I was in the denominations, Jesus's words in John 4:24 did not make much sense, because I had the wrong concept that worship is about singing and expressing myself to God.

Now that we have seen what worship is, we should consider what the purpose of worship is.

Why does God need us to tell Him that He is God? He knows who He is. Does God have such an ego? Of course not.

The purpose of worship is for God's economy which is to be filled with God. God sometimes cannot fill us with Himself until we empty ourselves of our Isaac through genuine worship. Worship is also related to obedience. Abraham obeyed God (verse 16), so worship and obedience go hand in hand. Worship is obeying God by submitting to Him and offering our Isaac. The result of genuine worship is blessing. Most bible expositors consider the story of Abraham and Isaac to be a test. It is indeed a test, but it is a test to see if Abraham would truly worship God for just being God, or because God did good things for him by giving him Isaac.

09-28-2016, 11:27 PM	#582
Evangelical Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 3,965	What is worship The following is inspired by Genesis 22:2-5. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham is about to make a sacrifice to God. But Abraham tells the servants in verse 5 that they are going to worship. So worship is about sacrifice. The concept of worship today is to express some sort of love and devotion to God, by singing worship songs. Many churches today prioritize the music and worship over the Lord's table. Worship happens every service but Lord's table once a month or so. They can hold a service without communion but they cannot have a service without music and singing. For all of the importance of singing songs and providing entertaining performances that churches give today, there is surprisingly little said about it in the New Testament. This is because singing songs is not what worship is about. Worship is not even about telling God how much we love Him and adore Him. Worship is not about expressing our-self to God. What is worship? Worship is giving worth to God for who He is. Who is God? God is love, yes, God is loving, yes, God is kind yes. But this is not who He really is. Who He really is, is God - God is God. God does what He likes. No one can tell Him what to do. Genuine worship is saying "you are God, I am not, here is my Isaac, do what you want with my Isaac". Genuine worship is when Abraham offered up Isaac on the Altar, and basically said "God, do want you want". Worship involves offering up our Isaacs to God.Worship is saying to God "God, you are God, you do what you want, not my will but yours be done". This is what real worship is. Every Sunday millions of people go to churches and sing songs of love and devotion to God. But unless they offer up their Isaacs, they have not worshiped God at all. A person who has never offered up an Isaac to God has actually not truly worshiped God. This is not saying that what they do has no value. It has value, but it is not biblical worship, it is expressing love and devotion to God through song. Today many equate worship with music and music styles. The majority of churches that use rock music in worship do so to cater to the likes and dislikes of the congregation. At one point they may have used classical hymns, then someone came along and said "we want to attract young people, the music is too old fashioned". So they change the music to suit the people. This is based on the wrong concept that worship is about expressing ourselves in a way that we like. When Abraham worshiped God, did he sing God a song? No, did he ask others to come and play music that he liked? No. If we realize that the real meaning of worship is sacrifice and submission, then the style of music is irrelevant, and even the concept of different methods and ways of self-expression is irrelevant. Knowing the true meaning of worship puts Jesus's words in better context: John 4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."" -in Spirit - God does not want us to grab our children and try to kill them on some mountain here or mountain there. Spiritual worship is to offer up to God those things that we hold dear in our hearts, and we can do that anywhere we are and any time of the day. "in truth" - in truth means God wants sincerity. God does not want lip service, but something genuine from the heart. When I was in the denominations, Jesus's words in John 4:24 did not make much sense, because I had the wrong concept that worship is about singing and expressing myself to God. Now that we have seen what worship is, we should consider what the purpose of worship is. Why does God need us to tell Him that He is God? He knows who He is. Does God have such an ego? Of course not. The purpose of worship is for God's economy which is to be filled with God. God sometimes cannot fill us with Himself until we empty ourselves of our Isaac through genuine worship. Worship is also related to obedience. Abraham obeyed God (verse 16), so worship and obedience go hand in hand. Worship is obeying God by submitting to Him and offering our Isaac. The result of genuine worship is blessing. Most bible expositors consider the story of Abraham and Isaac to be a test. It is indeed a test, but it is a test to see if Abraham would truly worship God for just being God, or because God did good things for him by giving him Isaac.