At the church where I pastor in Southern California, we went out into the community and asked people, “What or whom do you worship?” We received some pretty interesting answers, which included cell phones, shopping, spouses and even coffee. It’s interesting what people worship. But the fact of the matter is that everyone worships someone or something, because we were created to worship. By saying that, I am not implying that everyone worships God. But I am saying that everyone worships something. Atheists worship. Skeptics worship. Democrats worship. Republicans worship. Everyone worships. There is some altar that you have built in your life to someone or something. That is the fundamental difference between mankind and animals. Animals don’t worship, but people do. Why? Because God has essentially wired us this way. The Bible says God has placed eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). We sense there is something more, and it causes us to worship. Yet many of us are not worshiping God, and we are missing out on what he has for us. The word worship comes from the Old English word weorthscipe, or worthship, which means “to ascribe value or worth to someone or something.” In other words, we worship someone who is worthy. There are a number of words in the Bible that are translated worship from the original language. One word for worship means “to bow down and do homage.” Another word means “to kiss toward.” It is the idea of showing affection. And obviously, you kiss someone whom you know quite well. Together, these words help us begin to gain an understanding of what worship is. We worship God because he is worthy. We bow down and give homage to him, which means that we have reverence for him. We have awe for him. We know that he is a holy, perfect, and flawless God. Then there is worship that means “to kiss toward,” or show affection. The idea is that this awesome, powerful, holy God wants intimacy with us. Think about when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden. Talk about having it made in the shade. Adam lived in a literal paradise. God had given him a companion to share it with, and sin had not yet entered the world. Adam’s job description, so to speak, was to go through the garden and discover all that God had created. When the Bible says that “the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:15 NKJV), it doesn’t mean that Adam was a glorified gardener. It means that his job was to discover what God had placed in the garden and to fellowship with him. Adam was to speak with God and hear from God. It would almost appear from the story in Genesis that Adam and God had a daily appointment in which God would come in the cool of the day, the time when the sun was setting, but when night had not yet fallen. Then Adam and God would speak together. Do you appreciate Greg Laurie’s challenging spiritual insights? Check out the WND Superstore’s extensive Laurie section of books and devotionals You know the rest of the story. Adam and Eve were attracted to the forbidden fruit, they ate it, and sin entered into the world. Then we read that the next day God came walking in the garden, in the cool of the day, saying, “Where are you?” Was God ignorant as to Adam’s whereabouts? Hardly. God knew exactly where Adam was. God was looking for Adam to come clean. He wanted Adam to say, “Lord, I have sinned. I have blown it and eaten the forbidden fruit.” Instead, Adam was hiding. And then, when he finally did come out of hiding, he blamed his sin on Eve, essentially saying, “It is not my fault. It’s the woman you gave me. You thought her up. I was sleeping, I wake up, and she is here! I am not responsible for my actions.” The problem was that Adam was responsible for what he had done. In a sense, God is still saying to us today, “Where are you? I want to have fellowship with you. I want a relationship with you. I want you to discover the purpose for which I have created you.” Yet sadly, there are a lot of people today who do not fulfill their purpose for existence. When Americans were asked in a poll what they thought was the primary purpose of life, 61 percent said the main purpose of life was enjoyment and personal fulfillment. Is that true? Is the primary purpose of life enjoyment and personal fulfillment? No. The primary purpose of life is to know, glorify and worship the God who created us. We were made to do that. It is like a lot of people who drive SUVs today. They have all the equipment that was designed for four-wheeling, but they never use it. We were made to worship God. We were created to fulfill this purpose. God has given talents to each of us, and we can use them to glorify him. The result is that when you are fulfilling the purpose you were created for, when you are glorifying God, fellowshiping with him, and worshiping Him, you will find pleasure and fulfillment not from seeking those things in and of themselves, but from having your priorities in order and seeking God. If we worship a god of our own making, that god is nothing more than a figment of our imaginations and is not worthy of worship. But the true God is indeed worthy of our praise. Often our problems and questions are resolved in worship. I am not suggesting that by just singing a song, your problems will go away. But I am suggesting that by magnifying God, by focusing on God, we will see our problems for what they are. Worship affects every aspect of our lives. Taken from my weekly Column at Worldnetdaily.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 21:08:26 +0000
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