1 Chronicles 16: 29
Give to the LORD the glory [due] His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Psalm 96:9
Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
John 4:23
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Psalm 22:3
But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that inhabitest the praises of Israel. KJV
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. NKJV
And Thou [art] holy, Sitting in the Praises of Israel.
Zephaniah 3: 14-17
Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Sing, O Daughter of Zion; Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Psalm 149:3
Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
Psalm 95:6
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
Rev 7: 9-12
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
I am seeing that most people that come to church on Sunday morning are there for one reason and one reason only. It's not for an experience with The Almighty God, or to really make any effort to get closer to Him, no, It is really almost like they get a star by there name just for showing up.
No, I really don't think that's the way it works. I think God expects a little more out of us than that. It is either that, or we have a lot of people that have a "form of godliness" but deny the power there of 2 Timothy 3:5....
In either case, God sees right through the facade and the act that we put on every Sunday during worship time. If we really believe in God wouldn't we worship Him like He was already standing there in front of us, cause He is....
proskyneÅ is the greek word used in John 4:23 for worship which means:
1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence
2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
movement of the body expressing deep respect ordeferential courtesy, as before a superior; a bow, curtsy,orother similar gesture. in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication.
obeisance:
1. A gesture or movement of the body, such as a curtsy, that expresses deference or homage.
2. An attitude of deference or homage.
What I see is not an attitude of homage, but when can I get out of here so I can get something to eat and watch the football game.... I'm sorry if I am being a little blunt, but I am so tired of people wondering why God isn't moving on their behalf. But if they look, they really aren't taking Him seriously. If they were, this would not only show up in their worship, but their everyday life, how they act and how they treat people would change. We need a real touch from the Holy Spirit and I am afraid for most people it will take a tragedy, or a real difficult trial or test.
But we live in this "It's my way or the Highway" age and "I will get what's mine" mentality.I can't find anywhere in the Bible that we are promised specific wealth and especially not comfort. What is promised is pain and trials.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. (Psalm34:19)
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
I believe, at least in my case, that God lets us go through these hardships to bring us closer to Him. like in 2 Cor 12: 7-10:
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
So many times I hear people say, "God will never give you more than you can handle"... To that I say, Have you read the book of Job? Yeah, that man went through what could be considered literal Hell-on-earth. But the actual scripture that most people are refering to is
1 COR 10:13:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
This scripture is talking specifically about temptation, not trials or troubles.
God wants you to cry out to him and if it takes you going through a close friend or family member dying or a crippling accident, or like in my case, a job that is overwhelming, He will use any of these things to show you his sovereignty. You may be thinking what a mean or cruel God, but He is doing this so that He can be in relationship with you, not to just be mean. That is why it is important to take Him seriously and spend time in prayer and meditation and worship. It may not keep you from the hardships, like Paul in prison :
Acts 16:25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
If you go on to read, the jailer and others where lead to the Lord through this experience. This would never have happened if Paul was throwing his fist in the air asking why God was letting this happen to him.
Look, I am beginning to realize, Life is really hard for the believer. Why? I know it sounds strange, but because God really loves you. If he didn't you wouldn't have to go through discipline.
Hebrews 12:16 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Sin almost always has consequences.
Even if you repent right away. I feel like I am still dealing with wrong choices I made about 25 years ago.
He is working on us like the potter does to the clay, if an imperfection is found, sometimes he will distroy the clay to start fresh.
That is why it is so important to seek God in all things, like in the 1 Cor 10:13 scripture, he will always provide a way out of our sin, if we will only accept it now.
He will also give you better insight and clarity about things happening in the spiritual world. Also I have had many times where I was healed of a pain or ache during radical worship.
I pray that this will encourage many people to really dig in and seek The Lord with all of their hearts in all they do. He wants you to come to him in desperation and a true hunger for Him!
