Sound of Heaven
(Revelation 19:1, 6-7, 10 NLT) After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise the lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God... Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself... Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
Worship - to ascribe worth to something.
Worship is an outward expression of an inward value.
The Not So Great Exchange
(Romans 1:21-23 NIV) For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
✓
Substitution.
(Deuteronomy 6:14-15 NIV) Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God.
✓
Pride.
(John 12:42-43 NIV) Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
✓
Self-gratification.
(Hebrews 13:15 NIV) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
✓
Spectating.
(Hebrews 10:22 NIV) Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.
✓
Tradition.
(Matthew 15:3-9 NIV) Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition...? Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
What God Really Wants
(John 4:23-24 NLT) But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
What God really wants is my worship.
1.
Thank Him with my sincere affection.
(Psalm 50:23 NLT) But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.
2.
Offer Him the control of my life.
(Romans 12:1 NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
(1 Timothy 2:8 NLT) In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.
3.
Include Him in my everyday life.
(Psalm 95:6-7 ESV) Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.