Luke 4:8 – “And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'”   NASB

Exodus 34:14 – “…for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God…”  NASB

Revelation 14:6-7 – “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”  NASB

It is the desire and command of God for us to Worship Him!  Jesus declared in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  If you listen to Jesus’ response to the woman at the will you hear, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. 22 “You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” 

The devil sought to trick Jesus into worshipping him and Jesus responded in Matthew 4:10 – “Begone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'”  The apostle Paul called worship our spiritual service to God in Romans 12:1. Worship has been a part of God’s plan and a part of man’s relationship with Him since creation and will be throughout eternity.

David, one of the most prolific worshippers in the Bible, declared in Psalms 95:6 – “Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”  He said in Psalms 90:5 – “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; Holy is He.”  In Psalms 96:9 we read, “Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.” 

David was a man of praise and instituted 24/7/365 worship in the Tabernacle of David, assigning people to sing, praise, and worship God.  He said in Psalms 132:7 – “Let us go into His dwelling place; Let us worship at His footstool.”  Job was a worshipper as we read in Job 1:20-22. 

Webster’s Dictionary defines worship as:  The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.  The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which love is expressed.  I often ask what is the Hebrew word behind an English word and in this case worship?  The Hebrew translated into English as worship is shachah (shaw-khaw) and means to bow before and pay homage to God.  It means to prostrate oneself before the LORD in total surrender.  That word appears 172 times but is translated worship, 99 times in the King James Version.

In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honor and homage to God.  It is to recognize His Lordship and Sovereignty over our lives.  It is to recognize Him as the God of Creation and the Savior of our souls.  In the New Testament, various words are used to identify this act called worship.  The Greek word proskeuneo means ‘to worship’ or ‘bow before God.’

In considering the etymology of the word worship we find that it is derived from the Old English word (weorbscipe) which means to worship and honor.  It means to recognize and ascribe worthiness or worth-ship!  In the simplest of terms, it means to recognize something as having worth.  God most assuredly has worth, does He not?

Worship involves intimacy and submission.  It is the act of yielding to God fully.  It begins in the heart and spirit and is reflected in an outward demonstration in the flesh, such as raising the hands in adoration and bowing before God in surrender.  It is allowing God to have full control of our hearts. 

We should resist becoming overly technical in our definition of worship and declare that it involves the total surrender of the heart in abandoned adoration of Him.  If I were to ask 100 people what worship is or how to worship, I would probably get 100 different answers or variations.  In John 4:24 we are told to “Worship in spirit and truth.”  In Exodus 34:14 we are instructed to “worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a Jealous God.”  In the Book of Revelation John declared that when he heard the words concerning the last days his response was to fall on his face and worship.  (Revelation 22:8).

What Jesus did on the Cross, in the Resurrection, and Ascension is TOTAL!  Nothing has to be added for the victory over the devil was complete and man once again had an open door to God.  Jesus said that He is the door.  He said that if we invite Him to come in, He will.  He said that if confessed our sin and believed in our hearts we would be saved.  If that reality and the thought of eternity with Him in heaven is not enough to cause us to WORSHIP, then I don’t know what would be. 

Praise is entering the gates and Worship is entering the courts of God! It is entering into His presence where the transformation of our hearts takes place.  It is in our time of Worship that we are changed from glory to glory and become like Him.  It is in that Holy Place the Holy Spirit turns up the heat of the spiritual furnace and purges the dross from our lives and purifies our hearts.  It is there that we discover attitudes and things we have overlooked that need to be dealt with.  Worship is essential for us to become who Jesus said we are.

God bless you as you begin a new journey in Worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is Worthy of our Praise and deserving of our Worship!

Have a great day in Him!