Matthew 4:8, “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them and saith unto Him, 'All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.' Then saith Jesus unto him, 'Get thee hence, Satan for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt Thou serve.'”

This matter of being a child of God includes worshipping God. Satan tempted Jesus, and he’ll tempt us, too! The world will try and tempt us to give all our time, energy, attention, and effort to them! Jesus understood that the Will of God for all mankind is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength, and only Him shalt thou serve!” Do you really worship God? If you do, how do you do that? I felt I wasn’t really sure what that means! I need to find out based on God’s Word!

At least 3 kinds of worship are mentioned in the Bible. In Acts 17, we read about the altar to the unknown God. He told those people, “Ye ignorantly worship!”

Matthew 15:9, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees, “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

In John 4, the woman at the well asked Jesus about worship. Jesus told her, “True worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.” So there are: ignorant worship, vain worship, and true worship.

What is true worship? The dictionary definition of worship is: “Honor, respect, reverence, love, and devotion expressed for an object or person because of a religious belief.” That’s worship! Jesus said, “The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” What does it mean to worship God in spirit?

Psalms 95:6, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Let us humble ourselves before Him – that’s the spirit of worship!

I Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” He’s describing true worship. When that woman asked Jesus about worship in John 4, she mentioned, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” Jesus said, “Worship isn’t limited by place – we can worship God anywhere and any time!” We’re grateful for that, but we need to be in the right spirit!

What does it mean to worship in truth? Matthew 15:8, Jesus said, “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.” They were probably saying beautiful words that would impress many but Jesus wasn’t impressed because their heart wasn’t in it! Many, say many wonderful things and think they are worshipping, but it is vain and empty as far as God is concerned. True worship is done in humility, and comes from the heart!

Acts 17, Paul said their worship was ignorant. They did not know the god they worshipped when they came to that altar. If we’re going to offer true worship, we have to know God! You have to spend time with Him. We practice the RMS (reading, praying, and meditating). We could add meetings on the end of that. We have to make sure we draw near to His presence. When we pray, God wants to pour out His heart to us, too. That’s how we get to know Him best, as we listen and wait, and ponder what we’ve read and heard.

Acts 17:25, “Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” Many in the world feel they do worship God with their hands – religious art, building hospitals or churches, etc. but He isn’t worshipped with hands.

Acts 17:30, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained.”

True repentance is part of true worship. Honor, respect, reverence, and love all comes from the heart. True repentance only comes from the heart. When we come to Him and acknowledge we’ve been a sinner and need His help to change and be different – then we’re turning to God for the provision He’s made for our salvation! It’s part of true worship!

In Matthew 15, a woman of Canaan came to Jesus pleading for help for her daughter. The disciples asked Jesus to send her away.

Matthew 15:25, “Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, 'Lord, help me.' Jesus told her, 'It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.' The woman said, 'Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.'” She couldn’t be offended! Jesus’ response was, “O, woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Her daughter was made whole from that very hour. She understood that the very least Jesus would do for her would be more than enough to meet her need! She worshipped Him and said, “Lord, help me!” It’s called worship.

Part of true worship is asking again and again for the Lord to help us. We honor and reverence Him, and that’s true worship.

Genesis 22:5, “And Abraham said unto his young men, 'Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.'” God asked Abraham to take his son Isaac, and journey and offer him on the mountain. He was going to sacrifice his son and told them, “I and the lad go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” Isaac and the servants didn’t know Abraham was intending to sacrifice Isaac. They went, built the altar, and put the wood in order. Then Abraham bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, raised the knife, and God stopped him! Abraham called it worship! How does it apply to me? Understand what Isaac represented to Abraham. God had given Abraham a number of promises, but they all hinged on Isaac. Isaac represented Abraham’s future! God said, “Give me your future,” and Abraham did. I hope you trust God with your future every day! Allow God to keep it, and trust God to fulfill His promises to you! A part of true worship is trusting Him with all our future, and leaving it in His hands!

Matthew 2:11, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

The wise men came seeking Jesus, and fell down and worshipped Him. They gave Him gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I believe that was their worship – they brought the best they had. Part of true worship is bringing the best we have to God.

The widow who brought 2 mites was giving God the best she had – her all. We don’t want to hold anything back!

In Matthew 14, Jesus joined them by walking on the sea, and the disciples cried out for fear. Jesus said to them, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water but then he got his focus on the waves, and started to sink. He cried, saying, “Lord, save me!” Jesus caught him, and when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, 'Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.'” They had been shown that many times before but this time there was no question! They had just witnessed Jesus do the impossible! Jesus enabled Peter, one of them, to also do the impossible. They responded by saying, “Thou art the Son of God.” They understood Jesus could do the impossible for them if they would let Him. A part of true worship is letting God do the impossible for us.

As I watch my fellow laborers step up on this platform, it causes me to worship God because I know they are, through God’s help, doing the impossible!

I Samuel 1:27-28, “'For this child, I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord.' And he worshipped the Lord there.”

Hannah had brought Samuel to Eli and surrendered her claim on him. I can picture Eli thanking God for a life to be used.

True worship happens when we give thanks to God for lives yielded to God’s service!

Thank God for them, and for the elder and his wife who have given their home to be used for you and your brethren. It’s a part of worship.

Genesis 24, Abraham’s servant went in search of a bride for Isaac. God led him to the very woman God had chosen! When he understood that, he bowed himself and worshipped for the privilege of being used to find a bride for the master. There’s no greater privilege than to help find someone who will be part of the bride of Christ. It’s a part of true worship. May God help us worship in Spirit and in truth!