SUNESIS MINISTRIES

True Worship

Written by Stuart Pattico

The Bible informs us that God is looking for true worshipers. In this article, we will look at the true nature of worship. Let us begin by reading Genesis 22:1-19...

Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Gen 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Gen 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

Gen 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.

Gen 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

Gen 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Gen 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

Gen 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

Gen 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Gen 22:19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

Background

At a certain point in history, God spoke to Abraham whilst he dwelt in Mesopotamia (Acts 7v2). God told Abraham to leave his family and go to a land that God would show him. The nature of this call evidently was supernatural, for Joshua 24v2 seems to indicate that Abraham and his family served other gods. It would appear that Abraham did not as yet know the Lord, but such was the power of God’s call, that it caused Abraham to leave his family, his house, his land, and also his gods. From this we see that God is able call anyone at anytime, even if the knowledge of Him does not exist a certain place. It shows us the sovereignty of God in His purpose and plan for His creation.

At the age of 75, Abraham departed. God had promised Abraham the following things, namely:

• he would become a great nation

• he would be blessed by God

• his name would be made great

• he would be a blessing

• God would bless them that bless him

• God would curse them that curse him

• In him, all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12v2-3)

As Abram journeyed, God confirmed this promise to him several times. In Genesis 15v6 it says,

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Because Abraham believed God’s promise, God declared him to be righteous. This imputed righteousness was not achieved by anything that Abraham did, but simply by virtue of the fact that he believed in the Lord. Even so, we also, when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, are declared righteous and obtain an eternal inheritance.

In order for God’s promise to come to pass, it was necessary for Abraham to have descendants. However, Sarah, who was Abraham’s wife, was unable to conceive. It was the custom, when a wife was barren, for her to present her husband with a handmaiden, servant girl, or concubine, through whom the husband could have a male heir to carry on the name of the family. Abraham and Sarah carried on this custom, and Abraham became the father of Ishmael through Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden. However, this would not be how God’s promise would be fulfilled. Thirteen years later, God affirms to Abraham that it would be accomplished through Sarah. This shows us that we must follow the Spirit, and not the flesh. Often, when we yield to the flesh, we delay God’s promise from manifesting in our lives.

When Abraham was 100 years old, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. This was a remarkable miracle, as both Abraham and Sarah were both well advanced in years, and beyond the age of having children. This again demonstrates the sovereignty of God in bringing His purpose to pass. Isaac was therefore Abraham’s special son, for whom he had waited more than 25 years.

Genesis 22 carries on the story a number of years after Isaac was born. The scripture states in verse 1 that “God did tempt Abraham”. The NKJV and other versions translate this correctly as “God tested Abraham”. The Bible makes it explicitly clear that, “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1v13). However, God certainly does test us. The test for Abraham on this occasion was whether or not he would be willing to sacrifice to God, that which was most precious to him. However, not only was this a test for Abraham, it was an event that would foreshadow the death and resurrection of God’s own Son – Jesus Christ.

Isaac was to be offered as a burnt offering. That is, he was to be killed, and then set on fire to be burned before the Lord. Leviticus 1v3 shows us that the burnt offering acted as an atonement for the one who made the offering. The word ‘atonement’ means a ‘covering’. The sacrifice would cover the individual from God’s wrath, enabling the individual to have fellowship with God. The sacrifice served as a substitute for the individual, appeasing the wrath of God against the individual’s sin. This points to Jesus Christ, who offered Himself on the cross so that we might be forgiven. He is our ‘burnt offering’ who has appeased God’s wrath on our behalf.

It is worthy to note that Isaac was not a small child when he went with Abraham to be sacrificed. This is evident from the passage, in so much that he was able to carry such a load of wood as was sufficient to make a fire to consume a burnt offering. Josephus says that he was 25 years old, and other ancient writes even suggest that he was in his thirties. This indicates that Isaac was completely willing to lay down his life at his fathers command, for we do not read of any resistance on Isaac’s part. This points to the willingness of Jesus in laying down His life. Jesus said,

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

When the Angel of the Lord saw that Abraham had passed the test, He stopped Abraham from carrying out the sacrifice. This shows that God does not approve of human sacrifice as practiced in ancient religions and even in cults and satanic groups to this day. It also points to the resurrection of Jesus Christ who was loosed from the power of death. Hebrews 11v17-19 teach us that whilst Abraham was offering Isaac, Abraham concluded that God would raise him from the dead if necessary, because God had confirmed that the promise would be fulfilled through Isaac.

Worship and the Fear of the Lord

Of particular interest in this passage is Abraham’s use of the word ‘worship’ in verse 5. Abraham informs his men that he is going up to ‘worship’. This is the first time that the English word ‘worship’ appears in the Bible. The original Hebrew word is ‘shâchâh’ which means to ‘humbly beseech, to bow down, crouch or prostrate oneself’. It is therefore also translated as ‘bow down’ on numerous occasions, and is also used to describe Balaam falling flat on his face before the angel of the Lord (Numbers 22v31). To fully appreciate the concept of worshipping God, we need to go beyond the mere definition of the word, and explore its Biblical usage. This particular passage makes it abundantly clear, that true worship goes far beyond the outward act of bowing down. First of all, true worship is rooted in the fear of God. Let us consider what the angel said to Abraham:

Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

Abraham’s act of worship was his offering up of Isaac. This act of worship demonstrated one important thing about Abraham: he feared God. Without the fear of the Lord, Abraham could never have carried through this act of worship. Therefore, the worship that Abraham knew, was rooted in the fear of God. Because Abraham feared God, the angel went on to say:

Gen 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

God confirmed the covenant to Abraham because he demonstrated his fear of God through obedience. This corresponds to the words of the following Psalm:

Psa 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

If we want to see the covenant and blessing of the Lord established in our life, we need to fear Him. Understanding the fear of the Lord will enable us to enter into true worship. Let us therefore first examine the word ‘fear’.

The original Hebrew word comes from the root ‘yârê'’ which means to ‘fear’, to dread’, or to ‘reverence’. However, the fear of the Lord is not just any fear, it is the fear ‘of the Lord’. A portion of Scripture that sheds great light on this is found in Exodus. God had descended upon Mount Sinai in a thick cloud. Accompanying Him were thunders and lightning, and the sound of a very loud trumpet. God came in fire, and the entire mountain quaked and was covered with smoke. As God began to speak, the Israelites were very afraid…

Exo 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Exo 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

In effect, Moses says to the people, “Don’t be afraid, as though God is about to consume you. God has come and demonstrated His power, glory and majesty that you may know that it would be a dangerous thing for you to kindle His anger. Therefore, let the dread of Him be before your faces, lest you forget His power and think that you can sin against Him.” It is thus clear, that the fear of the Lord is birthed out of a revelation of the Awesomeness of God.

The one who obtains a glimpse of God’s glory will realise how truly awesome God is. In fact, Isaiah 40v12 tells us that God has measured the celestial universe with the span of His hand. When we consider the size of the universe, this is truly a profound statement! According to scientists, the universe has billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. When we look at the sky at night, we only see a portion of the galaxy in which we live, called the Milky Way. Within our galaxy, the nearest star to the earth is the sun. If we were to fly to the sun by airplane, it would take 21 years to get there. If we were to travel to the next nearest star by airplane, it would take 51 billion years… and that is within our galaxy. When we consider that there are billions of other galaxies, each have billions of start, we begin to understand the vastness of the universe. Now, God measured all this, with the span of His hand! This means, that just God’s hand, is bigger than the entire universe. This is why Solomon said:

1Ki 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

This statement informs that God not only fills heaven and earth, but He also exists outside of heaven and earth, indicating that there are other dimensions of existence that we do not even know about, wherein God is revealing of Himself what has not been revealed in this universe, or even in heaven itself. It is interesting that not even heaven itself witnesses the fullness of God’s glory. This is evident when we consider that heaven is called God’s throne. A throne is something that is sat upon. However, in order for God to sit, He must lower himself. In order for God to communicate with the world, He must again lower Himself. He does this by using anthropomorphic terms; borrowing terms from His creatures, such as ‘hand’ and ‘eye’ etc. so that He can communicate Himself to us. This ‘lowering’ is described in the Psalms:

Psa 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

The verb ‘rode’ indicates that He leaves His natural state where He is absolutely unknowable and inconceivable. God is then said to ‘fly upon the wings of the wind’. The term ‘wings’ alluding to ‘coverings’ , means that God covers and conceals His glory, not revealing it completely, lest the created being be blinded.

One who has an awareness of the vastness, awesomeness, might and power of God will automatically bow down before Him in fear, regarding and honouring Him above all else. This is the fear of the Lord. Another passage in Exodus that conveys to us the nature of the fear of the Lord is found in ninth chapter. God had said that He was about to send a hail stones. The response of the Egyptians was as follows:

Exo 9:20 He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:

Exo 9:21 And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

These two verses use the words ‘feared’ and ‘regarded’ interchangeably. From this we can see that the fear of the Lord, involves highly regarding God above all, knowing the endlessness of His power. Abraham’s act of worship was rooted in this state of heart. He did not take it upon himself to question the Almighty, but regarded God’s Word above anything else, including his own opinions. This is true wisdom and knowledge.

It is evident then that worship does not begin with an outward act, but with the proper awe of God in our heart. It begins within our heart, in our spirit, which is the hidden man of the heart (1 Peter 3v4), wherein dwells are true self. Our Lord Jesus said:

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Reverence and Worship

A concept that is not far removed from the fear of the Lord is reverence. The link between these is assumed by the author of Hebrews when he wrote:

Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

In fact, the Hebrew word for fear (yârê') and for worship (shâchâh) can be also translated as ‘reverence’ and ‘to do reverence’ respectively. It is apparent therefore, that reverence is a fundamental part of true worship. This is clearly illustrated in the account of God’s appearance to Joshua:

Jos 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

Jos 5:14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Jos 5:15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

This incident is believed by many Bible interpreters to be a Theophany – that is, God appearing in another form to his servants. The majority of the evidence seems to suggest that this was indeed a visitation of God and not a mere angel. Firstly, when John the apostle proceeded to worship an angel, the angel stopped him from doing so. Here, the captain of the host of the Lord accepts the worship. Secondly, we must also remember that Joshua carried on Moses’ initial task. Therefore, when Joshua was commanded to ‘Loose thy shoe from off thy foot’; he would have been reminded of the experience of Moses and the burning bush:

Exo 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

Exo 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Orientals removed their shoes in their homes and in all places of worship. It was a mark of respect. It has been said that it was a symbol of laying aside all pollutions from walking in the way of sin. The fact that God actually commanded Joshua to take off their shoes when he worshipped, shows that God requires us to show reverence in our worship. We cannot come before him any old way; we must come before Him knowing that He is royalty.

The Sacrifice Of Worship

The act of worship that God required of Abraham was literally a sacrifice. Under the New Covenant, we no longer make literal burnt offerings. However, the New Testament used the term ‘sacrifice’ with reference to giving financial aid to God’s servants, giving God praise, as well as other good deeds. In the first instance, the apostle Paul writes to the Phillipians:

Phi 4:16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Phi 4:17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

Phi 4:18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

Phi 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Evidently Paul had a material need, and the church in Philippi sent a gift to him. Paul called this a sacrifice that was well pleasing to God. Because they made the sacrifice to meet Paul’s need, he was able to assure them that God would supply all of their needs.

In the second case, the author of Hebrews writes the following:

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

We see clearly then, a link between praise and worship. Whilst praise and worship are not identical, they are related and are often part of each other. King David was used of God to take this aspect of worship to another level. The Holy Spirit inspired David to write the book of Psalms. The Hebrew word for Psalms is ‘Tehillim’. This word comes from the root ‘Halal’ which is normally translated as ‘to praise’. However, the root ‘Halal’ has two other meanings which are also very significant. Firstly, it also carries the meaning of brightness and shining. An example of this use of ‘Halal’ is evidenced in Job 29:3,

Job 29:3 When his candle shined (Hebrew = Halal) upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;

In true praise we shine, becoming emitters of glory. This corresponds to what is spoken of in the psalm:

Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

In true worship we give God the glory that is due unto His Name. In the book of Revelation, we read that the 24 elders before the Throne of God follow this same pattern:

Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

It is interesting to note that they cast their crowns before the throne. This is an act of giving God the glory, for it is written:

Psa 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

We have been crowned with glory and honour. This is our crown, and we must cast it before God in worship.

The second connotation of ‘Halal’ is that of madness. This indicates that the depths of worship go beyond the realm of logic, and can result in expressions that may outwardly appear to be crazy or even mad. Indeed the company of prophets were known for praising God. 1 Samuel 10v5 seems to indicate that the prophets made use of various musical instruments to assist their prophesying. This is why King David selected those who prophesied with various musical instruments in his selection of musicians (1 Chronicles 25). Interestingly, these musicians were split into 24 divisions, corresponding to the 24 elders who fall prostrate, worshipping before the throne. However, the prophets were also known as madmen, as evidenced when a certain prophet gave a word to Jehu. After the prophet had left, Jehu’s companions came to him and said:

2Ki 9:11 Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?

Evidently, the prophets were known to enter into a zone of experience that went beyond what the observer could consider ‘normal’. We therefore need to be careful not to judge or look down on others because of their extravagant mode of praise.

The NKJV tells us that God is enthroned in our praises (Psalm 22v3). The Throne is for the King. When we praise God, His power as king is demonstrated in our lives. The devil knows this, and will therefore throw spiritual forces of darkness at us that will try and prevent us from praising God. We must be diligent to resist these forces, for it is the evil one’s attempt to rob us of experiencing God’s power. For this reason, it is written:

Isa 54:1 Break forth into singing

The word translated ‘singing’ refers to the verbal expression of that which is within. Sometimes, before we can truly enter into expressive praise, we must ‘break forth’. We must ‘break through’ the emotions associated with our negative circumstances. We must ‘break through’ the forces of darkness that seek to keep us in a lukewarm zone of praise. The Hebrew word for ‘break forth’ is related to the root ‘Patzah’ which means ‘to open’, and to the root ‘Patzatz’ which means ‘to explode’. Acts 1v8 says that we receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon us. The Greek word for power there is ‘dunamis’ from which we get the English word ‘dynamite’. With regards to our breaking through the devices of the evil one, the Holy Spirit within us causes a spiritual explosion which sends the enemy flying, enabling us to ‘open’ our mouths in praise!

The ultimate sacrifice of worship is the offering up of our selves to God. To this end Paul writes:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Paul exhorts us to offer our physical bodies to God as a living sacrifice. It is interesting to note that ‘bodies’ is plural, but ‘sacrifice’ is singular. The truth is that we, though many, are to be offered as one single sacrifice to God. This is acceptable to God and shows us that God is well pleased when we dwell together in unity. This is called our ‘reasonable service’, and shows that the purpose of this one corporate sacrifice is so that we can serve God with one accord. The NIV translates ‘your reasonable service’ as ‘your spiritual act of worship’. Those who are true worshippers will strive to keep unity amongst the brethren. Each of us then is faced with the challenge to do all within our power to maintain unity. If we are not doing all within our power to maintain unity, we cannot say we are worshipping God with all of our heart.

When all the bodies of the church have been offered as one holy sacrifice to God, then the gifts God has place in the church will begin to function as a natural consequence. This is why Paul then goes on to discuss the different functions within the church:

Rom 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

Rom 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Rom 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Rom 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

Rom 12:8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

This also corresponds to what the psalmist envisioned when he wrote:

Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Psa 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

Psa 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

When God’s people dwell together in unity, nothing will stop the flow of the blessing and anointing of God.

Amen.

Stuart and Andrea Pattico

True Worship

END TIMES - Are You Prepared?