THE TIMELESS KING
...that we now live in an age in the West where the dominant culture is one that rejects any transcendent sacred order and is thus foundationally different from that which preceded it, is essentially correct. And that places us in the midst of a world in which moral instability and volatility are the order of the day.
Carl Trueman
Worship is the best apologetic for this generation.
Listen to Gen Z church goers today, and you will hear conversations about powerful worship songs that facilitate an experience with God, about the realness of the preacher who just tells it like it is from the Bible, and about…older traditions and recitations.
Trevin Wax
The way we respond to God, especially in worship, is a powerful way to convey to this generation that God is real and that there is something much greater for humanity.
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Words translated as Worship
Shachah: to prostrate oneself (as a subject to a master), to bow down or stoop
Everything on earth will worship (shachah) you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs
Psalm 66:4 (NLT)
All the earth bows down to you...
Psalm 66:4 (NIV)
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate (shachah) and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
1 Kings 18:38-39 (NIV)
Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” with the raising of their hands; then they kneeled down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:6 (NASB)
Proskuneo: To prostrate one’s self, to do reverence, to kiss towards
After they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him.
Matthew 2:11 (NASB)
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, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 7:11-12 (NASB)
The words used here are active and not passive.
The other Hebrew word abad and the Greek counterpart Leitourgia refer to worship as work or service - a work of the people
Worship is meant to be participatory and yet sometimes we attend church to watch others worship God (those on stage).
Genuine worship is the counter to a superficial world we live in today
WHY MUST WE WORSHIP?
1. The King deserves it (WORTHY)
The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past…. Your royal laws cannot be changed. Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.
Psalm 93:1-3, 5 (NLT)
THE PICTURE THE BIBLE GIVES ABOUT GOD AS KING: There is intense power, majesty, beauty, honour, so that when anyone experiences it, the response is worship
When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”
Matthew 14:32-33 (NASB)
God is King before time, today and for eternity. He rules the world absolutely.
2. The King demands it
Ascribe to the Lord, sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Worship the Lord in holy attire.
Psalm 29:1-2 (NASB)
Ascribe = Give
Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
Psalm 96:1-3 (NASB)
Sing, tell, proclaim, ascribe: These are commands.
The Gospel of Matthew uses “proskuneo” (worship) more than any other Book in the NT apart from Revelation.
Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Matthew 4:10 (NASB)
...they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:9 (NASB)
In this encounter, then, the women were worshipping a figure whose presence represented astonishing supernatural power.
Robert Bowman, Ed Komoszewski
The King had made a point. “I have conquered death!”
Meeting Jesus demands a response: Worship
Western ideals of Individualism and freedom impede our worship.
Western liberty, shaped by centuries of philosophical and political evolution, often emphasizes individual autonomy, personal rights, and self-determination…At its core, Western liberty tends to prioritize human reasoning and self-expression over divine authority,..
Abiodun Jemilohun
...western Christian worship has been subject to radical individualism…we have mistakenly viewed our weekly worship as an opportunity for each person to pray individually to God, to hear the Word individually and to respond individually in a way appropriate to each person.
Constance Cherry
When the Bible says to clap, sing, worship, bow down, give, we will start reasoning with ourselves as to why we shouldn't.
“Do I really have to?”
Misunderstanding of God’s imperative for Worship
When I first began to draw near to belief in God and even for some time after it had been given to me, I found a stumbling block in the demand so clamorously made by all religious people that we should ‘praise’ God; still more in the suggestion that God Himself demanded it… The Psalms were troublesome in this way- “Praise the Lord,” And why incidentally, did praising God so often consist in telling other people to praise Him?
C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms
Why does God need praise and why should I tell you to praise and worship Him?
Corporate worship is about a King, not a president.
God does not only demand praise as the supremely beautiful and all-satisfying Object. He does apparently command it as law giver...I did not see that it is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men
C.S Lewis
To say God NEEDS praise is a miserable idea. God does not need anything. Worship is a gift to US because when we truly worship the King (corporately) He blesses us with His presence.
Worship is an event! It is about real people in real community offering their real worship to the One true and living God. Worship is a relational encounter…
Constance Cherry
WORSHIP IS THE BEST APOLOGETIC FOR THIS GENERATION BECAUSE…
1. We worship a Good King
A Picture of Kingship:
Jesus Christ, is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
1 Peter 3:22 (NIV)
Why is God a good King?
Jesus the King created all things in love. He has the power and beauty to see His vision for the world through to its glorious end, to undo everything we have done to harm it.
Tim Keller
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV)
We have a good, loving, timeless King, and we have been adopted into a spiritual Kingdom far better than this superficial world.
Now you are defending the Gospel
Worship is the best apologetic for this generation because…
2. Worship is Evangelistic
"lex orandi, lex credendi" means "as we worship, so we believe."
If we are truly expressing our worship in a way that is genuine, it becomes a testimony to those who are watching
Christian songs contain the timeless story of God and His love for us. It tells the timeless truths about who we are and the remedy for our malady and the hope we have.
We tell this timeless story over and over again so those who are far from God will keep hearing and hopefully enter into the good King’s Kingdom.
Worship is the best apologetic for this generation because…
3. Because in worship we can be in the King's Presence
Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel
Psalm 22:3 (NASB)
The King James version: You dwell in the praises of your people
Some of you will never experience joy in God’s presence simply because you refuse to worship.
Response is the reply of God’s people to the truth proclaimed through revelation. It is those prepared or spontaneous opportunities given to people through which they can answer, reply or react.
Constance Cherry
Nobody can call himself a Christian who does not worship Jesus. To worship Him, if He is not God is idolatry; to withhold worship from Him if He is, is apostasy.
Robert Bowman, Ed Komoszewski
Make a Decision