Friday Fellowship: How do you worship God?

Let’s begin with why worship God starting with Jesus in Matthew 4:10

¹⁰ 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.

Worship is an expression of your reverent love and devotion to God. Jesus love and respect for God caused him not to fall down and worship the devil.

So in these verses Jesus worship was the act of physically standing on his feet and following God’s command to not worship anyone except God.

To clarify worship let’s look in Exodus where God was speaking to Moses.

² Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

³ And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,

⁸ And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

What is offering?  First, let’s define it.

Offering:  something offered; especially: a sacrifice ceremonially offered as a part of worship.

To simplify this definition I defined ceremony, sacrifice and worship to come up with this comprehendible definition:

Offering- something offered that is a sacrifice of great value stressing careful attention to form and detail as a part of worship.

These verses display God's call of Israel to WORSHIP him through bringing him an OFFERING. God did not ask for pennies or dirt, but he asked for Israel's best possessions. These verses and the Exodus reading demonstrate our definition of offering.

Offering- something offered that is a sacrifice of great value stressing careful attention to form and detail as a part of worship.

So the original question, How do you worship God?

Ask yourself am I bringing an offering to church that applies to this definitions criteria? Again this isn't just referring to the monetary offering. That is part of worship because it’s part of your best.

For Example I will apply criteria to my offering.

 The offering I bring every Sunday is sitting in the front of the church and singing along with the song leaders.

OFFERING CHECKLIST

1.      Great Value? My image is of great value to me and I know my singing isn't pleasant. Also I use to be the only one in that row that is awkward.

2.      Stress Careful Attention Detail? I stand and pray within the songs thanking God for the week. I am consistent in sitting in front.

3.      Sacrifice? I don't enjoy singing out loud, so only for God. I don't enjoy sitting alone, only for God. I despise standing for long periods, only for God.

Evaluate your offering for this is God's command to worship him. Worship him with your best offering.

To the uncertain people who want to do something but are just unsure. Proverbs 4:5

^5"The thoughts of the righteous are right"

By faith and by his spirit are we righteous. Then by faith whatsoever you conceive as your worship is right.

 Be careful not to compare YOUR worship to OTHER'S worship as we are all different as God intended us to be. The scripture God lists many different offerings, so he knows all of our worship will be different. Some worship by crying, dancing, running, jumping, singing, waving a hand and any response. The only identical part of worship God Requires is Great Value. You sitting in front may be nothing to you, but it is a sacrifice to me. That shows Great Value is measured INDIVIDUALLY from within.

Deuteronomy 6:5

"And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength."

Evaluate your offering For God only and bring it to your church For God only.