People will
worship anything. They will
worship statues. They will
worship angels. They will worship
one another. They will worship
the creation. The stars, the
moon, the sun, the river, and the mountain are all objects of worship.
Some people worship the king of Rock and Roll called Elvis.
They dress like him, sing like him, act like him, and look like him.
There are shrines and centers of worship dedicated to Elvis along with
reports of his coming back from the dead as a god.
One person was quoted to have 37 different gods.
A two inch long discolored eyetooth is reverenced by 400 million
Buddhists as the most sacred object on earth.
The tooth is supposed to have been reclaimed from Buddha's funeral pyre
in 543 B. C. and was brought to Ceylon 800 years later.
Today the tooth sets upon a golden lotus in the glorious temple of the
tooth in Kandy, Ceylon. It is surrounded by rubies and tons of flowers.
Each year a hundred thousand faithful Buddhists come from many
countries to gaze at the sacred tooth. They
bring gifts of gold, silver and jewels to place within the temple.
In
today’s scripture text, John was bowing down to an angel when the angel made
it clear that there is only one who should be worshiped.
People will worship the Bible and neglect the One who wrote the book.
Just as John was mistakenly worshiping an angel God calls us to day to
worship the One who should be worshipped.
“A
missionary had been witnessing faithfully to a certain man who was an idol
worshiper. One day the man placed a small statue and a silver coin on the
table in front of the missionary. Then he took two slips of paper and wrote
something on each. On the note by the idol he wrote the words heathen god. On
the sheet next to the silver coin he wrote the words Christian god.
From what that man had observed in the lives of some people from
so-called Christian nations, he had concluded that money was the main object
of their adoration and the source of their confidence.”
April 12, 1995 Our Daily
Bread
The who of worship asks two questions: who is to
worship and who is to be worshiped.
Scripture Text:
Rev. 22:6 (KJS) And he said unto me, These sayings [are] faithful and
true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his
servants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly:
blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 8 And
I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I
fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these
things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I am thy fellow
servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the
sayings of this book: worship God.
I.
Who is to worship? Worshiper
We
were created by the pleasure of God and it is in His worship that we find
completeness. Satisfaction and
fulfillment belong to the one who chooses to give them to God. The deep questions of our lives will never be answered until
we find them in the Lord. Why am
I here? What is my purpose on
this earth? What could I need to
quench the thirst of my soul? God
is our all in all. He will
satisfy you to completely. Everyone
is invited to worship God. He has
made it possible for all to come to Him.
We must come to Him believing that He is and that He wants you to know
Him.
Psalm 63:1
O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You.
How do you
know whom you are worshipping? Here
is a brief test
Who do you give
the most of your time and attention to?
Who do you think
about the most?
Who do you give
most of your money to?
What do you
spend most of your time doing?
What or who do
you depend on?
Do you ask “Do
I want to go to church today?” or “Does God want me to go to church
today?”
Do you say, what
do I have left over to give to God, now that I have paid all of my bills? Or
do you say, “What does God want me to give today?”
Do you think
about what God wants in your life, or is it more of what do I want?
Or, what does someone else want?
What are you
going to do? What does God want
me to do?
What am I going
to say? What does God want me to
say?
Am I going to
sing today? Does God want me to
sing today?
What am I going
to preach today? What does God
want me to preach today?
II.
Who is to be worshiped? Worshipee
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, 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.
1.
See Him in the beauty of creation. His glory fills the earth.
2.
See Him in the beauty of people He has placed in our lives.
3.
See Him in the beauty of the church. This is his body and this is his people.
Not a perfect people but a people that He loves and died for.
He gave His life for us.
4.
See Him as the only one in all of our lives that is worthy
of us.
5.
See Him as the one who
gave his life for our sin.
6.
See Him as the only
true living God who loves you.
7.
Worship Him as He is.
Who
is God? He is beyond our
understanding, but He is not out of our reach.
God came near. He came close enough for us to see and know.
Will we worship Him? Worship
Him today by taking of the bread that represents His body and the grape juice
that represents His blood that was given for you.
Rev.
1:17 (NIV) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed
his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the
Last.
18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and
behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.