—- By Pastor Yomi Jolaoluwa
Text: Exodus 34:14 / John 4:20-24
The word of the Lord to the body of Christ in this age is that we should worship God.
What is worship? It means to regard something or someone with deep respect and affection.
– To worship God is to regard the person of God with much respect and affection. It’s not good enough to know God alone but to regard and respect Him for who we know Him to be.
For instance
– We know God to be our Father because Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9 to refer to God as our Father in heaven – But according to Malachi 1:6:
We are worshippers of God not when we know God as our Father and our master but when we honour Him as our father and fear Him as our master.
Isaiah 9:6 says God is:
Wonderful – God is wonderful because He performs wonders – and Psalm 71:17 says “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” Hence, It is not knowing God as wonderful alone that makes us worshippers of God, but when we know Him as wonderful and also declare His wondrous works – rather than being too quick to declare (show off) our material values and possessions. We often sing the praises of people for who they are and for their achievements whereas we may be silent to declare the wondrous work of God; this does not make us worshippers of God.
Counsellor – Proverbs 19:21 says “there are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD that shall stand.” It is good to know God as the Counsellor but we are His worshippers only when we allow His Counsel to stand in our lives no matter what. In Luke 22:42, Jesus overcame the temptation of negating the counsel of God by saying ‘nevertheless, not my will but yours…’ otherwise he would have bowed to the devil.
The Mighty God – Psalm 150:2 says “Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” We can see ourselves as worshippers when we praise His mightiness rather than praising our achievements.
The Prince of Peace – Hebrew 12:14 says “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Our daddy in the Lord, Daddy G. O., told us a story about how he was going to give fire for fire to those who were against his being the general overseer. And then he was reminded of the name: the Prince of Peace. He was also asked a question: if he was the son of the Prince of Peace why would he want to be involved in any kind of trouble? We’re worshippers of God when we live in peace with people.
Is there any benefit when we worship God?
According to John 4:23 – God will come looking for you, not just to bless you but to enrol you in the list of those He can entrust with divine assignments, with power. And as well, in the list of those He can confide in.
Examples:
– Abraham – God said shall I hide anything from Abraham?… (Genesis 18:17). God will not hide anything from you again in Jesus name. Abraham worshipped God to the extent that God could not hide anything from him. The grace to worship God to this extent, the Lord will give unto us in Jesus name.
Samuel – in 1 Samuel 3:19, it was said of Samuel that God did not allow his words to fall to the ground unfulfilled. As you make up your mind to worship God, your prayers shall no longer be redirected to a voice mail box in Jesus name.
Joshua – in Joshua 10:12-14, Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and the Lord approved it. As you make up your mind to worship God, the Lord will hearken to your voice
henceforth in Jesus name.
Finally, words of instruction from these scriptures…
Deuteronomy 11:16 “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;” / Jeremiah 25:6 “And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.”
Prayer points
Father, come and take your place in my life – Romans 12:1-3
Father, help me to set my affection on things that are above – Colossians 3:1-5
Excerpts of a sermon delivered by Pastor Yomi Jolaoluwa, on 22nd December, 2013.