This is a message that was part of a short series of sermons during the Lenten Season. It uses the Triumphal Entry of Christ as the basis for a message about worshiping Jesus.
Worshiping Jesus
Introduction:
A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday and
stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church
holding a palm branch. The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have
that palm branch, dad?” “You see, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved
Palm Branches to honor him, so we got Palm Branches today.” The little boy complained,
“Wouldn’t you know, the one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!” http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-stories-easterpalmsunday-60638.asp
Then there was the pastor that was
thinking about pasting Bible verses about the resurrection onto palm branches,
but he reconsidered after he remembered that the Bible condemns palm reading! http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/saints/palm_sunday.htm
Today
is celebrated as Palm Sunday, and we have sung songs to celebrate the lordship
and kingship of Jesus. The
message I want to bring today is the final sermon in a short series we have
been doing and it is titled, “Worshiping
Jesus.”
The
topic of worship is a subject that is much broader than most people probably
imagine. There is no possible way for me to adequately expound the subject in
one sermon, so I will undoubtedly just “scratch the surface” today and then
perhaps will revisit the subject again sometime in the future.
Since
we believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, we will be referring to the worship
of God and the worship of Jesus interchangeably throughout this message. However
this very point may be the best place to begin. Are they essentially the same?
Is it permissible to worship Jesus as we are commanded to worship God? There
are two Scriptures that I want to use to lay the foundation for our topic:
Worshiping Jesus.
Hebrews
1:1-6 (NKJV)
1 God, who at various times and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in
these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of
all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being
the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and
upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged
our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having
become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more
excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He
ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"?
And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a
Son"? 6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world,
He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
This quote from scripture is taken from Deut. 32:43,
which reads, 43 Rejoice, O ye
nations, with his people: for
he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his
adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
You will notice that the phrase mentioned in Hebrews
(“Let all the angels of God
worship Him.") does not appear in the text
I just read, yet the Bibles I checked have cross references to this text as the
verse being quoted. I learned after further study that the Greek
translation of the OT (Septuagint), which would have been the “Bible” NT Jews
would have been accustomed to using, does have this phrase at the beginning of
the verse in Deut. So the apostle writing the book of Hebrews is
affirming, under divine inspiration, that God has approved the worship of His
Son, Jesus Christ.
Matthew
4:10 (KJV)
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.
Again,
we have another example where the OT passage that Jesus is probably quoting
doesn’t exactly read that way in our Bibles. Nearly
all commentaries I consulted agreed that Jesus was quoting the passage found in
Deut. 6:13, which reads in part, “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve
Him…” When
Jesus quoted this passage, He used the word worship
in place of the word fear.
We
don’t have the time to go into a lengthy discussion here, but there are
different examples in the Bible that would indicate that the word fear could
serve as a synonym for worship, because it is closely
related to the concept of reverence, and because those who “fear” the Lord are
careful to honor Him and obey Him.
My
main point for using this reference is to point out that Jesus Himself declares
that God alone is to be worshiped, yet He does not attempt to stop any of the
people who worshiped Him. Plus, Hebrews 1:6 indicates that God has ordered the
angels to worship the Son. Therefore,
the Son and the Father are both God and they are deserving of our worship.
Now,
I would like to direct our attention more specifically to the question, “What
does worship mean?”
And,
then end up by exploring practical ways that worship is accomplished.
I.
What Does Worship Mean?
Let me provide just a few
quotes from various theologians regarding the meaning of worship.
(Sperry, quoted in Wiley, Vol III p 45) “Worship is the adoration of
God, the aspiration of supreme worth to God, and the manifestation of reverence
in the presence of God.”
(Underhill, Ibid p 46) “…in the phenomena of worship, two currents
of life meet – one proceeding from the transcendent God, the other flowing from
the religious life of the subject. The descending current includes all forms of
revelation, the ascending, all forms of prayer.”
(Prudden, Ibid) “He who has not learned to worship inclines to the
belief that there is no being more worthy of reverence than himself…. The
essence of worship is, that in itself it is dethroned and God enthroned. By it
we recognize Him as somewhat other than a very powerful person whom we may use
for our convenience and benefit.”
The worship of God reminds us
that God is wholly and supremely different from us in His being, His nature,
His abilities and His purposes. His ways
are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. The most prominent terms used
in Hebrew and in Greek carry the idea of prostrating one’s self; bowing the
head; bowing down to the ground; or kiss the hand or ground towards something
or someone.
For example, Exodus 4:31 (KJV) And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited
the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they
bowed their heads and worshipped.
Matthew 20:20 (KJV) Then came to
him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of
him.
The word implies that the one
worshiping acknowledges the superiority of the one being worshiped. It assumes the value, worth
and honor of the object of worship. It also assumes the
inferiority/humility of the one worshiping as well as the worshiper’s dependence
upon the object of his worship.
All through the ministry of
our Lord there were various individuals who are described as falling down and
worshiping Jesus. One particular example is of
the one leper out of the ten that Jesus healed of leprosy, who returned and
fell down and worshiped Jesus to thank Him for the healing.
It would make an interesting
study to go through the gospels and note every instance where it is recorded that
someone worshiped the Lord.
I believe the most impressive
account in the Bible of Jesus receiving the worship He deserves is found in the
book of Revelation.
Revelation 5:8-14 (NKJV) 8 Now when He
had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the
Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You
are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And
have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people
and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign
on the earth." 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many
angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number
of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12
saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive
power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and
blessing!"
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and
under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard
saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and
ever!" 14 Then the four living creatures said,
"Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
II.
How Is Worship Accomplished?
Worship is accomplished,
first of all, in the preparation of the
heart in proper humility and reflection upon one’s unworthiness in the
presence of God’s supreme worthiness. Some people have such a
narrow view and concept of worship. They presume that it is accomplished in the
singing of songs and reciting some prayers. But, songs and prayers are
worthless if the heart attitude has not been properly adjusted to consider the
worth and supreme honor due to the object of our worship.
I’ve known of some people who
refer to the time spent in singing praise choruses and offering of prayers as
“worship”, but the rest of the church service is considered something other
than worship. But we need to remember that
worship also includes the hearing of
the Word, and the response of obedience
to the Word.
Worship also involves all
service in the kingdom of God.
Romans 12:1
“I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living
sacrifice acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.”
The term that Paul uses here
for “service” is a term that predominantly refers to the performing of
sacrificial services to God, which was always considered a part of their
worship to Him. Now, Paul is urging believers
to recognize that all our being, all our lives, are to be offered to God as an
act of service or worship to Him. If we are Christians,
everything we do is sacred and offered to God as a sacrifice.
Conclusion:
I want to close with just a
couple of quotes.
(Foster, Elon; New Cyclopaedia of Prose
Illustrations: First Series.)
Love for WORSHIP: [A minister
of the gospel once said,] "I have in my congregation a worthy aged woman,
who has for many years been so deaf as not to distinguish the loudest sound;
and yet she is always one of the first in the meeting. On asking the reason of
her constant attendance, as it was impossible for her to hear my voice, she answered,
‘Though I cannot hear you, I come to God's house because I love it, and would
be found in his ways; and he gives me many a sweet thought upon the text when
it is pointed out to me: another reason is, because I am in the best company,
in the most immediate presence of God, and among his saints, the honorable of
the earth. I am not satisfied with serving God in private: it is my duty and
privilege to honor him regularly and constantly in public.’"
(Dr.
J. Hamilton in Foster, Elon; New
Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations: First Series.)
The temple itself is full of
vacant worship. It resounds with rash vows and babbling voices. It is the house
of God; but man has made it a nest of triflers, a fair of vanity, a den of
thieves. Some come to it, as reckless and irreverent as if they were stepping
into a neighbor's house. Some come to it, and feel as if they had laid the Most
High under obligation, because they bring a sheaf of corn or a pair of pigeons;
whilst they never listen to God's word, nor strive after that obedience which
is better than sacrifice. Some come, and prattle over empty forms of devotion,
as if they would be heard because of their much speaking. And some, in a fit of
fervor, utter vows which they forget to pay; and, when reminded of their promise
by the "angel" of the Church, they protest that there must be some
mistake: they repudiate the vow, and say it was an error.
The comments from these
bygone writers remind us of the supreme importance of worship.
Today, as we commemorate the
triumphal entry of our Lord into the city of Jerusalem just a few days prior to
His crucifixion, let us join our hearts and spirits in a pattern of worship
that encompasses all of our daily activities as we follow Christ.
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