Luke 4:5-8
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
INSIGHT
-In both Hebrew and Greek, the word worship means to respect, to bow down, to kneel, to prostrate oneself. Worship also means to sacrifice and demonstrate obedience to God which involves submission of our nature to God. Numerous Biblical references have sighted the word worship including: – 1 Chro 16:29 Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness, Exo 20:5 You shall not bow down to idols or worship them, Deut 29:18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison, Ps 99:5 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; He is holy, Rom 12:1 I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God for this is your true and proper worship, Rev 4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever, Rev 14:7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”, Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught, Heb 12:28 since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, John 4:23 true worshipers worship in Spirit and in truth etc.
-When Jesus was led to the wilderness to be tempted, the devil offered to give Him all the kingdoms of the world with all their authority and splendor. Jesus’ response brings us to the ultimate reality of His will, that we should worship and serve God alone. Idolatry was prevalent in the Old Testament as it is today where many pagan nations made graven images and worshiped them. These gods are worshiped to provide money, power, fame, leisure, success, food, comfort, marriages, children, better physical appearance, sex, romance among others. God had commanded us to worship Him alone and only believe in Him. Idolatry can also be viewed in many other forms including and not limited to; one being mastered by sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:12), serving money instead of God (Mat 6:24) and other traditional and religious practices. Christ our victorious Redeemer conquered all; not only for Himself but for us all; so that we may have abundant life with Him.
PRAYER
We thank You Jesus for Your love and sacrifice for us that we may receive our eternal inheritance. We worship You alone and give You all the glory and praise. Fill our hearts with wisdom, faith, love and Your holy fear that we may serve You alone. Forgive us all our sins Jesus, sins of our families, friends, forefathers, leaders, nation and cover us with Your precious blood. We humbly ask You Jesus to remove everything in us that is not pleasing to You. Many among us Father are sick and suffering, have mercy on us Lord. Many are jobless, unmarried, childless, depressed and facing diverse challenges, grant us Your grace Lord. There is no other God but You Lord, all glory and majesty belong to You now and forever. Amen
Genesis 24:26-27 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
INSIGHT -In Hebrew, worship is written as sagad & it means bow down, fall down, idolize, venerate, adore, serve, prostrate oneself -When Abraham was old, he sent his servant to his home country to look for a wife for his son Isaac. He found success by the well & worshipped God. -In John 4:1-26, Jesus found the Samaritan woman by the well of Jacob & told her that He will give her living water & that true worshippers worship God in spirit & truth.
PRAYER: Blessed be the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven & earth. We thank You & worship You for Your everlasting love & mercy upon our lives. Teach us how to worship You in spirit & truth. May You grant success to all the unmarried & sustain the existing marriages. Amen
2 Kings 17:35-37 With whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods.
INSIGHT -The Israelites worshipped other gods & in the 9th year of Hoshea; king of Assyria, they were carried away to Assyria & one of the priests was assigned to teach them the fear of the Lord.
-Job 1:8, Job was a blameless & upright man. He feared God & shun evil. He lost his possessions, children & became ill but still put God first in his life. -Idolatry is basically putting other gods first in our lives; be it physical or spiritual gods. Physical in terms of worshipping calved images & spiritual in terms of putting health, money, family first & compromising the love of God with sin.
PRAYER: I love You Oh my God with all my heart, strength & might. Instill Your love in us & teach us Your ways so that we may totally depend on You in all things. Amen
Revelation 7:11-12 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
INSIGHT -In John’s vision, he saw all angels, elders & the four living creatures mentioned in Rev 4:6-8, falling down paying homage to God in humility, submission & reverence; in agreement with the great multitudes that salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne & to the Lamb.
PRAYER: Salvation, Blessing, glory, wisdom, Thanksgiving, honor, power & might belong to You our Father forever & ever. Amen
Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
INSIGHT -In Rom 2:29, Circumcision is inwardly, of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God. In Col 2:11, But Christ in Him you were also circumcised with circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ. -We were circumcised in our hearts as Christ’s died & resurrected, therefore we should die to sin, as He died for our sins & rejoice in Spirit.
PRAYER: Holy Spirit our Helper, minister unto our spirits in true worship. Through the death & resurrection of Christ, we were circumcised in our hearts. Help us to put to death works of the flesh & be guided by Your grace. Amen
Matthew 28:9-10 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
INSIGHT -The women evidenced the risen Lord, held His feet & worshiped Him. In John 11:25-26, Jesus said to her “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” -True worshipers worship God in spirit & truth/ worship of other gods might be physical or spiritual/ John saw a vision of all angels, elders, four living creatures & great multitudes worshipping God/ we are the circumcision in Christ for we worship God in Spirit.
PRAYER: We humbly come at Your feet, Jesus; to worship & praise You. We believe in You & believe in Your word. Lead us always to worship You in Spirit & truth. Amen
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
INSIGHT
-The nature and design of worship is transformational and effective. Prophet Isaiah writes that some people and religions worship according to they have been taught according to human rules and do not experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritan woman pointed out to Jesus that her ancestors worshiped on mount Gerizim and the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem (Jn 4:20). Jesus response to her reveals that the Samaritans worshiped what they did not know but true worshipers; worship in Spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit comes in our hearts to give us living water which quenches our thirsts eternally as opposed to physical water which is temporal. Many among us do not know or have not experienced God due to misconceptions brought about in various doctrines. Christ calls us to experience His true salvation as our personal Saviour and eternal God in our daily walk with Him yielding eternal life.
PRAYER
We thank You Lord our Father for this far You have brought us. It is not by our power nor might but by You Holy Spirit, we thank You and worship You. Fill our hearts with Your grace Jesus that we may worship You in Spirit and in truth always. Many of our brothers and sisters are lost and do not know You Jesus, draw them to Yourself merciful Father that they may come to trust in You. Help us to be fruitful in our work, businesses, thoughts, projects, families, studies, nation, churches, spiritual walk and expand our territories according to Your merciful love. Give us Your living water of salvation Holy Spirit; that we may drink and never thirst. Amen
Psalms 99:5
Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His footstool— He is holy.
INSIGHT
-We worship God for who He is and not what He has done. God is in control of all things and exists in all realms. He is Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. God is Sovereign and the creator of the heavens and the earth. God is worthy of our praise and worship. We praise the name of the Lord for His loving-kindness and truth. God is worthy to be magnified and His word is above all (Ps 138:2). God is Holy and the only One true God. We worship God for who He is and not what He has done.
PRAYER
We sing praises to You Lord and proclaim Your salvation day after day. We declare Your glory among the nations and Your majesty among all the people. You are great Lord and most worthy of praise. You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. We submit our thoughts and hearts desires to You Jesus; have Your way in our lives. Our Father who at in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from all evil. For thine is the kingdom the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
INSIGHT
-Apostle Paul advises that our lives should not be based on the traditional formula of worship; but true worship is to remain holy through the mercy of God. In verse one, he talks about the purity of the body and verse two mental holiness. He alleges that true and proper worship is to preserve our bodies holy through the grace of God; which produces a pleasing aroma to Him. Through mental transformation; we are called to think of those things which are true, pure, just and founded on Gods’ love. He also notes that the patterns of this world have the ability to skew our mental orientation to evil desires. As a living sacrifice therefore; our eyes should look upon no evil thing with pleasure, our tongues speak nothing filthy but always seek to edify one another, our feet run to no evil thing but always do good, our hands do no lawless deed but offer help and give alms to the less fortunate; following the example of Christ who loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph 5:1-5). All these things have been made possible through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
PRAYER
You are holy Lord the fountain of all holiness. Look upon us Your children with mercy and cleanse us by Your precious blood Dear Jesus; from all unrighteousness. Renew our minds Lord that we may always yearn for Your good, pleasing and perfect will according to Your merciful love. May our bodies always offer a pleasing fragrance to You Oh Lord. Nothing is impossible with You merciful Father, answer our prayers, petitions and hearts desires. Your love for us endures forever, we thank You Jesus and bless Your holy name. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Be with us now and forever more. Amen
Matthew 8:1-3
When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
INSIGHT
-A leper believed in the healing power of Jesus and worshiped Him before making or receiving his request. The leper recognized Jesus in His Deity and worshiped Him not because he was already healed but because he trusted in Jesus’ faithfulness and mercy. Jesus also healed a blind man who believed in Him and worshiped Him (Jn 9:38-39). Jesus is our Healer. His authority is powerful and His compassion; comforting. He calls us to always believe in Him and worship Him; despite what we are going through.
SUMMARY
God is Sovereign and Creator of the heavens and earth; and all that is in them. He deserves all our worship and praise. In the Bible; many pagan nations worshiped other gods and God cautioned Israelites against engaging in idolatry. An inclination to worldly pleasures like greed, corruption, materialism, sexual immorality etc is also viewed as idol worship. These offer competing needs to the worship of God, as Jesus says that; you cannot serve Him and mammon at the same time. True and proper worship is to imitate Jesus our Lord and Savior and seek His grace for He is Holy. As the leper worshiped God for who He is and was cleansed, we too are called to worship God for who He is and not what He has done, which enhances our faith. Christ loves us with an everlasting love for He died for our sins and became a pleasing sacrifice to God so that through Him we may be saved. Christ gave us the Holy Spirit that we may always be united with Him as we worship in Spirit and in truth. Worship is anchored on our belief in Christ our Lord and Saviour; the way, the truth and the life Who grants us life in abundance.
PRAYER
We worship and adore You Almighty Father for who You are and praise Your name forever. You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth, our Healer, our Provider, our Sustained, our Protector, our Salvation, our Lord and King. There is no other God but You Jesus, thank You for this far You have brought us. You have healed all our wounds before we ask You, You have provided for all our needs before we requested and have protected us from all accidents and evil snares even when we did not realize it. All glory and praise belongs to You Father. Heal all those who are sick and suffering and make us clean by Your merciful love. Increase our faith in You Jesus and bestow upon us love and wisdom that we may continue to serve You and Your people with diligence. Amen