Worship

God truly desires that we would worship him. On the other hand, God is very explicit about the type of worship that he will accept.

ST JOHN 4:
     19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
     20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
     21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
     22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
     23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
     24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

When the woman at the well inquired about worship at the well, Jesus taught her these principles. One key principle is that TRUE WORSHIPPERS MUST worship God in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.

God seeks those who truly want to worship him. We can not worship in this mountain or in Jerusalem which symbolizes that we worship God on our own terms in way that we think are acceptable to worship God. To truly worship God, we must study his word and learn how to worship him according to his word.

Some positions of worship are lifting holy hands and bowing, sometimes with one's face to the ground.

NEHEMIAH 8:
6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

PSALMS 141:
2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

1 TIMOTHY 2:
8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

God is a jealous God and wants all worship to come to him.

EXODUS 34:
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

We are instructed to worship the Lord is the beauty of His holiness.

1 CHRONICLES 16:
     23 Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation.
     24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
     25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
     26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
     27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
     28 Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
     29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

PSALMS 29:
1 A Psalm of David. Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

PSALMS 95:
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

PSALMS 96:
9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

The Lord desires that we would worship and sing praises to His name.

PSALMS 66:
     1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
     2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
     3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
     4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.

When Jesus was challenged to worship the devil or those things other than God, he refused. What will we do??

ST MATTHEW 4:
     8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
     9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
     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.

We should choose with care the manner in which we worship God for it is possible to worship the Lord in vain.

ST MATTHEW 15:
     7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
     8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
     9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Yes, it is possible to worship vainly, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Our desire at Alpha and Omega CWC is to worship the Lord in SPIRIT and in TRUTH according to the Word of God, the Bible!!!