Verse 7 gives the answer: God created Israel for his glory. If Christianity is true, as I believe it is, one day we will all stand before God and be asked to give an account of who and what we worshipped. Therefore, God does not need us to worship Him at all. The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God. It may help you to understand that the English word worship derives from worth-ship., Worship (n.), Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed July 16, 2020, https://www.etymonline.com/word/worship, In a magazine interview Christian worship leader and artist, We might say that throughout the Bible, human flourishing is presented as worshipful life in the presence of God. When God saved his people Israel out of Egyptian slavery, he gave them a law. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The Lord alone is worthy of our adoration and worship. In order for Israel (Gods chosen people of that era) to be precious in Gods sight, they had to exist. Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created., God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.. How much more so for the one who produced the universe we inhabit? Ever since Adam and Eve had chosen to eat of the forbidden tree in order to be like God, independent of him and wise in their own right, the human race has been enslaved to a rebellious heart that hates to rely on God but loves to make a name for itself. This creation that we are a part of is truly amazing. After Jesus finishes speaking about marriage, divorce, and single unmarried life, he makes the statement "he who is able to accept it, let him accept it". This insightful and discerning book by Fox News journalist Shannon Bream is our gift to you for your generous donation to Harvest Ministries today. By the way, Im a great animal lover. God made worship good and beneficial for us, from both a worldly and spiritual perspective. Publisher: OpenBible.info. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The main point of the passage is to encourage Gods people not to fear what man or nature can do to them. I urge you to consider the weight of what this means. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. God has freely chosen to depend on the worship and prayers of his Spirit-filled church in order to make his kingdom known. V The fact that God has created rational creatures who would freely choose to worship Him and do good, some to the point of becoming exalted in virtue like the prophets, and then being given eternal life in the presence of God, to pass an eternity of intimate love and companionship, is the greatest story ever told. Usually, people want to then know, why did . This is important because the biblical picture of God is that he is complete and sufficient and flawless, and without any defect or deficiency in and of himself. OpenBible.info That we would worship him ; V. Our aim is to glorify God and enjoy him in accordance with the Scriptures . Two things cry out to be stressed in our day. Todd Statham is the Christian Reformed chaplain at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus) and a research fellow at the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Now, what does this show about the goal of God in the world? About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Since God wants us to do right and good things, of course he wants us to praise and worship Him. Our ultimate purpose in life is to know the God who made us. For My name's sake I withhold my anger. God can be utterly gracious to us because God doesnt need us or anything from us (such as our worship). But Isaiah 48:911 makes even clearer what it means for God to seek his own glory in creating and redeeming his people: For My names sake I defer my anger, It means that God is not a divine tyrant who needs groveling slaves or a cosmic celebrity who needs adoring fans. God is worthy of our worship because there is something about God that makes Him so. There is no purpose there is no reason for anything except to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall all die. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. will probably mean you are eaten by the sharks. God Created Us To Worship Him If we make worship an idol of our own creation, we are not really worshiping God. God is worthy of my worship because he is my creator and Lord. The Banner is more than a magazine; its a ministry that impacts lives and connects us all. Do not misunderstand what I am saying here, God showers us with many blessings; however, He is worshipped because of who He is and not necessarily how He decidesvia His boundless wisdomto distribute His bounty. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. God created us with a drive, with a sense there is something more to life than what we experience on this earth. This is far from the case for the God who has existed in perfect community, Father, Son and Spirit from eternity. Healing Prayers to Heal the Body, Mind, and Soul. It is an attempt to put into words what God is like in his magnificence and purity. Visit the Bible online to search for words if you dont know the specific passage yourre looking for. MP3 Audio (13.13 MB) Sermon: He Who Is Able to Accept It, Let Him Accept It. God is glorious in himself and as creator and redeemer. As God, He needs nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Man is the star in our contemporary drama and his comfort, his prosperity, and his health are the great goals. Even our bank accounts, our reputation, and our level of prestige or power can easily become objects of obsession for us. The Bible also says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT). From the smallest particle to the largest galactic clusters, it is all intricate and well designed. There it was again. Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. This is not an admonition to do God a favor. But everyone worships someone or something. If there is a God, as I believe there is, and if he rules the world in his sovereignty, as the Bible says he does, and if he will bring human history to a close according to his plan and appoint to every person his eternal destiny, as Jesus taught that he will, then two of the most important questions for any human being to answer are these: For if we dont know his goal and our lives are not in alignment with it, then we will find ourselves at cross-purposes with God and excluded from his kingdom in the age to come. But God aint us, as the country singer Steve Earle saysGod is God. Further, most believers have a deep sense that we need to say Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise (Ps. I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. And as such he is worthy of our worship. When we worship God, we actively recognize Him as our Creator, Savior, and King. The nature of the worship God demands is the prostration of our souls before Him . I think Moses is telling us, as he writes this primal history, that when ancient man refused to align himself with the goal of God, God set about a very different way of achieving that same goal. Let him sing praise. We can summarize the reason why God created us in this sentence: We were created by God to worship Him, to glorify Him, predestined to do good works for Him, to share Jesus Christs gospel with the lost, and to enjoy Him for eternity. Make unto yourself no graven image of anything in heaven or earth or the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. In desiring our worship, God is desiring that we acknowledge the truth and that is truly liberating. For 44 Years, He Has. Indeed, Reformed theology has always been allergic to the idea that God needs our worship to be fulfilled. Look at rock concerts, football games, and red-carpet events. Perhaps we could soften Dawkins accusation: God doesnt need our worship; he simply wants us to glorify him. In the end, every knee will bow before Christ and will acknowledge him as Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). 2023 Josh McDowell Ministry | All rights reserved.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. God has not placed eternity in the heart of a bird, a cat, or a dog. Can Christians Deny Christ Before Others? It raises a question. Even Christians often fail to grasp this purpose but purpose there is. They are proclaiming that God is worthy of our worship because he created all things. True worship costs us something. For My own sake, for My own sake I do it, Ice Dragon: Legend of the Blue Daisies Movie Review, Phoenix Wilder And The Great Elephant Adventure Movie Review, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island Movie Review. He planned the world for the glory of his grace. that I may not cut you off. The term might focus on his different attributes from time to time like his power and wisdom and mercy and justice because each one is indeed awesome and beautiful in its magnitude and quality. If we were to live a life full of suffering, God is still to be worshipped. Throughout the pages of the Bible, you can find him working to call people to himself. The existence of Israel was planned and conceived and achieved because God wanted to get glory for his name through her. The idea here is that any object of worship must have the condition or quality of being worthy. He adopted me into his family. What we call worship is all too often entertainment. Praising God, then, is far more appropriate than lavishing it on our favorite athletes or actors or artists. In verses 14 God argues like this: You should not fear because what I did for you in the past proves my love to you and my care for you. Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Instead, man chose to rely on himself and seek his own glory to make a name for himself. We see this in Jeremiah 32:39-40, where God says, And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. Glory in the right place means we can grow into the image of our God and Saviour. John 6:65 further supports this, He went on to say, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them., I used to think that I was seeking after God and found Him but this is contrary to what the Bible says. All rights reserved. 96:4) more than God needs to hear it. While we initially might be startled by Dawkins accusation, after a little reflection most of us probably feel theres something not quite right about his argument. The psalmist David wrote, "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 29:2 NKJV). Imagine you were on the edge of a cliff and someone pushed you into the ocean below. When that time comes, those who do not believe may think they will act in defiance of God, but, instead, they will fall on their faces before him and acknowledge that he is worthy of their worship.
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