Although we profess to be believers yet still, we do not want God to tell us when to rest, when to have a holy convocation and how to present ourselves before Him, everyone wants to do what seems right in his/her own eyes and walk according to the imagination of their own heart.
But to those who have been taught to think and to act this way this is what the Lord says; “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD. They continually say to those who despise Me, ' The LORD has said, "You shall have peace"; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ' No evil shall come upon you" (Jeremiah 23:16-17).
On the other hand, a spiritual mind is one that is subject to the laws of God, will obey the laws of God and follow all protocols with regards to having fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another, and in this regard let us peruse the protocol for drawing near to God which has been neglected by many who profess to be believers and thus making the majority of our worship services vain and useless.
It is imperative that the matter of vain worship be thoroughly examined by all true and sincere believers, because the worse indictment which is labeled on those who worship the One and only true God is that of worshiping the true God in vain.
Jesus, quoting from the prophet Isaiah said to the Pharisees, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written; ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men; for laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men.” And He said to them, “You have let go the commandments of God and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7: 6-9).
As believers we have been given the prerogative to judge ourselves; for if we judge ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Let us therefore judge ourselves as to whether or not we are worshiping the true God in vain because there is a definite protocol as to how we are to approach the throne of grace which reads as follows: “Ascribe to the Lord O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord Glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the Glory due to His name; bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him all the earth” (Psalms 96:7-9; 29:1-2).
Let us therefore look at four specific areas to prove whether or not we are worshiping God in vain.
1. Is there any biblical truth to support and validate the day and occasion we are appearing before God to worship?
Remember, those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and truth. For example the Lord says; “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile [vain, worthless] sacrifices; incense [prayer] is an abomination to Me, the new moons, the Sabbaths and the calling of assemblies – I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons, and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them, when you spread out your hands, I will hide My face from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:12-15).
So then, we have been given the prerogative saying; “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it” (Romans 14:4-5).
Please note carefully that, the prerogative, freedom and liberty that we have, it is not the option to observe or not to observe any day that we choose, but rather the option to observe or not to observe the specific day which the Lord has ordained as the day of worship.
Therefore, when one blatantly dishonor the day which the Lord has ordained and set aside as the day for a holy convocation, and endorsed and hold in high esteem another day which the Lord has not ordained as a day for holy convocation, are we not guilty of idolatry and worshiping the Lord in vain? Considering the fact that the Lord describes Himself as the LORD our God is a consuming fire, a jealous God!
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