The seven ordained integral components of true spiritual worship
The
seventh important question we should be asking ourselves in regards to spiritual
worship is whether there is a prescribed ordained manner of worship! Or, is
everyone at liberty to worship the Lord when and how they want? The answer to
this question is, there is definitely a prescribed ordained manner of spiritual
worship which all true worshipers should adhere to in order to worship God in
the way He has ordained, and in the way that is acceptable to Him.
There are indeed seven (7) vital integral components
of true worship that are of paramount in the worship of the One and only true
God, the first two are the pre-requisites and the other five are the prescribed
manner of worship:
These
seven integral components of true spiritual worship are inseparable and one is
incomplete without the other and what is of intrinsic importance to note is
that when it comes to worship we are to be very mindful of the fact that,
Satan’s quest is to be worshiped just as God is worshiped and if we do not
worship God on the day and in the manner He has prescribed, we are advertently
or inadvertently worshiping the devil.
We
should also take into consideration the fact that, if Satan could be bold
enough to approach Jesus Christ and took Him up on a high mountain, showed Him
all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him,
"All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been
delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will
worship before me, all will be Yours" (Luke 4:5-7).
So
who are we for Satan not to desire us to worship him? Satan’s quest to be
worshiped just as God is worshiped has been his quest even before the
re-creation of the world for thus it is written; "How you are fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You
who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ' I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars (angels) of God; I will also sit
on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah
14:12-14).
And
so, to avoid the pitfall of all forms of vain or false worship we have been
given seven (7) integral components of how to truly worship the Father in a manner
that is pleasing to Him and they are as follows:
1. Worship the Lord in Spirit
Jesus
stated categorically, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is
seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth" (John 4:23-24).
To
worship the Father in spirit denotes that the motive, the rationale, the
objective for worship must originate from the intent of the heart out of love,
out of compassion out of gratitude for what this particular day or occasion
means to us and not out of compulsion, coercion or legalism, just like the
analogy Jesus Christ gave concerning committing murder and adultery when He
said; “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder,
and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that
whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgment.” And, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall
not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust
for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:21,
22, 27, 28).
Therefore,
worshiping the Lord in spirit has to originate from the intent and desires of
the heart, it necessitates being fully convinced in one’s mind the rationale for
the occasion and out of one’s own desire and volition gives to the Lord the
honor and the glory due to His name, but it does not invalidate the practical
and literal aspect of worship that of presenting oneself before the Lord at the
appointed times.
For
the word of the Lord states categorically; “the feasts of the LORD, which you
shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. And. “These are
the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their
appointed times. Therefore, when it comes to worship God in spirit it does not
forsake the literal assembling of ourselves together in holy convocation.
To
worship God in spirit is to have the true perspective and rationale for the
reason for worshipping God on that particular day. For example, on the weekly
Sabbath it is to express gratitude and appreciation for what the Lord did on
this particular day which is to remind us that; “For in six days the LORD made
the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it”
(Exodus 20:11).
And
so it is with all the other Sabbaths it is to remind us of what the Lord did on
that particular day and to express our gratitude and appreciation for what the
Lord did. So to worship in spirit is to understand the purpose, the rationale,
the intent and the significance of that particular festival to the human race
and in gratitude, from the intent and desires of one’s heart, out of one’s own
volition they observe it to the Lord in thanksgiving for what He has done.
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