Worship: Part 2

Why should we worship God?

1. He made us.
       John 1:1 "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."
God created us.  We owe Him our lives simply because He made us.
2. He bought us.
      1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." KJV
He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins.  Unless we accept Christ's free gift of salvation we are on our way to hell.  The penalty for sin is death. Period.  God sent his son to pay our debt of sin and has offered us the free gift of salvation.  We "are bought with a price."

1 Peter 1:18-19 "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." NIV
He was perfect, without any sin, and yet He loved us enough to pay our death penalty for sin.

3. He watches over us:
Isaiah 41:10 "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Isaiah 43:1, 2 " But now saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name; thou art mine.  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

God repeats it so often, "Fear not."  He is always with us and already knows how we will respond, what is going to happen and how it will effect our lives.  He is always watching over us.

4. He is Good:
2 Chronicles 7:3b "For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever."

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

Webster Dictionary defines the word "good" as ~ "Suitable for a purpose, having excellent qualities, reliable, admirable, of unquestioned standing."
God is perfect.  He is unquestionably good.  If we look around us and count the blessings He has given us, we will see that He is good.

5. His mercy is everlasting:
Lamentations 3:22,23 " It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. The are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

We do not deserve His mercy.  I know for myself, that I sin several times a day and sometimes it is the same sin over and over and over and yet He continues to have mercy on me and forgive me every time. 

Psalm 136:2 "O give thanks unto the God of gods: for His mercy endureth forever." 

If you read all of Psalm 136 you will find that every single verse says "for his mercy endureth forever."  No matter what we go through or what we do, His mercy will endure forever.

6. His truth endures to all generations:
I could write down Bible verse after Bible verse for this one :]  All His truths endure to all generations.  Truths about creation and our world, truths about history, truths about salvation, forgiveness, mercy, and so much more.  Everything that is found in the Word of God has been proven true through all the generations!

7. He doesn't change:
Mark 13:31 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."NIV

Malachai 3:6a "I the Lord do not change."NIV

James 1:17 " Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."NIV

God never changes, He is always the same.  Always loving, forgiving, merciful, holy, just, perfect, righteous, longsuffering, and so much more.

So, why should we worship God?  We have every reason to.  He created us, bought us and watches over us.  He is good, His mercy is everlasting, His truth endures forever and He doesn't change. 

"I beseech you therefore bretheren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." ~ Romans 12:1KJV

He has done and is doing so much for us.  It is totally reasonable to serve Him with our lives, hearts and minds.  Part of that service is worship.  

Do we worship God?  Do we worship Him with heartfelt praise and honor?  Do we truly worship Jesus our Creator and Savior?  I know I need to enter into His presence with a mind that is more focused on Him and not on myself. 

This past Sunday I tried to live out what I talked about in my last post.  Going to church with a heart prepared, filling my mind with Godly things on the way to church, singing the hymns while truly thinking about what I was singing and listening to the Pastor's message with an open heart.  I realized there are several habits I will have to break and that I will only be able to change them with God's help.  It is possible however and well worth it.  Our worship service on Sunday should be a time of focusing on God and truly worshipping Him. 

Thanks goes to my Pastor who was willing to give me his notes from his message and for his willingness to teach what the Lord lays on his heart even if it sometimes seems confrontational.