Let's go back to what Jesus said, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." In this reply to the temptation thrown at Him by Satan, Jesus was obviously quoting from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. No, the translation there doesn't use the word "worship". We understand that Jesus' use of this word sums up two other words which are used in Deuteronomy, Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (verse 5), and Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name (verse 13).
So when Jesus said "worship" He meant "love" and "fear".
But we must press it a little farther. What do these terms mean?
We've already dealt with the "fear" part when we identified God as a "Consuming Fire". When Jesus says, in Matthew 10:28, "fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell", who do you think He's referring to? Satan? No! Never! He's referring to God who alone has that power, so we must fear God. To worship God is to fear Him, to reverence Him, to be in awe of Him.
In America we have adopted this way of thinking which attempts to place everyone on an equal plane. No one is better than anyone else, and thus no one has authority over anyone else - everyone has an equal say. We are opposed to hierarchy of any kind. It's interesting to me that many people want to be the boss, but few want to obey the boss.
Ultimately, we even bring God down to our level. Inscribed on our great American buildings is the saying, "The voice of the People is the voice of God." That may sound like an expression of a wonderful Democratic idea, but it is nearly blasphemy. However, we haven't only put our voices in place of God's, but we have come to the place where we think we have power over God - prayer has turned around to become our telling God what we expect Him to do for us, instead of listening to what He expects from us. Not long ago I once again heard someone suggest that a certain person was being healed by God because "hundreds of people were praying" - as though the more people you can get to pray, the more likely it will be for Him to answer! We're getting it backwards. When we worship God, we do not approach with demands - we approach with fear, with reverence, and with awe.
But there's also the "love" part of worship. This provides balance, because while God wants our reverence, he also desires our relationship. Unfortunately, the word "love" has been used of too many things. We might be heard saying, "I love apple pie", or "I love baseball", or "I love my truck". We ought only to use the word love when it has to do with relationships - "I love my wife", "I love my children", "I love God".
But let's get practical here. If you say you love your wife, then you do those things which will develop your relationship with her. You spend time with her, you give nice gifts to her, you tell her how important she is to you, and you brag about her to others. It's the same with your children. And it must be the same with God - spend time with Him in prayer and reading the Word, praise Him for His wonderful works, give thanks for His faithful love, and tell others of the greatness of our God.
Jesus said "Worship the Lord" - let's do it. Serve Him, Fear Him, Love Him.
For more sermons from Dr. Chadwick, visit: http://www.webedelic.com/church/sermons.htm
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Experiencing Worship, The Study