1 of 12 Series: Sanctuary Made Simple and Relevant Today
God says “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Isaiah 66:1
“Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and joy fill his dwelling. O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.”(1 Chronicles 16:23-29 NLT)
What is worship?
Worship is derived from the Anglo-Saxon meaning Worth-ship or Worthy
wor·ship (wʉr′ship) noun
reverence or devotion for a deity; religious homage or veneration
a church service or other rite showing this extreme devotion or intense love or admiration of any kind
transitive verb worshiped -·shiped or worshipped -·shipped, worshiping -·ship·ing or worshipping -·ship·ping
to show religious devotion or reverence for; adore as a deity
to have intense love or admiration for; adore or idolize
intransitive verb
to engage in worship, or perform an act of religious devotion; specif., to offer prayers, attend church services, etc.
a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
Ardent devotion; adoration.
often Worship Chiefly British Used as a form of address for magistrates, mayors, and certain other dignitaries: Your Worship.
verb worshiped wor·shiped or wor·shipped, worshiping wor·ship·ing or wor·ship·ping, wor·ships
verb, transitive
To honor and love as a deity.
To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion. See Synonyms at revere1.
verb, intransitive
To participate in religious rites of worship.
To perform an act of worship.
Origin: Middle English worshipe, worthiness, honor, from Old English weorthscipe : weorth, worth; see worth 1 + -scipe, -ship.
What do we use to worship God?
- Is it the church building?
- Is it the materials and equipment you use for worship
- Is it our body and soul?
Yes, we use them all, all are necessary but one is most important. Which among the given is most important to God? Yes, the soul in the human body, and this body though sinful yet declared cleansed through the death of Christ (1 Cor 6:11). We therefore have to maintain sanctifies and pure because God would want to “dwell” or stay in and for the soul to be saved from destruction.
Yes, we congregate in our corporate worship and the purpose for that is for the ‘saints to fellowship together. Saints having fellowship together may strengthen, encourage each other in the Lord. But at the end of the day, salvation still individual. not because you are part of the congregation, you feel assured that you will also be saved. Belonging to denomination brand does not guarantee salvation. Salvation is through having a close relationship with Christ Jesus (Jn 14:6) and God the Father (Psalms 62:1)
Watch this to understand.
Credit to The Bible Project for this awesome work.
In short
Worship is a way of reconnecting back to God. After the fall of man into sin, God initiated the first move to be close to His most treasured creation the humans through love and grace. Man originally was the bearer of the image of God until sin came in. Sin made man and God distant, but God initiated the first effort to reach out and ask man to make Him a “dwelling place” that He may stay close with them. there are ceremonious task in keeping the tabernacle / temple clean and in this ceremonies man got caught into corruption. so to end this, Christ came and declared all cleansed through His blood making everyone God’s personal “living temple”. So, if you are having a relationship with God then you will make your body a temple really fit for God to dwell therein.
The holistic worship is an active act of honor and love to God having the whole being and body be engaged in worship. It mean the act of religious devotion is not limited to a day or holy hour of worship. The worship God is trying to tell and illustrate through the biblical tabernacle transcends to all aspects of our life ( 1Cor 10:31).
Sin has affected all aspects of our life and we think that sin is only in the heart or mind and it has nothing to do with my behavior, the food I eat, the clothes I wear or the way i deal with other people. Below is the diagram of the tabernacle a visual aid to point to us areas of our life that needs to be reformed, cleansed and sanctified through and by Christ. If I am having relationship with God my body is a His dwelling place God then which aspect of my body should I set as exclusively for God? Some part only or the whole body? Check this out.
We will see more in details as we go through each parts of the tabernacle in the next series.
PREPARED FOR LIFE 