Donald S. Whitney
What does God say
about Worship?
Old Testament
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.2. You shall not make for yourself any idols.
3. You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
(Exodus 20:1-11)
New Testament
Matthew 22:37-38 YOU
SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND
WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment.
Worship is focusing
on and responding to God
His presence (John In His creation (Romans
Worship is about being God-centered, or preoccupied by God.
“The Glory of God is
always the issue”
Gordon L. Borror
Psalms 8:1 O
LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed
Your splendor above the heavens!
Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the
highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
“Your view of God is
the most important view you have, and to the extent your view of God is
distorted…to the extent, your life is out of focus.”
Gordon L. Borror
Worship is to be done
in Spirit and in Truth
John 4:23-24 "But
an hour is coming, and now is, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such
people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those
who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Worship in spirit
Only a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit can truly worship
God (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Spirit reveals God to us, and teaches the truth of Scripture.
Worshiping God in the spirit is to begin with the heart.
Worship in truth
Worship must be in accordance to the truth of who God is as
revealed by Scripture
John 14:6 Jesus
said to him, "I am the way, and the
truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
“Worship is from the
heart and head, with both emotions and thought.”
Donald S. Whitney
Worship is to be
expected both Publicly and Privately
Public Worship
(Church)
Heb 10:24-25 and
let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;
and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Believers are to meet as brothers and sisters as a body that they might worship God together.
Praise in song and testimony
Prayer
Preaching and reading of God’s Word
Response
Private
Worship (Individual/Family/Home)
Matt 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Believers are to
spend private time alone with God.
Reading, studying, and meditating
upon God’s Word (devotions)
PraisePrayer
Public worship does
not excuse a believer from private worship;
and how effective can
public worship be without private worship throughout the week.Sources
God,
Creator and Redeemer. The Holy Bible. From the Heart of God: Through the Hands of
Holy Men, From Before the Foundation of the World.
Whitney,
Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Colorado
Springs : Navpress, 1991.
Whitney,
Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating Fully in the
Body of Christ. Chicago :
Moody, 1996.