False Teaching and the Worship of God: Where Have We Gone Wrong?

As I've watched the news this week with the uprising in Egypt, it was interesting to see how when it came time for the Muslims to worship, they immediately stopped their protesting and fell to their knees. This got me to wondering about the form of Christian worship we've been taught to practice.  Is going to church, singing, praying, standing, clapping hands, reading the Bible, sitting quietly, taking an offering, (just to name a few) - really what God means by the word "worship"?  Has the Apostasy and the false teaching in our churches of "Lawless Grace" taken us away from the heart of worship?

In order to answer that question, I immediately turned to the Bible, God's Word.  Because it is written in Hebrew (the Old Testament) and Greek (the New Testament), that meant getting out my Strong's Concordance and looking up the word "Worship" in those two languages. What I found out totally surprised me!!  There are only three Hebrew words in the Old Testament that refer to worship. The main word, "shachah" is mentioned 55 times and means to "prostrate oneself, bow down, fall down flat, or make to stoop." The other two Hebrew words have the same meaning as well.  I was rather fearful as I approached the New Testament's Greek word for "worship". Again, the main Greek word for worship is "proskuneo" which means to "crouch, or to prostrate oneself in homage." This word is used 34 times! Lastly, I went to my Webster's Dictionary and looked up the word "prostrate". It's definition is "to throw flat on the ground, lying flat, crushed, submissive, overcome."

I'm sure I don't have to tell you just how HUMBLING it is to get down on your knees with your face to the floor, or better yet - lying down FLAT on the floor with your face down. Yet, religions all around the world are able to humble themselves in that way for their FALSE gods. We Christians belong to the TRUE and LIVING God and yet we can't even get down on our knees to pray!

As you read your Bible through this year and see the word, "worship", remind yourself that it's true meaning is "to prostrate myself by falling down flat or bowing down." "Lawless Grace" in our churches today says Jesus is a God of love and forgiveness so we as Christians just don't need to be that extreme in our worship of Him. He will surely understand how embarrassing that posture can be for us. Right? WRONG!! Jesus is coming back very soon and He has promised that when He comes back, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth." (Philippians 2:10)  God clarifies it even more in I Corinthians 14:25:  "...and so falling down on his face, he will worship God..."

One last verse I must share with you before closing is 2 Chronicles 7:14 because it is a favorite of Christians in these last days as they seek a church revival:

"If My people who are called by My Name will HUMBLE themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The Hebrew word for "Humble" is "kana" which means "to bend the knee; to humiliate; to bring down low." Sounds like "prostrate" doesn't it? Do you really desire a church revival in our land? Then join me and others this year as we "prostrate" ourselves before the One and Only True God - Jesus Christ!!  Here's a great song to help us do just that:  "Here I Am To Worship"

Fasting: Games We Play With God

For the past 21 days, a church here in Springfield has been on a "fast" from all types of media, both inside the church and inside the homes of its members. This is quite a contrast from the church I wrote about in my previous blog. To get "Unplugged" is important so we can take time to "Be still and know that I am God". (Psalm 46:10)

However, what happens when this 21-day fast is over? Will the tape come off the televisions inside the church and will everything go back to the way it was before? Do we ever ask God, "What kind of fast really pleases You?" and then search in His Word for the answer? Isaiah 58 clearly gives us the answer.

The first part of that chapter describes God's people as:

1. Seeking God daily and delighting in knowing His ways. (vs. 2)
2. Taking delight in approaching God. (vs. 2)

However, even though God's people were seeking Him, God refused to recognize their day of fasting. Why? In verse 5, God asks, "Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" (The answer is "No" when you read the rest of the chapter.)

Here's the list God sets forth for a fast that pleases Him:

Loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free and break every yoke, share your bread with the hungry, bring to your house the poor who are cast out, clothe the naked and don't ignore the needs of your own family members.

The above list has to do with "loving our neighbor as ourselves". The next list God gives us, though, focuses on "Loving the Lord our God with all our heart..." Remember, this is part of "the fast" that God said pleases Him.

"If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord...."

It seems to me fasting is not so much about us and what we are willing to give up for God. I hear God saying it is about OBEYING what He tells us to do regarding caring for our "neighbor" and KEEPING HIS SABBATH DAY a day set apart for Him and His pleasure - NOT for our own pleasure or work. (And don't forget, the Sabbath Day is the seventh day of the week - NOT the first day of the week. See Exodus 20:10)

"Unplugging" is a good thing for us to do in order to hear God's voice more clearly. However, to call it a "fast" that pleases God - according to God's Word, it doesn't qualify.