WORSHIP (ADORATION)

Message given by Odon On 2 July 2000 (summarised and edited by Benedicte Bahjejian)


To worship is to love deeply, it is to honour something divine with fear. The worship we are talking about is respect or honour given to God. As we know from the Bible, only God is to be worshipped. Some people tried to worship other gods or even people but God was against it.


1) To worship is to receive God’s message from the heart

When we give God’s message, we can convince sinners and they can come to worship God the same way that we give the message. So worshipping is not something that you learn, it is not something you become accustomed to. It is when the message of God is given to someone and this message comes in the person and the person feels, yes I must worship.

1 Cor 14:24,25 You will never hear this in any churches because most churches don’t want to worship and they don’t know what to say to their assemblies about how to worship, but because some among you have the gift to know what is to come, I want to tell you that you will give messages from God. A message you receive can be for someone who doesn’t believe, however, never tell this message to anyone else, but only to the person himself. If the person doesn’t change you can take one more person with you and go and see this person together and for the third time you go and take two witnesses with you and if for the fourth time he/she still refuses to change, just go. The way God chooses to attract sinners to Him, is by giving you who are here the message and you will go and see the person and this person will be convinced because all his/her sins will be exposed and you will tell this person who he/she is and automatically this person will worship God.

2) Here are 7 Greek words translated as ‘worship’, so 7 ways of worshipping God

1. Proskuneo: To kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication. Used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank to the Jewish high priests, to God, to Christ, to heavenly beings or to demons.

Mat 2: 11 the 3 wise men worshipped baby Jesus who was in the manger.
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down , and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Rev 4:10 The 24 elders fall down and worship God who is on his throne

Jn 4:20 The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say , that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”

Some people who worship the sun or the moon kiss their hand and lift up to the sun or the moon and for other people especially European people, if you want to worship someone you kiss their hand. People worship but they don’t know what they worship; only God is to be worshipped.

Exodus 20:3 our God is a jealous God, when you worship something that He doesn’t like He is jealous. Many women who are not worshipped by their husbands become wicked and they fight with their husbands, the choice is clear, between God and your husband who is first? Between you parents and God, who is first? God said He is jealous and we must worship Him so watch out with the kisses we give sometimes. To kiss someone is not wrong but to kiss someone’s hand is something different.

So ‘Proskuneo’ can be a good worship if it is toward God or Christ, but not if it done for other spiritual beings, gods, or people.

2. Sebomai: this means to revere, to worship with fear or out of fear.

Mark 7:7 “But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”

Acts 16:14 “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened , that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”

Acts 18:7 “And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.”

If we don’t know what or who we worship, we do it is in vain, this is following human ways. For instance a catholic Dad tells his kids to go with him to a catholic church, if they don’t go he will punish them. Yet, the dad doesn’t tell his children they are going to do at church, he is only concerned with the fact that his children must be there because the priest can see them, if his children are not there he fears that the priest will ask him where they are. So this dad goes to church and worships God because he is forced to do it, because he is afraid of being condemned by the priest. As for us it is the same way, sometimes in our church some people will say, where were you last Sunday? You haven’t been to church for two weeks, you must come to church. “Do I have to go to church just to please you?” Or do I go to church to please my God? Those who fear will listen to the pastor. To worship because we fear someone in our world today and most churches have a list of people. Your name is written in a book therefore you belong to that church, for example. When your name is written in that book you must also know if your name is recorded in heaven. Because of this type of worship we can not go into other prayer groups, because we are afraid that our pastor will ask us what we are doing and where we are going

So sebomai is NOT the right way to worship God.

3. Sebazomai: 1)To fear, be afraid. 2)To honour religiously, to worship according to the doctrines of men.

Rom 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator , who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

Churches in today’s world have inner rules which are far from the Bible. You see that elders in the church get together, each one bringing his own knowledge and understanding and they will write down some to lead the church. For example, if a pastor drinks, to protect his reputation, he will make a rule in the church saying that people can drink but not become drunk.

But those are your rules but what does the Bible say? Many Christians don’t remember that they have the Bible, they forget that this Bible is there to teach them. Jesus said that in the end times people will have their eyes covered they will have eyes but they won’t see, they will have ears but they won’t listen and when they will be told the truth they will refuse and reject it. When you show them the truth they will say, I don’t see things like that. This is God’s Word and it must be fulfulled so this type of worship (sebazomai) must happen. Some Christians go to church everyday and they comply with the churches rule and they forget that the one who created them also has rules. Romans 1:25 & Isaiah 29:13 the Word of God is modified and changed completely.

Isaiah 29:13, Most people worship God with their lips but deep inside they don’t know what they are doing. We must be very careful. When we worship does it touch our hearts, does it come from our hearts or do we worship because others worship? That’s what we must ask God as His servants, because God is preparing you for His service. If you find that there is something wrong with you or sometimes you do things because others do it, take note and ask God to give you what you need. This type of worship that I am talking about is to prepare you in what you are going to do in this world within a few hours. If you think you worship but it does not come from your heart ask God to put something in your heart and ask God to touch your heart so that you can love Him deeply and everything that you say will come from your heart. To avoid hypocrisy as we learned above, ask God to teach you how to worship Him so that you won’t do what is written in Isaiah 29:13.

So, sebazomai is NOT either the right way of worshipping God.


4. Latreuo - it means to serve and worship God according to His will.

To serve for hire, to serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen. In the NT, to render religious service or homage, to worship to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his worship of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office.

Mat 4:10 “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence , Satan: for it is written , Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”

Lk 2:37 “And she (Anna, a prophetess) was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”

Lk 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written , Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve .”

This type of worship is what it is to worship in spirit and truth. Philippians 3:3 we know the true circumcision, we belong to God and we serve by God’s spirit, we don’t serve by our natural feelings, we don’t serve because of human rules but we serve by God’s Spirit and we are proud to know who Jesus is, we have put our trust in Jesus and not in human rules.

Today many of God’s servants want to become more and more spiritual and want to discover gifts that are necessary for the church of God but God doesn’t allow them. But as for you, because God loved you, God has given you gifts and they are here and I think that you are starting to discover some of them and even to practice them. God has a plan for your lives and you will do great things for God’s glory, you already know them. Many people are looking for what God wants for their life but they can not find what it is. So you can be proud of your God and the Spirit that is in you so walk according to that Spirit and God will come and do great things among you. Also, because you will be different in this world and walk far away from human rules and people will find that you are a bit crazy and the things that you will say, you will have people against you, this is because they do not worship in spirit and truth, this will be the only reason. However, you will know how to worship in spirit and in truth and people will follow you because so far their trust is in human rules.

Latreuo IS the right way of worshipping God.

5. Eusebeo – to act piously or reverently towards God, one's country, magistrates, relations, and all to whom dutiful regard or reverence is due.

Acts 2:23 “For as I passed by , and beheld your devotions , I found an altar with this inscription , TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship , him declare I unto you.”

1 Tim 5:4 “But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home , and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.”


this is those Christians who are very serious when worshipping but they don’t know what they are worshipping, they have been brought up that way.

They are what you call extremists. Their is something wrong in their belief. Acts 17:23, this message what I am going to say was given to me 4 years ago by God and this message was one that concerns NZ. If I want to talk about worshipping it is because of this scripture in Acts. Most Christians here in NZ worship an unknown God they worship but they don’t know exactly what they worship and how can you worship without knowing who you are worshipping, this message is for you. You are the ones who are going to teach these people what God they are worshipping and where is the God that they worship and where is the place to worship God. It is hard, it is true that it is not easy but you must do it. People who worship seriously also worship wrongly, you must convince them to give up this type of worship and worship the true God, however it is not easy, you must pray a lot so that you can change the lives of these people, so that you can help them to come back to God’s plan. God’s loves NZ and the people of this country He really loves them a lot but these people don’t believe, they are proud and they want to be independent, they don’t want God’s will.

So, eusebeo is NOT the right way of worshipping God.

6. Sebasma - it is a bit different and it is what is practiced in most churches.
Whatever is religiously honoured, an object of worship of temples, altars, statues, idolatrous images.

Acts 2:23 “For as I passed by , and beheld your devotions , I found an altar with this inscription , TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship , him declare I unto you.”

2 Thess 2:4 “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”

As it is written in Revelation 2 and 3 this type of worship is like, if I worship a god I want everybody to worship the same god as me and the spirit has not started yet. As Ecclesiates 1:9 says, there is nothing new under the sun, this spirit also existed long ago, same as this worship it also existed long ago. In Daniels time the King wanted everybody to worship the same god and if anybody worshipped another god it would be a problem for them.

This type of worship is the worst type of worship because the people who are this way are in dictatorship and they dictate to everybody what to do, they are also very jealous, if you worship your god which is against his god he doesn’t think that you are doing something different no, he will sue you until you bow down and worship the same god as him. The people who worship this way don’t fear God, they fear the law a little bit but not God. It would be better to be an animal if you don’t fear God because if you don’t fear God you are ready to do anything and also with Satan. The one who doesn’t fear God has no wisdom, the Bible says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. So because you will never have spiritual wisdom you will act like an animal.
…The reason why I am telling you this is because when I read in 2 Thess 2:4 it says in the last days, satan will come and take the first place in the churches and lead them. The church will carry on worshipping the god that they don’t know. Who will have this church if it’s not us? If we have no mercy for this church, who will? If we don’t forgive those people, who will forgive them?

Everyone, put on your shoes, your belt and take your stick and go. Our goal is not to save all the pagans because there are a lot of Christians in NZ and we must show them the way that they must follow, show them how to worship in spirit and in truth. With the gifts that God has given us certain people will accept and others will refuse but on the judgement day the truth will be there.

Sebasma is NOT either the way God wants to be worshipped.

7. Ethelothreskeia - voluntary, arbitrary worship: worship which one prescribes and devises for himself, contrary to the contents and nature of faith which ought to be directed to Christ. Said of the misdirected zeal and the practice of ascetics.

Col 2:23 “Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.”

Col 2:23 & 3:2 this is the last type of worship. We must seek the things that are above and not the things which are on the earth.

And ethelothreskeia is NOT the right way either to worship God.

Conclusion

There are 7 Greek words the Bible translates as ‘worship’ and among them only one (and perhaps the first one also) is the way God wants to be worshipped; it is latreuo, to worship from the heart, with out hypocrisy or without being double minded. It is when we receive the message of God and it really touches our heart and we feel we want to worship God.

Also, in worship you give thanks to the Lord, Psalm 103. Worship is to talk about God’s greatness, Exodus 15:11, Psalm 34:4. Why do we worship? Eph 1:12 - there are many reasons that turn around this verse as to why we worship. The first 5 commandments are there for our relationship with God and this relationship is about worship, the first 5 are about worshipping giving glory to God and the last 5 are about our relationship with others.

We worship because that is what God asks us to do, Exodus 20:3. Who must worship? The birds sing and praise God in the morning. One day I heard a palm tree worshipping, so the trees worship too. Men (people) worship too and someone told me one day that he saw a hen worshipping in her house. Everything that has breath must worship. Everything that has breath must give glory to God. When do we worship? Psalm 34: 1-2, We must give glory to God at any time and worship Him at any time. Always be ready to worship at any moment. 1 Thess 5:16-18, We must thank God for everything, to thank God is also part of worship. Most Christians use God’s names when they worship Him to show Him how great He is. When we pray we should try to use God’s names.