We used the hymn number 40 and the opening words of the hymn, O Worship the King, O Worship the King. And I want to preach for a little time on the subject, O Worship the King. Let me begin tonight by asking a question, a question for us all. Why are you here this evening? Some may say, well, I'm here because it is my duty to be here. Well, that's a good answer. It's good to know what our duty is. Others may say, I'm here because I need a blessing. Who doesn't need a blessing? At least we're honest. And I'm here because I need answers to my prayers. Who doesn't need answer to our prayers? I know that God has answered prayer in this congregation. And we just say to God be the glory, great things he had done. Or some might even say, I'm here because I just want a word from God. Who doesn't want to hear a word from God? I do anyway. I've been praying to that end during the course of today. The truth of the matter is why these things are all important good answers. The truth of the matter is this. A lot of people come to church for what they can get. Well, if we come to church just for what we can get out of the music, the congregation of singing, special singing, or what we can get out of the sermon, whoever preaches it, good or bad, or just to get blessed, we have missed the whole point. We have missed the whole point. The music and the sermon aren't ends in themselves. They are only the stimulus to cause us to worship God. We come primarily to church to worship God, and that is done by giving, not by getting. We come to offer something to him, not to receive something from him. Now granted, don't misunderstand me, if we offer to him the praise that is due to his name, we will receive from his bountiful and gracious hand. However, it has to be stressed There is blessing in giving, for God has said, you may be familiar with Acts chapter 20, verse 20, 35, it is more blessed to give than to receive. So worship, worshiping God is giving to God, not necessarily getting from God. Now the earliest Christian texts, including the New Testament, presupposes early Christian worship. but do not reflect any common order of service. That also has to be emphasized. And the earliest examples of any set liturgical order came from the third century AD and later. However, the first time the word worship is found in the Bible is in Genesis chapter 22, verse 5. You see that word there? And Abraham said unto his young men, abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship. Now, the Hebrew word is sheka that is used there. And it means to bow down. It means to prostrate oneself. It means to lie flat on the ground. So the law of first mention is always very important in the Bible because where you find the word mention for the first time, it usually gives you an idea of the sense of the meaning of that particular word. And then you also have the law of further mention and then the law of the final mention, but we're thinking here about the law of the first mention. And so we have this picture before us. Abraham is going up Mount Moriah to offer his son Isaac to the Lord. Many people down through the Old Testament times have prostrated themselves in their faces before God. Are we on our faces before God tonight? Have we come to worship Him? to give him all of the glory due to his holy, blessed name. So the word worship is found here in a very unusual setting. There's no singing mentioned. Some people have this crazy idea that worship is singing, using instrumentals, that kind of thing. There are places where these things happen. We have people who come and who sing publicly here in the congregation, and we're blessed through their ministry, but there's no singing here. There's no music attached here. There's no clapping of hands. There's no choir. It's a very solemn occasion, and worship is a very solemn thing. Why do I say it's a solemn occasion here? Well, you look at the scene, a man who's over 100 years of age, he's walking with his son. They're scaling the Mount Moriah because Abraham is going to offer him as a sacrifice. They went forth to worship. And so the worship that God requires is associated here in the context with obedience. And I do believe that I can safely say that worship is obedience. Because he was a man, and God spoke to him, and God told him exactly what he wanted him to do, and Abraham obeyed exactly what God wanted him to do, and they went to this place, and the Bible says they went to worship. Worship is obedience. And that's exactly what this man did. Obeying the voice of God is obedience, and it is worship to God. That's the way we worship God and obeying God and the truth. Don't miss that. Don't get caught up with the spirit of this age. Spirit of this age, by and large, is anti-gospel, anti-truth, anti-holiness. And we need to have our feet firmly set on the truth of God's precious word. So worship is obedience. Now, actually, The Hebrew word Sheka is found for the first time in Genesis 18 verse 2, but it's translated not with the word worship. Remember Abraham was sitting in the tent door trying to catch a breeze across the prairie there. And he lifts up his eyes and he sees three men coming to his camp. He calls one of them the Lord. And when he recognized Jesus, because it's a Christophany, he recognized Jesus coming to his camp. What did he do? Well, the word shekah is translated this way. He bowed himself toward the ground. Go back to the meaning of the word itself, to bow down, to prostrate oneself, or to lie flat on the ground. And so we see this man sitting, maybe meditating. And as he was meditating, Jesus dropped by. And when Abraham saw him, he fell flat on the face before him, and he worshiped him. Oh, come, let us adore him. We will give him all the glory. Why? For he alone is worthy. And we're here to worship him. He's on his face before God. So when Christ visited Abraham, may the Lord visit us tonight. May our hearts be so stirred. that within us we will bow within in our hearts to him and give him his rightful place for he alone is worthy. The first time the word worship appears in the New Testament then as Matthew chapter 2 and verse 2. You know, at this time of the year, you're hearing all about the wise men. Now, the wise men didn't come at the same time the shepherds came. The shepherds, they came that night to Bethlehem, but this is happening maybe two years later. The wise men have come from the east, they've come to Jerusalem, they've made their way to Bethlehem, and it's no longer a babe, it's the young child. He's no longer in a stable or an outhouse. He's in a house. And the wise men come, and when they see the young child, what do they do? Remember what the wise men said to her when they came? The wise men told her to worship. Proskounos, the new king, and the Greek word according to Strong's lexicon means to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence. It also means to kiss the hand. Sometimes you see maybe an old picture there and the king is coming out to greet somebody and they bow down and they kiss the hand. You think of the Pope, he gets his hand kissed. many a time. That's not true worship of course, but that's the sense. To kiss the hand or fall on the knees, that's another way it can be translated, or to prostrate oneself, which is familiar with the Old Testament meaning of the word. Of course there are other great renditions of the same which means to pay homage. And that's exactly what these wise men did. When they saw Jesus, they presented to him their gifts, but they fell down and worshiped him, and then they presented their gifts. That's exactly what they're doing. They prostrated themselves in the dust before Christ. They paid homage to Christ, worshiped his reverence. When we worship, we need to remember who we're worshiping. The God who spoke all things into existence by the word of his power, the God who has eternally existed, the God who's a spirit, the God who knows all, sees all, all powerful, omniscient, everywhere present. And when we recognize that, we will conduct ourselves with reverence in his house, doesn't matter what kind of meeting we're in, prayer meeting, prayer service, whatever. Because we're in the presence of Almighty God, the Lord God of heaven. So worship is obedience. and worship as reverence. I think John chapter four, if you want to turn just for a short time to John chapter four, you may want to come back to this in your own home. Verses 20 through 24. Let me just take a moment to read these few verses. This probably is the most significant passage in the New Testament on the subject of worship. Beginning there at verse 20, of John chapter four, our fathers worshipped in this mountain. And ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the father. Ye worship ye know not what. We know what we worship for salvations of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father worketh such, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And you will notice, I trust, that the word worship is found eight times here. And the word worshiped is found one time. So there's a reference here in these few verses, nine times to worship. So it's something that's very important. And we're told here, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And even in this, we find the correct object of worship, God who is spirit. God the Father hasn't a body, God is spirit. The Holy Spirit hasn't a body either. because he is a holy spirit. Christ is the only person of the divine trinity that's again to union with this deity, a human body, perfect humanity. But when we see him, we see God. So there's the correct object of worship, God, who is spirit. The correct attitude of worship, we are to worship in the spirit. And then the foundation of correct worship, truth. We're to worship him in spirit and in truth. So we've got to be in the spirit when we worship, when we pray, when we teach, when we preach, when we witness. And we've got to be witnessing to the truth. We've got to be governed by the truth and witness to the truth and testify to the truth and live the truth. There's no point of telling people about the truth if we don't seek to live by it. Whatever we do, walking around cold rain, we are to testify to the grace of God in our walk, even in our appearance, to testify to the grace of God in Christ. Sanctify them through thy word, thy word is truth. So there's a buildup here. Worship is obedience. When I am obeying the commands of God, living my life according to the revealed truth of God's word, I am worshiping God because I'm doing that which is pleasing in the sight. Because I value him, because I value his truth and value who he is, then I will seek to live by his rules. Worship is reverence, we fear God. I think personally, and I think you will agree with me, There's very little of the fear of God in our hearts at times. I say that from a pulpit out. It's the truth. Now, let me just, for a little time, give a comparison of worship with ministry, which might help to distinguish what worship truly is. Now, what could we say about ministry, teaching, preaching? Well, ministry is that which comes down to us from the Father, through the Son, who is the bread of life, who is the heavenly manna, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay, did we get the picture of ministry? The manna came down from heaven to feed God's people, Christ is the manna come down from heaven. So ministry comes down to us from God through the Son, by the Spirit. Worship, on the other hand, is what goes up from us, by the Spirit, through the Son, to the Father. Thus ministry is that which descends from God to us. But worship is that which ascends from us to God. And both must be kept in balance. Unfortunately, we tend to be too ministry-orientated like Martha, too busy serving, and not enough toward worship. And we need to learn from Mary how to sit at the feet of Jesus and worship him. Now, let's get at it. Let's get to the very heart of the thing. Are we here tonight to worship him? Have we just come to hear the word? Have we just come because we feel good in God's presence? Because it's the right thing to be here and so on? Or have we really come to worship the King? All glory is above. Worship is obedience. Worship is reference. Do I worship God? Is worship a priority to me? As I sit there in my study on my bended knee in my favorite place with the knee pads there, am I worshiping God alone with him? Now, sometimes it can be hard in a church context. Sometimes we can be distracted. With this and that and the other thing, it's hard maybe to focus and concentrate the whole time, but by and large, we should strive by God's grace to hone in on what's going on, focusing our thoughts upon Christ in the midst of the throne. God seeks acceptable, true spiritual worship. And if we're going to give him what he requires, we need to understand what it is. Now let me just digress a wee bit again to Romans chapter 12. Now just turn with me for a minute. I'm not going to detain you too long. I want to read these opening two verses of the chapter. Romans 12, verses one and two. All right, you with me now? you're not getting weary turning the pages of your Bible to find out what God is saying to us about worship. This is what Paul says here, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Okay. Now, we've got to look at these verses in their context. So what is the context of these two verses? The context of these two verses is the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans, where the apostle Paul talks about the glorious gospel of Christ, where he talks about the redemptive work of Christ. So take that into your heart right now. The first 11 chapters is a gold up here. the glorious gospel, the great redemptive work of Christ. So Paul has taken 11 chapters to set forth these great truths to the church of God. Then he says, after expounding that, then he says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. What's the mercies of God referring to? The truths of the first 11 chapters of the book. That's what has been referred to there. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the great truths of the first 11 chapters of what I have written, that you present your bodies a loving sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Or you could put it, spiritual worship. So Paul is setting forth the claims of Christ and all the benefits of redemption to the people of God. And then he says, because of what you've heard, because of these great truths, You're to fall on your faces before God and give unto him spiritual worship. Get on your face before God because of what Christ has revealed to you in these 11 chapters about his great redemptive work. And if that doesn't bring us to our knees, I don't know what else will. So Paul says, in response to all of what I've said, God wants something from you. What is it? It's spiritual worship, which is acceptable to Him. So I've said already, worship is obedience, worship is reverence, and worship is giving, because God requires something from us. In the light of His mercy, and the light of His grace, and the great work of Christ on the cross, He requires something of us. What is it? Spiritual worship. We must worship God acceptably. And you'll find that word acceptable there at the end of verse two, for the second time, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So God wants something from us. He wants something that is acceptable to him. And what is acceptable to him is spiritual worship. And it begins with the presentation of the body as a living sacrifice. We've read that in the opening verse here. Now, it's not just a reference to the physical body. You present your bodies a loving sacrifice. It's not just simply referring to the physical body, because then it wouldn't be an act of spiritual worship, would it? It would be something physical. The body referred to in verse one as the whole person. It's the true self. It's the true me. So because of God's mercy, he calls us to present ourselves to him in an act of spiritual worship. Now the wise men, they show great reference when they bowed in the presence of Christ and they offered unto Christ different gifts. We know what those gifts were, tangible gifts to the Savior. But I think of Samuel, his mother brought him to the house of God and she dedicated him to God. That's what it means, spiritual worship. We yield ourselves to God, we bring ourselves to him. We become the living sacrifice on the altar. There's the picture. The living sacrifice on the altar. We become an offering, a sweet-smelling savor in the nostrils of God. That's what spiritual worship is. Oh come, let us adore him, for he alone is worthy. Christ alone is worthy. The mighty king, oh come and worship the king tonight. Simply put, God saved us so we might offer to him spiritual worship. And I'm going to turn you to 1 Peter. I think it's important just to get these thoughts, carry it through. If I can get it in my Bible here. It's 1 Peter. Going the wrong direction here. It's 1 Peter. at chapter 2 and if you look there at verse 5, 1 Peter 2 and verse 5, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Okay. Let's look at the context again. I've proven a point here. I'm going to stay with it. I'm not going to budge an inch. I'm going to stay with it. There's a lesson for us all to learn here. I've studied this. I've wrestled before God with this. So I knew before I came here the message for you tonight When you think of chapter one of first Peter, it contains wonders of God's or Christ's redemptive grace. Verse 19 tells us about the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Verse 18 tells us about the new birth for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things from your vain conversation received by tradition. Talks about the new birth and redemption. And then you move on to chapter 2, verses 2 and 3. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. So we're moving on. So he's talking about the precious blood. He's talking about the new birth. He's talking about these things. And then he tells us that we are newborn babes. We have tasted that the Lord is gracious. He's been merciful to us. Then he comes to verse five. Now that we're saved, now that we're saved individuals, he says, listen to what he says. as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Now God doesn't live in a house made with hands, that is a building made of brick and mortar. This is not, it's God's house. And we sense his presence with us, but we've got to understand that God cannot be bound by places or by time. He doesn't live in a house made with hands. He lives in a house made of living stones, the living stones of his people. He lives in us. And as holy priests we are to offer up spirit, they'll sacrifice us. That's it. That's our role as the royal priesthood, the priesthood of believers, not the Aaronic priesthood that's done away with. The priesthood of all believers in Christ, and as priests in the family of God, we are to offer up spiritual worship to Him. Again, it's giving. Worship is obedience. Worship is reverence. Worship is giving. And when you come back to Genesis chapter 22, we have this point brought out. I'm coming to a close now. You come to chapter 22 again, and in verse 5 you see the same principle that worship is giving. How do I know that? Verse 5, and Abraham said unto his young men, abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you. So the Lord has said to Abraham, I want you to give me something very precious. I want you to give me your son. Now, some people find it very hard to comprehend that God would have asked Abraham to do such a thing. Sometimes when I was in the States, I heard people say, where was God on 9-11? Where was he? And one person asked this question to a professor, a Christian man, and this was his reply. In the same place in heaven where he was when he watched his son die. So the man was saying, where was God that he allowed all these people to die? Where was God? And the man was saying in the same place where he was the day he watched his son die. Not for his own crimes, but for the sins of his people. So Abraham was going to go through with God. God had spoken to him, give me your son. Abraham was going through with God. Are we going to go through with God in this congregation? God said, I want you to give up your son Isaac. He's holding nothing back now. He's going to worship God. Mariah, that is mentioned here in verse 2, only reappears for the second time in 2 Chronicles 3, verse 1, as identified with the place where God held up the plague of Jerusalem and where Solomon built the temple. In the New Testament times, it was in the vicinity of Calvary, a hill northwest of Jerusalem. And Abraham said to his company, you wait here and I and the lad will go yonder. So he's going to die. Abraham knows that. But at the same time he says, but we will return again. So he believed that if his son died, that he would be raised by the power of God because he said, I'm coming back and he's just coming back with me. Do you see that? So he's great faith. And he had this conviction on the ground of Genesis 21, verse 12, and Isaac shall, I see, be called. And Hebrews 11 makes it abundantly clear that Abraham believed that God would raise his son Isaac. That's a mass of faith. I bide you here, a place of parties going the second mile. He's going to worship. Now, let me just apply this. Mount Moriah speaks to us of Calvary. So he's approaching God. He's bringing a sacrifice. He believed that Isaac was going to die, but he believed that Isaac would be raised again from the dead. Now let's apply this to us. Tonight we're coming to worship God. We're approaching Calvary. Through the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to appear in his presence. We're going to meet with him now. when they see him. And we approach him through the death and through the burial and resurrection of the well-beloved son. There's a wonderful picture here. Now some people take the wood belayed in Isaac to represent the time in John 19, verse 17, when he buried his cross. That may be the correct way to look at it, but I tend to think that the wood refers to the burden of our sin laid on Christ. Well, you can look at it in both ways. It's a beautiful picture in my way. So the wood was laid in him, but the fire and the knife was in Abraham's hand in the hand of the father. So here we see Christ bearing the burden of his people, scaling Mount Moriah, scaling Calvary to be stretched out on the cross there. And the father has got the fire and the knife in his hand to slay the son. Well, Isaac was spared, but Jesus died. And what a wonderful picture we have here. That word, Moriah, means the Lord will see, or the Lord will see to it, or the Lord will provide. For him to see the need that we have means that he will provide that which will meet the need. The angel called to this man who was prepared to give up everything. He's bringing everything, he's going through with God, and the angel of the Lord called on to him a second time, Abraham, Abraham, I will bless thee. Here's God giving now. Here's the response to the giving of God's servant. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And on the Mount of Olives it surely was seen, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. The Lord will provide. Yet one thing secures whate'er be tied, the Scriptures assure us the Lord will provide. Now, I've got to finish. I'll give you plenty of time to pray. Just you give me plenty of time to finish this preaching. I'll give you plenty of time to pray. So the first time worship is mentioned, Genesis 22, verse 5. The final time in the Old Testament where worship is mentioned is Zechariah 14, verse 17. Worship the King, the Lord of hosts. So there's this worship, prostrating, falling on his face before God. All it takes. Worship is obedience. Worship is reverence. Worship is giving. And then all the way through we come to the book of Zechariah, the last time there's worship the king. We just can't get away from this theme. Oh, worship the king. The first time the word worship was found in the New Testament, Matthew 2 verse 2. The final time the word is found in the New Testament, Revelation chapter 22. Remember when John was going to fall down before the angel? What did the angel say? No, worship God. So there it is. You come to the very end of the book of Revelation. And what's the admonition? What is the word for hearts tonight? Worship God. Oh, worship the King. All glory is above. That's it. That's the secret. And I can assure you, if you meet With Him tonight, if you worship Him tonight, you'll know about it. Same is applicable to me. If I worship Him in this meeting tonight, I will know about it. And I will be expecting God to bless me. Because I want to bring praise to His holy name tonight. For the Lamb is all the glory. And the man goes on, could I lift Him up to you once more before we come to pray? I would encourage you to enter in tonight and worship him. Even if it is just to say, praise the Lord for the fact that we can come to worship. Keep the prayer meeting alive tonight. Keep the devil at bay. Plead the power of the blood and let us worship God in spirit and in truth. So just so we know again, you'll be tired of me saying this, but I want you to get the message. There's a lot more to say about worship than what I said. on a few Stalin remarks. Worship is obedience. Worship is reverence. Worship is giving. But then, when we do render that kind of worship to God, the response will be, I will bless thee. Let's bow for prayer. Let's go down to seek the Lord. Please, as I've said so many times before, let's keep our prayers to the point. And I've also said this before. Feel free to add on a couple of times or more if need be. But let's keep our prayers short and to the point. Let's pray. Father, we do need thee.