Torch, Spring 1992

will. We pray as Jesus taught us to pray: "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). We want His will to be done in our individual lives- in our family relationships and career choices. We must affirm: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13). In genuine worship, we reverently accept the fact that God can do anything that He pleases to do- in the universe and in us. He is the potter and we are the clay. He can mold us into anything, and we take pleasure in the realization that His fingers are upon us. Even the pagan Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, confessed: ".. .and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:34). True worship cannot occur when we are self-willed and rebellious. We glorify God when we submit to His moral will for our lives because we are aware that we are in the presence of the sovereign God. 2. In true worship we bear God's word and respond in faith. John gave this description of the presence of the Father: "And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald" (Revelation 4:3). What is the significance of the rainbow? Most Bible students know that a rainbow first appeared after the cataclysmic flood receded in the days of Noah. God said that it was a token of the covenant between Him and the inhabitants of the earth. He promised that He would never again destroy the world with a universal flood of water (Genesis 9:8-17). God has kept His pledge. What is the significance of the two precious stones? When the high priest of Israel represented the nation before God, he wore a breastplate which contained twelve gems (Exodus 28:15- 21). Each stone symbolized one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the first row, the first stone was sardius, representing Reuben. In the last row, the last stone, jasper, signified Benjamin. The two stones thus reveal God ' s covenant relationship to Israel. He has promised to preserve Israel through the centuries and to place the nation in the millennial kingdom (Genesis 12:1-3, 2 Samuel 7:16, Jeremiah 31:3- 34). The symbolism depicts the faithfulness of God to His promised Word. In true worship, we believe Him. We take Him at His word. The Bible states: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). Implicit trust is essential to true worship. We must believe that God is- that He exists and that He is present. When we are aware of His presence and that He is speaking, we will be able to respond as the young Samuel did: "Speak, for thy servant heareth" (1 Samuel 3:10). Christ told us to hear if we have ears to hear (Matthew 13:9). In true worship, we open our hearts and minds to be instructed. We enter into spiritual security and confidence because our God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:13- 19). We know that we are His sheep and that we will never perish (John 10:27-30). We believe that "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Romans 11 :29). 3• In true worship we acknowledge God's holiness and our sinfulness. The apostle heard the four living creatures exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8). In His moral transcendence, God is absolutely separate from that which ethically defiles. God sees sin, but He perceives it for what it is: any lack of conformity to His moral will and holy being. And sin is totally abhorrent to Him. Isaiah had a similar vision of the heavenly throne and the holiness of God. He heard the angelic seraphim crying out: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3). When the ancient prophet saw God as He is, then he saw himself as he really was. In desperation, he declared: "Woe is me! for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah then experienced supernatural cleansing of his iniquity (Isaiah 6:7). True worship is pure and wholesome. It involves the assessment of self by the divine standard of righteousness. If we truly worship in spirit and in truth, then we will ask God for forgiveness and cleansing. Worship and fellowship go together. In essence, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John . 1:5). John then wrote : "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Genuine worship is marked by moral honesty. On the other hand, false worship involves self-deception. John also wrote: " If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth" (1 John1 :6). The Psalmist clearly stated: "If I regard . iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). There can be no true worship of God if we harbor unconfessed and unforsaken sin in our lives. A genuine awareness of the presence of our holy God will instinctively cause us to have moral fear. The prophet Isaiah wrote the words of God to an umepentant Israel: "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with: it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting" (Isaiah 1:13). God hates worship produced by unclean hands and impure hearts. We should be very cautious whenever we gather for corporate worship. We dare not praise His holiness if we are also daring to walk in moral disobedience. 4. In true wo1·sbip we submit as dependent creatures to the Creator and Sustainer of all things. · The twenty-four elders fell down before God the Father, worshiped Him, cast their crowns before His throne, and said: "Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4: 11). God is the Creator; we are His creatures. God alone is self– existent. He is not dependent upon anyone or anything for the continuation of His being. However, true worship recognizes we