Worship

The day after Adam was formed out of wet clay and became a living human being was unlike any other day of Creation week. On it, God did...nothing. Instead, it was time for Adam to do something. It was time for him to worship.

That’s what the Sabbath was designed to be: a day for worship.

The book of Exodus clearly outlines its importance. It speaks of the establishment of a place for worship, how to experience worship, and what to remember when you worship. Centuries later, when the Apostle Peter described God’s people, he used the term “royal priesthood,” reminiscent of that Old Testament desert tabernacle. The purpose of this “royal priesthood” was to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). That’s worship.

John the Revelator carried that theme forward when he provided a glimpse of heaven to come. The winged “living creatures” spend day and night saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). Then, just a couple verses later: “The twentyfour elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever” (Revelation 4:10).

Yes, heaven is for worshippers. And the very best training ground for us to practice worshipping? Planet Earth.

Our mission

Let’s discover anew the mission that God has given His Church. That mission is clearly reflected in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12.

Spoiler alert: it’s all about worship.

Angel #1 invites us to worship the Creator (Revelation 14:7). Angel #2 decries the false worship reverberating throughout Babylon (Revelation 14:8). And Angel #3 warns of the terrible outcome waiting for those who worship the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-11).

As a church, our mission is to lead people to live according to their core identity: creatures created by God to worship God. It’s also our responsibility to warn against the deception and consequences of the false worship that’s saturating our world and to share the good news concerning the unimaginable rewards awaiting worshippers of the One True God. Which begs the question: are we happy and satisfied with our private and family worship? How can we improve our participation in both? It all comes down to what instrument we’re playing.

How to worship

The Bible regularly presents our voices as instruments of worship. “Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious” (Psalm 66:1, 2). The Apostle Paul expands the list, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). Then, to the church in Philippi, he states: “I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). What is it that’s considered by Paul to be “a fragrant, acceptable sacrifice” and “pleasing to God?” The generous offerings of the Philippians. It seems that the giving of money is an act of worship. But be warned. This same instrument has the capacity to compete with God and become the object of worship. “No one can serve [worship] two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Thankfully, when we use our resources to worship God, it provides the best way for us to not worship our resources.

Just ask the three wise men. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him’” (Matthew 2:1-2, NKJV). In contrast, the priests and the leaders of God’s people did not consider it important to accompany the wise men to Bethlehem. They were too busy doing “God’s work.” it. But something was missing. “It is not good for the man to be alone,” God decided. “I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). Humans, it seems, are social beings and cannot be fulfilled and satisfied without quality, person-to-person relationships. It’s part of who we are.

Ellen White uses the example of the three to make an appeal to believers today: “If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us” ( The Desire of Ages , p. 65).

To the true believer, worship is not a side element of life. It’s the purpose of life. Like the wise men of old, let’s decide today to live that essential part of total worship: giving to God our King.

At the heart of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we find an emphasis on the necessity of prioritizing another relationship. “But seek first his kingdom” (Matthew 6:33). Kingdoms have kings. The Gospels speak of “His kingdom,” “the kingdom of the Father,” “the kingdom of God.” And how do we seek that kingdom? By getting to know the Ruler who sits on its throne.

The Gospels reveal how Jesus prioritized His own relationship with His Father. One insightful incident took place in Capernaum. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). This special time of Jesus with His father was happening during the first hour of Sunday morning. The previous day had been the Sabbath— the time set apart for relationship building between humans and the divine. Yet, after one full day of such encounters, the first thing Jesus did when He woke up on Sunday morning was to seek again that sweet fellowship.

We can make two beautiful deductions here. First, maintaining a relationship with God is not confined to the Sabbath, and second, the point of social saturation with the divine is never reached.

What was the result of this constant companionship with His Heavenly Father? “So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons” (Mark 1:39). A relationship with God leads to a sustainable and effective outflowing of divine power. Weakness in one’s spiritual life and ministry may be an indicator of a lack of that vital, power-building interaction.

Top priority

The Gospel of Luke tells two stories of individuals who decided to make relationship their top priority. Martha had a great sense of hospitality. She welcomed Jesus into her house and did everything to attend to His needs. However, her courtesy and good manners were preventing her from experiencing something even more essential. Her sister Mary adopted a far different posture. She simply “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39).

Martha wasn’t pleased, and she said so. Jesus settled the dispute between the two sisters with these revealing words: “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:41-42, ESV). The word