The 6 W’s of Discipleship
Facilitated by Pastor Joedy Lim
Worthy of Worship
Not much about defining worship, but more of worshipping together, and worshipping in the light of discipleship. It’s a response of honor and praise and awe. It’s out of our experiencing the goodness of God. The root word of worship is more of ‘worth’, so it’s no accident that we say that He is ‘worthy’ of praise. We call Him worthy.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 4:11
Made To Worship
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”Genesis 22:1-5
The word of worship used in this Scripture in Hebrew is shachah; That is, to depress, to prostrate, to revere, to stoop – essentially, to humble ourselves. But the idea here is, Abraham was asked to offer his son as a sacrifice. He may not have fully understood why, but his obedience was an act of faith as explained by James later on in the New Testament. Now in the light of the Old Testament, it would have been seen as submission to God’s will… but in the light of Christ, this was a picture of God, as our Father, willing and able to provide the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ!
This is why in Genesis 4, Abel’s worship was acceptable because of the blood sacrifice which was a shadow of the great sacrifice of Jesus on the cross!
In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
Psalms 40:6-8
The cross is the power behind True Worship. At this point we also pull up the Greek word Proskuneo – That is, to kiss, to fawn, to crouch, also to prostrate ourselves. The point that Pastor Joedy seems to emphasize here is that the worship is not without its traces of extravagant affection. The idea here is that because we received the Lord’s extravagant love and forgiveness, one extravagantly shows affection to the One who gave it!
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”Luke 7:44-47
Pastor Joedy was going a little faster in this session, and the item following the reminder of our being Made To Worship was the reminder of worship being a response.
I’m just glad that we’re on the same page regarding this. Just as we’re on the same page regarding giving – that is, we don’t give to be blessed, we’ve been blessed so much that we give, and we give cheerfully. It’s the same thing with worship, actually – or, we can say that we’ve been blessed with so much that we give in the form of worship. Or cut the middle man, we’ve been blessed with such a great blessing in Christ, so much so that we respond in worship…. Or, is worship our response?
Because God is love and His love was demonstrated on the cross, we see all kinds of expressions of praise and worship in the Bible. Here are some examples:
- Declaring God’s goodness
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalms 23:6
- Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?Romans 2:3-4
- Thanksgiving
- Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.Psalms 136:1
- Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!Psalms 106:1
- Singing
- Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!Psalms 100:2
- Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.Psalms 95:2-3
- Magnifying the Lord together
- I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!Psalms 34:1-3
- May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”Psalms 70:4
- Praising God in different ways and with our breath or life
- Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp; Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!Psalm 150
Worship in Discipleship Groups
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.Psalms 122:1-4
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!Psalms 34:3
Benefits of Worshipping Together
Worshipping together is a pleasurable experience. God chooses to inhabit the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3) and we enjoy His presence when we worship together. It’s a joyous experience – In His presence is fullness of joy. One thing to enjoy God on our own for sure, but there’s a certain joy when we come together to enjoy His presence together.
Worshipping together is also a powerful experience. We do enjoy His presence, but there’s also His power present in His presence – No talk of His presence without His power!
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!Psalms 50:23
Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Psalms 47:1-5
One example is the victory of Jehoshaphat over the 3 nations that came together against Judah. Refer to 2 Chronicles 20.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,
“Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.2 Chronicles 20:21-23
Another example is Joshua, Israel and the walls of Jericho.
And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city. And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.” So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Joshua 6:16-20
Finally, worshipping together is a glorious, transformative experience. We are renewed when we experience the power and presence of Christ, when we worship together.
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD,
“For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,”
the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.2 Chronicles 5:11-14
The temple of God is where they used to adore God, but God adored us so much that through Christ we have been transformed by God’s presence and power, that we have been made literal temples of God.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Let us exalt the Lord together!
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