ENTER IN TO WORSHIP
Did you know that "Enter Into Worship" is not a phrase in the bible? Not in any translation that I could find. There are many references to entering God's house, God's Temple, the place of worship... We are even told to enter in order to worship. But there doesn't seem to be a biblical precident for entering INTO worship. I found this odd because I've heard and used the phrase SO many times since childhood growing up in churches.
Psalm 5:7 NLT
Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; with deepest awe I will worship at your Temple.
Jeremiah 7:2 ESV
"Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD.
Ezekiel 46:2 ESV
The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
Psalm 100:4
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
WHAT IS PRAISE?
Praise is to speak well of someone/something. If I am given a gift by a person I will thank them. If it is an extravagant gift I may not only thank them but begin telling them what a great person they are because of this gift and I'll tell other people about what a person they are because of this gift. This is the essence of praise. I am praising them. So I am to enter the realms of God with "Thanksgiving" and "Speaking well of Him". This is the attitude with which I enter His presence.
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Worship is mentioned over 105 times in the NKJV on a basic search. Worship, both in Greek and Hebrew, means to bow down, fall to the knees, kiss the hand, or in other ways pay respect and homage to a superior of some kind. There are, however, several words translated worship. Another word sometimes translated worship is also translated serve or work. Our work and service are part of our worship before God.
Thoughts from my friend Al:
The thought was based on the scripture, Matt 5:16 (KJV)
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works[Worship], and glorify[See the Nature of] your Father [The King]which is in heaven.
Your purpose is your WORK and your WORK is your WORSHIP!
AVODAH - Worship/Work Also written as Abad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avodah
http://www.avodah.net/
The Hebrew word for Worship is also the same base/root as Work.
See Also: http://ag.org/top/church_workers/wrshp_gen_avodah.cfm
Exodus 3:12 KJV
12 And he said , Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
So...That which we do is our Worship. The Nature of God is Glory. So through my work/worship people are able to see the nature of God, My King, who is in heaven.
Worship is the work which brings men to see the nature of God.
Everything I do, everything I am, is a revelation of who God is. In my triumphs I see His Grace. In my defeats I see His Mercy. In nature I see his handiwork. In people I see his heart. If I can get in touch with this I begin to see the heart of Jesus and after Him Paul. Living every breath to see the Kingdom Of God manifested on this earth.
Worship is the work which brings men to see the nature of God.
Everything I do, everything I am, is a revelation of who God is. In my triumphs I see His Grace. In my defeats I see His Mercy. In nature I see his handiwork. In people I see his heart. If I can get in touch with this I begin to see the heart of Jesus and after Him Paul. Living every breath to see the Kingdom Of God manifested on this earth.
Darrell G. Wolfe
VERSES TO STUDY:
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.pneu'ma {N-NSN} oJ {T-NSM} qeov?, {N-NSM} kai; {CONJ} tou;? {T-APM} proskunou'nta? {V-PAP-APM} aujto;n {P-ASM} ejn {PREP} pneuvmati {N-DSN} kai; {CONJ} ajlhqeiva/ {N-DSF} dei' {V-PQI-3S}proskunei'n. {V-PAN}
Psalms 95:6 KJV Interlinear. Psalm 132:7 NKJV
Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool.
Jeremiah 26:2 NKJV
"Thus says the Lord: 'Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.
Matthew 4:8-11Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Ephesians 2:5-15
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
2 Corinthians 9
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, 14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
Matthew 5:16 NKJV
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Psalm 100:4
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
DEFINITIONS:
The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon "Worship":
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The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon "Serve/Work/Worship"
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The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon "Worship"
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The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon "Praise" Psalms 100:4
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praise
PRAISE, n. s as z. [L. pretium.]
PRAISE, v.t. [L. tollo, extollo; pretium.]
AVODAH - Worship/Work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avodah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_labor
http://www.avodah.net/
The Hebrew word for Worship is also the same base/root as Work.
See Also: http://ag.org/top/church_workers/wrshp_gen_avodah.cfm
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Business_Ethics/Themes_and_Theology/Value_of_Work/Work_as_Calling.shtml
http://www.thehighcalling.org/attitude/do-you-feel-broken-and-fragmented
FURTHER STUDY:
Other interesting articles on this subject that bear further reading:
The Hebrew word for Worship is also the same base/root as Work.
See Also: http://ag.org/top/church_workers/wrshp_gen_avodah.cfm
http://www.victorious.org/praise.htm
Have you ever noticed when “gifts of the Spirit” operate in a church service? The power and anointing of the Holy Spirit usually becomes evident, subsequent to a time of worship and praise. Some think that worship is a response after the Holy Spirit moves upon them. However, it’s the other way around. God’s presence responds when we move upon Him with worship! Lifting up Jesus Christ through praise and worship invokes the Lord’s presence and power to flow in our midst.
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Business_Ethics/Themes_and_Theology/Value_of_Work/Work_as_Calling.shtml
The word for work in Hebrew, avodah, is the same used for prayer. Avodah connotes service. (It is also the word for slavery, which is involuntary service.) Work is not only a necessary part of life, it is a form of service to the world, to the rest of humanity, and to God. We are meant to be of service, to be partners with God in the ongoing creation of the world. Yet even as we serve God, we also serve our fellow human beings, as set forth in this story about the Hasidic master Rabbi David of Lelov [Poland, 1746-1813]:
http://www.homegrownpraise.com/WhatWorship.htm
Some have made the mistake of equating praise with "the outer court" and worship with "the inner court." To place this strong a barrier between the two is artificial.
http://www.bibleabookoftruth.com/WhyChristiansPraiseAndWorshipGod.pdf
http://www.khouse.org/articles/2005/557/
True worship, then, is contingent upon our offering ourselves as a living sacrifice and God cleansing our flesh and spirit. In other words, our heart condition matters more in worship than our voice, our good intentions or our actions. Without a cleansed heart, we simply cannot enter His presence or worship.
It's interesting to note that today worship music sales have absolutely skyrocketed, but statistics show us that there are more problems now in the Christian body than ever before. Why? If people are buying worship music, why aren't our lives reflecting this?
The answer is simple: we are becoming like what we worship! (Psalm 135:18)
We are praising God, but not truly worshiping Him. We are singing unto Him, making melody in our heart, but not allowing Him to cleanse our hearts and truly change us into His image. Much of it goes back to the fact that many Christians don't really know what it means to love God. They don't know how to daily surrender and relinquish themselves to Him. Without this knowledge, not only will there be no changed lives, there also will be no worshipers. Worship comes from love. We worship that which we love. In other words, the more we love Him, the more we will be able to worship Him.
The following was SO good I had to re post it here for this study!
http://ag.org/top/church_workers/wrshp_gen_avodah.cfm
Word Study: (AVODAH) — Work/Worship
BY WILLIAM D. BJORAKER
Avodah is the transliteration of the Hebrew word for worship and work. Have you ever thought about the connection? Is worship work? Is work worship?
The root word means to work or to serve. The cluster of words derived from the root give us insight into the nature of both worship and work.
An oved is a worker. An evid is a slave. Avdut is slavery. Work involves the idea of serving someone. Avodat Elohim is the service or worship of the true God. Avodah zara is literally strange worship (it is also the title of one of the tractates of the Talmud, which discusses the subject of idolatry and corrupt and false worship).
Avodat Elillim is idolatry, the worship of false gods. Indeed, false worship or idolatry is in essence serving the devil and leads to avdut-bondage, slavery to Satan.
Worship of the true God in Messiah Jesus through the Holy Spirit and in truth is hard work. It demands expenditure of energy. Worship is not mere campfire singing. It requires focus and concentration of our faculties. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10*).
Worship requires an inner humbling, a surrender of self-will, a repentance of sin, and trust. It requires cultivating the presence of God. It ascribes to Him the supreme value of who He is and acknowledges His worthiness (worth-ship) in words, deeds, and posture. Worship is hard work.
Work (labor, enterprise, exertion) is always serving. For the worshiper of God, the believer in Jesus, it is serving God. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Colossians 3:17).
One of the great recoveries of the Protestant Reformation was an affirmation of the dignity of all honest occupations and manual labor as vocations (literally, callings). Historically, the Jewish father was considered derelict if he didn’t teach his son a trade. Most rabbis also plied a trade (for example, Rabbi Moshe, the shoemaker or Rabbi Shaul, the tentmaker).
Work is an essential part and expression of our humanness. It is not, as some mistakenly assume, a result of the Fall. Work was part of Adam and Eve’s activity in Eden before they sinned. They were to "work" the Garden "and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15). Work is an expression of the creativity inherent in human nature made in the "image of God." After all, God is continually working, as Jesus pointed out: "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17).
Only work that is drudgery is a consequence of the Fall. In Messiah we can experience a substantial redemption from drudgery to meaningful, enjoyable work and achievement. Whatever your job, it can be an expression of worship if you do it unto the Lord.
In modern Hebrew, uv-dah means fact. A fact works in or with reality because it is true to reality. Likewise, in modern Hebrew, u-vad means adapted—something worked over to fit reality.
One more point is necessary: "Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind [worship].’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ " (Matthew 22:37–39). These commands are always in that order. If you get them turned around, it will destroy you. That’s a fact. It won’t work; it is not true to reality. If you give yourself first to neighbor-love, you will find out it cannot be sustained. You will burn out. Only neighbor-love growing out of primary love for God has staying power. Neighbor-love works when it flows out of a life of worship.
Worship has priority over work, yet true worship is hard work. Work can be a form of worship, and the work of worship has priority over all other work.
"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58). Let’s remember, "Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4).
Let’s worship God and get to work.
*Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.
This word study is adapted from Hebrew Nuggets, a series of Hebrew word studies by William D. Bjoraker.
William D. Bjoraker is an Assemblies of God home missionary to the Israeli Jewish emigres of greater Los Angeles, Operation Ezekiel.
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