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🙌 True Worship vs. Modern Counterfeits
✝️ By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
Across the world today, many congregations gather in the name of Jesus. Yet sadly, true worship—as defined by God’s Word—has been diluted, replaced, or even lost. The Bible warns us that worship which is not in Spirit and in truth becomes vain worship. Let us look at what the Scriptures teach about true worship and then contrast it with what often happens in many churches today.
📖 The Foundation of True Worship
John 4:23-24 (KJV)
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: 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.”
🔑 Key Point: True worship is spiritual and truthful—flowing from the heart, guided by the Word of God.
Worshiping God is not an expression of how we worship God, but rather an expression from a pure heart that approaches God in spirit and in truth. It’s not a feeling or religious acts that makes one feel better about oneself because they have preformed a religious act or ritual, but an acknowledgment of who God is and what God has accomplished when He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sin.
Worship is not about trying to please God with outward expressions or acts that make us think we have worshiped God, it’s not about the words in songs we sing to worship God, it’s about the condition of our heart when we lift our voice to God.
Calling upon the name of the Lord in worship with beautiful melodies in song, or words spoken to appease the Father because they are found in scripture is not the correct form of worship, it’s about a life that does what the Lord taught in scripture first and foremost.
Luke 6:46 “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”
Many churches today place their focus of worship of outward expressions to get people to worship God. They focus of perfect sound and instruments that play beautiful melodies, they add the right mood lighting make the atmosphere for worship seem pleasant when all to raise their voices and hands to God in worship, but what is left out is a true worship of God because the focus becomes about what they are doing to make people feel good about theirself instead of what God did for all of us when Jesus died on the cross. When the focus is not Jesus Christ, it becomes entertainment and a spectator show for all present in the congregation.
🚫 How Many Congregations Have Drifted
- 🎶 Entertainment over reverence and repentance
- Instead of humble worship, services are filled with performances, light shows, and concerts designed to please the crowd rather than glorify God.
- Matthew 15:8-9 warns: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”
- 💰 Prosperity-driven gatherings
- Some churches emphasize money, success, and self-improvement more than holiness, repentance, and the cross.
- Yet God calls for living sacrifices:
Romans 12:1 (KJV) – “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
- 👏 Man-centered recognition
- Worship shifts from God’s glory to human personalities—pastors, leaders, or denominations are exalted above Christ as they stand on platforms that shift the focus of people to themselves or their organization they call “church” and worship rather then to the true worship of God.
- True worship gives glory due unto His name:
Psalm 29:2 (KJV) – “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
- ⚖️ Tradition over truth
- Rituals, forms, and man-made doctrines often replace Spirit-led obedience.
- Jesus declared: Philippians 3:3 – “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
🌿 The Heart of True Worship
✅ True worship is not about a building, denomination, or performance to give pleasure to the flesh, Jesus said the true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth and that God “MUST” be worshiped in this manner. John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth ”
✅ It is about adoring God with sincerity, bowing in humility, and offering a life of obedience.
Psalm 95:6-7 (KJV)
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
When worship flows from a heart of gratitude and holiness, God is pleased.
🔥 A Call Back to True Worship
Beloved, God is not impressed by crowds, noise, or tradition. He is seeking those who will worship in Spirit and in truth. Let us return to the simplicity of Christ, where worship is pure, holy, and Christ-centered worship is pleasing and acceptable to God the Father.
🙏 May our lips offer continual praise and our lives be living sacrifices unto Him: Let us never make worship about us or what we think acceptable worship is to God. It’s not about performances or acts that appease people, worship is about God and Him alone!
Hebrews 13:15 (KJV)
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
✨ Final Exhortation:
If our worship does not change our hearts, humble our lives, and exalt Christ alone, then it is empty worship. It’s not merely saying the right words because we can quote the scriptures before God in worship, it’s about a life that is surrendered to doing the will of God and submitting to the Lord and his will before we open our mouth to praise His Holy name. Let us abandon the counterfeits and embrace true worship that brings glory to the Living God.
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