See thou do it not: Worship God

Revelation 22 please. Revelation chapter 22 and what is on my heart will fit right in with what we just heard. Revelation 22 and we're going to just read verse number 8. The context here is John has seen all these things and verse 80 says, and I John saw these things and heard them and when I had heard and seen I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things then said he unto me see thou do it not for I am thy fellow servant and of thy brother and the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book worship God.

I'd like to take the first phrase of this verse and the last phrase of this verse and I'd like to take what the angel says in parentheses and this is my point this morning. See thou do it not, worship God. See thou do it not, worship God.

Now to the gospel of John please. John chapter 4 verse number 21. As you know here we're dealing with a woman at the well.

John chapter 4 verse number 21. Jesus saith unto her woman believe me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers 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 and the Lord will bless to us the reading of his word. Really if we take that phrase in Revelation it would really be words to live by wouldn't it? See that thou do it not but worship God. In all the decisions and all the choices that we make that we're faced with if we would face them against that phrase it would guide us and it would direct us through life.

See that you do it not but worship God. So whatever it is then that we're trying to do in life wherever we're seeking to go we want to worship God don't we? That's what we've been saved for. The Father seeketh such to worship him and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

I've been thinking about Abraham and you know in chapter 22 is the first time the English word worship is used and in Revelation 22 is the last time that the word is used. When we come to Abraham there's many things that he did that were in a sense they were worshipped before he even offered Isaac upon the altar. Abraham feared.

It was reverence to God. That's how it all started isn't it? It was a fear of the Lord and as I thought about these things this week it touched my heart and I wondered do I really fear the Lord? Do I really reverence him as a Christian the way I ought to reverence him? And you know what come to my mind? I don't. I don't.

And if I don't reverence the Lord like he deserves to be reverenced how can I worship in the way that he deserves to be worshipped? It can't happen. It can't be. And so Abraham first of all he had a fear of the Lord.

He reverenced God. He reverenced him. Then what happened to Abraham? Oh he trusted him didn't he? He trusted him.

He relied upon God and really in a sense that's a form of worship. And if I'm not trusting God and I'm not relying on God can I honestly worship God in spirit and in truth? I don't think I can. Not in the way that God intends me to do.

And so Abraham feared God and he trusted God and then he obeyed. Oh we know well the verse and we let it roll off our tongues. To obey is better than sacrifice.

But brethren and sisters if we're not obeying how can we worship? How can we glorify God as William has brought out? How can we be transparent? See that you do it not. Doesn't mean disobey. It means turn away from that which isn't right.

That's the angels point. The angel says I'm just a servant like you are. Don't worship me.

You worship God. So he feared. He trusted.

He obeyed. And then he sacrificed. He sacrificed.

He took Isaac to the altar. He sacrificed. I don't think we can sacrifice unless these three things are in order in our life.

A reverence for God. A faith in God. And an obedience to God.

Then sacrifice. Sacrifice. I was thinking of the Lord Jesus.

We come to the Gospels and we learn so much about him don't we? And everything that the Lord Jesus did we know was perfect and we know that it brought glory to God. He worshipped. No wonder he could tell this woman worship in spirit and truth.

He knew what he was talking about. In every aspect of his life he was glorifying God with a reverence that God deserved. With a trust and a faith as he would bow his will to God's.

That's a hard one isn't it? That we would bow our will to the will of God even at our own cost. Worship God. Worship God.

And he sacrificed himself. He laid down his life as sacrifice. The ultimate in worship and I can't explain it nor do I pretend to understand it brethren.

It's deep. The worship of the Lord Jesus to God and to the Father. But what about me? And what about you? You know worship isn't just what we do on Sunday morning.

It's not even close. We read in John 4 that he seeketh such to worship in spirit and in truth. So that which is on the inside needs to match which is on the outside.

That's a transparency. We can put our suit on and we can come and we can we can bring our little basket maybe and impress a brethren with the thoughts that maybe are fresh and maybe they're not. But that's not the point of worship.

God is looking for worship in our life all day every day. I never knew that as a young believer. I thought my worship was to come Sunday morning with a little something that I've been enjoying to give to God and that is worship.

But that isn't the extent of worship. If we're going to get to the extent of worship in our life when we come to these choices it's either going to be do it and not worship or do it not and worship God. Easy to say, hard to do.

But when it comes to the choices in our lives, just practically, we make a choice am I going to worship or am I not going to worship. In every single choice that we make, it's amazing. You think about it.

Where am I going to go to college? Oh the college that wants me? There's no assembly there. Do it not. Worship God.

What about a partner in life? Oh she's saved but she's not in the assembly. Maybe this is the one. We're not even going to go with the unequal yoke.

We know that's wrong. It struck me like this. If in my decisions in life, whether it's where I'm going to work or who I'm going to be with or whatever I'm going to do, if I can weigh this up in my mind, what is going to bring worship to God? That's what he's looking for.

That's what he's after. Because when I'm thinking like that, you know how I'm thinking? I'm fearing the Lord. Because what matters to me is what matters to Him.

And all that matters to me is what matters to Him. And I'm living my life in reverence, in fear of the Lord. And when I am contemplating what I'm going to do with what worships God, I am trusting Him.

I am manifesting faith in Him. That even if it isn't what the flesh wants, even if it's not what I want, but I'm going to bow to His will, I'm worshiping God. I'm worshiping God.

And then to obey. What would you think the percentage is that we know what we ought to do in the choices of life? Generally speaking, we know. Spiritually, we know what we should do.

But then there's that pull of the flesh and the pull of the world and the deception of the devil. And it's like it's the pull the other way. But brethren, we know generally what the right way to go is.

And if we're wondering, worship God. Worship God. And so then we obey.

And by our obedience, we're worshiping God. And then sacrifice. Romans 12 was touched on quite a bit last weekend.

To present our bodies a living sacrifice. Can we really do that if we're not living in the fear of God? If we're not living in faith in God, in obedience to God? I can just see the angel there. And John is bowing down.

He's going to worship him. And he stops him. And the emphasis is this.

There's only one place for our worship. There's only one. And it's to God.

It's to God. We worship a lot of things. We may not realize that we worship ourselves probably more than anything.

Because we do what we want to do. And we do what satisfies us. And we lift our own self up as a little God.

And we worship it. And we bow to our own desires. And we bow to our own lusts.

That's just the way we are. But could I lay these words to my heart and you lay them to your heart this morning? See that you do it not. Worship God.

To worship Him in spirit and in truth. And I'm going to add William's word in here with transparency. To glorify God with all that we are and all that we have.

God help us to worship Him.