"MUST" makes it Necessary! But, "God is a Spirit" He is not Material, or Flesh, nor does He have fleshly limitations. For this reason He cannot be restricted to any ONE PLACE, for example: THE SPIRIT OF WORSHIP

The Word "WORSHIP" is found 190 times in the Bible, (and there is a UNIQUE thing about it.) In NONE of these reference are we COMMANDED to worship. Mankind is a Religious being, one who is inclined to worship, because this is the way God made him / us. Man will worship something, he may NOT be the God, but he WILL Worship something or someone.

God tells us "HOW" to worship, "WHEN" to worship, and "WHAT" to worship, to please Him. But He knows man will worship. And God has also given us the privilege to worship whomsoever or whatsoever man chooses to worship.

Our Study at this time will deal with "HOW WE WORSHIP" God. Two things are stated in John 4:24, we must worship in "TRUTH" and "SPIRIT." (With the right attitude). Since God is a Spirit, we must worship Him with our SPIRIT. Worship is NOT simply an outward fleshly conformity to a Law, such as THE LAW OF MOSES.

Those who worship God must do so in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. That is, the inner man (the Spiritual Man) MUST be involved. How may one know when they are truly worshipping God in Spirit? I will suggest 3 BASIC POINTS that we must consider, and this will help us to determine "HOW WE MAY KNOW."

I...THINGS THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE BEHIND!

1)  THE MIND OF THE FLESH.

"... With the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans 7:25, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every THOUGHT to the obedience to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-4. "This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall NOT fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Galatians 5:16-17.

2)   THE ATTITUDE OF FACTION, OR FRICTION, OR DIVISION.

"For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 Corinthians 3:3. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Corinthians 1:10.

3)  AN ARROGANT ATTITUDE

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." Luke 18:11. "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:1-10

4)    A SPIRIT OF VISITATION or CONVERSATION (before Worship).

I am NOT against all conversation (Greetings, Learning of SICK, & so on). But a discussion of things totally unrelated to our PURPOSE for being in an assembly of the church to worship, is out of place. (If a blind person was brought into this building BEFORE the service began, and didn't know where they were; where would they think they were?)

5)    A SPIRIT OF IMPATIENCE

This is demonstrated in many ways. First, by an unwillingness to wait until the service is over. Second, by bringing our personal "wants," without any regards to our "needs." When we assemble to worship God, sometimes we need to leave something at home (or at least, outside the building.)

I once read a story of a man who had a very stressful job, it was causing PROBLEMS in his home and in his family. He decided that he was going to START LEAVING HIS PROBLEMS outside when he came home; so he took an object that he used to represent his problems. Each day when he approached the door of his home, he would put that object (which was his problems) outside.

II... THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BRING WITH US

1)  A SPIRIT OF GLADNESS

"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." Psalms 122:1. "...I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10. "For we...worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus...." Philippians 3:3. We should be Glad because Jesus has promised that He is with us when we assemble in His Name.

2)  A SPIRIT OF REVERENCE

"The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." Habakkuk 2:20. "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." Hebrews 2:18. We owe our deepest honor, respect, and devotion to our Lord!

3)    A SPIRIT OF PARTICIPATION

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Philippians 2:12. "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Romans 14:11-12. There are many who will NOT CONFESS Christ here, but they will ONE DAY, in the Judgment.

4)  A SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." Acts 17:24-25. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6.

5)   A SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS

"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Matthew 5:23-24. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32.

6)  A GIVING SPIRIT

"Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. Someone has said, "Our coming together, is for a greater purpose than, meeting and eating, or counting noses & nickles." They were surely right!

7) WHAT DO YOU TAKE WITH YOU WHEN YOU ASSEMBLE TO WORSHIP GOD?

III... THINGS WE SHOULD CARRY AWAY WITH US

1)    A STRONGER FAITH

Every time we assemble, our Faith ought to grow. (Romans 10:17.) "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13. "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." Hebrews 12:28. (ASV: "...To be feared above them that are round about him.")

"AWE" reverential FEAR, a sense of Profound Admiration and Respect. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." Psalms 89:7. As we worship God we have to feed our souls on SPIRITUAL FOOD, as we follow His Plan for our worship, and this OUGHT to make our Faith STRONGER.

2)    A REVIVED SPIRIT

Psalms 85:6, "Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?"

3)  A SPIRIT THAT MAKES LIFE MORE LIVEABLE.

Coming CLOSER to God in Worship ought to do this for us!

4)  FOR SOME: A SAD SPIRIT.

Why do I say this? Because their life is NOT right with God! If this is you case, you need to realize that you are a sinner, and in danger of losing you soul, and that is no reason to be happy! It should cause you TO RESPOND TO THE LORD'S INVITATION. Matthew 11:28-30. "...Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." James 4:6-10.

When I am in the Pulpit, Bible Class, Home Bible Study, or on this Web Site, I am always going to do the very best I can to Teach God's Word and the Please God, NOT men. Because my salvation depends on my doing so. And I might add, that some of you may very well be Lost or Saved by how well I do my job. But a Lot of it Depends Directly upon how well you do! It depends upon your Attitude, Actions, or Re-Actions to what is taught.

Our TEXT describes what I think is an "IDEAL AUDIENCE." A group of Worshippers who wanted to PLEASE GOD.

5)  "WE ARE ALL HERE"

They were there for the PURPOSE of HEARING the Gospel preached. NOTICE: "ALL" were there. I realize that some are providentially hindered at times. But time after time, I have visited sick people and when I visited them, guess where they wanted to be. If you said, "In their sick bed," you are WRONG! If you said, "Visiting Relatives," you are WRONG! If you said, "Shopping," you are WRONG! They expressed the desire to be IN WORSHIP. (Oh! how I miss coming to church. That is where they wanted to be!)

My POINT here is: IF all of us had the same attitude, we would be IDEAL WORSHIPERS, and "ALL WOULD BE HERE!" We have had friends VISIT in our home, and stay for the morning Worship, but the felt obligated to be at their Home Congregation on Sunday night. The reason: They had been taught and believed that it was their duty to be at home to worship each Lord's Day, and they did NOT WANT TO MISS.

The "gathering" in our Text was MORE than just Cornelius and his family. Verse 24 tells us, that

"Cornelius...had called his kinsmen and their friends." What a wonderful thing to do! Then in Verse 33 we are told, "Now therefore are all here, present before God." This may be one reason why other do not think Attendance at worship is NOT so important: because no member of the church has asked them to come! But church attendance is important because, Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.

NOTICE: "...In My Name...." Question: Is Christ present in those groups that wear the name of some: Man (John the Baptist or Martin Luther); or some Country (Nazarene); of An Event (Pentecostal); of an Organization (Catholic); or some Method (Methodists)?

Some may NOT keep Attendance Records here on earth, but I tell you that they are kept in heaven. The Lord knows whether we assemble "in His name," with others to Worship Him each Lord's Day! May I suggest that, when you miss an assembly of the church, you miss and opportunity of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is present in spirit where ever His people are assembled to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!

6)    "PRESENT BEFORE GOD"

This calls for Reverence on our part. That is Paying Honor and Respect to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we recognize that we are in the Presence of God then we will have Reverence for God.

7)  "PRESENT...TO HEAR"

This is most important, "PRESENT TO HEAR." (Romans 10:17.) This means that we are not only Ready to Hear but that we are Ready to Accept and Obey the Truth of God. "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20. "Take heed therefore how ye hear...." Luke 8:18. "Take heed what ye hear...." Mark 4:24. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1.

It goes without saying, some do NOT listen as they should. "...Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." James 1:21b-24. "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand." Matthew 7:26.

These IDEAL WORSHIPERS "GATHERED TOGETHER TO HEAR THE WORD.

The words whereby Cornelius and his house could be saved. When Cornelius was told to send for Peter, he was also told: "Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." Acts 11:14. So they gathered together to HEAR What To Do To BE SAVED; to have their SINS Forgiven; and to be Reconciled to God.

TO HEAR "ALL THINGS" THAT ARE COMMANDED OF GOD.

It is interesting, to me, that they were NOT INTERESTED in What the preacher thought, experienced, or believed. They were NOT interested in Denominational Doctrine. (There was not denominational doctrines at that time.) They were NOT looking for something that appealed to their emotions of something to make them feel good. And they were NOT looking to be entertained. They just Wanted to Know what GOD'S COMMANDS WERE. WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO? Or, WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THESE PEOPLE HEARD?

By Bro James W. Bowers, Jr.