Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald Whitney
Worship…for the purpose of godliness: Chapter 5
The Expectation of Worship
“It is the duty (and privilege) of all people to worship their Creator.” – Whitney, 102
“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;” (Psalm 95:6)
WLC # 1
What is the chief and highest end of man?
Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God and fully to enjoy him forever.
Worship Is…
Ø Focusing on & Responding to God
ü “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28)
ü “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty” (Rev 4:8)
ü “Worthy are you, our Lord and God…” (while falling before him) (Rev 4:11)
Worship Is…
“To worship God means to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify his worthiness, or better, to approach and address God as He is worthy.” – Whitney, 103-4
ü Fully acknowledging the glory and majesty of God and responding with our total being.
Questions:
Ø In what ways is God revealed to us, so that we might respond appropriately in worship to him?
Ø How do the other spiritual disciplines lead us to worship?
Ø How is worship itself a discipline?
Worship Is…
Ø Done in Spirit and Truth
ü Before we can worship in spirit & truth we must have within us the One who is the “Spirit of Truth” (John 14:17).
ü Spirit’s regenerating and illuminating work leads us to worship the Triune God.
ü To worship in spirit is to worship from the inside out with sincerity in our acts of worship.
ü Worship in truth is worship in accordance and agreement with the truth of Scripture and in the means Scripture prescribes.
Questions:
Ø How do we engage our spirits in worship and not just go through the motions?
Ø How do we keep worship anchored to the truth?
Ø How do worshiping in spirit and truth balance each other?
Worship Is…
Ø Expected both Publicly and Privately
ü Public worship is to corporately and physically gather with God’s people as his church.
ü Private worship is individual or family worship apart from the gathered church.
Worship Is…
Ø A Discipline to Be Cultivated
ü Worship is both an end and a means.
ü We emulate what we think about. To think often about God is to become more and more like God.
Final Applications:
Ø Will you commit yourself to the discipline of daily private worship and regular corporate worship?
Ø Will you put actual worship into your acts of worship?
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