Worship is Having Faith God is Who He Says He Is

If you are like me, you have heard Hebrews 11:1 quoted, preached on and you probably have it memorized.  You have thought, “This is the only place in the Bible I know of where faith is defined.”  You have tried to understand it, but alas, you still feel like you don’t really understand what it is to “have faith.”  You have marveled at Jesus’ statement with the faith of a mustard seed you can command a mountain to be moved into the sea(Matt 17:20).  So what is faith?  We know faith is essential to the Christian walk.  In fact, you cannot, by definition, be a Christian without it (Romans 10:9).  We know also the Christian’s walk is referred to as “the faith” in many passages of Scripture as well.  So again, just what is faith?  Let’s find out.

Heb 11:1

(ALT)  Now faith is [the] assurance [or, substance] of [things] being hoped for [or, being confidently expected], [the] confident assurance [or, proof] of things not seen.

(ASV)  Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.

(CEV)  Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.

(KJV)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is the assurance and substance which makes us sure of things we hope for, the conviction of evidence that gives us proof of things not seen.

Heb 11:6

(KJV)  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Romans 10:17 (KJV)  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The word assurance is defined by Strong's as “persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.” 

Thayer's Definition is:

1) conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it

1a) relating to God

1a1) the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ

1b) relating to Christ

1b1) a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God

1c) the religious beliefs of Christians

1d) belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same

2) fidelity, faithfulness

2a) the character of one who can be relied on

Webster's Dictionary defines faith as “to trust; Gr. to persuade, to draw towards any thing, to conciliate; to believe, to obey. In the Greek Lexicon of Hederic it is said, the primitive signification of the verb is to bind and draw or lead, as signifies a rope or cable. But this remark is a little incorrect. The sense of the verb, from which that of rope and binding is derived, is to strain, to draw, and thus to bind or make fast. A rope or cable is that which makes fast. “

Easton points out there is a unique difference between knowledge and faith.  “....faith includes in it assent, which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the understanding.  Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith, and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed truth rests is the veracity of God.”

Fausset comments on Hebrews 11:1, "the substance of things hoped for (i.e., it substantiates God's promises, the fulfillment of which we hope, it makes them present realities), the evidence (elengchos, the 'convincing proof' or 'demonstration') of things not seen." Faith accepts the truths revealed on the testimony of God (not merely on their intrinsic reasonableness), that testimony being to us given in Holy Scripture.”  He goes on to comment, “But faith, apart from the spirit of faith, which is LOVE (whose evidence is works), is dead.” as evidenced in I Cor 13:1-3

Vincent's Word Studies gives us the following comments: “Faith apprehends as a real fact what is not revealed to the senses. It rests on that fact, acts upon it, and is upheld by it in the face of all that seems to contradict it. Faith is a real seeing.”

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comment that faith “... substantiates promises of God which we hope for, as future in fulfilment, making them present realities to us.”

So faith chooses to see and believe in what is not seen.  It chooses to possess a moral conviction that its subject is true.  Faith chooses to believe in, to substantiate, to have confident assurance in, to count as the evidence, demonstration, and convincing proof of what God has promised.  This takes a renewing of the mind.  It means we count things as true because He who said them is true.  In fact, He is the truth.  We must choose to see His Kingdom and its promises as real fact even though they are not revealed to our senses.  We must act upon these truths and count them as absolute fact though they remain unproved to our physical senses.  We must, as I Cor 2:9-16 points out, choose to understand these promises with our spirit and the mind of Christ, which has been given to us.  We cannot and should not expect to fully understand them in our natural mind.  Who can comprehend God?  However this should not lead us to toss all reason aside.  Our faith is logical and it makes considerable sense once one looks at the body of evidence that suggests the existence of God and counts this fact as true.  When one looks at the order of creation, the different species of plants and animals and their complexity, the exact distance we are from the sun, the moon which orbits the earth and controls the  tides and reflects the light of the sun at night, the vastness of space and all the stars, the moral absolutes all successful civilizations live by, the source for truth, the source of  original origins etc one makes a small logical leap of faith that God does indeed exist.  Given this proposition, our faith is in His Faithfulness.  He is the Truth so His Word is truth.  It cannot be other than the truth.  He is the source of life, creation, truth, absolute principles.  He does not change so we can count all He says as absolute truth!  His character (omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence) should lead us to count as truth and fact all He has promised.

Neufeldt, Victoria, and David Bernard Guralnik. "Faith." Webster's New World Dictionary of American English. Cleveland: Webster's New World, 1988. 1436. Print.

References

All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.

ALT, KJV, ASV, CEV Scriptures;  Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary; Fausset's Word Studies, Easton's Bible Dictionary, Vincent's Word Studies, Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries and Thayer’s Greek Definitions from Meyers, Rick. E-Sword. Computer software. E-SWORD the Sword of the LORD with an Electronic Edge. Vers. 9.0.3. Web. http://www.e-sword.net/.

Do Not Enter - Casually

Heb 9:7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance….

Heb 9:12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption….

Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…

Here is the perfect, spotless, sinless, high priest BECOMING the sacrifice for us, once and for all.  Jesus death was the greatest sacrifice ever made; sinless man dying for the sinners.  Allowing holiness to be marred by our shame, He who is the truth taking on our lies.  Perfect love traded in for absolute fear, the humblest man ever to live bearing our selfish pride. He who knew the wonderful joy of heaven filled with depression and sadness.  He who defined loyalty completely abandoned, in short, the perfect example of living the fruit of Spirit now enduring the utter lawlessness of man, infinite power submitted to the finite power of man.

In light His sacrifice, even in light of who He is alone, we must ask ourselves about our attitudes in worship.  Do we stroll casually into the presence of God, treading on the immeasurable sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf?  Are we more concerned about the kind of song, the rhythm, the music, and the words than we are our sacrifice of worship to the Almighty God?  Does it matter what the person next to us will do or will think?  Have we abandoned ourselves in worship to the only Worthy One?  Does the lighting, temperature, style, sound system, etc really matter all that much?  Here, in the depths of our souls, does God reign supreme?  If He does, all these other things really don’t matter much.  If He doesn’t, these things become our focus and we loose sight of the fact that He is worthy no matter the condition in which we find ourselves.  Let me encourage you to be prepared to enter into worship, to come with your heart ready to enter in, with your mind made up to worship no matter the distractions.  Consider His sacrifice on our behalf, on your behalf.  Let us come ready to enter into the most holy place of His Presence anticipating the wonderful things that can happen only in the place of full surrender.

Worship is Renewing Your Mind

Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices for this is our “reasonable service of worship”.  He goes on to show us one of the most important ways we can offer our bodies as living sacrifices—the renewal of our minds. 

Rom 12:1  I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.   2  Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is-what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.

Paul urges us to “continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”  Thayer's Greek Definitions for the word translated as “transformed” are “to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure.”  The same word is used here in the following scriptures referencing Jesus' transfiguration where his whole being changed.  His very likeness was wholly different.  They could not help but be dazzled by the complete transformation which had occurred.

Mat 17:2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Mar 9:2  And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

The same word is also used to describe our process of transfiguration as we behold the Lord and ask Him to change us by His Spirit:

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Next we should look at the word renew.  Thayer's definition is “a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better.”  We can grasp the concept here by thinking about a home renovation.  The home is often gutted leaving the structure but renovating the decor.  Sometimes even the structure itself is moved around.  We may move,  create or destroy a wall to change the function or decorum.  So too, we must renew or restructure our thinking to line up with what God would have us to think.  Remember the old saying?

“Be careful what you think; your thoughts become your words… Be careful what you say; your words become your actions… Be careful how you act; your actions become your habits… Be careful how you behave; your habits become your destiny"

The Scriptures confirm this also.  Pro 23:7  “for as he thinks in his heart, so is he”  Jesus also put great weight on thoughts.  He extended the law and the prophets to include the thought life.  (See the sermon on the mount where he equates thinking evil of someone as the same as murder or to think lustful thoughts the same as committing adultery.  Matthew chapter 5)  He also answered the question of what is the greatest commandment like this:

Mat 22:37  Jesus said to him, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  38  This is the greatest and most important commandment.  39  The second is like it: 'You must love your neighbor as yourself.'  40  All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."

Jesus states here that loving God with our mind is part of the greatest commandment.  We must then ask ourselves these questions.  How does God want us to think?  What should we set our minds upon?  Where should our thoughts come from and return to?  How do we keep our thoughts in check?  What would Jesus do?  How would Jesus think?

Phi 4:4  Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times. I will say it again: Keep on rejoicing!  5  Let your forbearing spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near:  6  Never worry about anything, but in every situation let your petitions be made known to God in prayers and requests, with thanksgiving.  7  Then God's peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  8  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things.

Here we see the kinds of things God would have us to be thinking about and spending mental energy on.  Notice the lack of our current stressors here: job, finances, relationships, hurts, failures, negative self image.  Think about praiseworthy things.  In short, think about God and how He is thinking about you and those around you and how He thinks about each situation in your life and the lives of those around you

Phi 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.  4  Do not let each man look upon his own things, but each man also on the things of others.  5  For let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6  who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 7  but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.  8  And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus had in mind the things of the Spirit.  He had a humble attitude and submitted fully to God's will even to the point of death.  So we too should think about and be concerned about the problems facing those around us-- not just our own problems.

2Co 10:4  For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the flesh. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments 5  and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey Christ.

Are we forcing our thought life to come in line with the Word of God?  If Jesus were standing in front of you, would you openly discuss your current thought patterns with Him?  Do you really believe and act like God knows all or do you believe and act like your thoughts are your own?

Eph 4:22  Regarding your former way of life, you were taught to strip off your old man, which is being ruined by its deceptive desires, 23  to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24  and to clothe yourselves with the new man, which was created according to the likeness of God in righteousness and true holiness.

Stripping off the old man and being renewed happens when we are in communion with God, through relationship with Him and His Word.

Romans 8:5-17 Tells us the mind should be set on spiritual things not set on the flesh.  The mind set on the flesh cannot please God.  We have an obligation to live according to the Spirit because we are children of God.

Rom 8:26  In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself intercedes with groans too deep for words, 27  and the one who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God's will.  28  And we know that he works all things together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

The Spirit can pray through us when we do not know how to pray.   The Spirit prays the perfect will of God when we do not know how to pray.

1Co 2:16  For "Who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can advise him?" However, we have the mind of Christ

Through the Spirit we  can have the mind of Christ.  So we should renew our minds with prayer (conversation with God – both ways), praying in tongues, worship in song, scripture reading, reading books which help us think correctly about God, ourselves and the things He has given to us as our inheritance.   This allows us to recognize God's will based on hearing from Him directly and the principles we have studied from His Word.

All people view life from the grid of their experiences, thoughts, and beliefs.  Our goal is to heal bad past experiences through the grace of God and bring our thoughts and beliefs in line with God's view of things.  When we completely understand who God is, what He has done for us, what He has stored up for us as our inheritance, and how He views us, then we will boldly ask for our inheritance knowing that God delights in giving it to us!  Then we will experience our inheritance  as He intended, with power and the  presence of God!   Our thoughts will be lined up with His thoughts and it will not be difficult to tell what His will is because we are being renewed by His Spirit constantly in our thinking.  When we start thinking from the Kingdom perspective, things change.  People get healed, restored, set free.  God is seated firmly on the throne of our lives and our ambitions, goals, and desires are straight in line with God's view of things.  We start thinking of the long-term, eternal benefits.  We start having faith for what God has purchased for us.  We start appropriating the promises of God for our lives and the lives of those around us.  We are changed to be like Him.  We begin to see what a great God we serve and we begin to believe what He says about us.  We begin to believe He has wonders stored up for us which we cannot image.  We begin to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

References

All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.

First Use of Worship in the Bible

One of the rules of hermeneutics (the interpretation of Scripture) is the law of first mention.  Usually the first mention of a topic in the Bible is indicative of the rest.  It gives us a snapshot, a context, a reference point of how the topic should be viewed and interpreted in the rest of the Bible.

Genesis 22 contains the first mention of worship in the Bible.  Let us look closely at this passage to gain insights about worship.

    ¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
      "Here I am," he replied.

Ø Abraham was actively listening and responded in submission.  His initial openness and attentiveness led to further instructions from God.

    ² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

    ³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

Ø Abraham obeyed the instructions he received from God.

Ø Abraham made preparations for the sacrifice.  He came prepared.

⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

The word worship here is defined by Strong's as to prostrate, pay homage to God, bow, humbly beseech, do obeisance, do reverence,... worship

             

            Hebrews 11:17-19  ¹⁷By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." ¹⁹Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Ø Abraham had faith in what God had promised him, that thourgh Isaac his lineage would be maintained.  He believed (had faith that) he and his son would return, even if God had to raise him from the dead.  Abraham over-came his personal obstacles to worship.

    ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"      

"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
      "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"  ⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

Ø Abraham had faith that God would provide the sacrifice.  He understood that where God leads, He provides.

    ⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Ø Abraham was ready to sacrifice that which was extremely important to him in honor of God. It was a sacrifice of love.

Ø Abraham was tested in is belief in what God had spoken to him.  He had a total abandonment to God’s will.

¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
      "Here I am," he replied.

Ø Here again Abraham is actively listening and immediately responding to God.

¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Ø Abraham feared God. He held God in reverence or awe and dared not to disobey Him.  God was testing Abraham’s obedience with something He Himself had promised and something Abraham truly cherished.  God was asking Abraham to lay down the thing of most importance.  After all, God was not asking Abraham to do anything He would not.

Romans 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?

 ¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram ^[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

Ø Here God provides where He has led.  Verse 14 is translated “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh. As it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided. ” in the American Standard Version.  This is the only place I found in the Bible where God is called Jehovah-Jireh or Jehovah will see (to it).

 ¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring ^[b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Ø Great Sacrifice is rewarded with Great Blessing.  God promises that through Abraham’s lineage the Messiah will come and all mankind will be blessed through Abraham’s seed.

Romans 12:1-2  ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^[reasonable] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Here is the essence of worship -- when we actively listen to God and respond immediately with total obedience and reverence, no matter the cost, He will reveal Himself to us as our provider, provide for us, and bless us for our obedience.

References

All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.