Worshipping God in spirit and truth.

LESSONS FROM THE WORSHIP OF NADAB AND ABIHU

Aaron, the first high priest of Israel and brother of Moses, had four sons (Exodus 6:23). Though Eleazar was the son that succeeded Aaron as high priest (Numbers 20:28), most Bible readers are probably more familiar with his two sons Abihu and Nadab. Why is this so? Because of the divine record of their tragic mistake and subsequent death.
It is written, "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire thereon, and offered strange ["profane," NKJV] fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD" (Leviticus 10:1,2). This passage is recorded in the Bible "for our learning" (Romans 15:4), so we need to ask ourselves, "What can we learn from this history?" Let us consider three basic points that we need to note concerning the worship of Nadab and Abihu.

WORSHIP TO JEHOVAH IS A SERIOUS, SPECIAL AFFAIR

Contrary to what some are now advocating, not everything that one does in life is worship. Worship is different from other activities in life. It is something unique. To worship Jehovah means to give honor to or paying homage to Him. Such involves the meditation of the heart. Note what God revealed immediately after Nadab and Abihu died regarding His attitude toward worship: "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified" (Leviticus 10:3).
In the book of Psalms it is written, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker . . . Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy" (Psalm 95:6; 99:5). Worship is not entertainment. It is not play time. It is not a time to have a private conversation with others about worldly affairs.
In our worship to God we must show our reverence to Him. Such would include truly worshipping in spirit or from the heart (John 4:24), coming on time to the services, and dressing in such a way that it is obvious that in our minds worshipping the Almighty truly is a special affair. We find it downright disturbing, yea, nothing less than appalling, that today some children of God attend services dressed as if they were going to an amusement park or backyard cookout. Worship is special.

NOT ALL WORSHIP PLEASES GOD

Nadab and Abihu worshipped God, did they not? Yes, but obviously God did not accept their worship! This is a strong warning to us for it shows that there is such a thing as false or unacceptable worship. In fact, in this case those who were worshipping Jehovah were of His own chosen nation! Thus, sometimes the Lord even rejects the worship of His children (cf. Isaiah 1:11,13, where it is said that Jehovah told the Israelites to bring no more sacrifices to Him because He would not accept them).
Many people seem to think that how we worship is not really all that important; all that matters is that we worship in some way. This is the teaching of Satan! Look, the first worship about which we read in the Bible was the worship of Cain and Abel – Cain's worship did not please God!
Remember, Jesus said, ". . . the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). The Christ also said that it is possible for worship to be "in vain" (Mark 7:7). Let’s be careful that our motive in worship is always to please the Lord God, not ourselves or other men.

TRUE WORSHIP MUST BE BASED ON THE COMMANDS/WORD OF GOD

Just what mistake did Nadab and Abihu make? They offered a fire before the Lord "which He had not commanded them" (Leviticus 10:1). Thus, the idea for using that particular fire came not from God, but from the minds of those two sons of Aaron. Their mistake was doing in worship that which God had not authorized. Man must not add to or take away from God's commandments (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18,19).
In worship we must do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, meaning by His authority (Colossians 3:17). In our worship we must do only that which is authorized by the New Testament of the Christ (2 John 9; Galatians 1:6-8)! To go beyond the doctrine of God’s Son in our worship is to act according to the desires or commands of men, not God. God-pleasing worship is always based on a "thus saith the Lord."
How do we know that God created all things in six days? The Bible tells us so. How do we know that God created man in His image? The Bible tells us so. And how do we know how the great Creator wants His children to worship Him? Again, the Bible instructs us about how to worship properly. Christians do not live by the teachings of the law of Moses as Aaron and his sons were required to do. But, there are important principles of worship that we need to learn and apply from the divine account of Nadab and Abihu’s unlawful activity and tragic death.
-- Roger D. Campbell

Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv4tB5YDSfE&feature=youtu.be

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.

Extract:
Over 500 times in the bible the number 7 is used to show the touch of God or divinity upon something. This begins with the seven first days of creation and the 7th being declared by God as holy. When we looked at the natural world around us, we discover that there are amazing arrays of 7:
a) there are 7 continents on the globe - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antartica and Australia.
b) modern geographical classification scheme count 7 oceans in the world - North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean.
c) there are 7 colours in a rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
d) there are 7 notes on a musical scales - A, B, C, D, E, F
e) there are 7 objects in our solar system are visible to the naked eyes - Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
f) 7 digits in a row has been proven over and over to be the average limit of memory for most human being, thus we have only 7 digits in our phone numbers.
g) there are 7 metals of antiquity in which civilisation was founded - Lead, Tin, Copper, Mercury, Iron, Silver and Gold

The Truth about Worship Attendance.

John 4:23: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." 24. God is Spirit, and those who worhip Him must worship in spirit and truth."

And for Christians to worship in truth (not vain worship or will worship). In summary God has authorised the five acts of proper worship on the first day of the week:
1. Prayer
2. Preaching
3. The Lord's Supper
4. Offering (willing to give, according to his heart desire, not grudgingly or out of necessity) - 1 Corinthians 16:1,2; 2 Corinthians 9:7
5. Singing (only vocal music) - Ephesians 5:19, Hebrew 13:15

Searching for the Truth: About the Creator

Fight The Good Fight Of Faith « Biblical Proof

Fight The Good Fight Of Faith « Biblical Proof