 Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you had or are having a good day today? On January 13th, 2021, I read and prayed the Scriptures, John 4:23~24: 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. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Then, I began to be curious as to what the word, ‘worship’ in the original language would mean. So, I looked up the blueletterbible.org and found the worship in Greek is proskyneo and it means:
3. in the New Testament by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication In Strong’s definition, it would be a probable derivative of kyon, i.e. dog (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore). While reading “meaning to kiss, a dog’s licking his master’s hand,” I couldn’t understand more this description of defining the word, ‘worship.’ My doggie girl loves licking my hands and arms. She knew from her puppy times who in our family likes to be licked and who doesn’t. So, she doesn’t lick my mom and my sister much, but she licks my arms and hands. Then, I even gave her my legs and feet and she licked them so passionately. My sister used to say, “Ewww!”, but I said to her, “It’s her way of showing her love and loyalty to me.” Of course, my hands and arms stink from her saliva, but I don’t care, as I can always wash them. I would rather enjoy receiving her love and adoration and I do love it. From this experience, I think I can understand what our worship should be like. Friend, are you being offended when you hear we worship the Lord, like a dog licks his master? I wish you are not. I think the analogy that we are like dogs in front of Him is far beyond what it should be. I think we are not even liken to flea in dogs. We serve and worship the Creator and Possessor of the universe, the Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient God! We are not worthy to loosen His sandals, seriously. And I was also reminded of what Derek Prince wrote on falling prostrate in his book, “Entering the Presence of God”: I question whether any man or woman who has never been on his or her face before God has ever been very close to God. You would have to search quite a way through the Bible to find any of the really great men of Scripture who had not been on their faces before God. I practice this posture of worship, not as a matter of legalism or ritual, but out of a need for security. I have found that the most secure place I know of is on my face before God. That is the way to greatness—get on your face before God. Prince , Derek. Entering the Presence of God (p. 145). Whitaker House. Kindle Edition. Recently, while praying and reading the Scriptures, I realized that Mary, the sister of Martha was described many times in this humble posture, and I believe she is a true worshiper: And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. (Luke 10:39); Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32); Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. (John 12:3) And I believe our adoration and reverence toward our Lord must be reflected through our daily life. Derek Prince wrote on worshiping in truth, saying all liars have no access to the presence of Almighty God (Revelation 21:8). And that’s why we have to worship in truth. He wrote further: This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.(1 John 1:5–6) When we come to God, we are coming into the light. There is no room for darkness, no room for reservations, and no room for insincerity. Everything has to be totally open. Notice the phrase, “we have fellowship with Him.” Fellowship and worship go closely together. Both fellowship and worship require unwavering honesty, sincerity, and openness. We must worship God “in truth.” Prince , Derek. Entering the Presence of God (p. 47). Whitaker House. Kindle Edition. Neville Johnson said in his teaching, “The Five Offerings: A Key to Personal Revival” that many people who don’t read the Bible read our life and our action, and they would see God in us or something else, quoting 2 Corinthians 3:2, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.” He continued that the people in our office have no problem in accepting the Bible, the credibility of the Word of God, thanks to archaeology, but they have problem in accepting the credibility of Christians. The attack of the enemy is against leaders and Christians. They read our life very easily. They look for the Words’ becoming flesh in our lives and that’s what God is after. He encouraged us to love our neighbors, not by our preaching, but by how we live and what we do. The Word, the Truth and the Light should become reality in our daily living. I can’t agree more with and thank more the teachings of Derek Prince and Neville Johnson. Friend, Are you willing to worship in truth, by obeying and keeping the Lord’s commandments? I know it will cost a lot of sacrifice, but I choose to be a true worshiper. I’m not perfect, but I trust the Spirit of truth, the Helper would help me, to fulfill my destiny. Friend, I pray that you and I love God and worship Him, humbling ourselves in adoration toward Him. And I also pray we love our neighbors and we become the letters of Christ to them, in Yeshua’s name. Have a bliss! Yunee And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:2) Comments are closed.
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