Putrid Worship

Worship is a lifestyle
Psalm 150:3-5
: Praise him with trumpets.
Praise him with harps and lyres.
Praise him with drums and dancing.
Praise him with harps and flutes.
Praise him with cymbals.
Praise him with loud cymbals.

*an act we do at a specific time

Worship is an act
Old testament
-sacrice/offerings

New testament
-Worship/praise

Exodus 29:18
: Burn the whole ram on the altar as a food offering. The odour of this offering pleases me.

Psalm 141:2
: Receive my prayer as incense,
my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

Worship = sweet aroma

Jeremiah 6:20
: What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant land? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.

*If our worship is false, it is putrid (foul smelling) before God

Isaiah 1:13
 : It is useless to bring your offerings. I am disgusted with the smell of the incense you burn. I cannot stand your New Moon Festivals, your Sabbaths, and your religious gatherings; they are all corrupted by your sins.

*Whats the use of coming to church when you have a putrid worship

John 4:19-24
 : "I see you are a prophet, sire," the woman said. "My Samaritan ancestors worshipped God on this mountain, but you Jews says that Jerusalem is the place where we should worship God."
Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain of in Jerusalem. You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes. But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of this Spirit can people worship him as he really is."

 -Jesus and the Samaritan woman -what is NOT a putrid worship

*It does not matter if we worship in a contemporary or traditional service,
we sit or stand, we jump or clap
but the most important things is those who worship in spirit and in truth

John 4:24
 : God is Spirit, and only by the power of His Spirit can people worship him as he really is.

*God is not interested in any form of worship
*aligned to his purpose, plans, and his will, we will enjoy the presence of the Lord
*Only in true worship where bondages are broken, delivery takes place and broken relationships are mended.
*But many Christians do not offer true worship but putrid worship

Hindrances in worshipping in spirit and in truth
1. Presence of sin
Hosea 8:13
 : They offer sacrifices to me and eat the meat of the sacrifices. But I, the Lord, am not pleased with them, and now I will emember their sin and punish them for it; I will send them back to Egypt!

Psalm 66:18
: If I had ignored my sins, the Lord would not have listened to me.
*Have unconfessed, secret sins or live in sinful ways = our worship is putrid

2. Absence of truth
John 4:24
: God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is."

*Some people don't mean what they do or say
*That should not be the way as we should give lip service to God

Matthew 15:8-9
: "These people, says God, honour me with their words,
but their heart is really far away from me.
It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach man-made rules as though they were my laws!"

*Are we sincere in our worship?

Mark 9:24
: The father at once cried out, "I do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more!"

-give me the strength to be sincere
-God in his mercy will give you the strength and do what you say

3. Practice of Idolatry
* Idolatry manifest itself in every form

Ezekiel 19:7-8
: He wrecked forts, he ruined towns. The people of the land were terrified every time he roared. The nations gathered to fight him; people came from everywhere. They spread their hunting nets and caught him in their trap.
Deuteronomy 5:6-9
: "I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.
" 'Worship no god but me.
" 'Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, for I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation.

"I am a jealous God" - He will not share His heart with anyone

*In worship, we give the Lord our FULL ATTENTION
*When you think everything else but God, you are giving a putrid worship

4. Heart of Pride
James 4:6
: But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

"I do not need God" "Who cares about God"
-thinking this brings a putrid worship

*People who are humble before others might be proud to God or vice versa
*Those that are proud are unteachable

Ecclesiastes 5:1
: Be careful about going to the Temple. It is better to go there to learn than to offer sacrifices as foolish people do, people who don't know right from wrong.

Jeremiah 6:19-20
: Listen, earth! As punishment for all their schemes I am bringing ruin on these people, because they have rejected my teaching and have not obeyed my words. What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant lant? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.
*We must have a teachable heart, heart that is prompting

5. Lack of love for one another
Mark 12:33
: And man must love God with all his heart and with all his mind and with all his strength; and he must love his neighbour as he loves himself. It is important to obey these two commandments than to offer animals and other sacrifices to God."

*We cannot adore or praise which we cannot love
*Love your neighbours and one another
*We cannot truly love one another without truly loving God first
*Worship God, unity and love for one another

1 John 4:1-8
: My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere. This is how you will be able to know whether it is God's Spirit: anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came as a human being has the Spirit who comes from God. But anyone who denies this about Jesus does not have the Spirit from God. The spirit that he has is from the Enemy of Christ; you heard that it would come, and now it is here in the world already.
But you belong to God, my children, and have degeated the false prophets, becasue the Spirit who is in you is more powerful that the spirit in those who belong to the world. But we belong to God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This, then, is how we can tell the difference between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

NOT UNIFORMITY
*Take the step of love and seek reconcialiation -seek forgiveness and to forgive nomatter whether your right or wrong
*Do not bear grudges but have the same mind and love one another
*Return to TRUE WORSHIP- lives will be changed

Isaiah 1:18-19
: The Lord says, "Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces.
*All begins with a purpose in your heart.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**