What is the ultimate purpose of my worship? - Worship - TouchPoints

1 Chronicles 29:10-13Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly: “O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!”

Isaiah 6:3They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Isaiah 66:1-2This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.”

Worship is the recognition of who God is, and of who we are in relation to him. Ultimately, everything we do should be based on what we think of and how we worship the almighty God. If our actions don’t pay homage to him, then we are paying homage to someone or something else.

Exodus 23:19“As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.”

Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

Giving the firstfruits of our income to God honors him as our first priority. Our offerings demonstrate that our work is for God and that his work is most important.

Revelation 4:9-11Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Revelation 5:11-12Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”

Our worship of God gives us a foretaste of heaven.

Genesis 4:2-4Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.

In the gifts of Able and Cain we see that from the very beginning humans have an instinct for worship. We desire to offer thanks and honor to God by expressing our praise and bringing offerings from our work to God. Even if we fall short of the mark, as Cain would, the instinct is still there.