We need the truth of God to straighten out our worship disorders. The word worship means: to honor or revere someone as a divine or supernatural being. It means to regard someone with great or extravagant respect, honor or devotion. It means to exalt or adore or treasure or to be satisfied with or to desire someone more than anything else.

What do you desire more than anything else? If you could have anything right now to satisfy you what would that be? What do you want more than anything else?

A person who authentically worships God is a person who adores, treasures and honors God from deep within their spirit in response to the truth of who God is and what God has done and what God is doing and what God will do. (John 4:23-24) On the other hand a person with a worship disorder has the right words but also has a heart that’s been infected with spiritual deception. This person doesn’t love God or adore God or treasure God or value God or honor God. This person treasures, adores, honors and loves the pursuit of their own thoughts and desires more than God. (Matthew 15:8 – 9)

A person worships what he is consumed with. This is what makes this prayer from the apostle Paul so life giving and transforming. In this prayer we find a man who is totally consumed with God. There is no doubt that the apostle Paul is completely in love with God. He is a man who went from being a rebel to a worshipper. He met the Truth and the Truth set him free from his rebellion.

In one single encounter with the all-powerful God of Heaven and Earth, Paul was changed into a slave of Jesus Christ. And from that moment forward he became a worshipper of Jesus Christ who lived out of the flow of Christ’s righteousness for the sole purpose of bringing glory and honor to Christ.

In Ephesians 3:20 – 21 we see good theology (Godly truth) and good doxology (Godly worship). It seems true that good theology leads to good doxology. Godly truth leads to Godly worship. Authentic worship flows out of Biblical truth.

The good theology we learn here is that God is more than able and more than powerful enough. God is more than able to do anything beyond my biggest requests and beyond my wildest dreams. He is more than powerful enough because his power is sovereign and personal. The kind of power Paul describes here comes from the Greek word “dynamis”. From this word we get the word dynamite. God’s power is explosive, dynamic power that isn’t just at work outside of us in the physical realm but it’s at work inside the heart of every believer.

The good doxology we see here is that we are called to glorify God in the church, in Christ, forever and ever. Paul says that God will be glorified in us (the church) and in Christ, forever and ever. This happens every time the church gathers as a family of transformed rebels. Every time we gather to sing songs, study the Bible, participate in the Lord’s Supper, pray, evangelize and fellowship, the Lord is glorified.

Through all of this we learn that the truth of God straightens out our worship disorders. The questions we are left with are these: Do I believe or agree that God is more than able? Do I believe or agree that God is more than powerful? Do I want to glorify God forever?

Observation, Application and Prayer

  1. Scriptures: Read the following passages: John 4:23 – 24, Matthew 15:8 – 9, Ephesians 3:20 – 21, Romans 8:28 – 30, 12:1 – 2. Are there any other passages you can think of that would fit with this study?
  2. Observation: What observations did the Lord bring to your attention during this study? What are you thinking about as a result of this study? What kinds of feelings are you aware of because of this study? What kind of assurance and encouragement does this study give you? What did you learn about God? What did you learn about you?
  3. Application: How will you apply this study to your life right now? How do you envision putting what you’ve learned into practice? How was this study helpful in your struggle with sin? What does repentance look like in response to this study? What truths do you need to trust? What truths do you need to obey?
  4. Prayer: Spend some time praying for one another as a response to this study.