RELATE! EMAGAZINE: May 2003

Brought to you by PURSUING THE TRUTH MINISTRIES

WHAT'S NEW

Pursuing the Truth Ministries Church is moving forward. We are touching people's lives and for that we are thankful. I thank God for the opportunity to serve you through this ministry. We are now incorporated and are now waiting for the proper documents to be returned to us by the State of Pennsylvania. Continue to pray for us. I am thankful to God that we moved forward with the church because the hand of God is evident in it. I would also like to say that it is wonderful when there are people with you and are truly on your side. Pursuing the Truth has a wonderful staff that has been very helpful in making the church a reality.

BIBLE STUDY: Christian Worship

By William R. Cunningham
From the study, "Christian Worship"

This article is going to investigate Christian worship. Many churches have a section of their meeting or service that is called Praise and Worship. However, what is Christian worship? What does true worship require and how would we know if we are truly worshipping the Lord? Let's shed some light on this topic.

Worship Defined

First let's define the word worship. The following are common definitions of the word "worship" taken from Bible dictionaries.

1. The expression of one’s devotion and allegiance pledged to God (deity)

2. Religious rituals which salute, revere or praise a deity

3. Human response to the perceived presence of the divine

In addition to the above definitions, the Bible gives us other insights into the word "worship" since there are quite a few Greek words that have been translated into the word "worship." First we should know that the English word worship originates from an Old English word "worthship," which was a word that denoted the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or devotion. Now let’s look at various scriptures that use the word "worship" to identify a particular concept or thought.

Matthew 2:2 (NKJV) saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

The word "worship" in this scripture comes from a Greek word that means to prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore). See also Matthew 4:9-10. So the Magi (wise men) in this scripture wanted to pay homage to the King of the Jews.

Matthew 15:9 (NKJV) And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

The word "worship" in this scripture comes from a Greek word that means to revere, adore, and devout, religious. See also Mark 7:7. This verse gives an example of non-true worship. The worship here was religious in nature and not true worship, which we will define shortly.

Luke 14:10 (NKJV) But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

The King James Version of the Bible uses the word "Worship" in place of "glory" in this verse. This translation difference along gives us a clue to the worship that is referred to here. At first glance this appears to contradict our present knowledge about worship. It appears that Jesus was condoning the worship of men. However, we need to understand the way that the word "worship" was used in this verse and then it will become clear. The word "worship" here comes from a Greek word that means glory, dignity, honor, or praise. Therefore, in that context the use of worship in this verse is understandable. It is OK for us to receive praise or dignity from others.

Acts 17:23 (NKJV) for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

The word "worship" in this verse comes from a Greek word that means to be pious towards. In this case the Ephesians were pious towards an unknown God. This is more religious and ritualistic than anything else.

Acts 17:25 (NKJV) Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

Worship here means to wait upon menially, to relieve (of disease)-cure, heal. This denotes the concept of idol gods that are formed by man’s hands.

Colossians 2:18 (NKJV) "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has £not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind..."

Worship here simply means a ceremonial observance. This scripture deals with the practice of some to revere angels as well as heavenly bodies in general. This is believed to be a form of mysticism where people sought visions from the heavens. This turned them away from Christ however. Also common during the first century was the notion of self-denial (asceticism), which in itself could cause hallucinations because of sleep and protein depravation.

Acts 19:35 (NKJV) And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

The King James Version of the Bible uses the word "Worshipper" instead of the phrase "temple guardian" as in the NKJV above. The word "worship" used in this verse means to sweep—a temple-servant. By implication it means a votary (consecrated by a vow or promise).

Scripture References

Below are some scripture reference concerning worshiping God.

• 1 Chronicles 16:29

• Psalms 95:6, 96:9

• Deuteronomy 26:10

• Matthew 2:2, 4:10

• John 4:24

Christian Worship Defined

We shall use the following definition of Christian worship in this study. Christian worship is the act of expressing the reverence, honor, allegiance, and love that you have toward God. Worship is focused on who God is to you (whereas praise, categorically, focuses on what God has done). This indicates that true Christian worship has God or Christ at its center.

Practiced worship

How do we worship God? Is there a set way that Christians are instructed to worship God? Consider the typical church service. Usually the praise and worship leader or the minister instructs the congregation to worship the Lord. Sometimes we are told to raise our hands, speak in tongues, or some other activity. Are these biblical? Do these activities constitute true Christian worship? Let’s take a closer look at these relative to the early church’s perspective.

I believe that evaluating the principles of the early church will help us greatly in understanding the practices of the Christian faith. It is very beneficial to understand the origin of something to better understand its purpose and use.

New Testament Worship

Joy and thanksgiving because of God’s gracious redemption in Christ characterized New Testament worship. Therefore, the early Christian’s worship focused on the saving work of Jesus Christ. Also, true worship occurred under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. See John 4:23-24 and Philippians 3:3. Our worship of God is something that is done apart from, but not excluding, outward activity. We worship God in spirit because God is Spirit. True worship therefore, comes from within our very souls and expresses itself outwardly in various ways. This makes our worship true according to the intent that God has for worship.

The Worship Service

Historically, the Christian worship service was for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and was held on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2). This day came to be known as "The Lord’s Day." This was different from the strict Jewish observance of the Sabbath, which was observed on the seventh day of the week. The Christian worship services were first held in private homes and, some believe, in the synagogues as well. The New Testament does not give specific instructions on conducting a Christian worship service. However, there are certain common elements in the early church’s worship service. These are listed below.

• Prayer—prayer seemed to have had a leading place in the worship service

• Praise—either individually or collectively by hymns sung together

• Bible lessons—Probably the focus was on the messianic prophecies pertaining to Christ. Bible lessons also included the teachings of Jesus Christ. Please understand that the early church did not have a New Testament Bible as we do today. Most of their scriptures were actually the scriptures in the Hebrew Bible and then the epistles. The canon as we know it was not developed completely until hundreds of years later.

• Prophecy—inspired preaching by one filled with the Holy Spirit. See Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28.

• Collection of Contributions—Money, property, and other items were collected to help the poor and to assist those in needs. Since the first Christians were Jews, some of them were ostracized by their Jewish communities and found it hard to acquire items for daily sustenance.

Church Meetings

The following are some references in the Bible regarding early Christian’s church meetings.

• Acts 2:42, 46

• 1 Corinthians 14:26

• Ephesians 5:19-20

• Colossians 3:16

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

These meetings were gatherings of Christians who desired to fellowship together and celebrate the works of Jesus Christ especially his resurrection. They differentiated themselves from the Jewish by meeting on the first day of the week instead of the seventh, which was the Sabbath. They also met in homes.

Experience

Worship can be a personal experience as well as a corporate experience. The two are mutually related. Corporate worship is empowered by personal experience of all those involved. Personal experience needs affirmation and interpretation that is provided by corporate worship. All personal experience is not from God or originates from the Holy Spirit. Meetings with other Christians can help interpret your experiences, thoughts, and conclusions.

Corporate worship in the Bible usually occurred according to a schedule. There were times and seasons for corporate worship. Of course personal worship can occur at any time or place.

Some examples of Corporate worship in the New Testament are:

• Passover

• Pentecost

• The Lord’s Supper

• The celebration of the Crucifixion

• The celebration of the resurrection of Christ

Divine Presence

The awareness of divine presence is essential for Christian worship. Jesus promised that he would be with two or three that came together in his name (Matthew 18:20). So the heart of Christian worship is the power of Christ’s presence in a gathered community of disciples. See John 14:12-14; Acts 2:43-47, 4:9-12, 32-37; 1 Corinthians 5:3-4; Revelation 2:1.

Therefore, true Christian worship must be in the presence of God (Christ). Without this presence our worship is no more than physical activities. We can also see here how important personal experience of God’s presence is in corporate worship. Each person experiences the loving presence of God and responds by worshipping God (honoring, adoring, and reverencing). The actual activities used to do this vary.

Church and Worship

Corporate worship usually takes place in a church service and sometimes a Christian concert. However, these instances of worship must also be fueled by the awareness of the presence of God and not merely rely on pulpit commands to raise your hands or clap to honor God. Honoring God first takes place in the heart because of the high regard we have for him. This honor then manifests itself into an activity, which we call worship.

It is important for us to understand that worship takes place on the inside first. If the pulpit person commands that everyone clap their hands to worship God and we don’t operate that way, then it is not condemning to you if you at least don’t do it. However, remember that you should remain orderly in the church service. You may decide to clap to avoid confrontation but remember that is not true worship, though you are going along with the congregation. True worship is within and comes out in various ways.

True Worship is not necessarily musical though we tend to think of worship in terms of music. More precisely, we tend to think of worship as slow songs (praise is associated with fast songs). That is not the case for true worship. Your worship of God might manifest in many ways. Some might cry. Others might begin to pray. Still other might start singing. Songs are used in congregational and personal worship if you are a musician or the like. However, any song can be used for worship or praise. Songs or music is just an avenue that worship can spring from the heart. This is my primary way of worshipping since I am a musician. Prayer is another way that I worship God.

Conclusion

True Christian worship comes from the heart (spirit) and is a response to the presence of God, which causes us to honor and revere him. The method of the expression of this adoration and reverence varies. The important thing about true Christian worship is that it is focused on Christ, a result of the awareness of the presence of God, and comes from within. True Christian worship can be personal and corporate. However, both are fueled by personal experience. Corporal worship is beneficial because it provides proving ground for our experiences as well as biblical understanding.

Above all else we should understand that true Christian worship comes from within. First there must be knowledge of God and an awareness of his presence (See Proverbs 3:4-5). There must also be reverence, honor, adoration, and love for God. From these worship is induced and fueled. We worship God because of who he is. We worship because of our risen Lord. We worship because God’s Spirit is in us directing us. We worship because we love God. So adore God, honor Christ, revere the Lord and worship Him in spirit and in truth.

PROSPERITY

By William R. Cunningham

Wouldn't you like to be prosperous? Wouldn't you like to live abundantly and have the abundant life that Jesus appears to say that we can have. After all, Jesus came so that we could have life and have it abundantly. Right? Well not so fast. Consider what Jesus said.

Luke 12:15 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of £covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

And,

John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

We are told by many preachers, teachers, evangelists, and pastors that it is our lot in life to be prosperous. Though this is true, it is usually applied to those things that the Bible warns us against. The prosperity that these ministers promote is a materialistic, selfish, and deceiving thing. Jesus did not teach us to pursue riches. As a matter of fact, it warns us not to pursue such things. Consider the article last month about Kingdoms. Well prosperity is measured in dollars and cents in the kingdom of the world. However, prosperity is measured in accomplishing the will of God and an intimacy with the Lord in the Kingdom of God. Prosperity is different depending on where you are looking at it.

I say to you that anyone that desires to be rich for the sake of being rich is deceived. Anyone that desires to have gold plated hubcaps and a suite of Mercedes is deceived and has been taken away from truth. Jesus said seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He didn't say to seek first the riches of this world. It annoys me to hear ministers on the television talking about how we are the King's kids because we have luxury and gold this and gold that. I tire of these charlatans telling unsuspecting Christians (most Christians don't study the Bible) that they should expect to receive diamond this and diamond that from God. What's more sickening is the concept of placing a demand on the Spirit as if we can control God somehow. Who do we think we are? Who do they think they are? God is sovereign and He does what He wants. We can put our faith in the Lord because He is true to His word. Though He does what He wants to do, we can still trust Him to do what He said that He would do.

Too many Christians are giving their hard earned dollars and blessings away to their local church in the form of tithes and offerings and in the hopes of receiving a hundred fold or some other false teaching as such. When will people wake up and smell the stench. When will they realize that they have been duped and these preachers and pastors have been taking their money for years. Now some preachers and pastors are indeed promoting the true word of God and I even know of some that teach the people how to be successful in certain areas such as real estate. That is a very good thing because it is practical and not a magic show designed to get their money. Also, we must consider that some pastors have their own money and don't need the money from the congregations. This doesn't mean that a pastor should not be supported by the church. I am refering here to those pastors that are not true shepherds and are instead stealing resources from the congregation in the name of the Lord.

These preachers and pastors are lying to the people (else they are deceived themselves and really believe they are telling the truth) for one thing and one thing alone. They want to live in the lap of luxury. Your money is solicited so that these men and women could have new luxury cars and homes and so they might have the latest fashions and the most expensive clothes. People are out there and they are in need. There are people that can barely afford to pay their electric bills and here the church is admonishing them about not tithing to the Lord. One operable phrase is, "Have a need. Plant a seed." HOGWASH! If you have a need then look to the Lord to have that need met. If you have a need then take care of it. If anything the church should come to you with resources instead of expecting you to continue to give when you really don't have anything to give.

Sure it is a good thing to give to your local church if that local church has value for you and that local church is really about the work of ministry. Many churches, in my opinion, are nothing more than social clubs. They are more about events and services then they are about ministering to God's people and the lost. They appeal to your human nature to compel you to give them more money. What if you gave to ministries that really mattered. Have you ever donated to the Red Cross? Have you ever helped your neighbor? Have you ever provided for you parents or siblings when you could or did you just blindly give to your church and told your family, "I gave at the office." Shame on you!

I challenge you to fulfill the teachings of the Bible to love one another. Stop blindly giving to your local church if that church is not about ministry and not about ministering to the people. Give to those people and organizations that need and and are worthy of it. Some of you are fooled by the tithing teaching and are afraid to give elsewhere. Well the tithing teaching is HOGWASH as well. See my study on Tithing. It is more important for you to express your love for one another then to blindly give to a dead black hole of a church if you indeed are oppressed by one of those. What have your church done for you lately? Think about that? What has your church done for others lately? If you are one that can answer that your church has done much for you and others than you are indeed blessed. There are many churches like that. However, there are also many churches that are led by pastors that really don't care about you. They only care about building their kingdom so they promote this heresy of prosperity with the objective of stealing your money from you in the name of the Lord.

Be free! God loves you and He already knows your heart. Honor your mother and father. Buy them something that they could use and something that would bless them. After all, they took care of you for so many years. It's the least you could do. Bless your siblings and other family members. Bless your friends. Bless your God fearing pastor and his or her family (I have always believed that good pastors are priceless). Help your neighbor. Offer to help him or her cut the grass. Do for one another. Love one another and free yourself from the bondage of the beast. Prosperity is truly to progress in the things of God and not in the things of this world. True prosperity is measured spiritually and not materialistically.

MARRIAGE CORNER: RAISING A CHILD

By William R. Cunningham

I am not going to make you think that I am an expert at raising a child. I am not going to try to make you think that I have some kind of special knowledge of raising a child. However, I can assure you that I know what I am doing. A friend of mine told me that she raised her kids based on what the Bible taught. She said that she looked to the Bible to determine how to raise her children. I followed that philosophy andI looked to my parents. After all, I am one of three children (all boys) and we all came out OK. I'd say that my parents did a very good job in raising us. We are all god-fearing, we love each other, and we still interact with each other even today.

How should you raise your children? Well one thing that I decided to do is not abide by the philosophy that is being taught by many doctors and so called child experts today. I think that their model has failed to produce any respectable results. Children now go to school and shoot each other and even their teachers. When I went to school it was the fights after school. I do not recall anyone shooting someone else in school even in the worse neighborhoods. It was always after school outside. Now, children take their guns and weapons to school to do bodily harm. They don't respect elders and they think they can do whatever they want to do. Why?

Well, I believe that those children never learned respect and they never learned to listen to their parents and elders. Of course there is the generation that bought into that mess about not spanking your children. People would even call the police on you if you are seen to be spanking your child. That is so shameful because it is that person's child that would probably be the monster in years to come whereas the chastisement of your children would save him or her. No you don't have to beat you your kid unless you didn't take care of business early on or if the knucklehead teenager really needs to be beat down (lovingly of course). However, there are certain things that a child must learn if he or she is not to become a monster later in life.

I was determined to teach my son to listen to what I told him. I had vissions of him running while outside and heading straight for the street. I could hear myself calling him but he didn't listen, continued running, and then is hit by a car. So I taught him early on to heed the voice of daddy. Now when I call him he stops in his tracks turns around and comes towards me. Of course there are times when he thinks that we are playing, which we are sometimes, and he keeps running and laughing. However, he has learned that when daddy sounds a certain way that he should be taken seriously. That could save the life of your child one day. I believe that is what kept me on the straight and narrow.

I have spanked my son. Actually, I would only hit him once on his arm or leg. In the very beginning I would hit the back of his chair to give him a little jolt (nothing forceful enough to give him whiplash). That worked. Whatever works I suppose. I always evaluated what I did for effectiveness and what affects it had on my son. I would raise my voice and speak very authoritative and demanding looking straight at him. It all paid off because now this kid listens to me. I must admit that it was tricky maintaining a balance. I didn't want to be so disciplinary that he began to be afraid of me. However, I would rather he be afraid of me now and save his life later than for him to be emotionally attached now and become a monster later. Again I looked back at what my parents did. We would get spankings and put on punishment. We learned that there were certain things that we just shouldn't do. I wasn't afraid of my father while growing up but I did learn to respect him greatly. After a while when I grew older and understood what my parents did, I realized how blessed I was. I should also point out that both mom and dad disciplined my brothers and I. It was indeed a shared effort. I never felt as though I could get over on mom but not dad. That points to the importance of being together in child raising.

One thing that I have leaned from raising my son so far is that you cannot allow emotions to dictate your actions. In the first few years of life you are mostly concerned with getting your child on the right path. He has to learn to respect mommy and daddy else Godzilla will be produced later. My father told me many years ago that if you don't teach him discipline before he or she is about six years old then you might as well forget it. You messed up and it will take a whole lot of effort to turn him around. If you haven't done it by the time he or she is a teenager than you might as well forget about it. There is nothing you can do. However, it is at that time that many parents realize what type of monster that they have created. Of course I should point out that a parent can do all of the right things and the child still turns out to be a monster. Well there is nothing that you can do about that. He or she knows the right way but chooses the wrong way. Just take comfort in the fact that you did what you were supposed to do, namely train a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he won't depart from it. What the child does when he or she is of age is on them.

Balancing discipline and developing an intimate relationship was tough but I think it is working very well. Now my son always wants to play with me. He gets excited when he sees me and my wife says that he asks about me when I'm not around. Sometimes I have to hurt his feelings but it is for his own good. I don't remember the last time I had to actually hit him. Actually I haven't hit him very much. However, you have to do what works for you. Don't just blindly follow the philosophy and rules of the so called experts. No one knows your child better than you and God.

I also DO NOT believe in that "Time out" nonsense. That is straight from the Satan so to speak. How in the world can you reason with a little child. You are the adult, remember. The kid has to be taught. They have to be molded. An artist doesn't ask the clay what it wants. The artist molds the clay into what he or she wants. You have to in effect do the same for your child. You are responsible for molding him or her into a god-fearing and respectable human being. This effort is nonnegotiable and yet many parents take the negotiating route. I don't reason with my son when he is supposed to do something or he is doing something bad. I only reason with him when I'm teaching him something such as getting a stuck toy free. However, there are times when I purposely let him get away with things. Sometimes I watch him doing something that he isn't supposed to do and then I sneak up on him and all of a sudden, daddy is there. That I hope will also help him to not want to try things in the future knowing that daddy could be there at any time. I hear parents trying to reason with a two year old or a three year old. What for! They don't care. A child that age only wants what he or she wants. They don't have the same worldview or perspective as you do so why reason with them. They have to learn to obey mommy and daddy. As they get older you start incorporating certain things to teach them to think and participate.

If you spare the rod then you will spoil the child. If you spoil the child then you will create a monster. If you create a monster then you will introduce shame and trouble for the rest of your life. So teach your child to respect you starting from day one. Actually, I would query the doctors about the comprehension level of my son at various stages of his newborn life. After all, there is no sense of disciplining him if he doesn't know what is happening. However, when he is able to associate things then that is the time for me to begin teaching him in the arena of discipline. The child raising philosophy of today is totally useless to me. Doctors, therapists, and others always comment on how well behaved our son is. Even his daycare teacher tells us how well behaved our son is. My wife and I look at each other and laugh when people make those kinds of statements. We have to stay on him all of the time and it is paying off greatly. I don't do time outs. I don't negotiate or try to reason. We don't let him get away with stuff either. For example, saying "no" to daddy WILL have dire consequences. However, when we see other children in the grocery store or in the mall then we really see how much more behaved our son really is. Sure he acts up but he knows to listen to us and heed what we say. Sure he's a little boy that will test you but he knows to listen to daddy. He is disciplined, which is progressive of course.

So train your child according to the Bible. Train him how he or she should go. Don't neglect discipline (even the animals discipline their young). I don't believe in reasoning with a child since a child can't reason the way that I do. Their perspective is completely different in my opinion. Be flexible with your child. Raise him or her right and according to how your child is and not blindly according to a doctor or his book. Surely look to God for wisdom in this area because you will need it. Also look to parents that have produced upright children and ask them what is their child raising philosophy. Incorporate all of this informatin to come up with the best method for your situation. Remember that every child is different so what worked for you might not work for someone else. However, I believe that the principles stand. The child must learn discipline as early as possible.

THIS ISSUE'S QUESTION

What is the fundamentals of the Christian faith?

You can submit your answer to question@pursuingthetruth.org if you would like.

God bless you all!