Ezekiel 20:39 As for you, O house of Israel thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts and with your idols.
True Worship is God-Focused
As an evangelist, I travel quite a bit. Last week I preached in a church that is in the South, and this coming Sunday I will be in a church that is in the North. Different churches can sound and look very different one from another depending on where they are in the country. However, worship is not about people and what they like; it is about Who God is and how we affirm that. True worship is about focusing on God. Our worship should be informed by God, honoring to God, and pleasing to God.
That was not true of the people of Ezekiel’s day. God finally got to a point where He told His own people, “As for you, O house of Israel… Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts and with your idols.” God seems to say, “Just go worship your idols. I don’t want any more half measures and corrupted worship, as if you were worshipping some god that was made of wood or stone.”
Over and again, God reminded His people, “I am the LORD your God.” He is singular. He is unique. He alone is the God of the universe. He is not like other gods that other people serve. He is not some deity that people have dreamed up in their imaginations.
This has great bearing on us today because our worship of God should be more informed by Who God is than by where we live and when we live. The question you have to ask yourself every Sunday is, “Whom does this please? Did we come to this by means of what we know about God or by means of what we learn from people?”
Worship is a couple of things. First, worship is God-focused. If it is focused primarily on people, then by definition it is not worship. Anything centered on man is not attributing worth to God. It is something very different.
Secondly, true worship is God-informed. Verse 11 says, “And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.” God is saying, “I have given them My way. They know Who I am and how I am to be worshipped.” But it got to the point where God gave them up to their own ways. Is our worship primarily a reflection of our culture or a reflection of Who God is?
Thirdly, true worship is God-pleasing. The setting of this entire chapter is a time when the Jewish elders came to Ezekiel wanting to enquire of God. But God did not answer them because they were unwilling to listen to His answer, even as they pretended to ask for His guidance.
Is our worship God-honoring? Is it showing God as set apart, distinct, and holy? We need to communicate the truth in ways people can understand, but never at the cost of changing who God is. The bottom line is that worship is God-focused. Today, is your worship a reflection of Who God is?