P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

Thanks, Connie. Years ago a popular song declared: “Everybody loves somebody sometime.” To that I would add another verse: Everybody worships somebody all the time. Even atheists worship somebody—or something—every day of their lives.

How is it with you? Do you worship your favorite actor or singer or rock star? Maybe a sports hero. Perhaps a politician.

Worship, by the way, means placing supreme value on someone or something. It’s even possible to worship yourself, if you fancy yourself as having achieved sufficient wealth or fame or success. Many people worship their spouses, as countless love songs attest.

With all this going on, Someone in heaven is feeling kind of lonely. That would be God. It’s not that we don’t know He’s around. Most Canadians and Americans definitely believe in deity. Our society just doesn’t value God supremely. In other words, we don’t really worship Him. We fail to treasure Him for who He is—both our loving Father and almighty God. We value what we think we can get from Him instead of caring about what He wants to do and knows is best for us.

Many feel-good Americans and Canadians worship a false god, a celestial sugar daddy from whom they expect to get anything and everything they want. So they demand a bigger SUV sporting headrests with built-in video screens. Like spoiled children they demand: “I want it and I want it NOW!” “Name it and claim it,” they say. Or as someone sarcastically remarked, “Blab it and grab it.”

Such selfishness is actually false worship. It’s honoring an idol of our own desire rather than worshiping the Creator. And I’m going to make a statement that at first may seem difficult to accept. But think it though: If you are not worshiping God, you are actually worshiping the devil.

No way, Pastor Lonnie! I don’t belong to some satanic cult. I’m a decent, law-abiding Christian. I even go to church—at least when I feel like it. I’d never bow down to God’s enemy.

But listen, friend. That’s exactly what’s going on in our lives when

God is not number one. Listen to this from the Bible. 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” So what’s really going on if we are loving the things of the world rather than loving God? Notice 1 John 3: 8: “He who does what is sinful is of the devil.” Amazing! A life devoted to self and sin is a life devoted to Satan.

Now, let’s not misunderstand this. God doesn’t condemn a believer in Jesus for making mistakes. James 3:2 says: “We all stumble in many ways.” The warning is about valuing some type of sinful behavior above God’s will for your life. That’s serving Satan. Devil worship, actually. Anything that owns our heart owns our worship Jesus said: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Luke 4:8.

False worship doesn’t even have to be obviously immoral, like stealing. Even honest people who work hard to amass a fortune—for themselves only—honor Satan through indulging in greed. Jesus said. "No servant can serve two masters. … You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13. So materialism is an alternative to worshiping God. The Bible calls it idol worship in Colossians 3: 5 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

This is serious, friend. Even deeply religious people can be Satan worshipers. Here’s what Jesus told the religious leaders of His day in John 8:44: “You belong to your father, the devil.” Shocking words to the guardians of God’s law and the temple services. Predictably, the Pharisees were horrified and deeply offended at that statement. But it’s true just the same: anything that gets between our heart and our God involves the worship of a false god: Satan.

So that’s the bad news. The good news is that Jesus has overcome the power of Satan to hold us in sin’s grasp. Let me read you one of my favorite texts from the book of Revelation, chapter 1 verse 5: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”

Praise God, he has freed us from our sins—at incredible personal cost: His own blood shed on the cross. By His death and resurrection, Jesus broke the power of sin and Satan, setting us free to worship God.

Long ago during the days of Moses, God’s people were slaves in Egypt. Almighty Yahweh sent a message to Pharoah: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” Exodus 8:1. Liberating God’s people facilitated their worship. So with us today. The death and resurrection of Jesus liberated us from Satan. Now we’re free—free to worship God with all our hearts.

I think of the night Christ and His disciples were in a boat. A sudden storm burst upon them, apparently dooming them all. The disciples were so frightened that they feared they would die. Then just when all seemed lost, Jesus got up and stretched His arms. “Peace be still,” He commanded. And guess what! Everything became calm.

What happened next? Worship happened. We read in Matthew 14:33: “Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” The disciples, set free from fear and full of gratitude for being saved, fell at the feet of Jesus and worshiped Him.

My friend, are we willing to do the same? Worship is a matter of life and death.

In the last days before the second coming of Jesus, a special message will go forth throughout the earth: A call to worship God. I’m reading here from Revelation 14:6-7: “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earthBto every nation, tribe, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, >Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water=”

Here's the everlasting gospel, the same wonderful message of salvation dear to God’s people through the ages. Now there=s a new urgency, because "the hour of His judgment has come." What should we do about it? Worship God and live to bring Him glory instead of glorifying ourselves.

Then the book of Revelation brings on another angel, warning about associating with BabylonBsymbol of spiritual confusion. Finally a third angel sounds an alarm about false worship. Every soul decides for life or death on the basis of worship.

False worship is deadly!

My friend, where are in all this? Did you know that the God of heaven feels so passionately about you that He is jealous for your worship? It’s right there in the Ten Commandments. After denouncing idols—the distractions we’ve discussed—God pleads: “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” Exodus 20:5.

We men who are married get jealous when somebody might get inappropriately familiar with our wives, don’t we? It’s perfectly natural and justified to be jealous if someone threatens your relationship with someone you dearly love. That’s why Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:37.

Our most important responsibility is to love the Lord completely and worship Him only. My friend, is this what you want for your life? You can seal your decision just now, if you’ll join me in prayer.

“Father in heaven, we confess that we have sinned. We’ve treasured other relationships and other things more than we’ve valued You. We’ve been guilty of false worship. Forgive us, Lord. You alone are worthy of our highest devotion. And so we give ourselves to you just now. Thank you that full acceptance is ours through Jesus. We believe in Him as Your Son and our Savior from sin and false worship. We believe that He died for our sins and rose again. He liberated us from the forces of evil. Thank You that He is coming soon and will take us to Your heavenly home. Keep us safely by your side day by day we pray, in the name of Jesus, Amen.”

My friend, if you prayed that prayer and meant it, congratulations! You are now a born-again worshiper of God. And now what? Where do you go from here? Well, the Bible says that you’re like a newborn baby, needing nourishment to grow. Not just to survive but to thrive!

Nourishment for Christian growth comes in the study of God’s Word. Connie, tell our listening friends what we have today to assist them with their Bible study.