Isaiah 29:13 (NLT) 13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
As God spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, He warned that, despite the Israelites saying they belonged to Him, their hearts were far from Him.
He (God) went on to say that though they honor Him with their lips, the reality of it was that everything they did, including their worship of Him, was little more than man-made rules and rituals learned by rote.
If we were to look at the Greek version of this text, it would state, “Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God”.
It is important that we understand what all of this means to us as followers of Christ.
To do that thoroughly, we need to look more closely at the word, “rote”.
If something is done by rote, it is done mechanically, mindlessly, from memory, by heart, out of repetition. It means nothing to the person carrying out the act. It is empty and hollow.
When we serve God, He desires that it be from our heart; sincere and genuine.
Anything less than this is not true worship or true service at all.
And in reality, this type of service or worship does nothing for us. It only satisfies a fleshly desire to fulfill an obligation.
Everything we do in our walk with God should be led by the Holy Spirit.
Why?
Because God is Spirit. He will not interact with us or accept anything we do by our flesh.
Jesus stated this plainly when He spoke the following words.
John 4:24 (NKJV) 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Another scripture tells us further that true sons (and daughters) of God are led by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
Romans 8:14 (NKJV) 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Our rituals and habits do not please Him. Even more, they do not give Him the honor and glory He deserves.
Let us live, move and serve God only by the Spirit.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443
401-439-3780
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