The Attitude of Worship

The Attitude of Worship

Text: Psalm 27:4

Introduction: As his parents watched from the patio, a little boy played baseball by himself in the back yard. Of course this amounted to tossing a ball into the air and attempting to hit it with his bat. As he did so he proclaimed to no one in particular, "I’m the greatest hitter in the world!" Unfortunately, he missed the ball and, since he was the umpire too, regretfully announced, "Strike one." Undaunted the little fellow picked up the ball, threw it back into the air and said, "I’m the greatest baseball hitter ever!" With even greater intensity he swung the bat but all he caught was air for his efforts. "Strike two," he said. The boy paused a moment, examined the bat and ball carefully, and then for a third time threw the ball into the air. "I’m the greatest hitter in the history of baseball," he said. This time he swung for all he was worth, but just like the other two attempts, he missed. "Strike three," he mumbled. Then the boy sat for a moment considering what had just happened. After a minute or so, he turned to his parents and much to their surprise said, "Wow, I just struck out the greatest hitter in the world! I must be the greatest pitcher of all time."

Attitude really matters, doesn’t it? It can make the difference between a good day and a bad day, a good marriage and a bad marriage, perhaps even a good life and a bad life. Chuck Swindoll says, "Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it."

Have you ever considered that your choice of attitude even affects your worship experience? In Psalm 27, David begins by expressing his confidence in God. This declaration of faith is written in the context of an attack from without by his enemies (See Psalm 27:1-3). What might have caused fear and anxiety in someone who did not trust God, results only in the longing of David to be closer to God. "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek," he says, "that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." This is remarkable! David was the king of Israel, the leader of their armies and a preacher of the Word of God. The pressures associated with any one of these responsibilities would be more than most of us are capable of bearing. So how does he hold it together? He does so by maintaining an attitude of worship. Let’s take a few moments and break down what David has to say about this all important pursuit.

The Discipline of Worship. To be a person who is a true worshipper of the Lord Jesus Christ requires a substantial commitment to personal discipline. In a day and age when so many things compete for our worship and devotion, believers are often forced to make choices. David resisted the temptation to be consumed with his many duties in leading a nation and chose instead to make God his number one priority. This single-minded pursuit is what made him such an effective leader. Do you remember the run-in David had with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17? While all the other soldiers could only see their situation from a human, and therefore hopeless, perspective, David, the worshipper of God, did not fall victim to such thinking. He was willing to oppose Goliath