WONDERING ABOUT WORSHIP
Introduction:
Have you ever wondered, or perhaps wandered, about worship? What is the secret? The mystery? The correct form? The big deal? Why doesn’t everyone ’get it’ like I do? How does anyone ’get it’ at all – makes no sense to me!
Gordon Dahl has said, “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship.”
Leonard Sweet wrote that “Our pews are occupied by people who want to be moved, but who don’t want to move.”
A.W. Tozer described worship as “the missing jewel of the church.”
Most everyone seems to agree that worship is an important part of our spiritual lives, yet nobody wants to play in the same band, let alone instrument, let alone tune. I’ve been in a lot of different churches for a lot of different reasons in many states and a few countries. I’ve seen people so focused on reverent worship that to twitch the tiniest muscle even in response to the worst itch would be an abomination. And I’ve seen some so caught in reaching the highest possible states of emotion and demonstration that being near them was like standing in the middle of a crowd of people trapped in a burning and collapsing tower.
I’ve heard both extremes uncompromisingly proclaim that their way is the only way to truly worship. I can still remember being a young Christian exposed to so many forms and ideas about worship, and feeling so utterly confused, lost and at times even questioning my own ’spirituality.’
So, what are we to do? How are we to respond? Most of us do what comes naturally and seems most logical – we ignore it and embrace apathy and indifference instead! Let us instead, covenant to seek and to learn!
There’s a lot we can learn from the testimony of Pastor Bill Hall and an experience we can all relate to:
“In the midst of one church crisis concerning this issue I prayed, "Father, how should we worship You?" He answered using my own children to make the point.
The kids had been away at Grandma’s house for a few days and I missed them terribly. On my way home from work all I could think about was seeing them. As soon as the front door slammed behind me I heard the sound I had longed for. The sound of small feet on the wood floor--my children were coming to greet me.
The first to arrive was Alex--my soon-to-be four year old. He was running and jumping and yelling, "Daddy’s home, daddy’s home!" He ran to me with arms open and hugged my legs as hard as he could. I bent down and told him how much I loved him and had missed him. He gave me a kiss and was off to other adventures.
Following closely was Anthony, my seventeen-month old. He filled the house with a steady "Dada, dada, dada, dada." As he neared, he looked up at me and raised his hands as high as they would go as a sign for me to pick him up. When I did he took my face in his hands and looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, then patted my face and kissed me like only a toddler can. The squirming that followed was his signal that our special moment was over and in a flash he was gone.
Austin, my five year old, was not to be found in this parade so I conducted an immediate search of the house. Alone in his room he sat, tears rolling down his cheeks. He had done something he knew was wrong and was fearing the worst upon my arrival. As he talked about what he had done he began to cry uncontrollably saying, "I’m sorry...I’m sorry." I felt as if I couldn’t pick him up fast enough. I hugged and kissed him repeatedly and told him that I forgave him and would always love him no matter what. In no time we were playing and laughing as usual.
Each child’s response to my presence was correct considering their circumstance. It was honest and from the heart.
How should we worship in church? The answer will most likely change from week to week but can always be found by assessing the condition of our hearts.”1
PRAYER
What Is Worship? Romans 12:1-3
At it’s simplest, worship is an attitude and expression of the heart, an act of personal sacrifice or offering. It is any and every way in which we demonstrate genuine adoration and commitment to the Lord and give Him glory! It is any expression (emotional, physical, intellectual, and/or spiritual) by which one seeks to extend that he or she loves the Lord God absolutely – with all their heart, mind, soul, spirit and strength.
Biblical worship is all about God, which necessitates complete surrender of self. It is an acknowledgment of God’s perfect Holiness and our own sinfulness, imperfection and absolute need for Him in our lives. Further, it is a spiritual act that must be done in truth. As such, worship must emanate from our spirit as the Holy Spirit enables.
Why Should We Worship?
Is it really necessary? In public? All the time?
Of course, we all have our own opinions, feelings and personal preferences. But what is most important is “Why does God expect us to worship?” Or maybe He doesn’t? Let us look at His divinely revealed Word together:
1.Psalm 95; Hebrews 4:9-11
We were created to worship Him!
2.Rev. 4:8-11; 5:11-14
We worship Him because of WHO He is – Christ alone is perfect and holy and He alone is worthy of worship.
3.Psalms 99; 100
He is our LORD and He commands our worship.
4.Acts 2:36-47
Through worship we celebrate Jesus. As we respond to God and each other, God speaks and acts. Through worship, people are saved!
5.Galatians 5:22-23
We worship because it is from our offerings to the LORD that He graciously gifts and equips us to live the lives we were created to live and, thus, to live a life of fulfillment in all circumstances.
As C.S. Lewis wrote: “We praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.”
How Should We Worship?
Unfortunately, we sometimes worship God much in the same way we ’honor’ our spouses.
Consider: Two men were talking over coffee one day. One said: “I’m concerned about my wife. She talks to herself a lot these days.” The other said: “Mine does too, but she doesn’t know it. She thinks I’m listening.”2
Because worship is the ultimate act of our lives and is devoted to Almighty God, it is essential that our worship be genuine and worthy of the One whom we are worshiping. How, according to Scripture, are we to do this?
1.We must prepare ourselves for worship. Through. . .
a.) repentance, which requires humility and brokenness.
b.) reverent fear of the LORD in light of His holiness and our own sinfulness.
c.) emptying our heart of desire for or devotion to any other.
2.We are to come before Him with Offerings.
Our offerings must be an offer of all that we are and must be a “living” offering, not one that is dead or mechanical. An offering worthy of who He is and what He has already given!
a.) Material Offerings: through these we recognize that all which we have is truly the LORD’s and what He has give us. These offerings, therefore, are to be our very best. To offer God less than our best and most valuable is to suggest that we are more worthy of keeping these things ourselves. Instead, worship is acknowledging His ultimate worth and recognizing that even our best is but a meager offering for the One True God!
b.) Spiritual Offerings: Our spiritual act of worship also involves a living sacrifice which is one of action and service to the Lord our God! We worship by taking the gifts, talents, resources and hearts He has given us and investing them to build His Kingdom! We worship through proclamation, dancing, music and singing (Ps. 145-150). So too we worship Jesus by feeding the hungry, caring for widows and orphans, providing for the destitute, welcoming strangers, and caring for the sick (Mt. 25:34-46; Jms. 1:27). Additionally, we worship through growing and learning in the Word of God – the Bible. Finally, we worship Jesus by giving testimonies to others of who He is and what He has done for us personally.
When & Where Should We Worship?
Have you ever wondered what would happen if we all decided to apply the same standards of loyalty to our spiritual activities of worship that we expect from other areas of our lives?
If your car starts once every three tries, is it reliable? If you skip out on work once or twice a month without excuse, are you a reliable employee? If your fridge stops working for a day or two every now and then do you say, “Oh well, it works most of the time?” If you skipped a couple of electricity payments do you think the utility company would mind? If you couldn’t pay your rent or mortgage because you had to pay the utility bill – oh, and that fancy new thingamajig – do you think your landlord/bank would understand? If you fail to worship God one or two Sundays a month, would you expect to be called a faithful Christian?
If we expect loyalty and reliability from things and other people – don’t you think it’s reasonable that God just might expect the same from each of us?
Friends, the answer to when and where we should worship is perhaps simplest of all: always and everywhere! As we have already seen from Scripture, worship is not simply an action or choice, but a lifestyle! Just as the stars and all of nature are a constant and unending testimony to God and who He is, so too should be each of our lives! Worshiping God is an honor, a privilege, and a fulfillment of our purpose, shouldn’t it then be the central and continuous act of our lives?!
And if so, then where we worship God is wherever we are at any given moment! Notice that when the Samaritan woman at the well (Jn. 4) asked Jesus “where” is the proper place to worship, He instead answered that what is important is the “who” and “how”! Nor is this just about geography. Passages such as Mt. 6:1-8 remind us that there are times we are to worship alone while other passages such as Acts 2 and Hebrews 10:25 remind us that there are regular times when we are to worship together in a fellowship of believers.
When/How Will We Know That We Are Genuinely
Worshiping God?
Well, one way would be to ask a paramedic. Or, at least that’s what a local Dallas TV talk-show once did. “What was your most unusual and challenging 911 call?”, the host asked. ’Recently,” said the paramedic, “we got a call from that big white church on 11th and Walnut. A frantic usher was very concerned that during their worship service an elderly man passed out in a pew and appeared to be dead. The usher could find no pulse and there was no noticeable breathing.”
“What was so unusual and demanding about that?”, the host asked. “Well,” said the paramedic, “we carried out four guys before we found the one who was dead.”
The bottom line, as I trust we have seen, is that genuine worshipers come before Jesus with hearts of complete devotion. (1) Through the teaching of the Word. (2) To loving fellowship and sharing. (3) Genuine worshipers commit to liturgical worship – that is, brothers and sisters in Christ of all types meeting together in order to jointly worship God in order and unity. In Acts 2, this is referred to as the “breaking of bread and to prayer.” But this may also include rejoicing, thanksgiving and testimony; singing, dancing, clapping or shouting; or even confession, and anointing of the sick. Then there will be true worship and we will know because the Lord will daily add to their numbers those who believe!
TURNING WANDERING INTO WONDER:
Friends, we can stop wandering in the wilderness of worship wars and instead merrily stroll through His lush valleys of Wonder by simply knowing and living according to His Holy Word – the Bible. He’s already explained it all. The only mystery is why we so often choose to ignore it!
Based on the Scriptures that we have examined here, we can confidently say that worshiping God is whenever and wherever each of us chooses to be a living sacrifice in brokenness and awe before the LORD God Almighty and to His glory! The evidence of this will be in the fruit of our lives and its impact on others around us.
Listen carefully: If we are not transformed and/or those we come in contact with are not transformed, then we have not truly been worshiping in the presence of the Almighty! For our God is a transforming God, full of Glory!
Above all, it is essential to remember that it is not how we worship but WHO we worship! If our focus is on what we or others are doing, then it cannot be on Jesus – and that is not worship. But we can be diverse in our style of worship and still benefit from authentic worship IF we are led by the Holy Spirit with broken and humble hearts, focused on the One True God. To Him be the glory and the praise forever and ever!!! Amen.
Benediction: Romans 12:1-3
