Worship Amidst Adversity
Worshiping when times are tough is one of the hardest things to do. David seemed to have it down pretty well though, and he was not at all a stranger to calamity. There are times when he was hopeless and discouraged, like when his father in law sent assassins to kill him in the middle of the night and the only reason he escaped is because his wife tipped him off! Maybe you've never had assassins after you, but I bet you know what it is like to be hopeless and discouraged.
David also faced anxiousness and fear. He couldn't stay in the country because Saul was trying to kill him so he had to flee to Gath, which in case you didn't know, was Goliath's hometown. He wasn't exactly going to win any popularity contests there either! He was so scared for his life that he pretended to be insane, drooling all over himself and acting crazy so they wouldn't kill him! Instead they just kicked him out of town.
Later Saul died and he became King, but he faced frustration and disappointment because he wanted to build a temple for God, and God told him no! Not only did he tell David no, but told him that his son would get to do it! David had long dreamed of building a house for God, but God denied his request and David didn't even live long enough to see the project started! David was allowed to help make preparations, but he couldn't help start the build. "There are times when a dream is from God, but the role He has for us is not what we hoped or imagined."
David faced devastation and depression because of family issues. One of his sons raped his half sister and then another one of his sons killed him for it! That makes for awkward dinner conversation! Absolom (the one who killed his brother) then ran away from home. Later he started a coup that drove David out of the palace and he lost the kingdom for a little while! David went into depression and he was absolutely worn out from all of this. Later Absolom was killed in a fight with some of David's men. Talk about family problems!
So how did David respond? He worshiped. Did he vent to God? Absolutely. It amazes me how many people think that asking God why something happened is a sin. David did this constantly! He bore His soul to God. He cast his burdens on God. God is big enough to handle your problems and your concerns! But here is the thing. David didn't just talk to God about his problems, he also talked to his problems about his God. He constantly dwelled on the attributes of God. Even among the hardest times of his life David often referred to God as his Singh and shield. When you spend time focusing on the attributes of God, God gets bigger and your problems come into proper perspective. They may not disappear, but they are placed in the hands of a huge, almighty God who can handle them with ease if He chooses to do so. "Worship reminds us that God is always bigger than any burdens we carry or any challenges we face."
When this happens, our faith is increased and we are transformed. Trouble is part of life this side of heaven. Jesus promised that we would have trouble in this world. But He also said that we shouldn't fear, because He has overcome the world! Trials and tribulations build in us endurance, which builds in us character, which produces hope.
May we, like David, be people that trust to God first in adversity..not as a last resort. As worship leaders, we come from a long line of people including David, who have learned to worship God in the good times and the bad. May we remember that "no matter what happens, God is still sovereign, He is still good, and He is still worthy of our highest praise."
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Smash Your Idols
"David regarded obedience as the highest form of worship: 'In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted...burnt offering and sin offering You have not required...I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.'" Putting the law of God within us is the way to maintain integrity, and "serious worshipers strive to be people of godly character and integrity. Jesus also equated obedience with worship. He said, 'If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.' You can't express love to Jesus and then ignore His will, do whatever you want, and break his commandments. Willful disobedience renders our worship unacceptable to God." It would be like if I told Abi I loved her and she was the only woman I ever wanted and then went out and cheated on her. That would make me a hypocrite at best and a liar at worst.
God says this to the people of Israel because of their superficiality, "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24)" "When what we sing doesn't match what we do, the result is hypocritical worship, which is something that God absolutely loathes."
I pray that we are not a people who worship idols. At first the idea seems a little ridiculous, I mean who bows down to a golden calf these days right? At least not anyone I know! But the truth is that idolatry runs rampant in our world and even lurks in our hearts daily. You see, "idolatry is simply worship directed in any direction but God's." To get a better idea of what idolatry is, listen to what Pastor Timothy Keller has to say in his book 'Counterfeit gods.'
"An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving 'face' and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your moreality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry...An idold is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, 'If I have that, then I'll feel my life has meaning, then I'll know I have value, then I'll feel significant and secure.' There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship."
This is probably not new information for you, but I just want to remind you that not all idols are bad things in and of themselves. "Many of our counterfeit gods are actually good things, which is why we pin our hopes and dreams on them. But even the best things in life can never replace God. Sin, therefore, is not just a matter of doing bad things or breaking God's rules. Sin is letting a good thing become an ultimate thing and, therefore, taking the place of God in our lives."
So how do you identify idols in your life? Answer these questions:
1. What do you think most about? 2. How do you spend your money? 3. What sets your off emotionally? 4. What brings you joy, peace, security, or fulfillment? 5. How do you react when an idol is taken away?
I think that last one is the hardest one to answer. the true test of whether or not something has become an idol in our life is to find out whether or not we can give it up. If I can't live without it, odds are it has become an idol in my life. Jesus didn't pull any punches when it came to this stuff. He said we can't love our families more than Him if we want to follow Him! Jesus doesn't want to be part of your life and fit in to your agenda. You can't serve two masters. "The Christian life doesn't allow for Jesus and my porn habit, or my greed, or my selfish desires to coexist."
In order to get rid of these things in our lives, we have to repent early and often. Repentance isn't something you just do once and assume you're covered! Dying daily to our struggles is part of following Jesus. We have to flee idolatry. In other words, stop putting yourself in situations where you know you will struggle with an idol. Ask God to give you strength to part with any idols in your life. We have to replace our idols. It's not good enough to just stop doing something and replace it with nothing. Eventually that will come creeping back into your life unless you replace it with something better. Try replacing it with worship. Worship "can be a powerful tool against temptation." It is almost impossible to worship something else while you are worshiping God! We need to get to the point in our lives when we can truly say that God is enough. We need to come to a place where we really believe that God is all we need. Only then will idols be powerless in our lives.
"May the Holy Spirit grant you the courage to abandon any idols that hinder you from knowing God-and God alone-as your lasting satisfaction, deepest joy, and greatest pleasure."
Enjoy the Journey
"David regarded obedience as the highest form of worship: 'In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted...burnt offering and sin offering You have not required...I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.'" Putting the law of God within us is the way to maintain integrity, and "serious worshipers strive to be people of godly character and integrity. Jesus also equated obedience with worship. He said, 'If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.' You can't express love to Jesus and then ignore His will, do whatever you want, and break his commandments. Willful disobedience renders our worship unacceptable to God." It would be like if I told Abi I loved her and she was the only woman I ever wanted and then went out and cheated on her. That would make me a hypocrite at best and a liar at worst.
God says this to the people of Israel because of their superficiality, "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24)" "When what we sing doesn't match what we do, the result is hypocritical worship, which is something that God absolutely loathes."
I pray that we are not a people who worship idols. At first the idea seems a little ridiculous, I mean who bows down to a golden calf these days right? At least not anyone I know! But the truth is that idolatry runs rampant in our world and even lurks in our hearts daily. You see, "idolatry is simply worship directed in any direction but God's." To get a better idea of what idolatry is, listen to what Pastor Timothy Keller has to say in his book 'Counterfeit gods.'
"An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving 'face' and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your moreality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry...An idold is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, 'If I have that, then I'll feel my life has meaning, then I'll know I have value, then I'll feel significant and secure.' There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship."
This is probably not new information for you, but I just want to remind you that not all idols are bad things in and of themselves. "Many of our counterfeit gods are actually good things, which is why we pin our hopes and dreams on them. But even the best things in life can never replace God. Sin, therefore, is not just a matter of doing bad things or breaking God's rules. Sin is letting a good thing become an ultimate thing and, therefore, taking the place of God in our lives."
So how do you identify idols in your life? Answer these questions:
1. What do you think most about? 2. How do you spend your money? 3. What sets your off emotionally? 4. What brings you joy, peace, security, or fulfillment? 5. How do you react when an idol is taken away?
I think that last one is the hardest one to answer. the true test of whether or not something has become an idol in our life is to find out whether or not we can give it up. If I can't live without it, odds are it has become an idol in my life. Jesus didn't pull any punches when it came to this stuff. He said we can't love our families more than Him if we want to follow Him! Jesus doesn't want to be part of your life and fit in to your agenda. You can't serve two masters. "The Christian life doesn't allow for Jesus and my porn habit, or my greed, or my selfish desires to coexist."
In order to get rid of these things in our lives, we have to repent early and often. Repentance isn't something you just do once and assume you're covered! Dying daily to our struggles is part of following Jesus. We have to flee idolatry. In other words, stop putting yourself in situations where you know you will struggle with an idol. Ask God to give you strength to part with any idols in your life. We have to replace our idols. It's not good enough to just stop doing something and replace it with nothing. Eventually that will come creeping back into your life unless you replace it with something better. Try replacing it with worship. Worship "can be a powerful tool against temptation." It is almost impossible to worship something else while you are worshiping God! We need to get to the point in our lives when we can truly say that God is enough. We need to come to a place where we really believe that God is all we need. Only then will idols be powerless in our lives.
"May the Holy Spirit grant you the courage to abandon any idols that hinder you from knowing God-and God alone-as your lasting satisfaction, deepest joy, and greatest pleasure."
Enjoy the Journey
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Establish a Regular Routine
"David lived a life of continuous worship and invites us to do the same: 'May those who love Your salvation say continually, Great is the Lord!'" (Psalm 40:16) Do you have a regular worship routine? Does your worship really extend beyond Sunday morning? In order to get the most out of our times together on Sunday we have to enter with a heart that is full of worship. In order to do that, we need to be worshiping throughout the week in addition to what we do on Sunday morning. So how do you worship throughout the week? I will offer a few suggestions, but keep in mind this list is far from exhaustive. It is good to try out different things in order to keep your time with God fresh, so feel free to add things to this list!
At the beginning of your devotions, try spending a few minutes praising God, "either verbally or in writing, drawing on whatever attribute of His" that comes to mind. Most of the time it will be the one that you have recently seen or experienced! Sometimes the attribute or characteristic of God that you will be drawn to will reflect a specific need in your life. For example, when times are tough, you may be drawn to God's comfort. Spend time praising Him for being the Comforter that you need. Reading the Psalms is a great way to find different attributes of God that you might not normally think of. When you are reading the Psalms, try reading them out loud. "Originally, psalms were intended to be sung or spoken. I find that reading psalms out loud forces me to slow down and read the words more carefully and thoughtfully."
During your devotions, with each passage of scripture you are reading, answer two questions:
1. How does this passage apply to my life?
2. What does this Scripture tell me about who God is?
"The Bible is our ultimate authority on God-what He's like, how He thinks, and how He acts." So throughout your reading, be on the lookout for attributes of God and names of God (He has many in scripture), and take time to thank Him for those!
How much time do you spend meditating? Let me clarify what I mean by meditating. When I say meditating all I mean "is simply taking the time to think about who God is and what God has done." To be honest, I find it difficult to meditate because my mind tends to roam all over the place. Here are some questions you might ask during your meditation time.
1. How have I seen this particular name or attribute of God manifested in my life or in the world around me?
2. Why am I drawn to this particular aspect of God's character?
3. How did Jesus embody this attribute of God?
4. How can I reflect this part of God to others?
5. Is God inviting me to do anything in relation to this particular name (of God) or attribute?
Try praying about the names and attributes of God that you are reading about! "Do you ever feel like you prayers are dull and repetitive? Try "to include a line or two of praise for an attribute of God when" you pray. It doesn't matter if you are praying during your devotions, at mealtime, or anytime in between! "If you want to breathe more life into your prayers, try praying as you worship and worshiping as you pray."
Have you ever written your own Psalm? Some of you are poets and songwriters! Every songwriter or poet will tell you that 98% of what they write will never see the light of day outside of the room it was written in. So don't think that everything you write has to be wordy or eloquent, because it doesn't! It just has to be a genuine offering of praise before God! I find that this greatly enriches my personal worship time. I have probably written at least 10 songs for every 1 song that you will ever hear. Sometimes I sing them when I am doing my devotions as an expression of praise to God. Maybe you should try it too!
Maybe you aren't really into writing your own songs or poems. Have you tried singing other people's songs or reading other people's poems to God as an act of personal worship? Christianity has a deep and rich tradition of songs that date back to the first century, surely you can find a few that you would want to sing to God during your personal time of worship!
Others of you may find that worship happens spontaneously when you are out in nature. "If you're a nature lover, you need to schedule regular field trips to the nearest forest preserve, nature center, or beach. You could go for long leisurely walks every day or once a week. Consider a bike ride or road trip into the country. Bring a camera and take pictures. Draw or sketch your favorite scenes. Write down your thoughts. Describe what you see. Read Scripture. And don't forget to worship as you go. Sing praise to the Lord. May you join David, a fellow nature lover, in exclaiming, 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork' (Psalm 19:1)."
"Whether it's listening to music, being out in nature, or doing something else that calls forth your worship, make sure you intentionally incorporate those activities into your regular routine." Again, the things we have talked about today are not even close to all of the things you could do to worship. But whatever you are doing, I hope that God will lead you into a deeper and exciting discipline of private worship.
Enjoy the Journey
"David lived a life of continuous worship and invites us to do the same: 'May those who love Your salvation say continually, Great is the Lord!'" (Psalm 40:16) Do you have a regular worship routine? Does your worship really extend beyond Sunday morning? In order to get the most out of our times together on Sunday we have to enter with a heart that is full of worship. In order to do that, we need to be worshiping throughout the week in addition to what we do on Sunday morning. So how do you worship throughout the week? I will offer a few suggestions, but keep in mind this list is far from exhaustive. It is good to try out different things in order to keep your time with God fresh, so feel free to add things to this list!
At the beginning of your devotions, try spending a few minutes praising God, "either verbally or in writing, drawing on whatever attribute of His" that comes to mind. Most of the time it will be the one that you have recently seen or experienced! Sometimes the attribute or characteristic of God that you will be drawn to will reflect a specific need in your life. For example, when times are tough, you may be drawn to God's comfort. Spend time praising Him for being the Comforter that you need. Reading the Psalms is a great way to find different attributes of God that you might not normally think of. When you are reading the Psalms, try reading them out loud. "Originally, psalms were intended to be sung or spoken. I find that reading psalms out loud forces me to slow down and read the words more carefully and thoughtfully."
During your devotions, with each passage of scripture you are reading, answer two questions:
1. How does this passage apply to my life?
2. What does this Scripture tell me about who God is?
"The Bible is our ultimate authority on God-what He's like, how He thinks, and how He acts." So throughout your reading, be on the lookout for attributes of God and names of God (He has many in scripture), and take time to thank Him for those!
How much time do you spend meditating? Let me clarify what I mean by meditating. When I say meditating all I mean "is simply taking the time to think about who God is and what God has done." To be honest, I find it difficult to meditate because my mind tends to roam all over the place. Here are some questions you might ask during your meditation time.
1. How have I seen this particular name or attribute of God manifested in my life or in the world around me?
2. Why am I drawn to this particular aspect of God's character?
3. How did Jesus embody this attribute of God?
4. How can I reflect this part of God to others?
5. Is God inviting me to do anything in relation to this particular name (of God) or attribute?
Try praying about the names and attributes of God that you are reading about! "Do you ever feel like you prayers are dull and repetitive? Try "to include a line or two of praise for an attribute of God when" you pray. It doesn't matter if you are praying during your devotions, at mealtime, or anytime in between! "If you want to breathe more life into your prayers, try praying as you worship and worshiping as you pray."
Have you ever written your own Psalm? Some of you are poets and songwriters! Every songwriter or poet will tell you that 98% of what they write will never see the light of day outside of the room it was written in. So don't think that everything you write has to be wordy or eloquent, because it doesn't! It just has to be a genuine offering of praise before God! I find that this greatly enriches my personal worship time. I have probably written at least 10 songs for every 1 song that you will ever hear. Sometimes I sing them when I am doing my devotions as an expression of praise to God. Maybe you should try it too!
Maybe you aren't really into writing your own songs or poems. Have you tried singing other people's songs or reading other people's poems to God as an act of personal worship? Christianity has a deep and rich tradition of songs that date back to the first century, surely you can find a few that you would want to sing to God during your personal time of worship!
Others of you may find that worship happens spontaneously when you are out in nature. "If you're a nature lover, you need to schedule regular field trips to the nearest forest preserve, nature center, or beach. You could go for long leisurely walks every day or once a week. Consider a bike ride or road trip into the country. Bring a camera and take pictures. Draw or sketch your favorite scenes. Write down your thoughts. Describe what you see. Read Scripture. And don't forget to worship as you go. Sing praise to the Lord. May you join David, a fellow nature lover, in exclaiming, 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork' (Psalm 19:1)."
"Whether it's listening to music, being out in nature, or doing something else that calls forth your worship, make sure you intentionally incorporate those activities into your regular routine." Again, the things we have talked about today are not even close to all of the things you could do to worship. But whatever you are doing, I hope that God will lead you into a deeper and exciting discipline of private worship.
Enjoy the Journey
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Make Worship a Priority
King David made worship a priority in his life. You can tell because he said that the one thing that he longed for was to be with God and worship Him forever. Is worship a priority in your life? "You can always discern your priorities, for better or worse, by what angers you or stirs you, what frustrates you and what excites you. Honoring God was the utmost priority for David." I mean come on, that was the reason he ended up fighting Goliath! He didn't like the way that Goliath was talking about God! He went out there to defend His honor!
We are created to worship. God says in Isaiah that He created us for His glory. Psalm 150 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." So not only are we created to worship, we are commanded to worship. We are also destined to worship Jesus. You know what we are going to be doing in heaven right? Psalm 44:8 says that we will tie thanks to God forever! "Worship is one of the few things that we're currently doing that we will do forever-all the more reason to make it a priority in our lives."
Worship is something that covers every aspect of our lives. Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." That means everything. That covers everything from singing on Sunday morning to filing that report for work on time to taking the garbage down on garbage day. "Understanding even the mundane aspects of our jobs as acts of worship brings new energy to our work."
Worship should be our top priority because it is God's top priority. Everything that happens is for God's glory. That is His purpose in everything He does. So the next time you are wondering why God is doing something, you already know the answer...it's for His glory. Creating us, the plagues of Egypt, yes even the cross was for His glory. "As unusual as it may sound, God's ultimate purpose is not that we be saved but that He be glorified. Redemption is not all about us; it's all about God. We are saved so that we can know and proclaim God's glory. That's why Pual referred to the gospel as the 'glory of the blessed God.' Jesus' ultimate goal on the planet was to bring God glory, why should our goal be any different? When we make worships a priority, we will see some changes in our lives.
We will have an increased awareness of God's presence. "Our worship does not lead us into God's presence; Jesus does! 'For Christ also suffered once fl ruins, the righteous fl rthe unrighteousness, that He might bring us to God' (1Peter 3:18). So while worship, in and of itself, doesn't summon God's presence, it reminds us that God is continually near."
We will also have increased delight in God's attributes. How we view God affects everything: how we think, act, and how we feel. Like a painter who is doing a portrait, we need to continually look at who God really is so that we can have an accurate picture in our mind of who God is. We can only do this by staying in the Word of God. We must dive deeply into the scripture to discover the true character of God. We cannot take for granted what the preacher says or what our culture says about God, but we must let Him speak for Himself. A wrong view of God will lead us down a wrong path of worship. We can't appreciate the attributes of God if we don't know what they are. And we can't know what they are unless we are in the Bible finding out what they are for ourselves. On the contrary, if we are in the Word we will begin to see the attributes of God more clearly, and we will see Him move in ways we have never seen before! May we be a people who make worship a top priority in our lives.
Enjoy the Journey
King David made worship a priority in his life. You can tell because he said that the one thing that he longed for was to be with God and worship Him forever. Is worship a priority in your life? "You can always discern your priorities, for better or worse, by what angers you or stirs you, what frustrates you and what excites you. Honoring God was the utmost priority for David." I mean come on, that was the reason he ended up fighting Goliath! He didn't like the way that Goliath was talking about God! He went out there to defend His honor!
We are created to worship. God says in Isaiah that He created us for His glory. Psalm 150 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." So not only are we created to worship, we are commanded to worship. We are also destined to worship Jesus. You know what we are going to be doing in heaven right? Psalm 44:8 says that we will tie thanks to God forever! "Worship is one of the few things that we're currently doing that we will do forever-all the more reason to make it a priority in our lives."
Worship is something that covers every aspect of our lives. Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." That means everything. That covers everything from singing on Sunday morning to filing that report for work on time to taking the garbage down on garbage day. "Understanding even the mundane aspects of our jobs as acts of worship brings new energy to our work."
Worship should be our top priority because it is God's top priority. Everything that happens is for God's glory. That is His purpose in everything He does. So the next time you are wondering why God is doing something, you already know the answer...it's for His glory. Creating us, the plagues of Egypt, yes even the cross was for His glory. "As unusual as it may sound, God's ultimate purpose is not that we be saved but that He be glorified. Redemption is not all about us; it's all about God. We are saved so that we can know and proclaim God's glory. That's why Pual referred to the gospel as the 'glory of the blessed God.' Jesus' ultimate goal on the planet was to bring God glory, why should our goal be any different? When we make worships a priority, we will see some changes in our lives.
We will have an increased awareness of God's presence. "Our worship does not lead us into God's presence; Jesus does! 'For Christ also suffered once fl ruins, the righteous fl rthe unrighteousness, that He might bring us to God' (1Peter 3:18). So while worship, in and of itself, doesn't summon God's presence, it reminds us that God is continually near."
We will also have increased delight in God's attributes. How we view God affects everything: how we think, act, and how we feel. Like a painter who is doing a portrait, we need to continually look at who God really is so that we can have an accurate picture in our mind of who God is. We can only do this by staying in the Word of God. We must dive deeply into the scripture to discover the true character of God. We cannot take for granted what the preacher says or what our culture says about God, but we must let Him speak for Himself. A wrong view of God will lead us down a wrong path of worship. We can't appreciate the attributes of God if we don't know what they are. And we can't know what they are unless we are in the Bible finding out what they are for ourselves. On the contrary, if we are in the Word we will begin to see the attributes of God more clearly, and we will see Him move in ways we have never seen before! May we be a people who make worship a top priority in our lives.
Enjoy the Journey
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Growing as a Private Worshiper
How can we improve worship at our church? That's a loaded question if there ever was one! Truthfully though, the best answer is not a new keyboard, new sound system, or new worship leader! The truth is if we want worship to be all it can be on Sunday mornings, then we need to grow in our personal worship of God on the other days of the week! D.A. Carson writes: "In the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God Himself. Despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God. As a brother put it to me, it's a bit like those who begin by admiring the sunset and soon begin to admire themselves admiring the sunset."
We are put here on this earth to worship God and bring Him glory. Truthfully it's just practice for heaven, where we will...you guessed, worship God and bring Him glory forever and ever! If you aren't into that, I'm afraid heaven going to be a major letdown, because I have news for you, heaven isn't about you! Heaven is about God, and so is earth.
The book of Psalms is like a worship journal written by David (mostly anyway). Each page is dripping with passionate worship that extends far beyond the walls of the synagogue and reaches into every area of his life and touches on every emotion a person can have. The Psalms are both intensely personal and deeply passionate. May we be known as intense, passionate, devoted worshipers of God.
This is the part where you may think I am going to say that this will look different in each of your lives. You may think I should say something like, 'worship God the way you feel most comfortable, do what feels natural.' But I am not going to say that. The Ark of the Covenant was a central part of worship in the Old Testament because it represented the very presence of God. When David was bringing it back to the temple (because it had been captured) they had it on a cart and the cart hit a bump in the road and the Ark started to fall off! Uzaah reached out his hand to steady the Ark and God immediately struck him dead! Seems a little harsh right? Maybe, unless you know that God had prescribed that the Ark be transported using polls slid through the rungs on the side of the Ark and carried by four priests. NO ONE was to touch the Ark, and no one would have had to touch the Ark had they followed God's instructions in the first place.
Eventually David figured out why this happened and brought the Ark back to Jerusalem the way it was supposed to be. Like David, "we too need to scour the Bible to learn how God wants to be worshiped. For it doesn't matter how you and I want to praise God. It's not ultimately important whether worship makes us feel good or if the music is to our liking. True worship must always be offered on God's terms, not ours. So we need to learn how God wants to be worshiped." I know that isn't a popular thing to say, but at the end of the day, it's not about us or what we like, it's about God and what He likes.
"Christians can be stubborn as mules, set in their ways, especially when it comes to worship. Let's you and I respond differently by laying aside long-held notions and searching the Scriptures to learn all we can about how God desires to be worshiped." Then we can grow as private worshipers, and then we can grow as corporate worshipers as well.
Enjoy the Journey
How can we improve worship at our church? That's a loaded question if there ever was one! Truthfully though, the best answer is not a new keyboard, new sound system, or new worship leader! The truth is if we want worship to be all it can be on Sunday mornings, then we need to grow in our personal worship of God on the other days of the week! D.A. Carson writes: "In the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God Himself. Despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God. As a brother put it to me, it's a bit like those who begin by admiring the sunset and soon begin to admire themselves admiring the sunset."
We are put here on this earth to worship God and bring Him glory. Truthfully it's just practice for heaven, where we will...you guessed, worship God and bring Him glory forever and ever! If you aren't into that, I'm afraid heaven going to be a major letdown, because I have news for you, heaven isn't about you! Heaven is about God, and so is earth.
The book of Psalms is like a worship journal written by David (mostly anyway). Each page is dripping with passionate worship that extends far beyond the walls of the synagogue and reaches into every area of his life and touches on every emotion a person can have. The Psalms are both intensely personal and deeply passionate. May we be known as intense, passionate, devoted worshipers of God.
This is the part where you may think I am going to say that this will look different in each of your lives. You may think I should say something like, 'worship God the way you feel most comfortable, do what feels natural.' But I am not going to say that. The Ark of the Covenant was a central part of worship in the Old Testament because it represented the very presence of God. When David was bringing it back to the temple (because it had been captured) they had it on a cart and the cart hit a bump in the road and the Ark started to fall off! Uzaah reached out his hand to steady the Ark and God immediately struck him dead! Seems a little harsh right? Maybe, unless you know that God had prescribed that the Ark be transported using polls slid through the rungs on the side of the Ark and carried by four priests. NO ONE was to touch the Ark, and no one would have had to touch the Ark had they followed God's instructions in the first place.
Eventually David figured out why this happened and brought the Ark back to Jerusalem the way it was supposed to be. Like David, "we too need to scour the Bible to learn how God wants to be worshiped. For it doesn't matter how you and I want to praise God. It's not ultimately important whether worship makes us feel good or if the music is to our liking. True worship must always be offered on God's terms, not ours. So we need to learn how God wants to be worshiped." I know that isn't a popular thing to say, but at the end of the day, it's not about us or what we like, it's about God and what He likes.
"Christians can be stubborn as mules, set in their ways, especially when it comes to worship. Let's you and I respond differently by laying aside long-held notions and searching the Scriptures to learn all we can about how God desires to be worshiped." Then we can grow as private worshipers, and then we can grow as corporate worshipers as well.
Enjoy the Journey
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