REAL WORSHIP IS...(Part One)

 

REAL WORSHIP IS SUBMISSIVE

In Genesis 22:1-14 we see where Abraham was instructed by God to go and sacrifice his son Isaac in worship to Him.  Abraham immediately makes all preparations to obey God.  Abraham's actions show us the true characteristics of authentic worship.

God's command was a very hard one to understand but it was very clear (vs.1).  Abraham was to go off to a designated place to worship by sacrificing his son.

In verse 2 Abraham immediately submitted to God's instruction without making any excuses.  We see that a true heart for God is demonstrated by obedience.  Our worship is proved real when we do what God instructs us to do.  

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  -Matthew 16:24 (ESV)

Real worship is not just something we do, it is actually who we are!  Everything we do is to be a submissive act of  worship.  What submissive act of worship do you need to do today?

Next week:  "Real Worship Is Steadfast"

WHERE DO YOU WORSHIP?

A common question typically asked is "Where do you go to church?"   The response is usually a certain location or name of a congregation along with directions or an address.   One does not "go to church" as we may be so quick to think. Why? Because, as believers we are the church. We go to worship.

Unfortunately, our cultural frame of thinking does not necessarily align fully with the Scriptures.  Could it be that our western culture, customs and traditions in the Lord's church about worship have limited us from enjoying the fullness of worship as God intended?  Have we put worship in a nice and neat box of our own design rather than joining the Lord in the full purpose and enrichment of worship as He ordained?    

Perhaps our thinking in this regard arises from the Old Testament and the purpose and place of the temple of the Lord.

"One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: 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 inquire in his temple."  -Psalm 27:4 (ESV)

Though He did not desire a temple to be built God did allow it.  It seems man wants to copy things of the world around him.  The other nations had a king so they wanted one.  The other nations had temples for their gods so they wanted one of those too.  Even in Jesus' day He confronted the human limitations of the place of worship.  In John 4 Jesus encounterd the Samaritan woman at the well and the issue of the place of worship arises.  Jesus responded that it is not the place that is so important.

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."     
-John 4:23-25(ESV)

Are we so different today?   Have we been guilty of making the place of worship more important than the spirit of worship?  Have we replaced the physical temple with our physical congregational facilities?  It sounds like it at times.  Many even refer to the room where corporate worship takes place as the "sanctuary", which sounds like that it is the only place one can worship or find God.  Such limited thinking about worship robs us of the full purpose and benefit of worship as God envisions for us.  Consider the following:

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him.  For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."  
-1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV)

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body."  
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

If we are truly the temple of the Lord then where do we worship?   Wherever we are and the Lord is!   I can worship at home, in the fields, in the car or even in the elevator. I don't have to wait until Sunday morning at a designated time to worship.  Worship can be done anywhere and anytime.   

We are encouraged to worship together with others of like precious faith.  The corporate gathering of God's people to worship is well and good for all to participate in.   It is a great blessing to worship with others, to hear the Word of God proclaimed and partake of communion together. 

By holding to the understanding that worship must be at a certain time and certain place then we have robbed ourselves of what worship is truly all about.  So... why not make where you are right now a place of worship?  Everything we do is to be done to the honor and glory of God. That makes everything we do an act of worship.  How's your worship today?

AN AUDIENCE OF ONE!

"Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!  Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!"   -Psalms 96:7-9 (ESV)

What is "worship"?   The term comes from a very old English term which actually means "that to which one ascribes worth".  Whatever one considers the most valuable is what one worships.  Unlike the pagans of Bible times who made statue idols out of wood, stone or clay modern man strives to relish in his creativity.  We tend to fashion idols out of more trendy ideas or materialistic possessions.  Some highly value profit, power, popularity, pleasure or any combination of these.  Truth be known, we are all probably guilty of ascribing the highest value to more than one item.  Going back to our definition of worship above that would make us guilty of polytheism (worship of multiple gods).  

The Lord God who created heaven and earth is a jealous God.   It is no accident that the first two of the famous ten commandments show where God stands when it comes to our worship.  As Christians we need to understand that our worship, and all that entails, is for an audience of one.  Our praise, thanksgiving, the songs we sing and how we sing them are not done to impress other people but to show the Lord our true heart of gratitude and awe for who He is and what He has done for us. 

So, what is it that you ascribe the most worth to?   What do you truly treasure above all?  In this world we are bombarded to juggle many priorities and in the midst of doing so our priorities may be out of alignment. A questions all must consider is "What is the meaning of life?"  Your answer lies where your investment of time, energy and resources may be.  I contend that if God is not in the equation then you have discounted the value of life itself.  Worldliness inherently means a investment in the temporal things that will fade away and be remembered no more.  When you truly ascribe the honor and glory due to the Lord, and worship an audience of one, you will find life.  This was your original design and will bring more meaning, purpose and fulfillment.  

Eternal will always out value temporal. Worship is a matter of the heart.  So the questions is, "Where is your heart"?

SANDCASTLE STRONGHOLDS

"But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."    -Matthew 7:26-27 (NIV84)

Why is it that many of us continue to put our hope and security in things that are not really all that secure?  Answer:  We are deceived!  We are fooled by others that true security lies in other things such as the stock market, wealth, fame, power, popularity, possessions, self interests and many more false strongholds.  They often give the appearance of being very secure and strong. In reality the appearance is only a facade that is not very substantial which is grounded in sinking sand.  For a time they look very attractive and secure just as the fortified city of Jericho was thought to be very strong and impregnable to its inhabitants. Jericho was famous for its high and strong walls and considered the strongest city of Canaan in the 15th Century B.C.  Only one of its inhabitants, Rahab, understood that the great city walls were not as secure as all the others had believed.  

How many of us in the 21st Century A.D. have been deceived to put our hope and trust in things that appear to be strong and secure? In reality they come tumbling down without warning. Truth be known, any stronghold that does not have the Creator of all things as part of it can and will fall in time. Anything man can make or conceive is as a sandcastle to God. The Tower of Babel was considered man's greatest achievement at the time. It ended with all who put their trust in the tower to go about babbling incoherently and in utter confusion.   

Isn't it amazing that man still goes on babbling about his own accomplishments and continues to deceive himself with a false sense of security.  Only in the Lord God can one truly find security, hope and peace.  Unlike the people of ancient Mesopotamia or Canaan, we serve a God who is All-Powerful.   So don't build your life upon the sinking sands of man's idea of what a stronghold is.  

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."   
-2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV84)

So, what stronghold will be your place of refuge?  As a Christian one needs to practice the principles of the faith in order to be secure and at peace.  It's not enough to just say, "I'm a Christian!".  One must show it by a life that is grounded the firm foundation of God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Otherwise, when the waves come your stronghold will crash and wash away.

Stronghold

                                                                            

The Fortress of Masada built by Herod the Great and used by over 900 Jewish Zealots as the last stronghold against the Roman legions during the Jewish revolt of 66-73 A.D. 

  

What is a "stronghold"?   A fortified place.  A place of security, survival or refuge.  Why would anyone need such a place?  Because since the dawn of time there have been forces at work that seek to destroy us even to this day.   Forces so powerful that even at our strongest moment we cannot withstand their onslaught.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."    -Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

Did you see the four major powers allied against us listed in this verse?   But there is an additional enemy...sometimes we wage war against ourselves also.

"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of m body, waging war against the law of m mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?           -Romans 7:21-24 (NIV)

As sinners we are on our way to full and complete destruction.  Our lives in this life and the life to come are on a road to destruction.  Destructive forces attack us from many directions.  Isn't it interesting that they attack the very things that make us in the image of God, our body, our mind and our spirit.  Ultimately all evil is an attack on the character of God Himself.   Since these forces cannot attack God directly they rally their evil forces against God indirectly through His best creation of all, us!  The apostle Paul asked the right question, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?   -Psalm 27:1 (ESV)

To live victoriously and without fear one must rally to God and join His army in order to find protection, strength and peace.  It's a great comfort to know that God wants to hold me strong in His care.   Truly, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life".     Hallelujah!