REAL WORSHI IS...(Part Five)

   
                                   

              REAL WORSHIP IS SECURE

"Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you."  -Genesis 22:5 (ESV)

Three days after the Lord instructed Abraham to go sacrifice his son Isaac he approaches near the area he was to go.  Abraham did not know all that was going to happen.  No doubt many possible scenarios may have gone through his mind during the three day journey.  However, Abraham obeyed and started the journey believing that God was a God of miracles and that perhaps one would be delivered to him. In any case, Abraham believed that his worship of God would not be in vain.

Even today, genuine worshipers may not understand everything.  One may not like the various twists in the road of one's life but true worship strives to offer itself unreservedly to the Lord in spite of what it cannot comprehend.  True worship bows to the Lord in the face of whatever comes into one's life be it good, bad or ugly.  Real worship exalts the Lord knowing Who He is, what He has done, and where the journey of faith will ultimately wind up.  

Abraham was secure in his mind that he and the boy would return together (vs. 5).  He was also secure in his thinking that it was a real miracle in itself to be permitted to worship the Lord in the first place.  

In summary for this series of blogs on worship it is good to understand that what made all this possible for Abraham was his willingness to be available to the Lord.  In Genesis 22:1 we read, "After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, 'Abraham!'  And he said, 'Here I am."    Abraham was in the place he was supposed to be and prepared to hear the voice of the Lord.  He was ready to worship!   

"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."  -John 4:23 (ESV)

God is seeking real worshipers today. So here is a question to ponder... 

Is your worship genuine?



                                  

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!