Psalm 95
6 – Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 – for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.
Psalm 96
4 – Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.
5 – For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6 – Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary.
7 – Ascribe to the Lord, Oh families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 – Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.
9 – Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.
John 4
23 – A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
24 – God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.
I don’t know if you’ve realized it or not but this is the second summer that we’ve tracked the progress of the dreaded West Nile Virus. In fact, until the events of last week, most local news stations took the time in each nightly broadcast to include reports that gave exact locations of where dead crows were found and which birds tested positive for the disease. You see, experts tell us that West Nile is spread by mosquitos who bite the infected crows and then carry the illness to humans. They also state that there are several ways to avoid this disease: wear long-sleeved clothing, use insect repellent when outside, and take steps to remove all standing water. Heeding these warnings is very important because I am told that this virus can be deadly, especially to those who are very young or very old.
Well, I don’t want to cause a panic but I’m here this morning as somewhat of an expert to warn you that there is another virus of sorts that is spreading from church to church.
This disease is decimating the health of congregations across our nation. It has no name as of yet but it does have definite observable symptoms. For example: You can tell that a church is infected when its members-people who have worked together for years-suddenly turn on each other and begin to argue about which is better…
- praise choruses OR hymns…
- guitars, keyboards and drums OR pianos, organs and orchestras…
- hymnals OR words to choruses projected on the wall…
- four or five singers each with their own microphone OR choir members each with their own robe….
Now, I for one, as a pastor who has been given a flock to shepherd and protect, am terrified because this disease is spreading so very quickly. In fact the health and ministry of two of the churches in which I once served have been greatly damaged in the past few months and have lost dozens of their members over this issue. Unfortunately they are not alone. In thousands of infected churches across America ministry efforts, evangelism, discipleship, fellowship-all of these things have been greatly weakened and ironically TRUE WORSHIP has come to a grinding halt as Christians have ceased communing with God in this way and have instead spent their time selfishly fighting about their worship preferences.
Now, I hope you realize I am not trying to be funny here. This spreading dispute about modes of worship has led to deadly results across the kingdom. I’m sure that many of you know of congregations that have become divided over this issue…
Well, this morning I want us to consider how we can innoculate ourselves here at Redland. I want us to look at what we can do to protect ourselves from the spread of this illness because like you, I of course want us to remain healthy around here when it comes to this spiritual discipline. And one thing we must realize as we deal with this disease is that it doesn’t attack all at once. No, it gradually invades a healthy church as it’s members begin to embrace several MISCONCEPTIONS about worship. And today I want us to examine these false beliefs and correct them. In this way I think we will build up this body’s defenses so we will not be as susceptible when this virus hits.
1. Well, one basic misconception that is held by many believers these days….is that corporate worship is OPTIONAL.
Now, nothing could be farther from the truth. Worship is not a luxury. It’s not merely a pleasant experience that we can take or leave. It is an absolute necessity if our faith is to survive. If you’ve ever gone camping then you know that when a stick falls out of the campfire, it LOSES its glow, and soon becomes a blackened, charred piece of wood. But if the stick is placed back in the fire in close association with the other burning sticks, it will burn and glow again. In the same way our individual faith as Christians is nourished as we worship with others with whom we share a kindred faith. So worship is not optional…it is essential. You see, this fallen world is constantly pulling us away from God…away from things that fan the flames of faith and foster our spiritual growth. The only antidote is CONSTANT RENEWAL of our relationship with God by means of communing with Him through worship.
And you know if there were ever a time when we needed this communion with God…it is now. In the past two weeks it has become painfully obvious to us all that we simply cannot live the Christian life without God’s constant companionship. All of us have cried out to Him in the past days because we can’t face the terror of living in a fallen world without an awareness of God’s strength and power and goodness and presence.
We need-require-worship. I love the way Dwight Bradley put it. He says:
When a person worships God, it is as a thirsty land, crying out for rain. It is the SOUL searching for its counterpart…MAN listening to the still, small voice of God. It is a VOICE in the night calling for help. It is a HUNGRY heart seeking for love…It is man CLIMBING the altar stairs to God.
So worship is not optional. We need this activity that deepens our relationship with God…not only to take away our fears and give us the strength to live but also so that we can become the individuals that God designed us to be. When ABRAHAM LINCOLN was a little boy, his mother used to say to him, Be somebody Abe! Be somebody! In later years when the going was tough and the road seemed uphill all the way, and Abe was tempted to compromise his convictions, he would remember his mother saying, Be somebody Abe! Be somebody! At the memory of that voice new courage and determination stiffened his sagging spirit, and Abraham Lincoln would strive on…eventually right into the White House.
Well, in a similar way it is in WORSHIP that God’s voice comes to our hearts as He whispers to us of His Hopes for us. In worship we remember His plan for our lives and we recommit ourselves to it. We pledge to living as He would want us to live. Worship is the best in us striving to be better. It is the man I am YEARNING towards the man God wants me to be. And, worship is not only an essential for us as individuals…it is also a requirement for and local congregation as well. Lavonn Brown writes,
Worship is to the church as breathing is to a human organism. The church must worship to live. Worship provides the inspiration for everything else the church does.
In his book on the spiritual disciplines Richard Foster reminds us that worship is the most important of all the church’s purposes because we cannot actively love the world around us unless we corporately love and adore God through worship. Jesus taught this in Mark 12 when he said that the most important commandment…the one that must come first is to:
Love the Lord God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength. (Mark 12:30 ) Only then can we …love our neighbor as we should.
So according to Jesus, the priority then is worship first, service and ministry second because service flows out of worship. No ministry for God will succeed if worship is neglected. Remember, this is the mistake that Martha made that day when Jesus came to her house. She was busy in the kitchen working preparing a meal to serve the others, while her sister Mary was intent on being with Jesus…which is the essence of worship. When Martha complained Jesus rebuked her for misplacing her priorities. So, worship is an essential. It is not optional. It must be a priority in us as individuals and as a church.
2. And then another misconception about worship is that it is an OUTWARD EXPRESSION.
In the same way that people confuse the church with merely a building-something visible and outward-they think that worship must be something that is visible from the outside. But this is not true because genuine worship is something that happens inside. It is a matter of the heart. When King David discovered this he wrote Psalm 51 and said, Oh Lord, You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart O God, You will not despise. I like how The Message paraphrases this verse: Going through the motions doesn’t please You, God. A flawless performance is nothing to You. I learned true worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t escape God’s notice for a moment.
Darlene Zschech recently wrote, True worship is not about the songs, the vocals, the band or the choir. All of those things contribute toward a great expression of worship but the essence of worship is when your heart and soul, the core of your being, connects with the Spirit of God. So you see, you can LOOK like you are worshiping but not actually BE worshiping. You can lift your hands higher than anyone else in praise. You can sing the great hymns of the church with perfect pitch…but still not be worshiping God because true worship is not an outward expression. It is an inward attitude.
A man once went to church with an angel as his guide. Every seat in the church was filled, but there was something strange about the service. The praise band led the people in a popular chorus without making a sound. During the offering, the organist moved her fingers over the keys, but no music came from the pipes. The choir rose to sing, their lips moved, but it was as the mute button had been pushed on the remote. The pastor stepped to the pulpit to read the Scriptures, but the man observing with the angel could not even hear the rustle of the pages. Then the Lord’s Prayer was recited by the entire congregation, but not a single syllable was audible. The pastor went again to the pulpit, and the man could tell he had started his sermon as he gestured here and there to make his various points, but the man again heard nothing. Turning to the angel the man said, I don’t understand. What does all this mean? I see the service is being held, but I hear nothing. The angel replied, You hear nothing because there is nothing to be heard, at least not by heaven’s ears. Those people are just going through the motions. Nothing they are doing has any meaning for them and worship without the heart is not worship.
So, remember worship is what happens inside each of our hearts not what happens outside.
3. And then some people incorrectly think that the MODE of worship doesn’t matter…when in reality it does.
I say this because in order for worship to be healthy and productive, the elements of worship must be balanced so that they appeal to BOTH the heart and the mind. Unfortunately many churches these days make the mistake of trying to appeal to only one or the other.
a. For example…some churches specialize in generating EMOTION in their worship.
Platform people are expert at moving attenders to laughter or tears. Prayers are offered in a very dramatic style and are often even bathed in moving background music. Attenders evaluate or rate this kind of service according to how it makes them FEEL. Unfortunately after a while the law of diminishing returns sets in. And when this happens stories have to get more dramatic, songs more sentimental, preaching more rousing to keep people having intense emotional experiences.
But, worship that is imbalanced in this way is often shallow, sometimes artificial, and rarely reflective because little or no attention is given to worshiping with the mind. This kind of worship tends to produce disciples who have little depth or rooted-ness. They are like the people Paul mentions in Romans 10:2 in that, …they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. People who embrace this form of worship usually become worship junkies and are constantly changing churches, searching for whatever worship can supply the best rush. John Ortberg refers to this as Scarecrow worship saying that it would be better if only it had a brain.
b. And then at the other end of the spectrum are those churches that focus only on the MIND.
They recite great creeds, their pastors give out tons of exegetical information in their study of the Scriptures. They carefully follow the lexicon in planning each Sunday’s service. And yet the heart and spirit are not seized with the wonder and passion that characterizes those in the Bible who fell on their faces when they encountered the living God. In worship that is unbalanced in this way worshipers are rarely so moved that they actually move. Those who attend such services may be competent to spot theological error, but the unspoken truth is that they are a little bored. Their worship is dry. It does not connect with their deepest hurts and desires. Ortberg refers to this as Tin Man worship saying it would be better if it only had a heart.
Understand, both of these extremes are wrong because true worship-COMPLETE worship-is worship that appeals to both mind and emotion. I agree with Ortberg when he says that, We must pursue worship that links well-ordered minds with overflowing hearts. We must have powerful testimonies AND well-thought out prayers. We must learn from the great wisdom found in traditional hymns and be moved by simple but often profound truth of today’s praise choruses. Our sermons must inspire and inform.
This week I have been reading Carol Cymbala’s new book. Her husband pastors the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in New York City and she directs their amazing choir. The book was a great deal because it came with a free CD that features six of the song sung by this choir. My favorite track is a combination of the new praise song, He’s Been Faithful which I believe our own Gospel Choir has done, and old the hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness. I was drawn to this mini-medley because it appealed to both my mind and my spirit. As I listened, I was moved to tears while at the same time my mind was guided to remember the truth that God has been faithful to me and to everyone who has followed Him.
Now, I don’t know about you but I don’t want HALF of the benefits of worship. I want it all. I want to be moved in my spirit…and challenged in my mind. So, contrary to popular opinion, the mode of worship does matter because to experience worship in all its fulness it must be structured in a balanced way so that it appeals to both heart and mind.
By the way this is the kind of worship we see practiced in the early church.
Listen to Colossians 3:16 and note the spirit and truth there. It says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom (MIND) and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your HEARTS to God.
So as we go through each part of a worship service, we must always ask ourselves…two questions:
What does God want me to understand?
What do He want me to feel?
4. And then a fourth misconception is embraced by those people who buy into the myth that worship is for us. They act as if we are the AUDIENCE when in reality God is.
You see, these days more and more people have the tendency to approach worship as consumers.
They focus on sitting back with arms folded and saying to those leading worship, Wow me. Do something that will grab my attention and catch my interest. They assume worship to be like watching a movie…it’s something they critique afterwards. They come to worship each week to be entertained and tend to view worship as something done TO them or FOR them, rather than BY them. George Barna says that his research in this area has shown that unfortunately MOST Americans expect worship to satisfy or please them, not to honor or please God. He writes, Amazingly, few worship-service regulars argue that worship is something they do primarily for God. A substantially larger percentage of attenders claim that attending worship services is something they do for personal benefit and pleasure.
People who look at worship this way have it all backwards. It is not for us. It is for God. He is the audience…not us. The word worship literally means, worth-ship which means that we worship that which is worthy. And the Bible of course teaches that ONLY God is worthy of our worship. As it says in Revelation 4:11, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. So when we worship God, we are declaring HIS worth….not our own…which is what we do when we selfishly demand our own worship style.
Ortberg asks us to imagine the Israelites, freshly delivered from slavery, before a mountain that trembles violently with the presence of God as described in Exodus 19, muttering things like,
I like that tambourine song. How come we don’t sing that tambourine song anymore? or
I don’t like it when Moses leads worship…Aaron’s better. or
This is too formal-all that smoke and mystery. I like casual worship. or
Worship today was okay…except for Miriam’s dance-too wild, not enough reverence.
And I don’t like the tambourine song.
We don’t find comments like this in Exodus 19 because these people knew that when they worshiped they were entering into the presence of Almighty God. They were filled with awe and wonder and trembling and hope and fear, because they acknowledged that worship had God as its focus and not them.
When we look at worship as something to please or entertain us, we insult God. I think this misconception of worship that God was talking about in Malachi 1:10 when He angrily said, Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on My altar. I am not pleased! So remember, in worship God is the audience. Our worship is our offering to Him. It is a time to focus on pleasing Him and not ourselves.
And then one other misconception that I have noticed floating around these days is that…
5. …worship only takes place in a CHURCH.
Many people erroneously believe that worship only happens in this room or one like it on Sunday mornings for about an hour or so. But in reality, for the Christian, worship is a 24-7 thing. We worship God every moment of every day of our lives. This is because when Jesus came He revolutionized the concept of worship by freeing it from the restraints of time and geographical location. No longer is it a matter of When and where to worship but When and where is it possible NOT to worship. You see, before Christ, people were taught to go to the temple to be in God’s presence; now WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Where we go, the Spirit of Jesus goes; and where Jesus goes, worship goes. As Russell Shedd says, The New Testament projects a vision of worship that infuses ALL OF LIFE with the presence and glory of God. So, for the growing Christian worship is never really supposed to stop. It should go on wherever they are. Hebrews 13:15 says, Through Jesus, therefore, let us CONTINUALLY offer to God a sacrifice of praise…the fruit of lips that confess His name.
Worship isn’t supposed to end when this service ends. No, in fact often the greatest acts of worship take place when we leave this room and act on what we learn as we obey God every day of the week. As J. C. Ryle says, The best PUBLIC worship is that which produces the best PRIVATE Christianity.
Soren Kierkegaard once wrote a parable that told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly. He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said, With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks can not go! There is no God-given task we ducks can not accomplish!
With these wings we no longer need walk through life. We can soar high in the sky! Shouts of amen were quacked throughout the duck congregation. The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming, With our wings we can fly through life! WE……CAN…..FLY!!!! More ducks quacked out loud AMENS! in response. Every duck loved the service. In fact all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher…and then they left the church and waddled all the way home.
I don’t know about you but I think their worship was kind of fowl because they didn’t act on what they had heard. They didn’t live any differently as a result of corporate worship. And true worship does not stop when a service of worship stops. It leads to practical ministry. In Romans 12:1 Paul said that the only reasonable response to encountering God in worship is to, …offer our bodies-our lives — as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God…
People who really understand worship see every task of every day as an opportunity to worship God. Mrs. Billy Graham keeps a sign above her kitchen sink that says, Worship services held here three times a day. She sees washing dirty plates after each meal as worship and she is right because worship does not just happen in here. It happens out there. It is a lifestyle. In fact, if worship does not translate into a changed life, it is a sham. Those who waddle in should not waddle out. You see, God is not as much interested in the activities of worship as He is in the actions of life. Christians who worship genuinely respond on Sundays as did Isaiah by saying,
God, Here am I send me. Take my life and accept it as an offering to You. Use it from here on as You see fit.
And, this leads us now to the most important part of this particular service of worship, the time we set aside for the purpose of publicly responding to God by giving Him our lives. As we sing, ask yourself if there is any part of your life that you need to offer to God this morning…part of your day-to-day existence that has not been worship up until this point. God may be calling you to dedicate your marriage to Him…or your parenting…or your career…or your relationships with neighbors. He may be leading you to join this church, giving Him your life to use in helping us fulfill our purpose as a local body of believers. Or, you may be here this morning and are not a Christian and you realize that you have never experienced true worship. This is because we cannot worship…we cannot commune with God unless we do so through Jesus. Ephesians 3:12 says, For through Him we have access to the Father by one Spirit. And having come through Christ, we can approach God with confidence. Hebrews 10:19 says, We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. If this describes you then I urge you to come now and offer your life to God. Commit to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord. As we sing, continue to worship by responding as God leads.