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.”
Like Bill Archer, I attended Southern Seminary and of all the professors I sat under during those three years of study, my favorite—by far—was Dr. Clyde T. Francisco. Dr. Francisco taught Old Testament at Southern and he had been on the faculty for a long time. In fact, my dad was in Francisco’s Old Testament classes back when he was a student there in the 50’s. When I told dad I was going to Southern, he encouraged me to take any class Francisco taught and I did. I feel blessed to have been among the last seminarians to benefit from his teaching…because Dr. Francisco died shortly after I graduated. He was preaching a sermon in a revival service, had an aneurism burst in his brain and died instantly. I’ve always thought—what a great way to go! One minute he is TELLING people about Jesus and the next he was SEEING Jesus face to face!
Well, my dad’s recommendation turned out to be a good one because Clyde T. Francisco was a gifted teacher. He spoke with sort of a Jimmy Stewart kind of stammer. I loved being in his class—and I wasn’t alone. His classes were always packed. By the way, I learned this week that Bill and Ava and I were in the same class. I thought he looked familiar! To show you how good Francisco was—it was not uncommon for us to end his class by standing to give him a round of applause. Other times he moved us to tears or just silence as we contemplated the insights he had just shared….but, I have to say, the thing that most endeared him to us was his tender heart.
I remember one of the times he showed us his heart was when he told us about his son, Don Francisco, who had rebelled as a young man and gotten into drugs and other forms of destructive behavior. Like the prodigal in Jesus’ parable, the younger Francisco eventually repented and came home. He renewed his faith in Jesus and went on to become a very popular Christian singer. In fact, Dr. Francisco used the story of his son’s return to illustrate that passage from Proverbs 22:6 where it says, “Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” I remember that his typical stammer was even more pronounced as he quoted that verse. Tears were in his eyes that day as he told us about his son.
One of my favorite mental pictures of this great man of God was later that semester when Don Francisco came to Southern Seminary and gave a concert in the chapel. The chapel was packed that night and it was one of the best Christian concerts that I have ever attended. It was more like a worship service. But the thing I remember most is old Dr. Francisco tottering down the aisle to his front and center seat with pride in his son beaming from his face.
I hope you can sense how much I admired this man. And—as I said—I was not alone in my feelings. Several generations of seminarians felt the same way about Dr. Francisco. We would do anything for him. For example, when he gave us an assignment we didn’t take shortcuts. No—we always did our VERY best for this professor that we loved and admired. We did that because we wanted him to be PLEASED with our tests papers, and term papers, and projects.
Have you ever felt like that about someone? Has there ever been a person in your life like that, someone you loved or admired…someone for whom you wanted to GIVE your best…someone you wanted to PLEASE? It could have been a teacher, or a parent, or a conductor, or a supervisor at work, or a youth minister, or a spouse. Ever felt like that about someone? Could I see a show of hands?
I bring this up because our attitude toward WORSHIP should be like that. I mean, once we have experienced the AMAZING GRACE of our Heavenly Father…the more fully we understand WHO He is and WHAT He has done and IS DOING for us…well, our response should naturally be to LIVE TO GIVE Him our BEST in everything we do—including, and I would say ESPECIALLY our WORSHIP. As grace-driven believers we should want God to be PLEASED with our gifts to Him. As we said a moment ago when we quoted our purpose statement. Grace-driven Christians, “EXALT in the glory of Christ.”
In fact, let’s take a moment for a little self-examination. Would you say that God is PLEASED with YOUR attitude about this particular purpose of the church? Is God pleased with YOUR worship?
Rick Warren DEFINES worship like this. He says,“Worship is anything you do that brings PLEASURE to God.” Well, does your worship bring pleasure to our Heavenly Father?
This morning I want us to continue our “Live to Give” study by using this message as sort of a refresher course on worship. I want us to structure our study around five misconceptions of worship…wrong thinking that must be corrected if we are to grow in our understanding of this spiritual discipline such that whenever we worship, God is indeed pleased.
(1) And, the first misconception we must correct is the belief that worship is OPTIONAL.
You see, 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. No—it is an absolute necessity if our faith is to thrive. 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 soon burn and glow again. Well, 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.
I don’t know about you—but I couldn’t deal with the fear of living in a fallen world where there are earthquakes and terrorist acts, and wars and death and disease…if it weren’t for God. Horrors like this that are common place on the nightly news—and they make it painfully obvious that we simply cannot live the Christian life without God’s constant companionship. We need the awareness of His strength and power and goodness and presence that worship provides. This is what David was talking about in my favorite Psalm—Psalm 63. He says, “O God, You are my God, EARNESTLY I seek You; my soul THIRSTS for You, my body LONGS for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Since Your love is BETTER THAN LIFE, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live and in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be SATISFIED as with the riches of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.”
David understood that worship is not optional. We need this activity that deepens our relationship with God…AND 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—people who PLEASE Him with the way we live.
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. Don’t you imagine that mom was pleased with her son!?
Well, in a similar way, it is through WORSHIP that God’s voice comes to our hearts as He whispers TO us of His Hopes FOR us. In worship we are reminded of His plan for our lives and we recommit ourselves to it. We pledge to living as He would want us to live. In short, genuine 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 any 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….BEING with our Lord. When Martha complained Jesus rebuked her for misplacing her priorities. So…worship is an essential…It is not optional…If we are to PLEASE our Heavenly Father, it must be a priority in us as individuals and as a church.
(2) A second popular misconception is that worship 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. As David put it in Psalm 51,“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) Here’s a third misconception: The MODE of worship doesn’t matter.
Well, of course it does and I say that because in order for worship to be healthy and productive, the elements—the MODE 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.
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 worship that is only emotional 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) 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.
I’m reminded of the story of the little boy who asked his mother if she could remember the highest number she had ever counted to. The mother didn’t know so she asked him about HIS highest number. He answered “5,372.” The mother was puzzled and asked him why he stopped at that particular number. The boy responded, “Well, church was over.”
Worship that appeals only to the mind CAN be boring. It can be so dry that it makes you count the minutes until it is done—because it does not connect with our deepest hurts and desires. Ortberg refers to this as “Tin Man worship” saying it would be better if it only had a HEART.
Now, please understand—BOTH of these extremes are WRONG, because true worship—COMPLETE worship—worship that inspires us and pleases God 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.
Recently Sue and I have become fans of a popular Christian singer named Sarah Groves. We love her folksy sound—and the depth and maturity of her lyrics. One of our favorites is a song entitled, “He’s Always Been Faithful to Me” and one thing about this song that is appealing to us is the fact that it’s a new song embedded in…or built on an old Hymn. I want to play it for you—and see if this combination doesn’t appeal to your mind and heart at the same time.
“Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
Morning by morning I wake up to find, the power and comfort of God’s hand in mine.
Season by season I watch Him amazed, in awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of His hand will provide. He’s always been faithful to me.
I can’t remember a trial or a pain He did not recycle to bring me gain.
I can’t remember one single regret in serving God only and trusting His hand.
All I have need of His hand will provide. He’s always been faithful to me.
(Instrumental bridge)
This is my anthem, this is my song, the theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long.
God has been faithful, He will be again. His loving compassion, it knows no end.All I have need of His hand will provide. He’s always been faithful…
He’s always been faithful…He’s always been faithful to me.”
I love this song combination of old and new because it appeals to both my mind and my spirit. Whenever I listen I am moved to TEARS as my MIND is guided to remember the truth that God HAS been faithful to me. It’s as Sarah puts it:
“I can’t remember a trial or a pain He did not recycle to bring me gain.
I can’t remember one single regret in serving God only and trusting His hand.All I have need of His hand will provide. He’s always been faithful to me.”
I love—I am drawn to—well-balanced songs like this because, well, 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…and I am so thankful for mature, gifted worship leaders like Bill who consistently structure our worship according to this principle.
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 (SPIRIT) to God.” So whenever we worship, we must always ask ourselves…two questions: “What does God want me to understand?” and “What do He want me to feel?”
(4) A fourth misconception is this: worship is for US. Many people act as if we are the AUDIENCE when in reality God is.
Sadly, more and more people theses days 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 or a Broadway show in that it’s something they critique afterwards. In short, 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 THEMSELVES, 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.”
Well, the 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. By the way, the word “worship” literally means, “worth-ship” which means that we worship that which is worthy. And as the Bible teaches, of course ONLY God is worthy of our worship. Revelation 4:11 says,“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power.” When we worship correctly, we are declaring GOD’S worth….not our own…which is what we do when we selfishly demand to be wowed by our preferred worship style.
Now…can you 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. Whenever THEY worshiped, hey 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.
Well, when we look at worship as something to please or entertain us…we insult God. In fact, I think this misconception of worship is what 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, we must 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.
(5) And then one other misconception that I have noticed floating around these days is the belief that…worship only takes place in a CHURCH.
Many people seem to think 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.” Now we can worship anywhere, anytime! 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 of God. Wherever 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. 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 our experience of God’s grace, is to,“…offer our bodies—our lives—as living sacrifices holy and PLEASING to Him…” People who really understand worship see every task of every day as an opportunity to worship our Creator and Redeemer. 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 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 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 pleasing 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 stand and sing, continue to worship by responding as God leads.
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.