When We Gather

John 4:19-26                                                                                                         December 1, 2002

   "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. [20] Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

   [21] Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. [22] You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] Yet 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 in truth."

   [25] The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

   [26] Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

CCI: The Discipline of Worship will revolutionize your life as you learn to enter the presence of God.

            Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is a time of preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord. In the last few centuries, it has become a time of preparing to celebrate Jesus’ birth, but that was not the original intent. This is a time for us to prepare for the coming of Christ. And so we begin this season with a discipline that will teach us to recognize and welcome Jesus whenever he appears.

            The disciplines of the Christian life a practices that will make it deepen our fellowship with God and with one another. When we discipline ourselves to pray and meditate and serve and submit and study and live simply, we are not simply trying to do a good thing. If the discipline is practiced for it’s own benefits, then we will become it’s slave.

            The discipline of worship is no different. If we worship simply because it is a good thing to do, if we worship simply because we get something out of it, if we worship because we feel guilty if don’t, then we are not experiencing what God has in mind when he calls us to worship.

            Dallas Willard writes: “In Worship we engage ourselves with, dwell upon, and express the greatness, beauty, and goodness of God through thought and the use of words, rituals, and symbols.” Early in his career, Matt Redman, the popular Christian musician in Britain, was singing with his church's praise band when his pastor confronted them. They were proud of their musical performance, he said, but they were neglecting true worship. Insulted by the charge, the members of the band left the church—all, that is, except Redman. Shortly afterward, he wrote his hit song "The Heart of Worship," which included these words: "I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about you, Jesus." And that is the heart of worship. It is all about Jesus.

            Leland Ryken has said, "Earlier in this century, someone claimed that we work at our play and play at our work. Today the confusion has deepened: we worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship."

            It is time for us to return to the heart of worship.

            But for some of us that is difficult because there is little attraction. Perhaps we feel like the little boy who asked his father what the highest number he had ever counted to was. “I didn't know,” he said. But then he asked about his highest number. It was 5,372. "Oh," the father said. "Why did you stop there?" And the boy replied, "Church was over."

            That is far cry from retired football star John Burrough who when reflecting on his 1998 Super Bowl experience said this: “In the middle of all the explosions and hoopla and hype, all I could think was, Is this it? Is this all it is? Why, this doesn't even compare to worshiping my God!”

            How would you like to be able to approach worship like that instead of the way the little boy did? I believe that it is possible, but it is only possible when we participate in such a way that we discipline our spirits to prepare for worship each day.

            Throughout the scriptures God calls his people to worship him. In fact, in the passage we just read, there is an exciting word, in verse 23, we read, God seeks worshipers who will worship him in Spirit and in truth. You see, worship is our response to God’s initiative in our lives. It is our response to the gracious invitation to enter into the very presence of God. In the Old Testament God’s presence was symbolized by the Shekinah. This was the presence of God, dwelling in the midst of the people. It pointed to the reality that God was not far off, but rather present, he was in their midst.

            Worship in the Old Testament centered in two places, the temple and the home. Every act each day was seen as an act of worship. Nothing was outside the scope of each person’s response to God. Whether are home, or with friends, God was waiting to reveal himself. The idolatry that we read about always began with the thoughts about God that are not worthy of God. The building of the golden calf in the desert happened because the people thought God could not protect either them or Moses. The worship of Ba’al arose because the people thought God would not provide for their needs. You see, when we think wrongly about God, in a very important way, everything is wrong.

            And so we desperately need to know God for who he is. With Isaiah we need to see the Lord, High and lifted up with his beauty filling the temple. When we see him, we will do two things. First, we will confess our sins. We will see ourselves for who we are. Our ugliness will be seen when we encounter the beauty of God. Our sinfulness will shock us when we discover God’s holiness. And so the first response to meeting the living God is confession.

            The second response is praise. We confess because of who he is, we praise him because of what he has done. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “In the fullness of time God sent forth his son.” “On the third day he rose.” From the cross Jesus forgave the thief. When the people thought there was no escape, he opened the sea to free them from the Egyptians. As we come to know God, we will praise him! This praise will take the form of music, and service and prayer and witness. When we encounter the Living God, we are changed. And that is goal of worship, that we may be changed.

            So why is it that so much of our corporate worship is lacking and leaves us unchanged. Richard Foster suggests it is because we do not expect to be changed, or even to meet God. Throughout the bible, when worship is described, there is an air of expectancy surrounding all who gather. The Old Testament saints were expecting a Word from the LORD. When the early church met, they expected the moving of the spirit. At times the earth shook, at times the dead were raised, once a liar died, another time prisoners were freed. These people expected that when they gathered, God would work.

            What do we expect?

            How do we cultivate that expectancy? It begins by entering the presence of God each day in every area of our lives. It is not logical to think that we will suddenly see God when we gather at church if we have not learned to seek to him every day. Learn to see God’s hand in the marketplace and you will experience his revelations in worship.

            Here are some practical steps to help you build expectation in your worship. First, live each day listening for the voice of God and obeying his word. If you have heard him through the week, you will hear him on Sunday as well.

            Second, arrive about 10 minutes early next week, read again Revelation 4 and 5. Thank God for what he has done for you throughout the week.

            Third, lift those who will be leading worship before the LORD in prayer. Visualize them being lifted into the presence of God and your following them. Release them through prayer to speak boldly and freely.

            Fourth, glance around the worship space until you see someone who needs your intercession. Maybe they look sad, or they are worn out. Imagine them coming to Christ and having him cut their burden free. Lift them into the refreshing light of God’s presence. Pray for them before the service, and as God brings them to your mind, during the service. Expect God to work.

            As you begin to practice simple exercisies, you will learn other practical ways of cultivating expectancy in worship.

            I want to share with you a number of avenues we may take as we enter God’s presence. But first, look again at the conversation that Jesus had with the woman at the well. She wanted to know which worship place was right. And Jesus said, “It is not here, or in Jerusalem that matters, rather, God longs for people to worship him in Spirit and in truth.” While there are many elements in worship that lift our spirits and encourage our hearts. It is the heart and the spirit that matter. We are seeking authentic worship, not simply excellence, though that is important, nor an emotional experience, though true worship will touch our emotions. What we are seeking when we gather to worship is authentic worhsip.

            So what will guide us into authentic worhsip? First, there is silence: The psalmist said, “Let all the earth be silent before Him.” In silence we learn to hear God as never before. And this silence is cultivated as we moment by moment we learn to turn distractions into opportunities for gratitude.

             And then there is Praise. You know there are times you will not feel like worship. Those are the times we need to offer praise to God obediently. The Psalms are filled with the command to “Praise the Lord.” Hebrews 13 even calls praise a sacrifice that God desires. Praise will teach us to involve our whole being in worship because praise is a response of our entire being.

            Singing is another tool that will move us into praise and worship. Music was very important for the Jews. Richard Foster counts 41 psalms that specifically command us to sing to the Lord. The importance of song is evident in the New Testament as well, Paul quotes an early Christian Hymn in Phillippians, and calls for us to praise God with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

            Sometimes distractions interfere interrupt the spirit of our worship. May I suggest that you become to relax with the distractions. They may be a message from the Lord. If there is noise, or children moving about, bless them in a quick prayer and thank God that they are present. Learn to simply receive whatever happens in a gathered worship as a gift from God, rather than feeling that distractions somehow keep you from worship.

            Williard Sperry writes, “Worship is a deliberate and disciplined adventure into reality.” Are you willing to step into that adventure?

            This morning we will take a step of worship as we begin this advent season by sharing the Lord’s table together. Whenever the early church met, they expected to meet Jesus in this event. Today all who are trusting Christ are invited to worship in the sharing of the bread and the cup.