HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN
(By Emerson Blythe)
1. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE YOU REALLY WORSHIPPED THE LORD?
a. I don't mean how long it has been since you have been to church, or said a prayer.
b. How long has it been since you engaged in meaningful worship, pouring our heartfelt praise to the Lord?
c. Think what God has done for us (John 3:16). Suppose Jesus had just died for you a month ago, giving you the opportunity of life, doing for you what you desperately needed, but could never have brought yourself to ask Him to do? If this had freshly happened, think of the awesome feelings of reverence and praise toward God we would have! Since it is 2000 years removed, much of our enthusiasm and praise may have died. It should not be!
2. WHAT WORSHIP REALLY IS.
One dictionary (Holmans): "WORSHIP Human response to the perceived presence of the divine, a presence which transcends normal human activity and is holy."
Another (Nelson's): "WORSHIP - reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God; the rituals or ceremonies by which this reverence is expressed. The English word "worship" comes from the Old English word "worthship," a word that denotes the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or devotion."
Worship is not for the entertainment of man, although it should be enjoyed by man.
Psa. 122:1: "...I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
Yet, the congregation is not fulfilling the spectator role while those leading in worship are the performers. God is the audience, not man. All men are to be participating (offering) in the worship to God. We sometimes talk about how much did we get out of a worship service. The real question should be, How meaningful was it to God? It should mean much to us, but to God is where our worship is directed!
A. W. Tozer said, "Worship, I say, rises or falls with our concept of God.... and if there is one terrible disease in the Church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great as He is" (Worship: The Missing Jewel of the Evangelical Church, 25). If we realized the greatness of God, we would speak His name only with the utmost of respect. If we realized the greatness of God, we would automatically stand in awe and worship!
How long has it been since you had feelings of awe, praise and adoration to God that you found almost impossible to contain--feelings of adoration that would make chills go up your spine? Does it have such an effect when you sing such songs as "THE LOVE OF GOD"?
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
It was just such an atmosphere of spontaneous worship that characterized the response of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. They were so moved with praise and adoration that they could not contain!
(Luke 19:36-40 KJV) "And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. {37} And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; {38} Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. {39}(Ironically:) And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. {40} And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."
This is the kind of atmosphere we need for real worship!
3. NOAH WORSHIPPED THE LORD.
The central thought of our article to day is this. After the flood had subsided, the Bible tells us:
(Gen 8:14-22 KJV) "And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. {15} And God spake unto Noah, saying, {16} Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. {17} Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. {18} And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: {19} Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. {20} And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. {21} And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. {22} While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Gen 9:1 KJV) "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
Imagine how Noah must have felt. The rain had long since ended. The sky was clear and blue. The earth had been washed clean and new. Not only had all the dust been settled, but the sin of the wicked generation of mankind had been washed away as well.
As Noah and his family came out of that ark, imagine how alone in the world they must have felt. And just to think that the God of Creation had taken such special notice of them to bless them and spare them and keep them alive and well. Noah's heart must have been overflowing with praise and adoration. And thus he built an altar and worshipped! He took some of his "pets," the animals that he must have grown close to in the extended stay in the ark, and offered them in sacrifice to God. Maybe he hated to kill the animals, but the intense feeling of worship toward God compelled him to do it.
Had God told him to worship? We have no record of it. I like to think that it was totally spontaneous. And I believe this is why God took special note of it, and "smelled a sweet savour."
4. WORSHIP INVOLVES HEARTFELT PRAISE.
Have you ever been so full of adoration and praise to God that you just could not find a way to adequately express it all? That is when you are getting ready to worship.
Who among us really knows how to worship as we ought? What do we do? What do we say? How do we express to God adequate thanks and glory and praise for all His blessing and goodness and love? What kind of words or actions of praise on our part would be sufficient in giving worthy glory to the God of the Universe? I admit, I don't know .
God told the children of Israel exactly how to worship. He instructed King Solomon in the building of the most grand and beautiful place of worship you could imagine. (Exo 25:1-8 NRSV) "The LORD said to Moses: {2} Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering; from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering for me. {3} This is the offering that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, {4} blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine linen, goats' hair, {5} tanned rams' skins, fine leather, acacia wood, {6} oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, {7} onyx stones and gems to be set in the ephod and for the breastpiece. {8} And have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them."
Time would not permit us to get into the intricate detail of the overlaying with gold, the tapestry, the embossing and engraving, the brazen vessels, not to mention the Ark of the Covenant overlaid with gold and supporting the pure gold Mercy Seat overshadowed with cherubim of gold.
Then there were instructions for the carrying out of the majestic worship services, how the priest would officiate in offering of the animal sacrifices and drink offerings and the grain offerings gathered from the very best and most perfect stock and produce the land could provide.
But in New Testament times, God does not spell out to us how we are to worship. He tells us He wants us to worship in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23,24). He gives us examples of five avenues of worship: singing, praying, preaching, giving and communing around the Lord's table. But the formation of that worship and praise He leaves up to us. He wants it to be spontaneous as a genuine expression of our heart filled with praise. How can we adequately worship the Creator and Ruler of the Universe? What gift can we bring the One who owns the cattle of a thousand hills, and the thousand hills as well? (Acts 17:24-25 KJV) "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; {25} Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things."
You can preach all the sermons of all the great writings of the world, sing every song in the book time and time again, recite long and majestic prayers and spend half your life in a church building, but until you are so full of adoration and praise to God that you can just not find a way to adequately express it, you have not really begun to worship!
When we think of God's goodness and blessing toward us, our hearts should overflow with praise as the Psalmist:
(Psa 103:1-5 NRSV) "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. {2} Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits-- {3} who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, {4} who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, {5} who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." * * * (Psa 103:8-13 NRSV) "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. {9} He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. {10} He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. {11} For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; {12} as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. {13} As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him."
As we not only think of who God is, but of what He has done for us, and how among all the vastness of the cosmos He has been mindful of us, how can we ever offer adequate praise and adoration?
5. WORSHIP IS SACRIFICE.
When Noah came out of the ark and built an altar to worship, HE OFFERED SACRIFICES.
When the children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian bondage they made an altar of stones and offered Sacrifices.
When they got to the Promised Land, they again offered SACRIFICES in worship to God.
They brought the very best they had of lambs and cattle to sacrifice to God.
But someone may say...
6. WE DON'T OFFER SACRIFICES ANY MORE???
It is true that we don't offer Animal sacrifices any more. BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE DO NOT OFFER SACRIFICES!
(Heb 10:11-27 NRSV) "And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. {12} But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," {13} and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." {14} For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. {15} And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, {16} "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," {17} he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." {18} Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. {19} Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, {20} by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), {21} and since we have a great priest over the house of God, {22} let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. {23} Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. {24} And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, {25} not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. {26} For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, {27} but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."
(Heb 13:10-16 NRSV) "We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. {11} For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. {12} Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. {13} Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured.(SACRIFICE!) {14} For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. {15} Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. {16} Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."
A sacrifice that still needs to be offered is the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart in penitence for sin. God's altars of old were stained with the tears of the penitent. When the apostle Peter realized his sin, he went out and wept bitterly! (Matt. 26:75). We today are too manly to cry--or could it be that we are not "man enough" to cry?
The Psalmist said, (Psa 51:15-17 NRSV) "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. {16} For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. {17} The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
When Noah worshipped God, he knew nothing of God giving His only begotten Son! When the children of Israel worshipped God, they knew nothing of God's beloved Son laying down His life for the sheep! If they had something to praise and worship God for back then, much more do we today!
(1 Pet 1:10-12 KJV) "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: {11} Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. {12} Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."
We say Jesus died for mankind some two thousand years ago. That sounds so far removed. Paul said, (Gal 2:20 NRSV) "and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Paul was not there when Jesus was crucified. He joined forces with Jesus' band of followers at a later date, as "one born out of due time." Yet, he looked at Jesus as He "...who loved me and gave himself for me." It was personal with Paul, and it ought to be personal with us! He died for you and for me just as much as He did for any other individual on the face of the earth.
We said that worship means Sacrifice... but...
7. WHAT SACRIFICE MARKS OUR WORSHIP TODAY?
On one occasion, after king David had displeased the Lord in carrying out a census and God had withheld his blessing from the nation, David went about to build an altar and offer sacrifice in penance and worship to God. There was a Jebusite by the name of Araunah who said to king David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood." But the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Sam chapter 2.) DAVID REALIZED THAT IF HE WAS GIVEN ANIMALS TO OFFER IN WORSHIP THERE WOULD BE NO SACRIFICE INVOLVED. AND HE REALIZED THAT WORSHIP WITHOUT SACRIFICE IS MEANINGLESS.
We have had it so easy. So little of us is required. So I ask, Where is our sacrifice?
Our ancestors rose early on Sunday morning, put a stone into the fireplace and warned it, wrapped it in a blanket to keep their feet warm, hitched the team to the old open buggy, and braved the cold, the rain or the snow to go to church to worship God. In the summer, they braved the heat and the dust. If we had to make such a sacrifice, how often could we be counted on to be in church?
These days in time, we seem to practice a religion of convenience. If we can get an easy ride to the church building and don't have to sacrifice any discomforts, inconveniences or expenditures of effort, we will go worship. If there is not anything else that is important to us that we would have to sacrifice, we will "go to church."
And when we get there, some who visit among us are discouraged because our worship service itself is so lacking in passion and fervor. We go through the motions, but we don't sing and pray and praise God like we mean it. Where are we sacrificing the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name?
And in our Christian lives, where is our sacrifice? The early Christians counted it an honor to suffer affliction for the cause of Christ, that they might be partakers of his sufferings. When we talk about sacrificing our lives, we usually think what we are willing to live for. When they talked about sacrificing their lives, in many cases, they were talking about what they were willing to DIE for!
Are we ready to really worship, in spirit and in truth???
First thing necessary in being ready to truly worship is to be in right relationship with God.
Are you a Christian today? Are you faithful? If we can help you to that end, please let us know, or contact the church of Christ near you.