Let me begin with these questions today…
- Is it more important that we come to worship (Saturday/Sunday) … or that we truly become worshippers … in every aspect of our lives?
- What does God expect of us, when it comes to worship?
- And how important is worship to our eternal relationship with God?
All pretty heavy questions … but ones we hope to answer during this series entitled “Born to Worship.”
In case you weren’t aware, the DUMC has a 5-year ministry plan … working through various aspects of our life together that have helped other churches become healthy & grow. Last year, the focus was “Radical Hospitality.” We’re still working on that—especially the radical part and that others are worth it, but we’ve made some significant strides in becoming a healthier congregation when it comes to hospitality around here. In the same way, we want to move to our second Ministry Plan focus this year, learning to be ‘passionate worshippers’ in the Kingdom of God…
We’re going to begin a journey together, today, which will begin to look at worship from a biblical perspective … rather than from a cultural point-of-view, or even a traditional one. Our goal, as we begin this journey … is to really get to know what God’s word has to say about worship. So, as we begin, let’s let go of our preconceived ideas about worship, open our minds & hearts to all that God has for us, and explore worship from a biblical perspective—what it means to be a true worshipper of God… Here’s our scripture lesson for today: Jesus is in the midst of his 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism … and the devil is tempting him to direct his worship away from God. Listen to what Jesus has to say (Matthew 4:8-10, NLT)…
“Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. 9 ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’ 10 ‘Get out of here, Satan,’ Jesus told him. ‘For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’’”
Not long ago, Christian pollster George Barna surveyed people all across North America. Responding to the poll was not just anyone, however. Barna talked only with those who regularly attend Christian churches. Please keep this in mind. This survey was not for those who never grace a church with their presence. It was not even aimed at the poinsettia and lily crowd (Christmas & Easter). Those who responded to the poll were regular attenders of Christian churches.
The reason I’m telling you all of this is because of the survey itself: Barna asked the survey takers to define … worship. The poll results were stunning. 2 out of 3 people either had no idea at all … or offered a vague definition with no real meaning…
When I first heard these poll results, I was shocked! Why? Well, it strikes me that if someone is regularly involved in any kind of activity, they should be able to describe it, at least on some level:
- If you regularly play golf, you should be able to describe the game…
- If you regularly grill out hamburgers, you should be able to describe the process…
- If you regularly mow your lawn, you should have more than a vague idea of how that happens … shouldn’t you?
Unfortunately, Barna’s survey clearly shows that 2/3rds of those who regularly attend Christian churches in North America do not really know what worship really is. (If you were to include those who worship occasionally, the percentage would be even higher.) The end result is sadly clear: The overwhelming majority of those in North American churches on any given weekend do not honestly understand the concept of the very thing they are participating in…
So, what’s the big deal? Well, it must be a big deal to God … because worship is not just a suggestion in the Bible. We are repeatedly commanded to worship…
- Psalm 29:2 – “Honor the LORD for the glory of his name. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”
- Psalm 96:9a – “Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.”
- Matthew 4:10, again, where Jesus himself says, “You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.”
And those are but a few references. Scripture is full of them… But, if this is something we’re commanded by God to do, yet most people who attend church week after week in this country don’t really know what it is, then the question that must be answered is this: What is worship? Socrates said, “Before anyone can intelligently discuss a subject, one must first define the term.” For us Christians, that means we must define worship … from a biblical (God’s) perspective…
After a lengthy speech by his political opponent, Abraham Lincoln reportedly asked the audience: “How many legs would a horse have if you called his tail a leg?” When someone in the crowd answered, “Five,” Lincoln responded, “No, just four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”
In the same way, simply calling something worship does not necessarily make it worship. We must look at worship from God’s point-of-view—from a biblical perspective…
When in seminary, we had to study what worship meant from a biblical perspective. If you do a study like this, and do it honestly, you will come to at least 3 very clear and extremely obvious conclusions about worship:
Worship honors GOD… A fundamental understanding of worship must include … an honoring of God!
Let me see if I can’t explain this a bit by looking at the word ‘worship’ itself: The word ‘worship’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘weorthscipe’ which meant to ‘ascribe worth, to pay homage, to reverence or venerate.’ The word was then modified to worthship … and then to what we use today, worship. In other words, what a person values (or places a high worth on) is what will be worshiped…
The word worthship was often used to describe or address someone of importance—worth of honor or respect (i.e. “His Worship, the Mayor of __________)—not worshiped as from a Christian perspective, but someone worthy of honor and respect…
In the context of our faith then, this takes on an even higher understanding: Who is more worthy of honor than God? NO ONE! He is the ONE who is to be supremely honored … or worshiped! In light of that, let me add these couple of insights:
- Worship, then, is not primarily for our benefit!
- True worship will reorient our thinking! It takes our eyes off of ourselves and our circumstances … and focuses on honoring God alone…
Worship is directed toward GOD… Truly biblical worship is not just a time we talk about God! In truly biblical worship, our words & actions must be directed toward God! To get a mental picture of this idea, think of those who have come before their King and/or Queen and have ‘bowed down’ before them before addressing anything to them; is that the attitude that we come into worship with?
Worship also requires involvement on the part of the worshipper…
• Whenever we see worship in scripture, people are always doing something! Go to the Wailing (Western) Wall with me, at the sight of the Temple in Jerusalem … and you will see the Hassidic Jews praying, but not standing still; they are putting their whole selves into their ‘time with God’ there at that wall; they are not just there; they are doing something…And…
• What is on the inside needs to be demonstrated on the outside (James 2:18, 26)! And it will be, if we remember this (to conclude):
Our worship has to be through Jesus… This is a fourth New Testament concept that becomes very clear, as you study God’s word—absolutely essential to our understanding of biblical worship… Apart from Jesus’ atoning sacrifice (the Cross), our most notable and heartfelt acts of worship are unacceptable to God! God’s word says it this way (Hebrews 13:15, NLT):
“Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”
It is only because of the life, death & resurrection of Christ that we can even begin to approach God to worship Him… I know that sounds exclusive, but only because it is. Jesus said (John 14:6, NLT): “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” True worship (biblical worship) has restrictions (and we’ll learn more about those later too)…
So, what is worship? I’ll just bet that most of you here are much more prepared to answer that question than you were even a few moments ago: Worship…
- …honors God…
- …is directed toward God…
- …requires our involvement…
- …and is only possible through Jesus…
Man, where’s George Barna when you need him? Our goal, as we move throughout these next few weeks, is not necessarily to help you prepare to respond to a survey … but to help you recognize and experience true, biblical worship… What an exciting fall we’re going to have together … in Christ!