Last week, we spoke of being obedient to God’s call on our lives in worship—what God asks us to do that affects our worship, in particular. Sometimes, God says ‘stand’ … and sometimes God says ‘bow down’ … and sometimes God says ‘Go!’ Whatever God says, we have to be obedient to it, if we want our worship of God to be unhindered… What is it that you’re struggling with doing, as you come to worship, today? What obstacle stands between you & your ‘unhindered worship’ of God? Let’s pray right now that God will take all obstacles out of our way—that we may worship him in spirit and in truth right now… Would you pray with me? … Now, let’s get right to today’s scripture lesson:
Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. – Exodus 20:1-6 (NLT)
The beginning of the section on the 10 Commandments, right? … And, here God is letting us know—through Moses—just what kind of a relationship he wants us to have…
I don’t know if you’ve witnessed this around here or not, but I have… Quite often, Matt Schlueter—Leader of our Multi-Media Ministry Team—is here early on Sunday mornings. Sometimes, I think he probably comes down to the church even before his family is out of bed. The reason I say that is because I’ve seen his daughters come to church and the first thing they do—especially if they haven’t seen him yet on a Sunday morning—is to look for their daddy…
Picture this in your mind, if you would. Angela Schlueter (Matt’s youngest) comes through the door of the church with her mom and her sister. She has that excited look on her face—eyes just as bright as they can be. And she’s searching. You know she’s searching by the way that her eyes keep shifting. She bobs and weaves her way through people; after all, when you’re her height, it takes some doing sometimes to be able to find what you’re looking for. She knows where to look for him, though—usually one of two places, either in the ministry office, adjusting the lobby monitors … or in the sanctuary, preparing the multi-media stuff for worship. And, when she sees him, she runs … and she wraps her little arms around his leg and squeezes … and hangs on. She’s finally found … her daddy!
The truth is, there is nothing in this world—at that moment—that could stop that little girl from finding her daddy! She doesn’t care what anyone else in the building thinks of her … or her actions. Lots of folks notice Angela. But, what she does in those moments are not for them; her actions are for … her ‘daddy!’
Jesus had that kind of relationship with his father, as he prayed and worshiped. Let me take you back to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is on his knees praying about the following day—what we know as Good Friday. In Mark 14:36, NLT (see also Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6), Jesus prays: “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Definition of ‘Abba’ = an Aramaic word for father, used by Jesus and Paul to address God in a relation of personal intimacy … a personal, intimate relationship—one in which our respect for God … and our obedience to him … is evident! Is that the case when we enter the doors of this place … week after week after week? Do others know, without a doubt, that our goal is to find our Heavenly Daddy? Let’s begin here: folks,
OUR WORSHIP SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION OF GOD’S PRESENCE! Our focus, as we enter into worship, should be on finding our heavenly DADDY (Abba)! Is he the first one we look for as we worship in this place? Is God our Heavenly Father the one that we run to … with great anticipation?
Consider this… Until the time of Jesus, the Ark of the Covenant was the single most important object of faith on the face of the earth. The Ark was where God chose to make himself known to humanity—where he revealed himself to his people. In the OT, the Ark essentially represented God’s presence…
At one point, as some of you might remember, the Israelite’s most persistent enemy—the Philistines—captured the Ark of the Covenant. They decided it was quite a trophy! So, they put it in their pagan temple with their god, Dagon. Do you remember what happened? Dagon fell over… I love it! He just toppled over, smack down on the floor. So … what did the Philistines do? They stood him back up again. And, he fell over again … and this time his head came off! Folks, even this stone ‘god’ knew to whom he should bow…
These folks had no idea what they’d latched on to. They thought the Ark was just a very cool religious object from the Israelite temple. What they actually got, however, was the place where God’s Spirit made itself at home…
The Ark—the dwelling place of the Lord—was actually gone from the land of Israel for more than 6 months! So, try to imagine the scene when the Ark of the Covenant—after all that time—was finally returned! The Lord was coming home; the Ark was being returned to its rightful place; excitement filled the air; a celebration was the only appropriate response… Folks, do you remember what King David did? Well, they had a parade … and none other than King David led that parade! And, do you remember what he was doing as he led that parade?
Stoically walking along, he said in a monotone voice, “Thank you Lord that your presence is being returned to your people.” Right? NO WAY! David, folks, was dancing … and celebrating as he went along before the Ark—the very presence of God!
He was genuinely excited to welcome back the Lord’s presence to Israel…
God was coming home—an incredible homecoming like no other…
And David didn’t mind publicly demonstrating his enthusiasm … and thankfulness!
And, do you remember the reaction of David’s wife, Michal? She wasn’t too happy about his actions, was she (2 Samuel 6:16-22)? For Michal, David’s actions were definitely over-the-top. David, apparently, was not put off by her objections, though. Here’s what he said (2 Samuel 6:21-22a, NLT): David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing [literally, making merry or playing] before the LORD, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the LORD, so I celebrate before the LORD. 22 Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!”
Can I translate for you at this time? “Honey, it wasn’t for you. It was for God.” That’s what David was really saying here… Folks, our worship isn’t for others who might want to watch us. It is for the Lord! Those who would rather watch than worship are already on the outside looking in… Focus on God, not people! My worship—your worship—is not for those around us; it is for God! OUR WORSHIP SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION OF GOD’S PRESENCE! And, with that, let me offer a warning about worship (Point #2) as we close…
OUR WORSHIP SHOULD NOT BE A TIME OF JUDGEMENT AGAINST THOSE WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND! Let me be clear about this: Just because we do not understand the actions of others before God … does not mean they’re wrong! It simply means … we do not understand!
Real briefly, do you remember the story of Jesus having dinner with Simon the Pharisee? While they were eating (reclined and feet back), an unnamed sinful woman came in, washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, and then anointed him with a very expensive perfume. Simon, Jesus’ host, thought that allowing someone like her to touch him was absolutely dreadful … so Jesus did what he often did: He told a story (Luke 7:41-43, NLT)…
Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said.
You see, the host, Simon the Pharisee, understood the point of Jesus’ story from a cognitive viewpoint (mind), but he completely missed the heart! Simon was not about to offer such an extravagant act of worship, because he had never allowed the grace and mercy of the Lord to touch him in the places he needed it the most! In other words, he was not going to do what the woman did … because he had not experienced what she had experienced…
Once more, OUR WORSHIP SHOULD NOT BE A TIME OF JUDGEMENT AGAINST THOSE WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND! WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO OUR ATTENTION … AND KEEP OUR EYES ON GOD—ONLY—IN WORSHIP!
We must be very careful to not let our traditions—“I’ve never done it that way before!”—cause us to sit in judgment against those whose experience is different than ours…
There are some who like to raise their hands (biblical) in worship to God … and that’s O.K. It may not be our experience, but it’s O.K….
There are some who like to take their shoes off when they pray (biblical) … and that’s O.K. It may not be our experience, but it’s O.K….
The truth is, only God can see other’s hearts; we can’t! As long as their form of worship has an honest, biblical basis, we must allow them the freedom to worship God as they choose. Again, our worship must be directed toward God. It’s not for ‘the watchers’; it’s for the King. Let all that our lives are about … including our worship, be the same…