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| True
Worship
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When I was growing
up, my family went camping every summer. For a city boy from
Houston, that mostly meant a week without television and
computer games. But I came to appreciate the simple sounds and
sights of nature, the kind that didn’t need electricity or
other manmade invention for their enjoyment. The stars shined
brighter and in greater numbers than they did above the city
lights. The crickets chirped and the frogs croaked without the
interruption of a plane flying overhead or a car passing by.
These remain special memories of the Lord’s handiwork
telling of the glory of their Maker.
Man, the crown of God’s creation, has an even higher
privilege of praise. Birds sing because they don’t know how
to behave any differently. We choose to offer up
worship to God. Stars shine because they have been programmed
to do so. We choose to pray to the Father of lights.
The challenge comes in making certain that our worship is as
pleasing to Him as the rest of the hymns of creation.
Public worship is an activity in which we participate week
after week. But how can we make sure it is true
worship?
True worship originates in the heart. Jesus quoted
the words of Isaiah when He told the Pharisees, “This people
honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from
Me” (Matt. 15:8). By elevating their traditions over the
inspired doctrine, they had made their worship vain and empty.
That is, it was not pleasing to God because it did not flow
from an honest, thankful heart.
Worship can easily turn into something done out of habit or
rote expression. Since we do take part in it so often, we have
to constantly keep from “going through the motions.” And
this can happen in subtle ways. When we give more
concentration to the mechanics of a song than the words sung
or think more about lunch after services than we do the
Lord’s Supper, we have to wonder if our heart is far away
from where it should be. If it is, true worship has ceased.
True worship reaches to the throne of God. The
Psalmist leaves no doubt as to where our praise ought to be
directed. “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all
the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name...for great is the
Lord, and greatly to be praised” (Psa. 96:1-2,4). God is to
be the center of every worship service. It is He who is worthy
of all our soul’s adoration. It is He who makes us worthy to
worship Him.
When worship turns into entertainment, the aim is no longer to
please the Object of the worship but the appetites of the
worshipers. Whether they’re old songs or new songs we’re
singing, we need to first make certain they are songs that are
pleasing to the Lord’s ears. Whether they’re short sermons
or long sermons, the goal ought to be that God is glorified by
the truth being preached. Worship that must meet my
preferences and fit my tastes is not all about Him; it’s a
hymn to me.
True worship profits those who prepare for it. In
Nehemiah 8, when the people of Israel gathered to hear the
reading of the Law, Ezra the scribe stood “at a wooden
podium which they had made for the purpose” (8:4). They
didn’t wait until everyone had assembled to haphazardly
throw something together. Such unpreparedness would have been
disrespectful and distracting to the occasion. They purposed
well in advance to make ready what was needed so they could
truly worship at the appropriate time.
Many would be embarrassed to arrive at someone’s home
without a gift or token of affection. Yet we will come to the
house of the Lord empty handed and expect to leave having
“gotten something” out of the service. When little or no
personal investment is put in, can we really expect to gain
much? And perhaps preparing for Sunday morning begins with
cutting the activities shorter on Saturday night. Reading the
Bible and saving the morning paper until after services would
certainly help with eliminating the thoughts of the world. The
first day of the week is worthy of our first-rate preparation.
“Oft we come together, oft we sing and pray.” But just
because we do these things often does not take away our
responsibility to see that they are done in spirit and truth.
“For such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers”
(John 4:23).
Bubba Garner
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Copyright (C)
2009
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
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