First Presbyterian Church
Wichita Falls, Texas
February 13, 2011
THE HAZARDS OF WORSHIP
The Glory Due His Name: Part 1
Isaac Butterworth
Matthew 15:1-14 (NIV)
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6 he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Some years ago, a woman came to me for counseling. Her husband had died suddenly from a rapidly growing cancer, and she was overcome not only with grief but with fear regarding her future. She did not now know who she was or where she was to go. She was beside herself and confused. And so, at her request, I counseled her.
We met almost weekly for six months or so. At the time, I took great pride in my skill as a counselor. I had studied counseling formally. I had spent a year-and-a-half in supervision. And I read in the field constantly. I was pretty good at it, really, and, considering that, since I was a pastor, I didn’t charge anything, I was a pretty good bargain, too.
At the end of our sessions, this woman and I reviewed our conversations. ‘You helped me,’ she said. And I replied that I was glad to hear it. ‘It’s just that....’ I could tell she wanted to register a qualification to her praise, a proviso of some sort. There was a ‘catch’ to her gratitude, but she was hesitant to speak of it. ‘No, no,’ I said. ‘I want to hear.’ ‘Well,’ she continued, ‘you really did help me work through my grief and my fear, and I have a better grasp on things now. But I thought...’ ‘Yes?’ I said. ‘I thought you would use the Bible and pray with me. I guess, since you’re a pastor and all, I thought we would talk more about God.’
I was trained at this, so I didn’t show my reaction. But when this woman left, I staggered under the realization that my efforts with her fell far short of the calling of God upon my life. I thought to myself, ‘She is right. All I gave her was what she could get from any other counselor, and I am, after all, a minister of the Gospel.’ It was a defining moment for me.
Since that day, I have noticed that I am frequently mindful of some very sobering words that appear in the last chapter of the book of Hebrews. It says there of church leaders -- and that’s what I am; I am a leader in the church, as are many of you. It says of us: ‘They keep watch over you as [those] who must give an account’ (Heb. 13:17). And so, I think about that. I have been entrusted with the care of your souls; I have been charged with preparing you to meet Christ at his appearing. And that is no little thing.
Understandably, then, I want to be an instrument of God. I want my life and my ministry to be a means he may use to lift you, my dear friend, and me, as well, to a higher level of discipleship. And so, I have come up with the PATH, a simple four-part way of following Jesus on the upward trail. The ‘P’ in PATH means, of course, to ‘pursue your relationship with God.’ And one way you and I may do that is through worship.
But let us not be deceived. There are hazards in worship. And the greatest hazard of all is that you and I may think we’re doing it when we’re really not!
Matthew’s Gospel tells us that, on one occasion, some Pharisees and teachers of the law confronted Jesus. Now, what you need to know is that these guys were the guardians of religious tradition. In their mind, there was one way to do things, and that’s what you did. And, in their view, Jesus’ disciples were doing something terribly wrong. They were eating without first washing their hands.
Now, every time I teach on this passage, I feel compelled to say to children that there’s nothing wrong with washing your hands before you eat. In fact, it’s something you ought to do. It gets rid of germs and keeps you healthy. But these Pharisees and their companions weren’t worried about health. That wasn’t their issue. They didn’t even know about germs. They were worried about the rules, and they were concerned that Jesus’ disciples were breaking the rules.
Now, here’s something else you need to know. This thing about washing your hands before you eat. This wasn’t God’s rule; this was a human rule, imposed on people by religious authority.
By way of contrast, the command to honor our father and mother -- now, that’s one of God’s rules. In fact, it’s one of the ‘Big Ten.’ It’s one of the Ten Commandments. You can’t get any closer to the expectations of God than that. God wants us to love, honor, and take care of our parents.
Essentially, what the Pharisees were doing was: they were avoiding providing for their parents by claiming that their financial resources were ‘devoted to God.’ That sounds okay, doesn’t it? I mean, that sounds more than okay; that sounds quite holy! And that’s what they wanted people to think. They wanted people to notice how ‘holy’ they were. But the truth is, this matter of ‘devoting’ their resources to God -- all it was was a gesture that allowed them to keep their assets for their own use while still gaining acclaim among their peers for their ‘sacrifice.’ What they were actually sacrificing was their parents’ well-being. When you think about it: It’s one thing to make a sacrifice when our action affects only us; it is quite another thing when it costs others.
So what did Jesus think about the devotion of these guys? He said that what they were doing was nullifying the word of God! The way The Message puts it is: ‘You cancel God's command by your rules.’ That can’t be good. Right? If you don’t mind, let me read verse 8 from The Message as well: ‘These people’ -- Jesus is quoting Isaiah here -- ‘these people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn't in it. They act like they're worshiping me, but they don't mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy.’ The way the NIV puts it is: ‘They worship me in vain.’ You see what I mean when I say: The most hazardous thing about worship is that you and I may think we’re doing it when we’re really not!
So, how do you and I worship God in vain? Two ways: One, we don’t do what God says, and, two, we don’t even do what we say! Let’s look at each of these. First, we worship God in vain when we do not do what he says. In verse 3, we find Jesus asking these Pharisees, ‘Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?’ In Luke 6:46 we find him asking another group, ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?’
True worship requires obedience from the heart. That’s first. And, second, it requires integrity. We worship God in vain sometimes not just because we don’t do what he says; we don’t even do what we say! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns, ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers”’ (Matt. 7:21ff.). Those words are always a little disconcerting to a preacher. ‘Did we not prophesy in your name?’ So, it’s possible to talk a good talk but not live out what we say. And I’m guessing that that’s not only a problem for preachers.
We dishonor God when we honor him only with our lips. We dishonor him when what we do with our lives does not give evidence of what we say with our lips. We used to call that ‘lip service,’ and it’s one of the hazards of worship.
The fact is, our lips may be used to honor God. In fact, they should be used that way. In Hebrews 13:15, we are told this: ‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise -- the fruit of lips that confess his name.’ But, still, the key to genuine worship is not the words we say; it’s the heart from which they flow. Peter says to us, ‘In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord’ (1 Pet. 3:15).
A concert violinist may play with technical precision but not have her heart ‘in it.’ Likewise, you and I may perform all the ‘acts’ of worship and not have our heart ‘in it.’ What’s the difference? It’s not just that we possess ‘the music.’ It’s that ‘the music’ possesses us! The most hazardous thing about worship is: You can think you’re doing it when, in fact, you’re not!
So, if Jesus says, ‘These people...worship me in vain, [for] their hearts are far from me,’ how can we avoid worshiping him in vain and draw near to God with our heart? How can we worship God not just with our lips but from the heart? Let me suggest a few things.
First of all, take responsibility for your experience of worship. Don’t show up at church and passively wait for someone else to inspire you. It may not happen. As I’ve said before, this hour is not for us. It’s not designed to entertain us. And we insult God when we come here prepared to be bored. What if we came prepared to adore?
So, that’s the next thing: prepare. Get yourself ready for Sunday, and start early in the week. Spend time in private prayer. Have devotions with your family or a few close friends. And, as Sunday gets closer, turn up the intensity. If you were going to meet a great statesman or some other person of notoriety, wouldn’t you prepare yourself? Sure you would. So, read the lessons in advance if you can. We try to publish them ahead of time. And take charge of coming to church, already having reflected on the Scripture.
And, along with that, learn what you can about the hymns or songs we sing. I’ve given you in your outline a couple of websites to look to. There’s a story behind every hymn we sing. Find out what it is. It will draw your heart to God.
Confess your sins. Pray fervently. Sing heartily. Listen attentively. And let it make a difference in your life. Imagine Jesus saying of us: ‘These people honor me with their lips and worship me from their hearts!’ That’s what I want to hear. Don’t you?
