Spiritual Disciplines: Worship
July 11, 2021
In the last year, our world has dramatically changed. We’ve dealt with issues we possibly never expected to deal with in our lifetimes. Whether it was issues regarding social justice, employment, and most especially the corona virus. We’ve had to close down for 2 different periods of time, and even though we’re open for worship and other activities, not everyone is back. That’s understandable, I get it.
As we continue talking about ways which help us grow to become more like Christ, as we look at the various spiritual disciplines, today and next week, we’re looking at worship. Worship has changed in the past year. We’ve learned new ways to worship. The question that comes to me when we talk about worship is ... really a complex, yet simple question . . . “why worship?”
That’s it, why do we worship? When you think about it, we all have different stories, different things going on in our lives. Even different views about who and what God is. Different theological views of God! Different ways to relate to God.
There’s that mom and dad who’s trying to get the kids ready for worship. Getting the kids dressed, getting dressed themselves, making sure everyone has eaten. Trying not to be late or in a really bad mood because someone was acting up.
Then, there’s the friend who was invited to worship, but is kind of hung-over. They don’t want to go, but if they go, this may get their friend off their back. Hit the snooze button one more time or get up and get coffee?
A couple of senior saints get up earlier than they used to because it takes longer to get dressed. They don’t move as quickly, but they still treasure worship and being with the church family, so they’re here every Sunday, aches and pains and all.
Another person is smiling as they drive and are filled with anticipation at the opportunity to thank God for the job promotion.
A 15 year old girl has fought with her parents all morning about why she had to get up so early on her only day off, why her skirt is too short to wear to church, and why a Diet Coke and a donut aren’t considered a nutritious breakfast.
Still others, wondered how to get a good internet connection so they can watch worship. Others wonder if missing another Sunday is OK with God. They have weekly weekend plans, so they hope to watch worship sometime later.
You see, every Sunday morning a minority of people are making decisions about worshiping God. Every person, man, woman and child has a story - a life that goes on from Monday through Saturday. Many of them rush to get to church on time. Some were on the fence all morning about whether they would really show up. So, for those who do arrive, for those who tune in on FB, for those who walk in the church, what’s at stake? How much does it really matter what takes place in the next hour?”
We’ve come here for many different reasons, some are hoping to experience Jesus, some are here because this is where their car automatically comes on Sunday mornings; some are here because they were told they had to be here, some came against their will and maybe even their better judgement (and I’m glad you’re here); some are here, very honestly for reasons that don’t make sense to them.
We have all come to this building knowing this is about WORSHIP. That’s the focus of our time together this morning.
So, it may seem strange to call worship a Spiritual Discipline, yet, if we don’t understand the point of worship and learn how to worship, then when we come here, we’re just opening ourselves to a time of frustration and boredom -- instead of a time of joy, praise and life giving celebration.
When we come to church, we have some options available to us. We can come into this building and we can be bitter and angry at the world, including God, for the rough times of our lives. We can come here like we were on that old show American Bandstand and rate a record. Rate the music, the prayer, the sermon, the friendlieness, the temperature and so on.
Or we can walk into this building, or we can watch on FB and be ready to worship. No matter what we’ve been through, we come expectant. We come wanting, needing, longing for a connection with God. We are prepared for worship. We are ready to give thanks and praise to God for all of the amazing ways He has blessed us in our lives, even in the midst of the struggles and disappointments.
When we worship, I want us to long for a connection with God. Listen to the words of David in Psalm 63 ---
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Think about what David is saying. I wish we had this attitude of worship every Sunday. But, it’s more than a Sunday thing . . . it should be an everyday thing. Just stop for a moment and consider, really consider what David is wanting for us.
We start by claiming God is my God. Yes, He’s mine and yours, but on a very personal level God is my God, I don’t only seek Him, which again means I’m diligently desiring to draw near to Him. The word EARNESTLY literally means to rise up early and search. It means we never stop seeking to be in the presence of God.
Have you ever been so thirsty that you feel you can’t get enough water to drink? That’s the image here. My soul thirsts for you God. My whole being faints for you, Lord. It’s like I’m in a desert where there’s no water and you, God, are all I have. So, I long for you and I earnestly search for your presence.
That’s a lot in one verse, but that’s what David’s getting at. That’s the start of our worship for God. Does that define you on a daily basis? Or is that your attitude and mindset on Sunday’s. David, then goes on and says - - -
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
That’s what we should be doing as well. Looking upon and proclaiming God’s power and glory. We give God all the glory in all that we do as we seek to experience His power. WHY?
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
God’s love is constant. It’s never ending. God’s love is not conditional. He loves us because He created us in His image and we are amazing and wonderfully created. God loves us so much that He considers us worth dying for. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us – so that we could be reconciled to God and experience His power, presence, love and glory. David adds --
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
With all that in mind, what else can we do but bless God and praise God as long as we live. We lift our hands as a sign of our devotion and as a sign of our humbleness. Our humility that God is our Lord and we worship Him and only Him
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
When you think about your absolute favorite food to eat, that’s what it’s like in our soul when we experience God. And because we experience His love, grace, mercy and power . . . we praise God out loud. We don’t shy away from it, because we are honored to give God all the praise and glory for who He is.
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
So, we meditate and consider God’s majesty before we go to sleep. We thank God for who He is. For how God interacted with us during the day. We remember and give thanks as we prepare for sleep.
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. - Psalm 63
Finally, we praise God for His presence and help. He’s always there and we sing for joy to God as our soul clings to Him. And that image of clinging to God is like we are super glued to Him. That’s the closeness David is talking about.
That’s a great image for me of worship. That’s how we come before God on a daily basis. Because worship is a daily event.
Think about worship this way - - - I haven’t done a sports analogy in awhile, so here you go. Have you ever watched your favorite team play, and they play poorly so that a team who is not as good wins! Your team loses. It seems like they just went through the motions, like they thought they could turn it on whenever they felt like it.
Sometimes we do the same thing. We go through the motions during the week, then we come here and expect everything just to kick in and have a great worship experience, but you’re not feeling it. Sometimes, not always, it’s because you’ve had no worship during the week. You’ve neglected God during the week, you haven’t prayed, you have not read, you have not practiced any spiritual discipline and now you’re looking at me and George and the praise team and the tech folks and saying . . . “OK . . . feed me!”
Sadly, or maybe fortunately, it doesn’t work that way. We have to do the work during the week. It takes effort and that’s not always easy and worship during the week isn’t always convenient. It can be messy when you’re at work or school.
When you’ve received some bad news, when you’re tired from the day, when you have a lot of running around to do, when there’s family issues . . . worship becomes not so easy . . . yet, that’s exactly when we need to worship. That’s when our souls need to cling to God, that’s when we need to praise God and seek His presence and power.
It’s what Paul was talking about in Romans 12:1 –
1 I appeal to you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. - Romans 12:1
Paul wants us to understand that everything we do is an act of worship. Whether you’re at home, working, shopping, volunteering, whatever you do, you’re doing it for the Lord. So, we worship with all of our being. We worship with our heart, spirit, mind and body. We give of ourselves to God. Yet, we would all have to admit that’s not always easy. So, Paul gives us more help to better understand what it means to worship God with our whole being.
He tells us in Ephesians 5 ---
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Ephesians 5:18-20
This is important about how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives, yet, don’t you run out of gas on occasion? We run on fumes, we’re too tired, we have no energy to praise and worship God. I think Paul would be really disappointed with our English translation of verse 18. What he’s telling us is super important.
18 do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
We get hung up on the first part. Don’t get drunk . . . enough said. But the next part is so important for us and our translations don’t capture what Paul means.
Let me unpack the second part of verse 18 - -
Paul is making 3 crucial points when he tells us be filled with the Spirit. Most of us would say, I’ve already done that when I became a Christian. But this is deeper
1) this is written as a command from Paul; that’s pretty straight forward.
2) the Greek word phrase --- be filled is in the present tense, which means it is not a once for all filling of the Spirit, instead we are to be filled on an ongoing basis by the Spirit;
3) as a verb “be filled” is in the passive voice, which means we don’t do the work, the Spirit does the filling.
There’s a couple of things at work here. Understand that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and dwells within us. We don’t need to ask for the Spirit to come again and again in that sense.
However, we lose sight of the need to be filled again and again. We often disconnect ourselves from the vine and try to do life on our own, because we like to be in control. As a result, we become spiritually dehydrated and malnourished. We’re like those in Psalm 63, in a desert with no water.
The purpose of this filling and I’m intentionally not calling it a REFILLING - - - because refilling implies we are getting low on the Spirit, but I don’t believe that is supposed to happen, even though it does. This filling of the Spirit is to help us focus or refocus our attention on Christ and His presence within us. This enables us to open ourselves to the continual transforming work of the Spirit so that the presence of Christ empowers and shapes our lives.
It allows us to present our bodies as living sacrifices which becomes our spiritual worship. It allows us to honor Christ in whatever we do in our lives.
When we come to worship running on empty and expect that to fill us, we often times are left empty or only partly filled. Worship is good, but we don’t come longing for the constant filling. You see, we should not be coming back for more Spirit when our spiritual tank is on empty, instead, we should be continually filled by the Spirit, that way our tank never runs on empty.
It would be like pouring more water into a pitcher that is never empty
Does that make sense to you?
So, when Paul says be filled with the spirit . . . he’s really saying this - -
I command you to be filled with the spirit of God so that you would be filled on an ongoing, continual basis, not running on empty as some do, and keep yourself open to His filling, since it is the Spirit who does the filling.
We worship God because He is worthy of receiving praise and honor and glory. We worship because God has given us more than we deserve. He extends grace and mercy when we don’t deserve it, but He does it anyways. He sent His Son, not so that we would be condemned, but we would be saved, knowing the joy of being forgiven and having life everlasting. We would know and trust that God is with us, no matter what happens in life. We worship because God is giving and generous. We are blessed beyond what we could ever imagine.
Next week, we will continue looking at what it means to worship God.
