THE APPROACH TO WORSHIP
Psalms 24
Some time ago, for our Wednesday night Bible studies, we covered a course on the church. Some of you were here and perhaps you remember that I passed out a sheet of paper with a list of various missions/functions of the church, including such things as evangelism, ministry, and service. I asked you to rank in order of what you felt/thought that the most important functions of the church were, with #1 being the most important and going down in importance from there. We then discussed what the Bible said about the goals of the church. It is important that we keep the main thing, the main thing, and the main thing of the church is simply this, to glorify, or to worship God. Worship is important to God, so much so that out of the 10 commandments, the very first one deals with the subject of worship. Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. In Exodus chapter 34, the commandments are re-instated and God says in verse 14: Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: The insinuation here is that while we do not worship other gods, there is One God Who is to be worshipped. When you read the Old Testament, you can not help but see the important of worship in the lives of the people of God. Abraham worshipped (Gen. 22:5), Jacob worshipped (Heb. 11:21), Moses worshipped (Exodus 34:8), Joshua worshipped (Joshua 5:14), and of course David the king worshipped (2 Samuel 12:20) Worship was an integral part of the lives of God’s people through out the Old Testament. Worship was so important that God Himself designed and established the very first worship center, set up exclusively for worship.
We find in the New Testament that worship is still important. Jesus told the woman at the well that God is seeking for worshippers. John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. The Greek word used here for seek is zhte,w zeteo {dzay-teh’-o}seek for, desire, or to demand. God is looking for and demanding true, sincere worship. The disciples worshipped the Lord (Matthew 28:9), the New Testament church worshipped (Philippians 3:3) and at the end, when God wraps up this world in the completion of His redemption plan, worship will still be important. Revelation 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him…
Our highest priority as Christians is to give glory to God, to exalt Him by giving Him worship. The very first proclamation that we make in our mission statement is that God has called us to worship and exalt Him.
That’s leads to the all important question, “What is worship?” There are over 350,000 churches in America with millions upon millions dollars spent upon “worship” facilities, but do we truly worship? Again, what is worship? A great theologian and preacher from the turn of the last century named A.W. Tozer said that worship was the “missing jewel” of the church. He said that man was made to worship God. Man was given the largest and most sophisticated harp (vocal cords) out of all the creatures that God made but because of sin, has taken it and literally thrown it into the mud, and fills his mouth with curses instead of praise to his Creator. Tozer continued by saying, “What is worship? Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some appropriate manner a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient Mystery, that Majesty which philosophers call the First Cause, but which we call Our Father Which Are in Heaven.” I have read many definitions of what worship is and one of the best I have came across is this one. “Worship is one’s heart expression of love, adoration, and praise to God with an attitude and acknowledgement of His supremacy and Lordship. This gives up the ability to magnify the Lord with our whole being, body, soul, and spirit.”
We know that we are called upon to worship, we know that the reason that we gather together here today is to worship the Lord and I believe that when God’s people gather in worship that God does great things for them. Here’s what I want you to understand, our worship begins long before we enter into this sanctuary. Cooperate worship is important, but it hinges upon our individual worship. The devil knows that if he can defeat us in individual worship, that it will hinder our cooperate worship. In Psalms 24, we find that David outlines for us some very important aspects of what our approach to worship should be. It is believed by most scholars, that this psalm of David was written not long after David had captured the city of Jerusalem. David’s desire was to build a religious and political center for his kingdom and Jerusalem was to be it. David wanted to establish a permanent place of worship for God. The ark of the covenant had been placed in the house of Obededom the Gittite and God was blessing his house (2 Sam. 6:10-17). However David desired to bring the ark to Jerusalem and set it up upon the Mountain of Zion and so he does. The ark is placed upon the “holy hill”. After the ark is set in it’s place, the question is raised, “who can ascend to the hill of the Lord?” to worship. In other words, what are the conditions to approach the Lord of Hosts in worship? Here David shares the conditions for the approach of worship.
I. WORSHIP MUST BEGIN WITH A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
1. Note what David asks in verse 3, “who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” The Hebrew word is the word `alah {aw-law’} which means to go up as to meet or visit with. Who can meet with God? Who can come before Him in worship? David answers this question by saying “he that has clean hands and a pure heart”.
2. Now most of you know that hands are often used in scripture to represent what we do. When the priests were set apart to be a priest, scripture tells us that the blood of a ram was placed upon his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot (Exodus 29:20) signifying that the priest was separate and what he heard, and what he did, and where he went, were to all be done remembering that he was holy.
3. David is saying that what we do is important. One of the problems of the Old Testament was that people would often do cruel things to one another, such as robbing from one another, or and then go to the house of the Lord and offer their worship, acting as if nothing was wrong. God was not pleased with such worship.
Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
4. Remember that the Hebrew word for ascend meant to go up to met. To go to God’s holy hill to meet with Him in worship. However, in Mal. 3:5, God is going to meet with the worshippers who abuse their brothers, not in worship, but in judgment. God was not happy with what the worshippers were doing. In essence, they were not in a right relationship with Him.
5. It is important to understand that what we do, our conduct, or conversation as it is often found in the NT, will affect our worship. If we come into this house and say one thing, but yet when we leave and go back to our jobs and families and do another, God will not accept our worship. Our hands must be clean. If they are not, then we are not in a right relationship with the Lord, and if we are not in a right relationship with God, then we can never be intimate in our worship with the Lord.
6. Notice also that David said, “he that has a pure heart”. Not only is what we do important, but also the motive behind it. The heart must be pure.
7. Here’s why this is important. Worship certainly involves activity. We lift our hands, we sing, we pray, we give loud exclamations of praise and all of these things are certainly “manifestations” of worship. However, worship, while involving actions, is first and foremost a function of the heart. Folks, we can sing until we are blue in the face, we can shout until the rafters shake, but if it is not from the heart, it is not worship. You can sing, and not truly worship, you can clap your hands, or lift them up, and not truly worship, you can pray, or speak in tongues, and not truly worship. Worship must come from a pure heart.
8. Remember that worship begins before we ever get here. Listen to me just a moment, I love music and I thank God for music. Music and song are great aids to help us in our worship. But I have found that we are far too guilty sometimes of worshipping the music, instead of worship the Creator. If we have to wait until we sing “I’ll Fly Away” or the latest from Hillsong or Maranatha before we can worship, something is wrong. Worship doesn’t begin in the music, it begins in the heart and if the heart is not right (pure) then it is impossible to worship. I would be the first one to say that I wish we had an orchestra, and a full choir, but listen to me just a moment, if our hearts are pure, and filled with the love of God, we don’t have to have these “extras” to truly worship God.
9. So often we are guilty of having all the “actions” of worship, but never really worship simply because somewhere, somehow, we are not in a right relationship with God.
10. Here’s what I want you to see. The only way to have a right relationship with God is through His Son Jesus Christ. The only way our hands can be cleansed, and our hearts made pure is through the blood of Jesus Christ. God was not kidding when He said that He wanted worshippers, He wanted worshippers so bad, that He paid for them, by giving His Son, so that we could truly worship Him. God wants you to be a worshipper today. Part of our destiny that God has for us is found in 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
God is calling you to be a worshipper, to show His praise in your life. But if there is anything that is between you and Him, then it is sharing the glory that is only meant for God. You can not say that your heart is pure. Worship began long before you got here this morning for your worship begins with a heart that is totally in love with God.
II. WORSHIP MUST INCLUDE A RESPECTFUL REVERENCE.
1. I don’t know if it bothers you, but it bothers me at the lack of respect shown for God. I cringe when I hear people talk about the “man upstairs” for God is more than a man.
2. I believe it is important that we remember that we are worshipping a Holy God. Notice what David calls the place before the presence of the Lord in verse 3. The question is asked, “Who shall stand in His holy place?” In the Hebrew it reads ba-maqown qodeshu. There are two words to notice, first maqowm {maw-kome’}standing place, and next, qodesh {ko’-desh} apartness, sacredness, holiness. David is asking “who can stand in the standing place of holiness?” He is reminding his readers that to be in the presence of God is to be in a place of holiness.
3. In Exodus 3, when the Lord drew Moses to Himself at the burning bush, Moses was reminded that he was on holy ground. In Exodus 27: 9-18, we find that God gave Moses the specifics on the court of the tabernacle (worship center). On the north and south sides, there was to be a linen fence of about 150 feet in length and on the east and west side, it was to be around 75 feet in length. It was to be made out of fine twisted linen. The tabernacle was to be surrounded by a fence made basically of white sheets. When I first read this, I thought to my self, what good is that? A knife would cut the linen into. But then the Lord showed me, it wasn’t to keep people out for God desires that we enter in before Him in worship, but rather, it was to remind the worshipper that he was no longer standing on common ground, but was in the presence of the Lord.
4. We need to remember that we are standing before the very presence of a holy God, we are in His house, standing in His presence, on Holy Ground. Our minds need to be on Him. He deserves our respectful reverence.
5. So many times, we come to worship the Lord, but we hurry to get out of His presence. We want that little touch and that’s all. By 11:45 our minds are already on the line at Shoney’s or Ryan’s. To truly worship God means that we don’t hurry Him. We can’t not glaze at the beauty of the Lord if we are glazing at our watches. Our minds should be totally focused upon Him. We lay everything else aside to get our minds upon Him. If we can’t, then we do what I have seen some do, we go to the altar and give it to God.
6. Satan loves for us to allow our minds to wander, he will do anything to keep our mind off the Lord. Remember that to stand in God’s holy hill is to stand in His presence and He deserves all of our attention. The old English word for worship was a combination of two words, worth and ship. To worship means that we declare to God how worthy He is for all that He has done for us.
III. WORSHIP MUST OFFER A RELEVANT RESPONSE.
1. We are told that God inhabits the praises of His people.
Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
2. God lives in an environment of praise, so to make Him feel at home, we need to praise Him. Here’s the heart of the manner, God wants to fellowship with His kids. He wants to be a part of our “worship” services. He wants you to experience His presence.
3. Notice in verses 7-10, that there is a reference to the gates being lifted up. The Hebrew word is the word nasa which means to lift up, or carry away, to be swept away. Many Biblical scholars believe that David is speaking prophetically of the time that the ark of the covenant would be carried into the Temple built by Solomon, that the gates of the Temple would literally be swept away by the glory of the Lord. Others see the reference to the gates of the city of Jerusalem being swept open before the ark of God as David brings it to the city of Zion, to be placed on the Holy Hill.
4. I could not help but think as I read this, of how the Lord desires our fellowship and worship. He desires that the gates (heart) of our temple (body) be swept away before His great glory so that He can enter in. As great as the Lord is, He allows us the response of opening up our hearts to Him, so that He can enter in.
5. Turn with me to Song of Solomon chapter 5. The Song of Solomon is one of the more difficult books in the Bible, many of the early church fathers thought that it was too racy to be included in the canon of the scriptures, but God in His wisdom prevailed. The imagery is that of a husband and wife, or a groom and his bride. There are many lessons to learn about marital love, but more importantly, it is a picture of the love between Christ and His church.
Song of Solomon 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. 5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. 6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
6. The picture here is that of the bride who has gone to rest in her chambers and as she is resting, the bridegroom comes by and knocks upon her door. She is tired, her robe has already been removed and her feet have been washed for bed. She doesn’t want to get up and open the door, but finally her bowels (heart) yearns for the beloved so she goes to the door to open it, but he is gone, with only the lingering smell of his perfume in the air and upon the door latch.
7. Are we so comfortable with church as usual, that when the Lord comes by, that we are content to just rest until finally we decide to get up and open the door, but all that is left is just the fragrance of the Lord as He has come and gone. Our response should be to have an open door, an open gate for God to fellowship with us as we come to worship.
