The Purpose-full Church:
In Worship
(NTC4T-5)
I. Defining the Purposes of the Church
A. Worship
1. The primacy of worship
2. Celebrating
3. Honoring
Introduction
The story is told about a conversation between a pastor and young boy in a certain congregation. This particular congregation loved spending time with one another and always served coffee after the sermon. One Sunday the pastor asked a little boy if he knew why they served the coffee. He replied, “I think it’s to get the people awake before they drive home.”
Last week we began looking at the subject of the purposes of the Church. The bulk of that message was spent laying a foundation by answering the question, “Why be purpose-driven in our approach to ministry?” I gave you three important reasons: 1) to clarify the direction of the ministry; 2) to minimize the conflict within the ministry; and 3) to maximize the excitement for the ministry. We concluded by quickly looking at the five NT purposes of the Church as contained within the Great Commandment and the Great Commission: Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Fellowship, and Service.
This morning we will begin by examining the first purpose and I will attempt to draw out some of its practical implications so that you won’t leave here feeling like you just sat through a systematic theology class.
Defining the Purposes of the Church
The approach I will take with respect to each of the purposes of the Church is to give you a brief definition that captures the essence of that purpose, and then I’ll break down the components of the definition and show you how it can be made into a meaningful experience in each of our lives.
Worship
We begin with the purpose of worship. I will be giving a very broad-based definition for worship this morning. It will be inclusive rather than exclusive in nature and will embrace all of the facets and activities associated with worship. This will come into sharper focus as we proceed through the message. I define worship in this way: Worship is celebrating God’s presence and honoring Him with our lifestyles.
Last week I read a quote from Rick Warren advocating the importance of churches being purpose-driven in their approach to ministry. Part of that quote read: “By focusing equally on all five of the New Testament purposes of the church, your church will develop the healthy balance that makes lasting growth possible” (The Purpose-Driven Church, p. 81). I want to go on record as saying that I fully agree with that statement. We must be careful to balance and equally emphasize each of the five NT purposes of the church. When we fail to do so, we become lopsided and unbalanced and run the risk of failing to be all that God has created us to be. I believe that.
But I also want to go on record as saying that out of the five NT purposes of the Church, I believe that God gives preeminence to the purpose of worship. I believe that the primary purpose or mission of the Church is to glorify God. And I would like to take some time to build my case before we dissect the key components of my definition of worship.
The Primacy of Worship
The Westminster Larger Catechism asks in Question one, “What is the chief and highest end of man?” The desired response is, “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully enjoy Him forever.” If this is, in fact, the chief and highest end to which a human can hope to attain, which I contend that it is, then it only stands to reason that the chief and highest end of the Church—an organism made up of redeemed men and women—would also be to glorify God, and fully enjoy Him forever. As Henry Thiessen emphatically maintains, “This is no more true of the individual than it is of the Church as a whole” (Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 432). Perhaps you simply brush this off as the opinions of teachers and theologians—you want to see what the Bible has to say on this subject. Good, I feel exactly the same way that you do, so we’ll turn to God’s word and find out if this is a valid position.
The Bible abounds in references to glorifying God or worshiping His as the primary purpose of the Church. Turn with me to Matthew 5:16 (p. 719). [Read] Here Jesus commands His disciples to live their lives in such a way that the world would be attracted to what they see and praise your Father in heaven or as it’s stated in other translations, glorify (NASU) or give glory to (ESV) your Father who is in heaven. In Romans 15:5-11 (p. 846), Paul stresses the fact that the Church’s involvement in different attitudes and activities is for the ultimate purpose of giving glory to God. He mentions three specific areas: in vv. 5-6, he prays for a spirit of unity for the purpose of glorifying God; in v. 7, he commands them to accept one another…in order to bring praise to God; and in vv. 8-11, he cites the example of Jesus’ earthly ministry as a servant to the Jews was so that the Gen-tiles may glorify God for his mercy.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which I highlighted last week, contains several references to the supremacy of worship as the Church’s focal point. Of particular interest is Ephesians 1:11-12, In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. In 1 Pe-ter 4:11, written to a church experiencing persecution, Peter tells these believers that they should use the gifts they have received so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen. And throughout the book of Revelation we are reminded that the destiny of the Church is to be an eternally worshiping community (4-5; 7:9-17; 11:15-19; 12:10-12; 14:1-5; 15:1-4; 19:1-8).
The primacy of worship among the other purposes of the Church also appears to be in full sympathy with the Mission Statement of our denomination, The Christian and Missionary Alliance. The opening sentence of that statement reads, “Our mission is to know Jesus Christ; exalt Him as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King; and complete His Great Commission” (1996). Our denomination maintains, as its official position, that the primary purpose of the Church to be that of knowing Christ and exalting Him (worship), and from that point of reference to engage in disciplemaking ministries.
If we give credence to what I am saying, then it is reasonable for one to ask, “What is the relationship of the other purposes of the Church to this primary purpose of worship? George Barna expresses it this way, “So fundamental is this duty [of worshiping God] that if faithfully performed there will also be the carrying out of the other purposes of the Church” (The Power of Vision, p. 46). Samuel Stoesz also emphasizes the importance that worship holds with regard to carrying out the other purposes of the Church. He writes:
To bring the goal of missions to pass, worship must necessarily be central because the centrality of Christ demands it. Prayer, confession, praise and the ministry of the Word led by those commissioned for leadership is vital for worship. The assembly of God’s people and their relatedness to God and each other is to unite them in worship, develop fellowship and the affirmation of their faith. Their spiritual gifts will complement each other in their mutual concern and vision. It is in worship that communal body-life is shaped and molded, where the cost of discipleship is recognized with a willingness to pay the price (Sanctification: An Alliance Distinctive, pp. 113-114).
Let me summarize what I’ve been saying. I believe that if the Church, in general terms, were to simply change it focus from the busyness of “doing” all the time and concentrate on its greater need to “be” what God intended and hunger to be in His presence above all else, then the other purposes of the Church would naturally be accomplished. I find it a curious thing that although we are primarily created to have a relationship with God, yet we consume all of our time “doing good things” so that in the end we don’t have time for God. And the really sad part of this whole matter is that we’ve got it completely upside-down—we are not the most effective or productive in ministry when we are the busiest, rather we experience the greatest measure of pleasure and success when we take the time to sit at the feet of our Lord and allow Him to minister to us. Have we forgotten Jesus’ words to poor, distracted Martha? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). In reality, our ministry is an outflow of our life in Him.
Listen to these sobering words from Sally Morgenthaler that deserve our thoughtful consideration: “Until we put worship back in its rightful place as the number-one activity of the church, our churches will be malnourished and lacking in the spiritual power necessary to do God’s work” (Worship Evangelism, p. 50).
Celebrating
Now let’s turn our attention to the key verbs found in this definition of worship. The first is celebrating. Worship is celebrating God’s presence. It’s not my intention in the next several moments to “step on anyone’s toes,” or to prescribe a “brand” or style of worship, or to condemn someone who has a different view. Rather, it is my intention to give us all, including myself, an opportunity to take inventory of ourselves and gain a better understanding of what celebrating God’s presence means.
It is my observation that many times (too many times) what we refer to as “worship services” are almost completely lacking in this element of celebrating God’s presence. It is almost as though we have no perception of the fact that the eternal Creator of the universe is present among us. It’s as though we come in unaware of the awesomeness of this reality. For I am convinced that when our minds are truly in a state of recognizing God’s presence, then our natural and unforced response will be one of celebrating God’s presence. C.S. Lewis expressed it this way:
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. If it were possible for a created soul fully to “appreciate,” that is, to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme blessedness. To praise God fully we must suppose ourselves to be in perfect love with God, drowned in, dissolved by that delight which, far from remaining pent up within ourselves as incommunicable bliss, flows out from us incessantly again in effortless and perfect expression. Our joy is no more separable from the praise in which it liberates and utters itself than the brightness a mirror receives is separable from the brightness it sheds.
We may claim that we are not the “expressive or celebrating type,” but I’m not convinced that we are being completely honest when we make such assertions about ourselves. I believe the main reason we refrain or restrain ourselves from becoming too animated in our worship is because we are desperately in need of a fresh encounter with God. We need to meet Him again “face to face,” to sense His nearness and His awesomeness. Or as songwriter and worship leader Matt Redman has put it, to experience “the friendship and the fear” of God.
I don’t believe that anyone would ever accuse A.W. Tozer of being overly emotional or outward in his normal expression of worship. Yet, in his famous sermon series entitled, Worship: The Missing Jewel of the Evangelical Church, he describes true worship in this way: “to feel in your heart…[and]…express in some appropriate manner…a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder…awesome wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that ancient Mystery, that unspeakable Majesty, which philosophers call the Mysterium Tremendum, but which we call Our Father which art in heaven” (pp.8-10).
An equally perplexing feature of our usual practice on any given Sunday is that we can sing with our mouths words denoting an active participation in worship, but for whatever reason the message rarely gets to the rest of our body. (You might call it a form of “practical hypocrisy!”) For example, we often times sing a song like Shout to the Lord, but I can’t recall ever hearing anyone actually shout. Or we might sing other songs which include such expressions of worship as clapping our hands, raising our hands, bowing our knees and the like, but on the whole there is not much corporate participation.
I realize this condition is not limited to our church. Bob Sorge, pastor of Zion Fellowship in Canandaigua, NY, writes:
Often when we sing Psalm 103:1, I have watched peo-ple sing the words “And all that is within me, bless his holy name” in a most unconvincing way. It is time that we stop mouthing empty clichés in praise, dear saints, and start reinforcing our words with bodily expressions that reflect an overflowing heart. This is the bottom line on how to praise: doing it with everything that is within us! (Exploring Worship, p. 27).
All I’m really trying to say is that when we gather to worship the Lord it should be normal, even expected that we would demonstrate how we have been captivated by God’s presence in a celebratory manner. For as James Packer rightly observes, “To worship God is to recognize his worth or worthiness; to look God-ward, and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see” (Your Father Loves You, p. 15).
Honoring
The second verb found in our definition of worship is honoring. Worship is honoring God with our lifestyles. To honor simply means “to recognize the value of someone or thing and to act accordingly” (HBD-QV). So to honor God would entail us seeing Him for who He really is and responding in an appropriate manner. William Temple explains this aspect of worship in this manner:
For worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose—and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable (Warren W. Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p. 119).
You will notice that in our definition of worship it states that it is to be a matter of our lifestyle. You see, worship is more than singing a song. It’s more than an event we participate in every Sunday. It’s to be a lifestyle, our lifestyle. It’s to be our preoccupation in life. It’s who we are every moment of everyday. Remember, the Great Commandment: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
Citing James Packer once again, he writes:
Scripture views the glorifying of God as a sixfold activity: praising God for all that he is and all his achievements; thanking him for his gifts and his goodness to us; asking him to meet our own and others’ needs; offering him our gifts, our service, and ourselves; learning of him from his word, read and preached, and obeying his voice; telling others of his worth, both by public confession and testimony to what he has done for us. Thus we might say that the basic formulas of worship are these: “Lord, you are wonderful”; “Thank you, Lord”; “Please Lord”; “Take this, Lord”; “Yes, Lord”; “Listen everybody!”
This then is worship in its largest sense: petition as well as praise, preaching as well as prayer, hearing as well as speaking, actions as well as words, obeying as well as offering, loving people as well as loving God (Your Father Loves You, p. 15).
God has created the Church for the purpose of worship. Worship is celebrating God and honoring Him with our lifestyles. May this be the experience of each of us as we demonstrate the Church in our day to day living. [Pray]
Conclusion
Next week I will begin a series of Advent messages. So we will continue with our investigation of the purposes of the Church after Christmas.
