THE WINDOW
Bible Teaching Ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
-----------------
October 17, 2004
-----------------
Some people go through life like Calvin, the obnoxious little seven-year-old in the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin is the prototype for Mudville. If you recall that old poem “Casey at the Bat” – there was no joy in Mudville, because “…mighty Casey had struck-out.”
Now, Calvin has a sense of humor, but it is all cynical and gruesome. There is no joy connected with the humor. It is as unwanted as the faces of those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but live life as sour as a lemon dropped in pickle juice!
On the other hand there are folks like Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who, I’m certain never heard of Calvin. He once said, Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace. How different the two outlooks on life!
Praise is the act of worship most required of humans toward God Almighty. Yet it isoften the missing quality of so-called worship services. In the Bible the word “worship” appears in only a few forms. One word literally means “to serve”, and it is where the term worship service originated.
Another word is “dox-a”, meaning “to give glory”. We sing “the doxology”…Praise God from whom all blessings flow….
A third, most prominent word in the New Testament carries the meaning of “to kiss towards”, as in bending before a king to kiss his ring. This is the center of true praise and worship. We have a King; we bow to kiss towards His throne.
Worship is one of only two valid reasons for a church to exist (the other being evangelism). The Psalter (Book of Psalms) constitutes the original worship and praise book for God’s people. Psalm 146 and 147 neatly answer the questions: WHAT…WHY…HOW?
What is Worship?
Internal praise Psalm 146:1
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
My soul is the beginning point of praise. I cannot praise God, except that I have been changed in my heart, by His grace. Without a spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ there is no way to please God.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that dilighently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
External praise Psalm 146:2a
I will praise the LORD while I live;
The Bible tells us that one of the external pleasures and duties we will have as a church is to worship the King forever.1 My prayer for a long time in my private devotions has been, “Lord, allow me the presence of mind to have my whole life magnify Jesus.”
Vital praise Psalm 146:2b
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Singing, in this context, has little to do with correctly hitting those little spots on the lines and spaces. To sing is to bring forth the innermost of who we are as people, created for a holy God. The songs of a people or a culture, tell the pulse of who those people really are.
Our black brothers and sisters sing of trouble and struggle. Whatever your view of racism and the plight of minorities, it is hard to miss the pathos that formed the blues and jazz. Jesus said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart.
Vital praise means we bring forth from our hearts that internal praise we have for God. Internal must, at some point, become external! And it should be LOUD!
In David’s day they sang these Psalms. The choir would sing the words of the praise, and the congregation would echo back HALLELUJAH! Like the cheerleaders want the crowds at a football game to shout back the letters to spell out the home team’s name, the worship leader says the praise, the people echo the praises back towards heaven.
We tend to be stodgy, bordering on downright comatose in our “worship” when we refuse to be enthusiastic. We become like the church that had a visitor. The services were always rigid and formal. The minister quietly and systematically read his sermon. He made the mistake of saying something about Jesus being our only Lord and Savior. The visitor said, “Amen.”
Everyone was stunned…the minister almost lost his place when he looked up to see what had happened. He continued reading, and the fellow said, “Amen” a second time. The usher got to him this time; “Sir, you have to be quiet.” But later in the service the minister commented on a great truth about the gospel, and the man this time shouted, “AMEN! AMEN!!”
This time the usher said, “Sir, if you don’t be quiet, you will have to leave the service.” The man said, “But, I got Jesus, man.” To which the usher replied rather aristocratically, “Yes, indeed…we see. But you didn’t get Him here!”
What is worship? Psalm 146 is a hymn written by King David, an individual who had been helped by the Lord. We have something in common the king; we are all pilgrims who stumble – we are all in need of help. And God is the Great Helper! It’s something that ought to create praise…internally, externally and vitally! Question #1…What is Worship? The offering of praise from the inside out!
Why Worship?
Because we have a God Psalm 146:3-10
Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;In that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,Whose hope is in the LORD his God,Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and all that is in them;Who keeps faith forever; Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free.
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
The LORD loves the righteous;
The LORD protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He thwarts the way of the wicked.
The LORD will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!
Aside from the obvious, that the Lord is worthy, and He is God [and we are not], and therefore worthy of praise…if He never gave us anything, He is also a God who can be trusted. He is faithful, THE Creator. His providence feeds us, supplies all, loves, lifts, protects. We have a God!
Harold Bosley was a great Methodist preacher. When he was a young student at the University of Chicago, he and a few other students went to a black church on the outskirts of the city. They were having a panel discussion of four speakers representing different approaches to the problems of life. One of the speakers was Dr. Charles Gilkey, chaplain at the university. Another was Clarence Darrow, the famous atheist lawyer, who had defended the schoolteacher in the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. If you recall, Darrow’s opponent was William Jennings Bryan. The issue was whether evolution could be taught in the public schools. Was he successful – well just consider that we can no longer expect our children to hear anything of creation…it’s all evolution in the public schools. God has been evicted.
On this particular panel debate when Clarence Darrow spoke, he played on the emotions of the black people and their social misery. This was the heart of the depression – no money, jobs and little hope. He amplified their despair and frustrations. In one moment of eloquence Darrow questioned:
But, I don’t understand it – you sing such great music – I have heard you singing here today – amid all the woes of life – how can you sing? What in the world do you have to sing about in the face of life like this?
Darrow had asked a rhetorical question, not expecting an answer; like a flash a woman stood up right in front of him and said, Why do we sing? What do we have to sing about? We have JESUS to sing about! They all shouted “amen”! Well, we have Jesus to sing and should about! The singing, and the shouting, and anything else we do here [except the lifeless Baptist nodding-off during the sermon] is worship, and it’s because we have a God!
How Shall We Worship?
Sing Psalm 147: 1-7
1Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For ?it is pleasant and praise is becoming. The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their ?wounds.4He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. 5Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. The LORD ?supports the afflicted; He brings down the wicked to the ground. Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
This has little to do with “performing” a musically-correct piece. It has everything to do with bringing-forth to God the very best praise from within YOU! Now, with that said, let me add that, for the musicians who are charged with the responsibility of leading with music, it is shameful to do less than your best. It is sinful to come unprepared.
Those of you who are so-gifted with musical ability have a responsibility towards those of us who are musically-challenged to help us do our best. You can’t do that if you take a slip-shod or lackadaisical attitude. It is as bad as a preacher “winging” the sermon. That’s not bringing the best of praise from within – that’s offering a blemished sacrifice!
On the other hand, we musically-challenged people must try. Every week I have been a pastor I have seen folks stand with their arms folded, counting the tiles on the ceiling while the rest sing. Shame on you! If it is sinful for the music leaders to do a sloppy job, it is criminal for the followers to refuse to even try! Put a smile on your face and sing! No one came here to hear you hit the wrong note. We are here to offer the sacrifice of praise.
Henry Ward Beecher was one of those “celebrity preachers”. He was famous for his ability to hold an audience spellbound. One bleak day as the service was to begin in his church, the pews were full, but it was Henry’s brother Thomas who emerged from the pastor’s study.
Realizing that the lesser-known preacher was going to fill in that morning, a number of the members and visitors got up to leave. In a moment of inspiration, Thomas Beecher stood and said, All those who came to worship Henry Ward Beecher this morning may leave…Any who came to worship God may stay.
Our singing is for the glory of God. There is no place for hero worship, other than Jesus. But there is also no place for half-hearted, feeble worship. Our singing ought to be strong.
Every revival in the modern era has been characterized by two great features – Biblical preaching and great Bible-based singing. In England, when the state church had become stiff, formal and decadent – so empty and hollow that it had lost its message, it was the Wesleys that God sent on the scene. John Wesley was a fiery preacher who went to the common people and preached. But, alongside the great preacher was his brother Charles, author of great soul-stirring words, sung by common voices…miners, farmers. Consider those Methodist pioneers’ contributions to our own Baptist hymnal:
O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,
Blessed Be the Name
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,
Christ the Lord is Ris’n Today
A Charge to Keep I Have
There is not an Easter, Christmas or hardly any other week that passes that we aren’t touched by the Wesleys. Let us sing!
Music Psalm 147:7b
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
I am as nearly musically-illiterate as one man can be…however I CAN make music. It may not be particularly pleasing to your ears, but in the context of worship, I wouldn’t be playing for you!
Children have less hang-ups than we adults; they just make music. Have you ever heard a child when he is happy – there’s always singing, humming, whistling. The lyrics are incredibly creative and hardly ever rhyme. You won’t find them in anyone’s hymnal or praise & worship segment; but they are songs gushing from a happy and pure heart. Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when He said we must become like little children to enter the Kingdom. Just make music!
Reverence Psalm 147:11
11The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
Do you know that reverence has much less to do with being quiet than being ready? Reverence is found in a heart that is willing to do the will of God. There are times to be quiet in church, and children [in particular] must be taught about those times. But true worship with reverence demands that we shout the “AMEN” at the appropriate time as well. Children need to behave…adults need to be alive!
Telling Others Psalm 147:12-20
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your sons within you. 14He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. 16He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments; Who can stand before His cold? 18He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow. He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel. 20He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His ordinances, they have not known them. Praise the LORD
Sooner or later it comes down to being willing to share Christ. Earlier the point was made that the church only exists for two purposes, worship and witness. In reality they are components of only one purpose – that of being the people of God. To witness is to worship; to worship is to witness.
Invariably they also point to each other. All true worship will witness of the presence of God, while the witness is incomplete, except it points to the worship of God.
What, why and how – these are the questions to which our text has shown us clear answers.
A Reminder about What Worship DOES
Victor Hugo, in one of his short stories, describes a man walking along a path. Suddenly he discovers that the path is slipping out from under him. He sees that he is caught in something sticky that is pulling him down. He tries to get out; he pulls at his feet, but the harder he tries, the deeper he sinks.
Hugo describes the horrible feelings of this man in despair. As the man sinks to his waist, he tries to reach the tree limbs, but they’re too far. He reaches upward to the sky and cries out. The sand comes up…up…up.
The sand reaches his neck, and he begins to choke with the pressure. Then his drying, cursing, shrieking lips are suddenly covered by the sand…and he strangles, and is gone.
You know what quicksand is; we worship because God has reached His loving hand downward in Jesus Christ. We simply take that hand, and are saved. THAT is something to worship about – enthusiastically! Let the church say, Amen!
