God’s Glorious Church
Worship Matters
Psalm 34:3
Woodlawn Baptist Church
May 22, 2005
Introduction
In his letter to the Philippian church, the apostle Paul, speaking of Jesus said,
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Worship. Of all the duties and privileges of man there is none higher than that of worshipping the God of heaven. “Give unto the Lord the glory due His name” the Bible says. God is certainly worthy of our worship, for He is glorious in every way. Paul said that one day every knee would bow in humble acknowledgement of the glory of God. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Whether lost or saved, every human being is going to worship the Lord. When I talk about worship, I am reminded of the things David wrote in the Psalms:
“Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.”
Think of the way your heart swells at the birth of a child, or in the most joyful moments of a wedding. Those moments pale in comparison to the gladness that God can fill you with.
Psalm 5:11 says,
“Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”
Psalm 9:1-2 continues,
“I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”
Psalm 40:8 expresses worship this way:
“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
And then Psalm 73:25-26 says,
“Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”
The Bible is filled with these expressions of mind and heart as they respond to God in worship, and they are beautiful reminders to us that God delights in the praise of His people. Isn’t that why we were created? To worship and exalt the name of the Lord? It’s the sole purpose for our existence!
There is much I could say tonight as I speak on this subject of Worship Matters, but I want to narrow it down very specifically to deal with worship and why it matters in the context of the church service. We’ve been talking about all these things that contribute to the overall health of the church. There are five fundamental issues at hand that contribute to a church’s health: evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship, and if we are weak in any one of these areas, then we’re not as healthy as we ought to be.
Now, its one thing to talk about worship, but the worship service is an altogether different subject. Of course, you cannot have a worship service where there is no worship, but we’ll come back to that thought in a little while. For now, let’s talk about what a worship service is, then I’ll give you some reasons why our worship services must be given a significant amount of attention if they are to meaningful to us and more importantly to God.
The Worship Service
What is a worship service? Is it three songs, an offering, a special, a sermon and an invitation? Is that a worship service? It could be – and it could not be. You see, when you boil it all down, worship is nothing more than our celebration of God’s presence and power and purpose and person by magnifying Him and exalting His name. David said in Psalm 34:3,
“O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.”
It is not the form or structure of the service that determines whether it is a worship service or not – it is the content, that which flows from our hearts and minds and is lifted to the throne of heaven! One song, ten songs – it doesn’t matter. Old hymns, new praise choruses – it doesn’t matter. King James or New King James – it doesn’t matter. People everywhere are fighting over how to worship, what to sing and what Bibles to use, and I’ll tell you – they’re fighting over it because they’re not really worshipping! They’re not really delighting themselves in the majesty of God!
Listen, our style of worship has more to do with our culture than it does with our theology. Every church has a distinct cultural flavor. We don’t lift our hands here, but other people in other churches do. Is it right or wrong? It’s neither. If it’s wrong, then why do we rejoice when we see tribal people of other nations worshipping in that manner? If it is right, then why aren’t we doing it? You see, it is largely a cultural issue, and there are dozens of others just like it. “Every church likes to believe its worship style is the most biblical. The truth is, there isn’t a biblical style of worship.”
The offering should be an act of worship. The sermon should be an act of worship. The invitation should be an act of worship. The singing should be an act of worship. But let me take it a step further – our preparation for the service should also be an act of worship. Every Sunday morning ought to be a celebration of the goodness of God. That celebration ought to be reflected in the organ. It ought to be reflected on the piano. It ought to be reflected in the choir and in the song leader and in the preacher and in the pew!
So, when we ask what a worship service is, the answer is that it depends on what we want it to be so long as it is scriptural and exalts the Lord. You may disagree with me, but it is my opinion that most people will spend years attending church and never worship. Many will never taste of the Bread of Life or drink from the fountain of living water. Many will attend for years – they may sing about standing on Jordan’s stormy banks and casting a wishful eye, but never have their hearts lifted into the heavenlies. They may voice the words of Glory to His Name, but never feast on the glory and the majesty of God.
Why? Because either they have never seen the value of preparing for worship and becoming engaged in the worship service, or because we have not seen the value of the same.
The Worship Service Matters
I want you to think about something. Today millions of people attended church, but for all the people that went, and all the money that was spent, and all the songs that were sung and all the sermons that were preached, did it really matter? Did it make a difference? You see, most people can’t answer that question. Maybe you can. Those of you who are growing and maturing and are sensitive to why we’re here may know the answer, but the vast majority of church attenders and the unchurched whom we’re trying to reach have no idea how important the corporate worship service really is. Why does the worship service matter? Have you ever wondered? If you are like most people, we just keep doing it without much thought – but the worship service does matter, and here is why.
Because corporate worship gives our church the opportunity to publicly express our adoration for God
We always enjoy having visitors in our services, but if you haven’t thought about it lately, let me remind you that only believers can truly worship God, and the worship service is the time that we all come together and worship Him corporately. Don’t ever forget who the audience is in the service. It isn’t you.
Now, if you go to a concert, you are the audience. When we went to hear the Gaithers, we were the audience. When you go to a talent show, you are the audience, but when you enter into a worship service, you enter a whole other context. However, let me point out a couple of things about the worship service that we need to remember.
Number one, it has nothing to do with the sanctuary. We could just as easily have a worship service in the fellowship hall or in the parking lot or across the street. If we wanted to we could meet at the park or in a theater or at a nursing home. I say that because so many people think that when they enter the sanctuary something mystical happens. Remember that Paul told the men of Athens that…
“God that made the world and all things in it, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands…”
Number two, it is not about external forms. I’ve already mentioned this once, but I want to remind you of something Jesus said in Matthew 15:8.
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me…in vain they do worship me.”
When we gather together for a worship service, and while there is form and structure to the service, we must remember that it is not the form that we worship, and we must remember that the worship is not about us – it is about God and God alone. When Ron sings, he sings to entertain God – not you. When you sing, it’s not an empty exercise – it is an effort to guide you to think something about God. When Jill or Kassidy or anyone else sings a special, it is intended to direct your hearts to God so that He is magnified. When I preach a message, it is intended to please God. When you hear a message, your response is an act of worship – an expression of your desire to magnify and exalt the name of the Lord.
Because the worship service creates a context for the building up of our body
Now, one of the amazing benefits of worship is that when we give ourselves over to the purpose of exalting and expressing adoration for God, our hearts are lifted up too. How can we think about the glories of tomorrow and not be given hope for today? How can we consider the bounties of God and remain saddened over our lack today? It is when I know that God is faithful that my faith is strengthened. It is when I hear that God is strong that I take courage. So when we worship and exalt the Lord, our hearts are lifted as well. However, sometimes it is not a lifting up that we need. There are times when God works to scandalize us, and that scandalizing is exactly what we need.
Jesus says to the Samaritan woman to go and call her husband, to which she replies she has no husband. Jesus in return says that she is right. She has had five husbands, and the man she is living with now is not her husband. There he sits on the side of the well with his hands folded, glaring at her with those piercing eyes, shaming her in a public area all so He can teach her about worship.
When Isaiah saw the glory of God, his heart was not lifted up. Quite the contrary – he saw himself as a man of unclean lips, ashamed of his condition before God, but it was in seeing his condition that made him ready to worship through a lifetime of service. Sometimes the only way to properly see the majesty of God is to see how lowly we are. It is when we see our depravity that we recognize His holiness. It is when we see our defilement that we learn to love His absolute purity. It is when we are confronted by judgment that we cast ourselves on His mercy. It is in falling down that we learn to look up.
The worship service provides an amazing context for us to be built up as a body. When we come together to exalt the name of God; when we come together to express our adoration for Him as a body, there is something that happens in and among us that serves to bind us together. Where does fighting and strife come from? It cannot exist when we are corporately exalting God. Where does division begin? Does it not come when my attention is turned to myself rather than God?
Every time we meet together we have the potential to grow as a body; perhaps not numerically, but in other ways. That’s why the writer of Hebrews admonished his readers not to forsake assembling together. The times they lived in were dangerous, and many of them were walking away from the faith. Praise and adoration of God was the last thing on their minds. They were thinking about survival, and in many ways they remind me of the people that come through those doors, even some of you.
When you come into this place, you’re not thinking about the majesty of God or how much you adore Him. You’re trying to survive! Your job is wearing you down. Your finances aren’t what you want them to be. Maybe you’ve been limping along in a relationship. Believers enter the worship service on every level of the emotional spectrum. Some are happy, some ecstatic, some full of praise, others sad, sorrowed, lonely, frustrated, depressed, and in every one of these conditions God wants you to see that just by gathering together in corporate worship your faith is strengthened and your vision is restored.
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the say approaching.”
Because the worship service is a powerful witness to the unchurched
I told you earlier that only believers can truly worship God. However, we frequently find ourselves with unbelievers in our services. If we believe that no person comes into our services by accident, then we must necessarily believe that God wants to use those services to minister to their greatest spiritual need. Our worship services can be a powerful witness to them, but only when two conditions are met.
They must experience God’s presence
I know the Bible says that “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst.” But it is my contention that not every time believers gather are they necessarily gathering in the Lord’s name, nor are they gathering in such a way that God’s real presence would be known.
Listen to me: when we come together for a worship service, we must come together on purpose: for the distinct purpose of worshipping God. That shouldn’t have to be said, but we all, every one of us forget it. A quick read through the book of Acts is a powerful reminder to us of what happens when the presence of God is experienced, and it is a challenge to us that perhaps God’s presence is not being experienced like it could be among us today.
They must understand the message
Not only must the unchurched experience the presence of God – they must also understand the message we are presenting. I suspect that far more than we realize, unchurched people are confused by the things we say and do, both of which constitute our message. We sing about Mount Pisgah, but how many of us know what that is? We talk about sanctification and justification and salvation, but how many unchurched people can articulate what all that means?
Now I’m not suggesting that we have to be shallow or superficial, but it does mean that we need to evaluate everything we say and do to make sure that what we are presenting is something God can use to draw a soul to Him. Sometimes that may mean that I need to think through the way I word my messages. Something I have been tossing around is the message we communicate every Sunday morning in our worship service when we tell people that we don’t care about numbers, but then we tell them our Sunday School numbers and ask for more. Maybe that’s something we do out of habit without thought for how it sounds to an unchurched person.
Conclusion
Now, as I bring this message to a close, I want to share with you some things that we can do to make our worship services everything God would have them to be in order that He might be exalted, that our church body might be built up, and that the unchurched might be reached in a powerful way.
First, in order for us to enjoy dynamic corporate worship, each of us must be enjoying private worship. Listen, God wants you to enjoy Him! He wants you to take delight in spending time with Him! Do you realize that the greatest enemy of our worship is that we are far too easily pleased?
“We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, television, a microwave oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new…computer. We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled.”
C.S. Lewis said that…
“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Church worship services are suffering all across our land, ours included, because we have failed to be captivated by the joys and pleasures of private worship. Let us return here first.
Second, in order for us to enjoy dynamic corporate worship, we must plead with God for His presence. When the people of God, and particularly those of us who lead in the worship service beg God and plead with Him to manifest Himself among us, there is no telling what might happen. So pray.
There is a third thing that I want to offer, and it may sound like a contradiction to you, but very simply we must plan for corporate worship. While we worship in private and while we pray for God’s intervention, we must not neglect our need to plan. I asked over a hundred people what two of the most important things were to them when they came to church, and the number one answer was that the services be carried out with order rather than with chaos.
If people get the idea that we are just shooting from the hip, then they will rightly get the impression that what we’re doing is really not all that important to us. Do we start on time? Is the music good and well planned? Have we been through the sound system? Are the preacher and the song leader on the same page? Is there a good flow to the service? Can people tell that we have given everything careful attention?
As one man has correctly pointed out, “One of the big factors for a church is its worship services, where the most people gather at any one time. If that isn’t planned well, you can be sure that the church members do most everything else poorly.”
We will not ever be perfect. Our worship services will always be flawed simply because we are a flawed people, but if our hearts are right with God, and we as a church body have a genuine desire to express our adoration to Him, and we are conscious of the powerful impact that our worship services can have not only in the lives of the unchurched, but also in our own, then we will begin to see how much worship matters.
Have you been worshipping God with joy and delight? Is your private worship what it ought to be or have you neglected to enjoy the presence of God in your daily life? Have you been guilty of taking the corporate worship services of our church less than enthusiastically? Let’s go to God in prayer and plead with Him to come into our presence in such a way that we can say with David, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
