Worship 4 Series

We are taking a short interim study on "Worship" and some of its implications. In our brief and incomplete study of worship, we saw that true worship always brings change to the life of the one worshiping, to be more like the One being worshiped. There are many areas of our lives that true worship will bring change. We’ve look at four of those areas, and the last of these four is our subject of today.

(1) Authentic worship will produce a proper attitude about GOD

(2) Authentic worship will produce a proper attitude about OURSELVES

(3) Authentic worship will produce a proper attitude about OUR DAILY LIVES.

(4) Authentic worship will produce a proper attitude about Service

Our present concentration is on the Biblical subject of Service. We could have used any number of the personalities presented in Hebrews 11 , as our examples of Biblical service. Isaiah would have made a very good subject for the study of service.

Isaiah 6:1 … I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

Our worship experiences should have a great many similarities to those of Isaiah. We may not (will not) have the exact vision that Isaiah did, BUT none the less, if we really experience true worship of the God of all Gods, the Creator of all things, the Savior of mankind, and we see Him "high and lifted up", we WILL see ourselves and our people as "undone" with "unclean" lips.

When we allow the next obvious "step" in true Biblical worship to take place, that of having our iniquities taken away and our sins purged, THEN we, too, will hear the question from God, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?", AND we will answer, "Here am I! Send me."

Yes, Isaiah would be a very good personality to look at for this subject of Biblical service. However, I have chosen two other "Faith Greats", from Hebrews 11 , as my prime examples of true Biblical Service. The two "Faith Greats" I have chosen are Elijah & Elisha. I have chosen these two, because they have some characteristics that we may be able to associate with a bit easier than the characteristics recorded of Isaiah.

James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

We might recoil at the thought that our nature is somewhat like Elijah’s. OR maybe we should recoil that Elijah’s nature might be a little like ours. Hopefully, we will understand that statement a little better when our study is through.

Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

We don’t find the names of either of these two great men of faith in Hebrews 11 . However, these "No-Name-Greats" are included in the "package" of great people called the prophets.

It is not my purpose to study, in detail, the "great" actions of these two, but instead, we want to see the attitudes behind their actions, as they participated in Spiritual service. To see these attitudes, we will look briefly at some of their actions, because their attitudes are reflected in their actions. By the way, that is true in our lives, also.