Oct. 13, 2024

A Gift Good Enough for God

Introduction - In recent weeks, I have been teaching about God’s current work of uniting congregations into one spiritual church.  This is being done in cities across the world, each city-church having its own spiritual evaluation and reward.  Our congregation in Monessen is part of the church in Monessen. The pastors in our city have wisely started to unify, and the Lord has shown them two simple objectives: 1) to worship together and 2) to pray for each other.  These two things, as opposed to an endless list of projects which are conceived by humans and meant to be executed by each local congregation.  Worshipping together, the first objective, is what I will discuss today.  

Worship as an individual

Any teaching on worship usually starts by addressing music and methods of expressing worship.  My starting point today is much more primitive, that being individual surrender. 

Genesis 22:5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” NLT

The Hebrew word translated as worship, shachah, means “to depress.” It is translated elsewhere in the King James Bible as “to bow” “to do obeisance” “to stoop” “humbly beseech,” etc. The story preceding this verse is a simple, but powerful.  God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering.  Abraham obeyed, going through all the preparation to build an altar, gather wood, bind his son to the altar, and grab a knife before God stopped him, announcing the purpose for the test.  It was to determine whether or not Abraham feared God which would be seen in the fact that he did not withhold Isaac, but was ready to offer Him up. Abraham passed this demanding test.  He had, of course, no ability to atone for his sins, our sins or any such thing, but there certainly was some blessing from God passed down to all of us through him, just as a father teaches his family righteousness and the entire family prospers. As the sin of a distant family member can bring a generational curse on a family line, it is likely that the righteous acts  of a family member can bring blessing to a family tree of humans through the power of a good example.  Paul talked often about this principle (Follow me as I follow Christ; be an example, etc).

Let me say quickly that this test was not meant to be duplicated by Christians today. It is unlikely that God would ever require this of anyone in this age.  Abraham was to become the “father of faith” by this and other acts of obedience.  There was no other written record, like the Bible, no other prophet, no other means of communication between God and Abraham, by which he could corroborate, verify, or determine the genuineness of the command except by depending on the voice of God alone.  Today, we have the Scriptures and the Spirit of God:

2 Peter 1:19 …we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. NLT

Let’s think about this simple starting point for the understanding of worship.  The principle of first mention, a method used in interpreting the Scripture, helps us see worship in the proper light.  Here, we look for a principle mentioned in its first appearance in the Scripture.  It will likely have a similar emphasis and meaning in the rest of the Bible.  Many books written about how to worship start at the easy-to-discuss-level of music, dance, and mechanics.  There certainly were many references to such things, especially in the Old Testament.   Abraham’s reference to worship was the first mention of it in the Scripture.  There was not a note of music, nothing but the sobering recognition of what had to be given up.  

The modern church wants to avoid everything which has any note of unpleasantness or sacrifice for us.  Preachers purposely major on all the “glad” stuff, and try to insulate people from anything sacrificial, because it doesn’t fill the pews. Consequently, you’ll never hear about the need for you to change.  We will never be called upon to sacrifice a child, but there are many other things we hold dear which God wants to have us sacrifice.  For example, Around election time we get very defensive about our way of life.  We rely on a person to make policies to preserve it.  What if God in His infinite wisdom knows the country needs to be in more confusion and chaos to drive the church to get strong and mature, like the days of ancient Rome and its persecution of the Christians? Those early Christians didn’t do anything wrong which merited punishment. What if we are called upon to willingly give up some our securities and comforts so that His church can become mature? A coming example may be: Would you take someone homeless who you don’t know into your home, as Isaiah 58 recommends?  

There is a great tendency in Christian literature and media to focus on Scriptures which support the Christian’s claim to many blessings from God.  These are certainly true and not to be disdained.  We prioritize these for memorization.  But far less emphasis is placed upon the merits of sacrifice and potential obedience and their potential to please God.  The richest life blessings come from these verses.   Up to this point, I have considered an attitude of sacrifice which you, as an individual, have control over.  Notice that we haven’t even mentioned music!  Let’s now consider things we do as a group to express collective worship to God.  We each progress in a fairly typical way as we grow: 

Worship as a group

The early phases of worship in the life of a Christian:

- Don’t understand it, no time for it, nonsense.    

- A happy group thing, rhythmic clapping, learn to like it, like a football chant.  

- Banners and dance, deep worship songs, powerful music, excitement

- Enjoyment of singing or dancing in front of others

-Take responsibility for leadership 

There will always be a spectrum of maturity in any congregation.  New believers must be allowed time to grow and appreciate worship with the group.  

The New Testament is not nearly as replete with musical mechanics as the Old, probably because the temple worship was only a figure of things to come.  It’s not going to matter if you include a shofar, or not, or use a keyboard or not.  Paul spends much more time talking about character changes within the worshipper’s heart, which really seems to be at the heart of New Testament worship. This always is foundational to worship. It’s not that music isn’t valuable, but it is definitely not the most important aspect.  As we apply the Bible to our lives, we should emphasize it in the proportions which the Lord does, i.e., if he says a lot about something in the New Testament, we should say a lot about it and do a lot with it.  If He says little about something, we should emphasize it proportionally.  Here’s one of the few passages which address what we’d call a worship service:

Colossians 3:12-17 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  NLT

Conclusion - Worship is really much more about doing what pleases God, rather than what pleases us.  He is much less concerned with how our songs sound than with what our hearts sound like.  We will be meeting people from different churches, visiting their worship services, and learning to accept them right where they are and value what they understand.  As much as Abrahams’s response to the the potential sacrifice of Isaac pleased the Lord then, so today, our sacrifice of acceptance of other Christians who don’t have the same customs we do and the pains we take to visit and make their acquaintance really pleases God.  

Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. NLT