I’m going thru a bible study with a few of my very good
friends. We’re going thru a book by John
MacArthur called How to Study the Bible.
I’ve been thinking about the following passage over the last couple of
weeks:
David was a man with a
worshipping heart, he said, “God I will
worship You on the basis of Your truth” We
can’t truly worship God, no matter how meaningful that might be in our own
mind, unless we worship Him according to truth.
In John 4:24 Jesus says, “They
that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”. You can’t devise your own means for
worship. Like Saul, you can’t offer the
Lord a whole lot of animals that you stole against His commandment and then
say, “Well, I’m serving the Lord” (cf Sam. 13:10-14). God doesn’t want self-styled worship. He wants it according to His Word.
Wowzers. I’ve been
thinking about that, and remembered the example of Cain and Abel. Cain got really angry because he brought God
an offering and God found it unacceptable.
Also in the New Testament, Ananias and Saphira brought an offering and
were both killed flat dead. Their
offering wasn’t credited to them; their sin trumped any good that they may have
intended.
I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about this so much, but
it has been on my mind. I am nervous
about the church today. Is it an ‘American
Christian’ trait to relate to God so flippantly? Or can that be found in other cultures? No reverence, no honor, no fear. Yes, we are to approach Him with boldness –
Hebrews tells us that; we can be assured that He hears us when we pray and we
do not fear that He will strike us dead (unlike the Israelites who dared to
even touch the mountain He appeared
on in the wilderness).
I don’t know, it just makes me really want to be careful and
sincere. I want to honor God. I don’t want to wrap Christianity up in
worldly garb to make it appealing. You will
not find one example of Jesus chasing people around and trying to make the
gospel message ‘easy’. On the contrary,
look at what he told the rich young ruler, “Go sell all of your possessions and
then come follow me”. And he did not mince words when He spoke
about eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
It says that multitudes turned away from him and decided not to follow
Him after that. He didn’t chase them
down to explain what He meant. He let
them go. He knew that only a few could
accept His truth, His way, the only way.
Anyways, that's what has been floating around in my head lately.
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on August 4th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
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That is definitely a lot to meditate on. I agree with you in that much of the honor, reverance and fear of God has been pushed out of many churches to make room for pep talks (ahem, Joel Osteen) and wanting to “bring people in”….this might bring growth in church numbers but does not equal growing in the spiritual sense.
All the more reason to study God’s Word…how else will any of us know how to discern the TRUTH?
I’ll have to check out the book you’re talking about.
Love,
Marsha
on August 4th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
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It’s really interesting that you posted this. Worship has been on my mind a lot lately. In particular, I have been trying to learn to pray the way Jesus taught. If you look at the Lord’s prayer, quite a bit of it is devoted to worship. So, I believe that the bulk of our prayers should be devoted to worship (as opposed to a laundry list of our needs and wants). And, I’m with you, I want to be sincere and humble in my worship. It really takes some effort to get quiet and get to that place where your worship is true. I think it’s something that is very important to get good at!
Blessings,
Courtney
on August 4th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
An excellent post in my book…
Thanks for putting it into words, Jen. I do believe that there is a lot wrong with the way the Gospel is presented nowadays, and with the way we “worship” God. Not to say that God can’t use His Word however it is presented, but how often do we present it to our glory, and not to His?
Blessings on your study,
Karen
on August 4th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Thoughts on Worship
I attend a church where our weekly communion service involves a one hour meditation on the person and work of Christ. There is some music, some prayers, some readings, and some brothers voice their thoughts. It is a very contemplative form of worship, and I think honors the request of the Lord Jesus to remember him. Music can be part of our worship, but music by itself is not worship and music can distract from true worship. Worship is when we are amazed by God, when we are completely taken up by the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and when we express back to the Father what we know to be true about the Son through the leading of the Spirit. It can sometimes be emotionally satisfying, sometimes emotionally draining, and sometimes the emotions have little to do with it. Really, worship is not about having my heart touched; it’s about touching God’s heart when we acknowledge the perfections of the Son.
Regards,
Shawn Abigail
http://sabigail.blogspot.com
on August 4th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Good thoughts
I do think there are reasons to be nervous about today’s church. Too much emphasis on the worshiper than on the One to be worshipped.
I haven’t read that book by McArthur but have enjoyed and benefitted from others of his. Praying your study goes well.
June
on August 4th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
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Amen. 100% amen. Nothing could be truer.
on August 4th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
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those are some pretty great things to be thinking about! i have recently been reading the story about ananias and saphira and i had a discussion about cain’s sacrifice with my daughter just the other night!
on August 4th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
Great post!
I think the verse you mentioned in John 4:24 says it all, “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Some swing one way or the other… either ALL truth and NO spirit, or ALL spirit and NO truth. We are to do both. Thanks for sharing your deep thoughts on this.
~Connie
on August 5th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Amen!
I completely agree. We, too, now attend an hour of remembrance like Shawn described above. There is something really amazing about spending an hour weekly with brothers and sisters remembering just Christ in prayer, song (no instruments), and exhortation.
Thanks for your encouragement in the past, by the way, Jen! I wanted to let you know that starting Wednesday I will be joining the blog team at ChristianWomenOnline.net! I’ll still blog here regularly, but I will blog once a week, too! Just never know what the Lord has in store!
In Him,
Kari
on August 5th, 2006 at 2:38 am
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Isn’t it wonderful to bathe in the Father’s Words and glean from them pieces we’ve never seen before!
Michelle
on August 5th, 2006 at 8:05 am
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What wonderful sincere thoughts to have floating in your head. My hubby and I have studied on that quite often. Just this past weekend actually! It is so scary to think of how worship is done in some places, not according to His word, but to what “feels right”. Anyway, the magazine is GREAT! When I finish it and actually have coherent thoughts I’ll post more about it. This is quite possibly my favorite issue. This magazine should be mandatory reading for homeschoolers! 🙂
on August 5th, 2006 at 8:42 am
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I think you are very right in your thoughts and concerns. It sounds to me like you are gaining much from your time of bible study. Blessings! Jessie
on August 5th, 2006 at 11:15 am
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Yes yes yes! Excellent entry! Yes!
We need to think on these things. We need to quit following the herd blindly.
I was just thinking yesterday about how dangerous it is for Christians to live in our society. As dangerous for us as it is for the Chinese Christians who must sneak out at night to attend a gathering to read and hear the Word in a room with black curtains covering the windows. But their danger is a physical one. Our danger is a spiritual one. They could lose their lives, but will trade it for eternity with the Creator. We have nothing to lose here, but in our smug safety, we become blind and will trade our comfortable lives for eternity.
It makes me uncomfortable at best, and frightened for my children on the worst days.
Excellent post, Jen.
on August 5th, 2006 at 11:17 am
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Some time ago, I began realizing that “Church attendance” (not worship………I’ve only witnessed true worship a few times) is much like the weekly chore charts devised for our children to earn their weeky allowances.
I believe this is among many reasons for families who now worship at home with their families, with close friends – because they “fear the Lord” and want to worship according to His truths.
Excellent post and one that needs lengthy reflecting.
Thanks, Jen~
Harriette
on August 5th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
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Hi, wow- you were thinking of little ol’ me? Yes, about the 80’s, I saw it with my very own eyes. And I think I have seen it more than that, I just wasn’t paying attention to what was going on. It must be a conspiracy. I forgot to tell you that I did get the kids chore system in the mail. It looks good. I have started reading the book. The only thing is that we will have to order two more sets for my other girls and they are a bit spendy. Have a good weekend and I hope your worship tomorrow is in truth. I can totally understand what you are saying and I agree with your assessment of todays church.
Susan
on August 5th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
What an excellent entry!
Wowzers, I say! Eye-opening for me … I think I need this book … I think I need this study!!!! I know *exactly* what you mean here. I’m glad to have found your blog ….. looking forward to checking out more. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Blessings!
on August 5th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
worshipping on our own hill
Jen,
I think there is alot of truth to what you wrote about worshipping in our own way. Brings to my mind the people of Isreal and how they took to building alters in all kinds of places- not abiding where the Lord told them to worship. When Josiah became king he went and tore down all the alters in high places. It worries me, being here in So. Ca, in some circles christianity has become a lifestyle- kind of California-surfer-cool-ish, or south county-yuppie-coolish. I worry when I hear songs on the christian radio about it it’s got love and truth then God is in it… Yes, we are to worship the Lord in spirti and truth.
just some thoughts,
Jenny in Ca
http://www.homeiswhereyoustartfrom.blogspot.com
on August 5th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Hmm… that makes me think…
Not only do we need to worship God in truth, but like you said, it has to be HIS truth… not our own version of the truth.
I have been mulling over how I have heard people say, “God will understand that my situation is different” or “God won’t mind” or “it’s not a big deal if we do/don’t do ____”
Constantine took Christianity and mixed it with paganism to make it more PALATABLE to the people. We, the church, just lightly accept the paganism that is all around us and don’t even question it or ask God where HE would like us to be.
I don’t want to be a legalist,but I have been thinking a lot about how easy it is to subtly accept “idols” and reject what God has for us b/c it is “just not done that way anymore.”
I don’t know… but I have been thinking this over for quite some time now and your post got me going on that again!
on August 5th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
Fascinating topic
I keep coming back to your post and rereading it. It is something to definitely ponder and think heavily on. I’ll have to check out that book as well.
Oh, I got my summer TOS yesterday! It is excellent! You’re article was beautiful. Thank you for sharing a piece of yourself for the rest of us. You have blessed us all w/ your openess.
Thanks for stopping by my lil ole blog, btw. And yes, I agree w/ you, my dd has some rather deep thoughts rolling around in her young brain. She is one that has me on my knees more than the rest of her siblings put together. Your summer TOS issue is definitely a timely issue for our family.
on August 5th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
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I agree!!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. This same thing has been in my thoughts for a while too.
Hugs,
Di
on August 6th, 2006 at 7:54 am
Lot to think about!
I have been thinking similar thoughts about “worship” – came across the history of the word the other day – did you know it has it’s roots in the word “worthy”? I think that is what we should all be aiming for – making our worship something worthy of God’s greatness. Over here in England, there has been some “dumbing down” of worship as well. It is true what you say – we are making worship too easy for ourselves! In many ways, it could be said that we are taking God out of the whole thing.
Great post, Jen, and good luck with your Bible study!
~Chrissy
on August 7th, 2006 at 6:54 am
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I could SOOO use this, yet I never enter in time to win. However….
A glass vase filled with strawberries with 4 small read bud vases around it all sitting on morrocan (sp?) table runner (which is perfect size for my dresser)!
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Wow~
You go girl. No seriously. I love John Macarthur and a friend of mine invited me to do that exact bible study that you were doing almost 10 years ago and while doing that I surrendered my will unto Jesus my Savior. I still have that book. It’s a great study!
What you said about true worship and the world is so true. Our small group is doing a Kay Arthur study on Worship – it’s taking a look at the tabernacle and all it’s furnishings and how that compares to Christ and how we are to worship God. WOW! I am blow away by 1. that God loves me so much, that He chose me and allows me to know His word and 2. His awesome power and all knowing that over hundreds of years the TRUE tabernacle Jesus Christ, would allow all of us to come before Him, PTL!!
Thanks for such a great entry!
on August 8th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
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I am having a contest on my blog. This is the last week to enter. You’ll see the rules and stuff at my blog. Hope you join!
Sami