 |
 |
Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
Worship: Why
It is commonly known that man has always sought an object of worship. Pagans have bowed down to rocks and trees, animals and people. But Jehovah has made it clear that He is the “one God,” Deuteronomy 4:35, 6:4-5, John 17:3. We know that ancient civilizations included worship of some kind—man has always needed to worship—it is innate within man. God accommodated that need by providing a setting in which worship not only makes man aware of His goodness and majesty, but which also fulfills man’s need for worship.
Worship: What is it?
The word comes from an ancient term that implies reverence, respect and obeisance toward the object of worship. While our life is to be filled with service to God, there have always been special times and occasions for worship. Feast and fast days were required in the Old Testament era. In the Christian Age, we are informed that worship must be both sincere and in harmony with God’s truth, John 4:23-24. Therefore, “true worship” includes a spirit of sincerity as well as respect for God’s revealed truth.
Worship: For Whose Benefit?
While God is the object of worship, He is not the sole beneficiary of worship. He does not need our praise for Him to survive. In Psalm 50:7-15, He told Israel that He owned all the “cattle on a thousand hills,” and that “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” No, God does not need our worship, but He deserves it, and we need to praise and worship Him.
Unfortunately, worship in modern America is now focused—not on Jehovah, but on man. Yes, man needs to worship, but the need is not for man’s entertainment. We need to praise God, and when we do so, we are edified, we are built up, we are strengthened. That is the byproduct, the result of our worship, not its purpose.
Who is the Audience?
In both Ephesians 5:19-20 and Colossians 3:16-23 we are instructed that our singing is “to the Lord,” and that we are to do so “heartily…to the Lord.” The object of our worship is Jehovah, the Father, God. Yes, we will be teaching one another, admonishing one another, but again, that is the product of worship, not the primary purpose of worship.
Should we enjoy singing? Of course we should, but not because of the quality of the singers or the beauty of the melody. We will be reminded of God’s blessings. We will acknowledge God’s greatness and righteousness, and be made aware of God’s love and care for us,
Why has it become so popular for churches to present musical performances? Is it not because we enjoy it? Some of us don’t sing beautifully, and it is easy to think that God prefers singers who have beautiful voices and songs with melodies that are pleasing to our tastes. We ought to remember that God has given instruction concerning our worship, and that instruction puts the emphasis on our heart and not our voice. Do we think we please God because we have pleased ourselves? To whom do we present our worship —to each other? Or our God?
Worship in Spirit and in Truth
Jesus is certainly a reliable source of information on what God desires and requires in our worship. He told a Samaritan woman that worship “must” fit into the mold God has made. As seen in a previous reference, God has revealed that
“True worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth…God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” John 4:23-24.
Note that there are no separate instructions, one for the young and another for the aged. God’s Word is the same for all ages. Our hearts and minds are blended with the truth God has revealed on this subject. The result is that He is praised, and we are uplifted.
Entertainment?
Entertainment occupies a prominent place in our society. It provides recreation, relaxation, and we are made to laugh and cry, to rejoice and to grieve. However, God gave no place to entertainment in worship to Him.
Worship exalts God and uplifts man, but entertainment exalts man. Why not let God have His way in this and all matters. His way is best, Psalm 18:30.
|
|
|
|
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him…And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men,”
“The man who does not faithfully worship is but a pair of spectacles behind which there is no eye.”
|
|
|
|
|
God's Grace
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:4-10).
Grace is a translation of the Greek word charis, meaning, "...that kindness by which God bestows favors even upon the ill-deserving, and grants to sinners the pardon of their offences, and bids them accept of eternal salvation through Christ..." (Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon, p. 666). Charis (in its various forms) has been translated by such words as: "grace" (Eph. 3:8); "favor" (Luke 2:52); "liberality" (1 Cor. 16:3); "thanksgiving" (2 Cor. 9:12); and, "thanks" (2 Cor. 9:15). We commonly refer to grace as favor; especially, as "unmerited favor of God."
Grace is the Divine side of salvation. When man's transgression of God's law brought sin into the world and separated him from God and the Garden (Romans 5:12), God was not obligated to provide a way of return. Though He did not have so to provide, undeserving man was in desperate need, and could not have life without it; thus, grace is absolutely necessary. Therefore, God, in His great love, purposed to do for man what man could not do (Gen. 3:15). However, God did not, and He does not, do for man what man can (and must) do for himself. Obedient faith, a God ordained prerequisite to salvation, in response to the Gospel (“the faith”) accomplishes that (Heb. 11:6; 5:8-9; Eph. 2:8; James 2:24).
Grace is God's response to the insufficiency of sinful man. Men, without God, are corrupt, lost, undone, helpless, hopeless, dead in sin, and woefully unable to find the way, or to pay the price of redemption for themselves. Though the wisdom of man and the resources of man are insufficient, by themselves, to provide salvation, God's grace is sufficient. Salvation by grace is God's answer. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8; cf. Romans 3:24 and 5:1-2).
Grace is a consequence of God's supreme love and marvelous mercy (defined as “grace in action”) as these Divine characteristics relate to man's salvation through the gift of God's Son. God offers salvation, not because of obligation due to man's worth, nor because of man’s meritorious works, but because of His abundant grace -- His "unmerited favor." Truly, grace is abundant, yet it is neither appreciated nor appropriated by one who sees no need for obedient faith in Christ and redemption through his blood (Revelation 1:5; Ephesians 1:7).
A Gospel Meeting is an expression of our thanksgiving for God’s grace, and of our love for the souls of men who so urgently need Jesus. It is an earnest effort to present the inspired Word of God in order to explain to those whom we can reach, to encourage all who will listen, and to entreat every soul to become partakers of the great blessings made possible through God’s grace. Thus, it is an undertaking of immense and eternal consequence which is deserving of our frequent and fervent prayers and of our very best efforts. It is an opportunity which comes through God’s blessing, and your wise and prayerful planning, and which provides open doors to the very hearts and souls of men and women. What a wonderful time to show to others how Christ lives in us and how His Gospel has changed our lives! Working together with one another, and with God, we can do His will, and, in so doing, glorify His name and bring lost sheep into the safe fold of our loving Savior.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
