Old Testament Implications for Worship Today

There is much for us to learn from Old Testament tent-shrine and temple sanctuary worship which was central to Hebrew worship of Yahweh.  

The basic purpose of the tent-shrine and the later temple of Jerusalem was to enable God to live among His people.  The focus was mainly on God's meeting with His people and being totally involved in their daily lives.  Today, as New Testament Believers, it is important for us to remember that the redeemed people of God make up the church of Jesus Christ, the holy temple of the Lord (Eph. 2:21).  The building is the meeting place, the church is the redeemed where God is present and as active in our lives as we allow Him.

Both tabernacle and temple worship emphasized the importance of preparation by the worshipper or congregation before meeting with a Holy God.  How is our preparation today?  Do we study what God's Word has to say about worship?  Do we prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for worship?  Do we pray in preparation for worship?  

All of the design and construction of the Old Testament sanctuaries - the dress, the priesthood and the worship all highlighted the person and character of God - particularly His sovereignty, majesty, glory, and holiness.  The Old Testament worshippers were overpowered by a sense of awe and reverence.  Today we need to return to creating a sense of the holy.

The very floor plan, arrangement of furnishings and order of worship in the Old Testament sanctuaries led the worshipper through a sequence of experiences that took the worshipper from the ordinary daily living into the holy, and then the most holy - the very presence of God.  Do we today come in to worship expecting to be in God's presence?  We need to come with anticipation and expectation of being in His holy presence and through a Christ-centered focus in worship, rehearse the life and work of Christ every week.  mjm

Culture vs. Christ in Worship

One of the great theologians on worship A.W. Tozier once said, "Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us."  We live in a day when this has become and even greater danger for the worshipping community.  It is paramount that the worship, the song, the composer, the worship leader, the worship leading choir, the worshipper has a revelation of Jesus at the very center of their existence in order for worship to be transformed beyond the culture around us.

It begs the same question of who are we worshipping or who are we serving?  Is the intent of our hearts self-serving or self-focused?  If transformed by Christ our worship will not be to please ourselves, but to serve our Lord and others.  

Saint Irenaeus once said, "The Glory of God is a human being fully alive".  Our expressions of worship will declare the glory of our God when our focus is where it should be.  Lord, let it be so.  mjm

Spiritual Performers vs. Worship Leaders

I have often said, "I am not at all comfortable in a performing role, but am completely comfortable and at peace in a worship leading role as a minister and musician."  I am not comfortable with it being about me.  It is about Him.  I was reminded of that today in worship led by our guest musician, Keron Jackson.  Keron has been gifted by God with a phenomenal voice and yet kept saying to me, as we rehearsed for the services and led the services, that it was not about him, but about Jesus and what He had done in his life.  What a passionate and compassionate heart this guy shared behind the scenes as we prepared to worship with the church.  It wasn't just about his song, but about his story -  which begins and ends with Jesus.  

This should always be true of any of us who lead the church in worship:  the instrumentalists, the choir, the preachers, whoever we are in the leading, it must always profoundly, yet simply, be about Him!

One has said, "Worship is all that we are, responding to all that God has revealed Himself to be, initiated  and empowered by His Holy Spirit."  When we lead worship as worship leaders, we simply are "responding" to Him and it's all about Him!  In our culture there is sometimes a tendency to fall in love with the man-contrived DELIVERY SYSTEM, rather than the TRUTH.  

Our role is never to impress, but to inspire and ignite people's hearts to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4).  Whether we are part of a worship leading choir or a worship leader we are to enable folks into His presence or usher folks in.  Our job is not to worship TO or FOR the congregation, but WITH the congregation.  Bottom line is . . . give me Jesus!  mjm

The Voice of the Redeemer in Worship

In scripture we see how singing sweetens our relationship with God and how the book of Psalms shapes and directs our singing.  We also see how David's song of God-forsakenness leads to a song of thanksgiving in the midst of a great assembly.  We see how Jesus sings Himself into the exile of our curse so that He might rise as our King of Kings.  Then we see how the Redeemer's resurrection and ascension enables the Redeemer to become the Architect of Praise as He sends the Holy Spirit to build a house for God's indwelling.  

In Psalm 22 we find a study of contrasts.  It moves from crucifixion to resurrection, from sorrow to victory. It also moves from the Singer's aloneness to being surrounded by many different kinds of people.  In v. 25 the Singer sings His hymn to the God who answers His cry for help.  Once left in agony with a band of evildoers, now the Singer is surrounded by Jew and Gentile, poor and rich, generations past and generations to come (vv. 23, 26, 27, 29 - 31).   In place of God's abandonment is God's attention and ear and in place of scoffers and torturers is a vast and varied assembly of worship. The Psalm begins as a solo and ends as a chorale or congregation.  

Christ the Redeemer calls forth His song from every culture His gospel has touched.  He is the beginning of our song.  He IS our Song!  It is His redeeming Voice!  mjm

The Sovereignty, Providence and Worship of God

In both the music and the preaching this morning in our worship, we focused on the Sovereignty and Providence of God.  Our Assistant Pastor, who happens to be from Great Britain, preached on the 2nd Chapter of Ruth and presented a great message on this subject.  He focused on the fact that with God there are no coincidences, but that God is Sovereign and in total control, with our only responsibility being to trust Him.  

I became personally amused at the irony, listening to our British Assistant Pastor speak on this subject as I am currently reading a book about George Washington (George Washington's Sacred Fire) where the Providence of God comes up over and over.   With thorough  documentation, this book shows that the Father of our Country put a very high emphasis on life in Christ, worship, prayer and the providence of God in the life of believers.  Washington was adamant about the men under his command praying, acknowledging God's providence and worshipping on a regular basis.   He wanted his men to be involved in both prayer and worship.  He insisted on there being Chaplains assigned to every unit of men in the army so they would have direction in prayer and worship.   Some have claimed that George Washington was a Deist and not a practicing Christian, but this book completely debunks such a notion.

In his speeches, letters, and writings, it's obvious that Washington was convinced of the Providence of God in the beginning of our nation and in his own life. "The connection between a righteous army and victory meant that worship became part of the arsenal of the army.  Washington called on the men to 'religiously' observe a day of 'Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer'.  The Commander-in-Chief declared in his General Orders, 'The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.'"

In the Sovereignty and Providence of God, may we in music and worship ministry continue to emphasize prayer and worship in all we do.   mjm

Worship, a Joy Worthy of our Destiny

J. S. Bach once said, "God's gift to His sorrowing creatures is to give them Joy worthy of their destiny."  If the Church's worship is faithful, it will challenge the culture surrounding it because God's truth transforms lives.  Authentic worship should turn our values, habits, and ideas upside-down as it changes and forms our character.  It is only then that we will know a Joy worthy of our destiny.

God reveals Himself through prayer, hymns, spiritual songs and sermons - challenging our illusions about ourselves.  He exposes our pride and self-centeredness, in other words our sin.  But, also God-revealing worship offers us forgiveness, healing, transformation, and the call and courage to work in our world to reveal God to others and bring them into His presence to worship Him.

There are those who would try techniques to enliven worship or try new things to spice it up with new enthusiasm.  The church doesn't need any of those things.  The church needs genuine reformation.  Genuine worship will teach people the depth of His truth and enable them to experience His presence in life transforming ways.  It will allow them to worship with a Joy worthy of their destiny.   mjm

Suffering and Worship

An authentic worshipper still sings songs in the night.  "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, the olive crop fails,  and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God, my Savior" (Habakkuk 3:17-18).  And of course we see Paul and Silas in prison in Acts 16...and about midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God.  Jonathan Edwards said there were two kinds of gratitude, natural and gracious.  Natural gratitude has to do with being grateful for good gifts.  But, gracious gratitude is being thankful for who God is, not just for what He does.  Chuck Colson has said that gracious gratitude is "relational", not "conditional".  

Anybody can be thankful for blessings.  But a true worshipper has learned to give thanks in everything.  I Thessalonians 5:16-17 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  Praise which is dependent upon blessings can easily turn into grumbling and complaining when the blessing is gone.  This reveals that we are measuring what is good by the world's temporal standard rather than by an eternal one.  In suffering we learn endurance (I Peter 2:20) and if we endure, we will also reign with Him (2 Tim. 2:12).  According to Philippians 3 we can rejoice in our sufferings by realizing that through sufferings our identification and fellowship with Christ will increase, and we will know Him and His love for us better.  

God is pleased with our natural gratitude in worship springing up in response to His blessings.  But, oh when He hears songs in the night - rejoicing in the midst of suffering, He is blessed beyond our imagination or understanding.   mjm

What Do You Say about Worship?

The things we say about worship can be very revealing.  I hear things like - the instruments were too loud, I didn't like that kind of music, the choir was so nice, those musicians are really talented, we just don't pray enough during worship, we need more time for meditation, I don't like the way the worship leaders dress, we ought to start on time and end on time,  and on and on -- all kinds of comments go.  But what do our comments about worship reveal about the way we are looking at worship?  Who is the object of worship?  What is the object of worship? What is the ultimate goal of worship?

We certainly don't see in scripture somebody going up to Moses after the thunder and loud trumpet blast at the foot of Mt. Sinai and saying, "Why are we using trumpets now?  What happened to Miriam and that tambourine-accompanied song we did when we were crossing the Red Sea?  That song was really good - it was nice and peppy.  This trumpet and thunder stuff is just too big and heavy."  Or, nobody went up to Solomon when the ark was surrounded by the cloud of glory and said, "You know, this cloud of glory is keeping the priests from doing their jobs effectively." 

Those are not the sort of things we see in scripture.  Rather, the way things seem to go in scripture is that when God shows up, people are literally blown away.  The actions are more that of falling to the ground, hiding their faces, begging for mercy, humbling themselves before God.  

Worship is not just a service that we attend now and then, but a life-changing realization that Someone has shown up and totally changed everything that our society and culture has told us about human existence.  Worship is a new way of seeing and feeling because "God is in the house."  Lord, teach us.  mjm

Patriotism and Worship

We've been told no prayer in schools, no Bible study in school (yet, Bible was part of the curriculum in a Marxist country in which I served as a missionary), Christian holidays are being assailed on every hand and now we are told the words "God" and "Jesus" can't be used in military funerals unless permission is given by the family.  Everywhere we turn, we see both subtle and full frontal attacks on the very principles upon which the nation was founded.  Worse, I've been told that many young adults believe that patriotic worship should not happen in the church.  Worse than that, I've heard that there are Bible Schools and seminaries who are now saying we should not do patriotic worship in the church.  Most cite that church and state should be completely separate.  If you research history carefully, you find that Separation of Church and State was to protect the church, not the state.

A true and honest student of history will come to discover that God's providential hand was not only in the founding of America, but the keeping of America to this day.  I just finished reading a well-documented, heavily researched book,  Seven Miracles that Saved America.  Not only is the providential hand of God evident, but the total dependence on God and prayer of leaders and American citizens is seen over and over.

If you carefully study our history you can not keep from believing that God is very involved in America.  It is just wrong to say we can not celebrate and thank God in worship for our freedom in Christ, which was the basis of individual freedom and liberty.  Nor can we dare come together in worship as God's people and not corporately confess before God that we have strayed from His founding principles, and then pray for His intervention and healing.  What I know as a worship leader and as an American compels me to lead Patriotic Worship, especially around the celebrating of our Independence and the founding of this great nation, under God!

mjm