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John received a vision of heaven in which Jesus, the lamb who was slain, receives the praises of all of creation: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! Is this a true picture?
We read it and are impressed. It inspires us, but is it really true? Is Jesus truly unique? Is Jesus the only one worthy of such praise?
How many people do you know who pre-existed creation?
John 1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
Before anything we see was created, God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Triune God existed.
How many people do you know who created the universe, including the planet on which we live?
John 1:3
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Colossians 1:15
[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
How many people do you know who hold in their hand the power of the universe.
Colossians 1:17
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
From the beginning, death has been our greatest enemy. Every man and woman in the history of the world has lost the battle against this enemy. How many people do you know who defeated our most feared enemy?
I Corinthians 15
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
II Timothy 1:9
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
There is no one like Jesus. There never has been and never will be anyone like Jesus. Jesus is supreme and before there was a present tense, Jesus was supreme.
Praise and adoration of Jesus will be our experience in heaven. The picture John painted in his Revelation is a true picture of how it will be in heaven.
So if this is how Jesus is regarded in heaven, how should we regard him here on earth?
A little boy left his village for a trip to the city. He walked two days to get to the bus. After a four hour bus ride, he came to the train. He traveled by train for twelve hours to get to the city. When he arrived, he saw a grand parade in honor of the king. He climbed a tree and was able to see the grandstand where the king sat with his family. Military bands passed, saluting him and playing their music. Floats covered with flowers passed. Associations and scouting groups passed. Everyone who passed by honored the king as they passed him in the grandstand. He was given gifts of gold and silver, pearls and precious gems, cakes and flowers and beautiful embroidery, carvings of wood and stone, paintings, music boxes and instruments. Whatever talent someone had, they made their talent a special gift to the king. The king was honored because he was worthy of being honored.
Now what would happen if the king noticed the boy in the tree and sent for him. He might ask where the boy was from and find out how long it had taken to travel to come to the city. And then suppose the king decided he wanted to go to this boy’s little village. The little boy returned to his village with a representative of the king to tell the village that the king would be arriving in a week to make a visit.
If the king was honored by the wealthy, powerful and elite in his city, would he not be deserving of the greatest honor if he visited the little village? Do you not think the village would do absolutely everything they could to honor the king when he came? They might not have gold and silver but they would take the best of what they had and offer it to him when he came.
If Jesus is worthy of such honor in heaven as John described in his revelation, do you not think Jesus is worthy of the greatest honor in our church here in Rabat when we meet to worship on Sunday mornings?
The word worship does not come from French, Latin or Greek. It comes from old English and was pronounced worth-ship. Our worship pronounces Jesus as worthy of being adored and receiving our praises.
Worship is the response of the creature to the eternal. The only wise and appropriate response to Jesus is to bow and adore him.
In the Church of England Book of Common Prayer from the 1500s, a husband promised, in his marriage vow, With my body, I thee worship. With these words he made a pledge of utter loyalty and devotion to his bride who was worthy of this, at least in his eyes.
To worship God is to ascribe to him supreme worth for he is uniquely worthy of being honored in this way. With our bodies, we thee worship.
Because of this. Because of the absolute supremacy of Jesus. Because we are the created and he is creator. Because he has defeated death and invited us into eternal paradise. Because of this, we do not worship simply to satisfy our needs.
I made this point last week and make it again. Christian faith is not principally about us, it is first and foremost about God. When we pursue our own needs and agendas, we find ourselves walking into dead ends that do not give us what they promise. When we pursue our relationship with God we are led into the deepest satisfaction and provision for our needs.
So we do not come to church to worship to make us feel better. “You know, I’m a little discouraged today. I think I’ll go to church. That always helps.” It may be that you will be helped when you come to church and you may feel better, but if you do no more than use the church as a spoon of medicine to help you when you need it, you will miss out on what has eternal consequences.
We do not come to church to satisfy our aesthetic tastes. “I so much enjoy a good choir; I think I’ll go to church today.” or “I love the stained glass windows and architecture of the church. It is a good place to sit and meditate.”
How many people come to church and are dissatisfied because the place where they worship is not like what they are used to. Some people walk out of church dissatisfied with the songs that were sung or the order of service or what the preacher said. What did they miss? They missed the opportunity that morning to give honor to their creator God.
We do not come to church to make relationships. “I need to see some friends and I know they will be in church.” We may enjoy seeing people in church and our fellowship with other believers is an important part of our Sunday service experience, but it must not be the focus.
Christianity is not principally about you, it is first and foremost about God. Worship may make you feel better, meet your needs, satisfy your aesthetic tastes and help you connect with friends, but these are strictly side benefits. Worship is to express adoration to God who alone in all of the universe, alone in all that is seen or unseen, is worthy of our praise and adoration.
What do you bring to God when you come to church to worship?
When the king in my little story visited the village, the villagers gave to him their best. When we come to church to worship, we need to come with our very best. We need to offer to God our very best. Given who God is and who we are, only our best will suffice.
When Israel received instructions for worship, God told them to bring their best for the sacrifices that were instituted. It was not enough to pick any lamb out of the flock for the sacrifice at the temple. They were instructed to pick their best ram, one without defects. In the story in Genesis with Cain and Abel, Abel gave God a thanksgiving offering of his sheep and Cain gave a thanksgiving offering of his crops. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted while Cain’s offering was rejected. The text is not terribly clear at this point. It might be that Abel gave from his firstborn while it says simply that Cain gave some of his crop. But what is clear is that Abel gave with his heart, he gave his best, while Cain gave grudgingly, he gave just some of what he had.
When you come to church for worship, are you offering your best to God?
How do you prepare to come to worship? What do you do Saturday night to prepare for Sunday morning? What do you do when you wake up Sunday morning to prepare for the worship service that begins at 9 AM?
The Puritans prepared for worship Saturday night with prayers.
Help us to be in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day,
to enter upon the Sabbath mindful of its
solemnities, duties, privileges,
setting all things worldly aside
while we worship thee.
And they prepared at home Sunday morning before coming to church with prayers.
We are going to the house of prayer,
pour upon us the spirit of grace and supplication;
We are going to the house of praise,
awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion;
We are going to the house of instruction,
give testimony to the Word preached,
and glorify it in the hearts of all who hear;
may it enlighten the ignorant,
awaken the careless, reclaim the wandering,
establish the weak, comfort the feeble-minded,
make ready a people for their Lord.
Is this your experience? Do you consciously prepare so that you come to church Sunday morning, ready to worship? Or do you stay up late watching a movie, having a party with friends so that you don’t get enough sleep and wake up tired? Do you wake up early so you can spend some time and prepare to come to worship? Or is it a mad dash, with words of anger spoken because some are not ready to come to church and a mad dash to church, yelling at drivers who cut you off?
When you come to church Sunday morning you need to come prepared to worship. Come with your best.
When you put money in the offering basket, give your best. Although the New Testament guide is that all we have belongs to the Lord and we are not restricted to a percentage, some Christians still find it helpful to use the Old Testament guideline of ten percent as a baseline for their giving. The question has been posed, “Do I give ten percent of what I receive as income or ten percent of what is left after I pay taxes?” I have two answers for this. First, we are to give our best, our first fruits, which means we give ten percent of what we receive before taxes are paid. My second answer is that all we have belongs to the Lord. We are to earn as much as we can, save as much as we can and give as much as we can. Christians are not limited to a formula for giving. We should not be asking, “How much do I need to give to fulfill my responsibility?” We should be asking, “How can I earn more and spend less so I have more to give to what God is doing in the world. How can I give more?”
When you give financial gifts, give your best to the Lord.
During the service when we sing songs, pray prayers, listen to Scripture, hear the Biblical text preached, we need to make sure we are giving our best.
You may have to work hard to worship on a Sunday morning. It may be that the song leader that day is not doing a great job. Don’t focus on the skill of the music leader, find in the music that is sung a way for you to praise God.
It may be that the preacher is not communicating very well or that what he or she is saying is a bit boring and repetitious. Work at listening. Write down notes and find within the sermon something you can take home with you.
It may be that you do not like the songs being sung. You may prefer the hymns or you may prefer the more modern choruses. Work at it and find a way for you to express praise to God with whatever is taking place in the service. I have noticed over the years that it is immature faith that reacts so negatively to the parts of the service that are new or different. The spiritually strong are the ones who have opinions and prefer some things more than others and may not like some ways of singing or worshiping, but they always find some way to be blessed in the church service.
It may be that you are feeling hurt or depressed. We don’t always come to church feeling on top of the world. You may come to church feeling indifferent.
The difference in my little story about the king coming to the village of the little boy and our coming to church is that the visit of the king to the little village was a one time affair. If the king came every week, there would be a different reception. After 20 successive weeks, a villager might look up from where he was working in the field and say, “Oh yes, it must be Tuesday because here comes the king again,” and go back working in the field.
It is one thing to honor Jesus if it is a one time visit, but when we come to church each week, year after year, it is difficult to maintain the enthusiasm and proper respect we would have for the one time visit.
I’m not asking you to be inauthentic. Being authentic is one of my rules for life. But you can sit in your pew, tell God how indifferent you feel or how much you hurt or how depressed you feel and then say, “But I will sing and pray anyway and trust that you will take what I offer, however imperfectly I offer it, and be blessed by it. I may not be emotionally connected to what I am saying or singing, but I do it because I know it is the right thing, even if I do not feel it.”
When you come to church, come to offer your very best. Work hard to make sure that your praise, prayer, attention and giving are the best you can offer. Each Sunday make a thoughtful, costly and worthy offering appropriate to the occasion. You are joining with all of creation to praise the supreme creator. Bring your best.
Part of bringing your best is being sensitive to the Holy Spirit who is our leader as we worship. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings God’s truth into our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us and encourages us in our worship.
When you worship, you need to pay attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit and respond as you feel the Holy Spirit is leading you.
This is not easy. We tend to slip into the patterns of worship we have learned from our prior church experience. There is nothing wrong about worshiping as we have learned to do, but don’t be restricted by what you have learned. If you have never raised your hands to God in worship as you sing a song that is stirring your heart, don’t be afraid to try this and see if it helps you express your praise. If you have never danced while you worship, don’t be afraid to move your feet and sway and see if this helps you express your praise.
Sometimes what the Holy Spirit may be leading you to do is to sit quietly and contemplate. If you come from a tradition where spiritual people raise their hands and dance, don’t be afraid to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and be quiet. See if that helps you in your praise of God.
One of the things that holds us back in worship is being conscious of what other people will think of us. And it is true that some people will look at us when we worship and be critical of what we do. But that is their problem and God will deal with them and hopefully help them to grow and learn how to be more free to worship.
When King David brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem in a procession to the newly built temple, he was led by the Holy Spirit to dance in front of the procession and his dancing was so athletic, he took off his outer robe so he would not be restricted. Essentially he was dancing in public in his underwear. This did not make his wife, Michal the daughter of Saul, very happy.
I am not encouraging you to dance in church in your underwear, but I am encouraging you to feel free to express yourself in worship as the Holy Spirit leads you. We are not your audience in worship. You worship the King, the Creator of all that is seen and unseen. You worship your Redeemer who broke the power of death and promises you eternal life. So let your king be your audience and offer to him your praise. Don’t hold back.
That being said, I must say that when the Holy Spirit is in control, there will be order in the church service. This is not to say everyone will be quiet, sit in the pews and not move. But when the Holy Spirit is leading us and we are properly responding, there will be order.
Paul wrote a large part of I Corinthians trying to deal with the problem of disorder in their worship service. There is a need for order. Because we are all together in worship, it is important for us to work together as we worship, but it is still the Holy Spirit who leads us.
A couple weeks ago, Annie and I left after church and spent two nights at a hotel in Oualidia which is on the Atlantic coast, south of El Jadida and north of Safi. One morning we were sitting on the beach and a young girl was at the side of the sea. She was about 11 years old and had long black hair. There were few people on the beach at that time of the day and she danced along the waves lapping on the shore. She was talking to someone, an imaginary friend, to herself, who knows? But she would stand there, move her feet, give a little hop and then spin around with her hair swinging in the air. Her feet would go into the water and then out, she would stand a moment and then take a couple more steps forward, make another little hop and swing around again. She moved like this up and down the shoreline.
It was a slow, beautiful dance. It was as if she was dancing with God’s creation. She was indifferent to anyone watching. She was caught up in the moment.
This is what I hope for myself. This is what I hope for you. I want us to be set free to worship. I want us to have an increasingly clear sense of God to whom our praise is directed. I want our worship of God to be a dance in which we are led by the Holy Spirit.
I dread coming to church having fallen into a routine in which we do our church thing and then leave to live another week. I want to come out of church filled with a sense that I have presented to God my gift that week and it has been accepted. I want to know that God was blessed by our praise.
It is our privilege to worship our creator and redeemer. Prepare yourself this week so when you come next Sunday, you will come bearing costly gifts to present.
