Worship as It Was Meant to Be, Pt. 2

Worship That Overcomes the Barriers

Last week, we looked at four “checkpoints” as we come to worship

Sincerity

Fidelity

Humility

Purity

When we use these checkpoints we will reach a place where we are living a life of worship in which our God is glorified in and through. Today, with the way many people approach worship, I don’t know we have many people who actually reach this kind of worship.

There are many people who complain that worshiping God this way takes too much time and is difficult. We say there are many barriers which we place in front of our worship.

Worship as God intended it to be doesn’t have to be hindered by these barriers.

Let’s look at some barrier breaking worship that Scripture shows us

The worship of repentance

David committed a sin when he slept with Bathsheba, had her husband killed, had a child as a result of that sin, and later the child died. Once David realized God was chastising him for his sin, this was his response

2 Samuel 12:20 ESV

20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.

What an example. David had lost his son. He realized God was punishing him for the sin he had committed. But even in the midst of this, he got up, cleaned himself up, and went to the house of the Lord to worship Him. Even when he was being punished for his sin, he went and praised God.

When we recognize we are being punished for our sin, we should praise God. Why on earth do you say this? If God is punishing us, He is doing so because He loves us. Our parents disciplined us because they loved us and they wanted what was best for us. When we praise God for His correction, we are recognizing His love for us and there is no room for bitterness and anger.

Being able to worship God even when we are going through a time of punishment because of sin is the kind of worship God’ people need.

The worship of submission

When Job found our he had lost everything, he worshipped God through an act of submission.

Job 1:20 ESV

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.

How would you have reacted to this? How would I have reacted to this? Most people would have been bitter and blaming God for what had happened.

Job had done nothing against God. Satan was trying to test Job, and God allowed him to do it. Job’s response to this

Job 1:21 ESV

21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

He was showing absolute submission to the will of God and worshipped Him through his response.

Many people have trouble worshiping God because they can’t accept where they are in life. They can’t accept their position. They can’t be satisfied with what God has given them. They want more. They are jealous of what others have. Boil this down, they are bitter and angry with God. They will point this anger at others to deflect it, but in reality, they are angry with God for where they are.

Job was able to look beyond his current circumstances and was able to praise God and see the goodness in His plan even though everything was a disaster around him.

Job 23:10 ESV

10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

When God brings negative circumstances into our lives, he will always have a positive purpose.

If we don’t have problems and issues in life, you have no room for growth. When were the times you grew the most in your Christian life? It was more than likely when you were going through some sort of difficulty in your life.

Jeremiah 48:11 ESV

11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.

God is saying He is getting prepared to judge Moab. Moab had life so easy, they were becoming a stench.

Jeremiah talks about the way they would make wine during Biblical times.

“Wine-makers in Jeremiah’s day put crushed grapes in a container and let them sit. Eventually the bitterness and the sediment - called the lees, or the dregs - would settle in the bottom. The winemaker would pour the wine off the top into another vessel, and the remaining bitterness would settle into the bottom of the second container, and another, and another - and over a period of time, all of the sediment and its bitterness would be removed (they used it to make vinegar), and the wine would have the aroma of sweetness that the winemaker wanted it to have.”

Moab had never been poured from vessel to vessel, difficult situation to difficult situation, in order to get rid of the bitterness in their lives.

We need to realize it is better for us as Christians to go through the trials of life so God can continue to work the bitterness from our lives. When He, the winemaker, is finished with us and we are poured from that final trial, we will have the sweet aroma that He was after.

The worship of devotion

This type of worship can be seen in Abraham’s life when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son.

Genesis 22:3–5 ESV

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

Abraham was willing to take his only son who God had promised to him. God had told Abraham He would make a great nation out of this son, but here, God is telling him to sacrifice him as an act of worship. Abraham was willing to follow the instructions of God in order to be found obedient in his worship of his God.

Many people today are afraid their worship may cost them time and effort. How do these to compare?

We know the rest of the story that God provided a lamb for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. Once again, this was a test of how Abraham was willing to follow what God had told him to do. He was willing to let go of his son in order to worship God the way He wanted him to worship him.

Next week we will be looking at the results of worship if it is offered the way it was meant to be.