What do you mean? Isn't it singing songs that honor God....hellooooo? It's going to a "worship service" right? Happens every Sunday. Where have you been? You have a band, some cool lights, an engaging sermon, a thoughtful communion meditation, maybe toss in a prayer or two. And to be sure, you can "worship the Lord" in that context. But is there more?
Well, at CPR we think so. Let's look at one most well known passages of scripture for our guidance. The story of Abraham offering of his only son Isaac. It is found in Genesis 22:
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
Did you catch it? The answer is in there. Its what Abraham told to his servants - " Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
HUH? We will worship? I am going to go up that mountain, and kill my only son, because God told me to offer him to God as a sacrifice. Abraham considered this worship. I promise you he wasn't singing, and raising his hands, and saying "praise the Lord". Just try and imagine his confusion, bewilderment and fear. This is the son GOD GAVE ME. What are you asking me to do Lord. WHY? Yet with all those questions, doubts, and fears and many more we can only imagine - he goes - he obeys.
And THAT is the heart of worship Church. You wanna worship the Lord ? OBEY HIM. No matter the cost, no matter the hardship. It's very easy and very hard at the same time to evaluate the quality of your "worship" . Is my faith grounded in obedience to Him, no matter the cost? How often has obedience to God cost me something? Caused me to give up something important to me? To sacrifice something in obedience to God.
To help in us in our self examination of our "worship" - look at two areas. Our time and our money. Those two resources we all have just limited amounts of. How we spend our time and money is very indicative of what is important to us. Is our "worship activity" limited to the 75 minutes of "church" on Sunday morning.
When was the last time we have shared our faith? Helped the poor? The orphans? The imprisoned? Spent quality time with our children? How much of our time and money is consumed by pursuing God's kingdom OUTSIDE OF OUR SUNDAY SERVICE? What does our worship look like to God? Church, we gotta quit fooling ourselves, and get busy BEING THE CHURCH and stop attending church.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mt 20:28
