I rejoiced with those
who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." (Ps 122:1)
How lovely is your
dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts
of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. . . . Better is one day in your courts than a thousand
elsewhere. (Ps
84:1-2, 10)
I was saddened to hear from a
well-meaning colleague of mine that if anyone enjoyed their worship experience
then it was a sin. “Joy has no place in
the worship of the church,” he said.
“What we do here is dead serious.
It’s supposed to be a sacrifice and you’re not supposed to enjoy
sacrificing. If you’re enjoying it (your
worship experience), then you haven’t sacrificed enough.” I hope that his reaction was in response to
the attitude that many have where they want to be served and pleased; when they
“shop around” for a group whose Sunday performance appeals to them and makes
them “feel” spiritual and fulfilled.
Yet, all too often I sense this
attitude among too many in our assemblies.
Our long history of practicing our worship rituals in the atmosphere of
solemn silence – afraid to “offend” God if we aren’t reverent enough; terrified
that God will revoke our place in the family if we don’t show up often enough
or if we don’t show the adequate amount of seriousness when we practice our
acts of worship – may have influenced this sad attitude towards the purpose we
meet together.
I hope you can see from the words of
the Psalms above that God is looking for quite a different sentiment about the
time we spend with Him and each other.
The Psalmists were constantly calling for the people to praise God with
joyous hearts; to look forward to the time when they could be in His presence;
to feel the wonder and awe associated with worshiping in the midst of multiple
believers.
Just consider for a moment, the holy
days that God called for His people to observe (Passover; Pentecost (Weeks);
Day of Atonement; Unleavened Bread) and the sacrifices they were required to
present at His altar: they were times of
feasting and celebration! Notice the
festive atmosphere when the Passover was celebrated (Hezekiah – 2 Chronicles
29-31 & Josiah – 2 Chronicles 34).
They didn’t even follow the regulations right (2 Chron. 30:18-20), but
God overlooked that in favor of the joy and love brought on by their fellowship
and celebration. And Nehemiah forbade
any sadness when the people reinstituted the covenant (Neh. 8:10) reminding
them that the joy of the LORD would
be their strength.
So why can’t we allow our worship
times to be times of joy and celebration?
Why must we stress the guilt of our sin and the terribleness of Jesus’
sacrifice and lose all sense of the joy of our salvation that He freely and
gladly bestows? Do we really think that
Jesus is still on the cross – still in the tomb? Is true worship supposed to be a “funeral
home” atmosphere?
Let’s change our thinking so that we
want to be in attendance on the Lord’s Day to encourage and to be
encouraged. Let’s find ways that we can
use our talents to serve without having to be asked, or be prodded to be part
of an organized program. Let’s see the
Lord’s Supper as a time to rejoice that, though Jesus suffered and died to pay
for our sins, He rose from the dead defeating Satan once and for all – and that
He lives forevermore! Let’s learn to be
anxious to give our money, time, energy, talents, etc. Let’s sing with heart-felt devotion to God and
to one another.
God has given us of His Holy Spirit
so that we have a constant and near divine presence guiding us in continuous
religious celebration to God. Let’s take advantage of this blessing daily so
that we will look forward to the times that we spend with His people in His
holy presence.
Doug
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