joyful worship

                                       SERMON ON   JOYFUL WORSHIP    June 16, 2014

                         [Ed. Note—This sermon is largely taken from the teachings of Gerrit Gustafson]

Throughout prehistory and all human history, they have gathered in public and in private,  in caves, in homes,  in sacred groves of trees, by the sea and on mountain tops, in graveyards  and in  temples.  Throughout all racial and cultural groupings, different peoples have always  assembled to  worship a deity.

The Christian roots of worship goes back  4000 years  or so to our spiritual forefathers and mothers , the ancient Hebrews of the Middle East.   One foundational principles of Judeo-Christian worship is that there is only one God, who is characterized by omnipresence and manifest presence.

·         The God of the Bible is omnipresent—He is supernaturally present everywhere, at all times, and all places, all simultaneously.  He is not a prisoner of time and space, unlike the deities of the pagans.

However, the God of the Bible can freely choose to manifest himself  his presence   at a particular time and place, to a particular people by

• initiating communication,
• or demonstrating his power,
• or by intervening in the natural order.

 In this regard, God, who is spirit,  can  willingly display his presence with greater intensity in the material world.

The key figure in ancient Hebrew worship was the Levite, the priest. As in other  religions with witch-doctors, shamans, gurus, or the like, the Hebrew priest //was the //mediator //between //God// and// humanity.  Back in that era, the relationship between God and humanity was indirect.  It required a middle man.

• Looking at slide # 3--  the definition of a priest is a believer who draws near to the presence of God.

Now, this was not about ritual alone. The priest was able to draw Near to the presence of God not just because he was ordained, but because He believed. 

• The great commandment  of God to the Hebrew people, and to us, is , ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul , and body.”

Throughout the 4000 years of biblical history,  we hear of a God who cares less about ritual, and more about the sincerity  of the one who worships by obeying the command of God to love Him wholeheartedly.

Slide : When priests draw near to God’s Presence through wholehearted worship, God reveals His manifest presence.

·         So, it is within this context that the priest went into the temple, wholeheartedly worshipped God on behalf of the people.   The priest then came out  God was present that he had accepted their offerings. Then the people would cheer.

Now, this model of worship is the ultimate spectator sport. As we discussed recently, many people erroneously believe that this is how we worship God—by watching the priest and the choir worship, while the congregation is entertained.

However, the Word of Jesus opposes that inactive mode of worship.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus condemns  he denounced the  clergy & priesthood of his day for  being a bunch of hypocrites  and crooks. 

• All these clerics had exalted themselves above the regular people, controlling the religion of their day and actually pushing the people away from the living God.
•  Jesus preached that God wants all people to come into his presence –to commune with Him, to talk to Him, to be forgiven by Him, to be healed by Him, and to be loved by Him. John proclaimed that that the Messiah, the anointed one, would soon appear on the scene, and would shatter the wall between God and humanity.

The Bible tells us that by his death and resurrection, Jesus fired the Old Testament clergy.  God then appointed Jesus to be the Great High priest of the universe.  And in turn, Jesus did something radical----something that most modern  day clergy and other Christians  still do not understand:  Jesus decided that all believers would automatically share in his priest hood, so that we could all draw near to the presence of God. Instead of using the position of His priesthood to separate people from God, Jesus appointed all of His followers to share in the joy of his eternal priesthood.   SLIDE—You are Priests.   1 Peter 2:5,9

Therefore, you are a priest.  Now, did you know that?   This is commonly called the priesthood of all believers.  If you believe in Jesus, then you are a priest.  If you don’t believe me, then maybe you will believe Peter, who was Jesus’ best friend and the first Pope of the early Church.  Peter writes,

Verse # 5—read in unison: You, also, like living stones are built into s spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering worship acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now, I know some of you are thinking that sounds crazy. It just sounds so simple..too simple.  But who made it so hard?  I’ll tell you who---  the self serving Clergy.

·         Beginning in the 4^th century AD, the Christian clergy reverted back to being mediators between the people and God, instead of facilitating whole hearted worship, which leads us into the presence of God.

·         For hundreds and hundreds of years, the clergy  developed more and more priestcraft and ritualism which confused the people and secured their hold upon their exalted positions.

·         For this reason, our Protestant and  Anglican forbears condemned  such clericalism during the Reformation of the 16^th century. 

And stretching from that time to today,  Jesus has been  liberating his royal priesthood to bypass middle management so that you can directly worship Him  and experience sweet communion with Him.

·         You see, I cannot worship for you.    Worship is a hands-on, participatory-activity.  THAT IS THE WORSHIPTHAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO God

·         I think that most Christians  have erroneously been taught the wrong definition of worship.

·         Slide ---Worship is the act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God—spirit, soul, and body.

So now, you are being extended the invitation, by Jesus Christ, to  become a whole hearted activated worshipper.  By putting our heart into worship, we can open the door to come into the presence of God.

So, how does one wholeheartedly worship?  Well, here are 3 basic ideas:

First, sing like you mean it.  Look at the words.  Make them your prayer.  In reference to singing, the Bible says, “Make a joyful noise for God.”  Don’t worry about getting the notes right. The song of an off keyed believer is sweeter to God then the song of a musically skilled unbeliever.  Love God by singing. 

Secondly, pray like you mean it. When there are prayer responses in our Sunday services, prayer, say them enthusiastically and loudly.  Put your heart into it.

Thirdly, listen like you mean it.  Listen to God’s word intently.   If you cannot find one thing in the scripture readings and/or the sermon which blesses you, then you are not listening.  God is speaking.   Find one thing that relates to you, and focus upon it.

When you wholeheartedly worship in these ways, you will enter the presence of God.  You may not see his face, but you will find JOY.

• The Bible says that  wholehearted worship as being as joyful as a wedding.

·         The Bible  praises God for wiping away the tears of sorrow, so that his people can  freely worship Him  songs of joy.

And my friends, by God’s grace and your active involvement & participation, Christ Church has become one of the most joyfully worshipping congregation in the Episcopal Church. Jesus wants you to enter into his presence, to receive his joy.  

·         Although some of us may take it for granted now—countless visitors have spoken to me over the past 3 years, including your visiting family members, as they praise us: Because our worship is less like a funeral, and more like a celebration.  We are becoming a church whose worship brings delight to God, and to his people.  Worship is one way that we shine the light of Christ’s love through our church and into the world.

So, dear friends, remember the command of God.  Pls repeat after me.

·         “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.”    Amen.