We fail at perceiving the spiritual. We look with earthly eyes at earthly things and believe that this is all there is. “Seeing is believing.” Because we cannot see God, atheists and agnostics claim there is no God, or, if he exists, he can’t be proven, because he cannot be seen, felt or noticed with one of the five senses.
When we come to worship, (because we are used to living in this world and understanding with our senses), we often do not realize or consider that God is there as we worship. We evaluate the sermon and whether it is to short or too long, whether it has enough scripture or no; whether the prayers are too long, or the singing off key or. . .. This type of thinking then causes us to look at worship as a performance to sit through, while the actors on stage must do all they can to entertain or “wow” the audience (see the many things done in the name of religion today to “worship God.” Much of this is all about pleasing our senses and our flesh – not about praising God.).
Yet . . .
GOD IS THE AUDIENCE!
We are the “actors,” or “participants,” and it is him we must please. Sometimes we just need to say these things honestly and forthrightly. It is about him, not about us. Every person that attends on Sunday mornings, evenings and Wednesdays must remember it is about him and not about us. Please consider the fact that when we miss assemblies of the church, we are missing an opportunity to be with God and our family – our brothers and sisters in Christ. God knew there would be encouragement and strength in that fellowship along us; and he knew we would need it, hence, he gave the church for that purpose and more.
He knows our hearts, and whether or not our hearts are in our worship.
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah comes into the throne room of God and hears the seraphim sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” And Isaiah, knowing his sin, said, “Woe is me, for I am undone. Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” When we truly “see” God, we will know how we stand before him, and what he deserves from us.
In Revelation 4-5 John comes into the presence of God and sees the worship taking place before the before the one who sat on the throne. He sees the Lamb in chapter 5, and sees the world honoring and praising God for his salvation and grace. It is all about God.
As we gather to worship today, let us remember that it is all about God. We are here to please Him – not ourselves.
May we look with the eyes of faith and see, as did Elisha’s servant did in 2 Kings 6:15, that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” He could not see these things with the eyes of flesh, but with the help of Elisha. (Are we sometimes blinded by the fact that there are things going on behind the scenes that help us to carry out his will?).
The only way we can really know God is by reading, understanding and applying God’s word to our lives. In 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 Paul wrote, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. What is this saying to us?
No one knows God, or what God wants, except by what the Spirit has said about God! Hence, as we come together to worship, it is imperative that we worship God in the way he demands. We must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24-25). Indeed, obedience shows our faith in God.
God knows what he wants, has told us what he wants, and we need to give him what he wants!
The whole point of sacrifice is giving to someone else something they want. Sacrifice costs the giver.
When we give something to God, we need to give him what He wants. Not what we think he wants; not what we want – but what he wants.
Worship is not about you! It is about God. As we have tried to improve our singing, we need to give God the very best we can.
What about the Lord’s Supper – are our hearts and minds focused on his sacrifice for us?
Our giving – do we sacrifice for the Lord? What has our giving cost us?
Preaching – do we listen to hear what God said? The preacher may fail; will we listen to God’s word?
Do we pray to God? Do we concentrate on Him alone and that fact that he allows us to talk with him?
Remember, it is not about you – it is about God. Let’s give him our best!