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Spiritual Disciplines (3of4) - Worship

Worship

I read a story about a boy who was super excited about his 10th birthday party.  His mom got the invitations together and sent them out.  The day of the party, all the boys played football and basketball outside until it was too dark to see.  Then, his dad grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and they even had cake and ice cream.  Each of the boys brought him a thoughtful present, and the grand finale of the evening was going to the high school basketball game.  The little 10 year old boy was so excited.  He couldn’t wait to sit in the middle of all his friends, eat popcorn and candy, punch each other, and cheer on their high school heroes.  But as soon as they went into the basketball gym, his vision of the perfect game ended.  All of his friends scattered and went and sat elsewhere, he never saw them the rest of the game, they didn’t even say goodbye before running off.  Is that sometimes how we treat God in worship?  Are we here on Sundays and Wednesdays where He is the guest of honor, only to give him a routine gift, sing the few usual songs, and then neglect Him while we focus on everyone else and just enjoy the performance being put on in front of us?  Do we leave worship services the same way those 10 year old boys ran off from their friend, without a concern, or care, just wanting to see the game or the show?
Worship is difficult sometimes to define.  But one definition of it is the act of focusing on and responding to God.  We may be listening to a sermon, but if we’re not thinking about how it applies to our life, and about how it can grow our relationship with God then it’s not worship.  We may be singing a hymn, but if we aren’t thinking about God while we are singing then we’re not worshipping.  We may be listening to someone pray, but if we aren’t praying along with them and focusing on God then it’s not worship. 
Worship typically includes words and actions, but it has to be deeper than that and be a true focus on of our mind and heart on God.  We should be worshipping in spirit and in truth, that’s both with our emotions and our thoughts, our heart and our head.  If we concentrate too much of our worship on the spirit, then our truth and foundation may be too soft.  But if we concentrate too much on our truth, then our spirit and our heart just isn’t in it which can cause us to become grim or bleak Christians.  When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus tells us in Mark 12:30 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” 

We are expected to worship both publicly and privately.  Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to give up the habit of meeting together.  Gathering together for public worship is a discipline.  It cannot be replaced by watching other believers gather together on TV or by listening to a sermon on the radio.  Though those are excellent alternatives for those who aren’t able to attend regular services.  The same is true for our private worship, no matter how great it is, we will miss out on many blessings from meeting with other believers.  Jesus faithfully attended the assemblies on the Sabbath at the synagogue.  But as mentioned earlier He also often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16).  How do we expect to not worship privately during the week and then show up once a week for public worship and just be on fire for God?  Could it be that because we aren’t worshipping well in private that our public worship experience isn’t what we expect? 
Worship is a discipline that we must develop in order to improve our Godliness.   Some people say I’ve gone to church regularly, I read the Bible for a while, I prayed daily, but I just didn’t get the results I was looking for.  Going through a routine is not the same as having an intentional focus on what you’re doing as being a spiritual discipline.  Reading the Bible every day won’t automatically make you more Godly any more than reading the Wall Street Journal daily will make you the next Donald Trump. 

Be sure to put your focus where it should be this morning, on God's word being preached.

#discipline #worship

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