Today is Palm Sunday - this is the day that started the last week of Jesus' life..Historically (traditionally) it is a day set aside for worship in the church. Worship - all of use know the word. We've heard it - or we've seen it. Maybe on church signs. Our favorite phrase around that word is this.."Come and join us for a worship celebration." God thinking about that this week..We ask you to come and join us, but often don't spend a lot of time telling you what worship is all about..Today as we walk with Jesus into his last days, I want to remind all of us about some of the principles surrounding worship.
First, let's set the tone a little bit. Philip Yancey writes this in his book "The Jesus I Never Knew"..
"For several years, as Holy Week approaches, I have read all the gospel accounts together, sometimes back-to-back, sometimes interwoven in a 'harmony of the Gospels' format. Each time I feel swept away by the sheer drama. The simple, unadorned rendering has a grinding power, and I can almost hear a bass drum beating dolefully in the background. No miracles break in, no supernatural rescue attempts. This is tragedy beyond anything Shakespeare would write. The might of the world, the most sophisticated religious system of its time allied with the most powerful political empire, arrays itself against a solitary figure, the only perfect man who has ever lived. Though he is mocked by the powers and abandoned by his friends, he has resolutely set his face for Jerusalem, knowing the fate that awaits him."
Let's read some portions of Mark 11 (1a, 7-12a, 15-18). Our next face to face encounter with Jesus..In these 2 stories, which I read as basically one story with 2 parts, in this story there are several simple reminders for us about what worship is and what it isn't. But let me start with this definition. Worship - comes from the old saxon words meaning "worth-ship". So to worship is to ascribe or to give proper worth to God..to approach and address God as He is worthy of being approached.
So, how do you approach a God who is all powerful and all knowing and all seeing and all loving? How do you add worth to a God who is perfect? Quite a challenge I'd say..but we're called to do it.
Well, we're gonna start with the second half of this story because it sets the tone for how important true worship really is to God...So Jesus comes into Jerusalem to the hail of the crowds, and in the story it says this:
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: " 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" 18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
I love this story..because it challenges my thinking of who Jesus was. See, the Jesus I learned about in Sunday School never turned over tables and threw people out of the Temple. It says he drove out the merchants and their customers. What do you think that looked like? It says he knocked over the tables of the money changers. What do you think that was like? See, the picture I had from Sunday School was a peaceful gentle Jesus..always emotionally in control..never causing a scene, but just slowly walking with his disciples or talking quietly to a group of followers on a hillside. But this kind of angry outburst..this passionate zealous Jesus was never a picture I was shown.
Again, look at the way the story unfolds. You see, several months before, Jesus had done the same thing. He had cleared the temple of all those who were using the church for personal financial gain..only last time he had used a whip. Amazing. So this time he comes to Jerusalem and that first afternoon he just looks around..in face, the verse says he looked around carefully at everything, and then he left. So why didn't he clear it out right then? Well, a couple reasons..maybe he didn't want to just react or overreact in anger by what he saw..and so he decided to let it sit over night and respond in the morning. And folks, there's a lesson in here for us.
Parents, how often do we react or overreact in anger to our kids? Well maybe cooling down first might be the answer. Husbands/wives..ever reacted or overreacted in anger to your spouse? Maybe some time will bring some clarity to the dispute.
Second reason Jesus waited I think could have been to get his courage up..to do what he knows God wants him to do. So he spends the night getting prepared to respond to a wrong being done but to do it without sinning..to respond in God's power and leading and in His timing.
You know folks, being angry and not sinning is an amazing combination..and I think it can only get done in God's power..that combination is a gift from God.
Now, let's get back to what we're talking about. Here's the first worship reminder.
1. Worship is about God, not about us.
See, in this story these money changers and merchants did big business in the Temple..and especially during Jewish celebration weeks like this one - called the Passover. During Passover week thousands and thousands of people came from foreign countries and they had to have their money changed into the "temple currency" because that was the only money accepted for the temple tax and the only currency accepted for the purchase of animals to sacrifice that week. So supply and demand kicked in. And during this season an inflated exchange rate padded the pockets of the Jewish money changers and exorbitant prices for sacrificial animals made the merchants wealthy..And all of this taking place at the temple..just so that those getting ripped off could worship. Do you see what was happening? Pretty brutal. They were making church (corporate worship) a place of personal gain and selfish ambition.
Folks, worship can never be about us..it's not about selfish motives or personal wants or don't wants - or likes or dislikes. When we come together to worship, it's not about us. It's about God. They got that mixed up and Jesus straightened it out.
One line I hear quite often is this."Wow - did I ever feel like God was with us today at church. The music, the media, the message was good for me." And I say, great. That's nice, but whatever. Another line I hear often in the same worship service is this, "I didn't feel like I could connect today. The music was this.the drama was that.the message was ok." And I say, that's' too bad. But whatever. See folks, the overarching principle here is not whether you and I like or disliked the message or the music or the drama or the media this week. Or whether it worked for you or me. The principle is.did it work for God? Did it honor Him? Did it speak the truth about who He is? Did it give proper worth to God? And if it did, that's what we're after. See, there are roughly 1,000 different people at this church on any given weekend..each has a different personality. Each has a different set of like and dislikes and tastes when it comes to preaching and music and media and drama. So, when we sit down to try and craft a worship service, if our first priority/goal was to try and read where everyone was at personally or where your emotional and spiritual state is on any given weekend and then try to create something that would allow each of you to feel like you have connected with God, I think that would be a pretty tall order each week (impossible). So that, folks, is not our primary goal. Our goal is to honor God - to worship Him in spirit and in truth..to bring proper worth to Him and then after that's done, it's great if as many of us as possible can feel good inside about our connection to God during this hour of corporate worship. See, we love it and it brings us great fulfillment when you connect with God - when you can feel His presence during this hour..And I would hope and pray and wish that it would be that way every week for every one of you. But that can't be our programming team's primary objective in worship..and it really can't be yours either..because worship is not about us..it's about God.
Jesus knew that and in fact, it was such a big deal to him that people understood this..that he turned our tables and he threw some people out.
Worship Reminder #1 - let's remember that worship is all about God..not about us.
2. Worship is not exclusive.
This is a really big deal for us here at Lakeview Church to understand. One of the reasons Jesus threw those guys out was that their tables were set up in the temple's court of the Gentiles - a section of the temple made for Gentiles..for those who were non-Jews - or not from a Jewish background..so they could worship in the temple as well. And these money changers and merchant's tables were in the way of these newer people..and the tables and noise was hindering the intentions of the non-Jews who had come to worship God..making their worship experience confusing and hard and extremely frustrating. Jesus became angry not just because God's house of worship had become a place of personal financial gain and extortion, but also it had become a barrier to Gentiles (those newer people to the faith) who wanted to worship.
Folks, this is a good reminder to us about our vision here at Lakeview Church. These weekend celebrations must never become exclusive. When we gather, we must always remember that worship has got to be available for all people - no matter where they are at in their spiritual journey.
So, got me thinking about those who are in this church and have been for a while and are following Jesus closely (me included). When you think about all this stuff, they come in third. See, first there's God - He's always first in worship. Then there's the people who are new to this church or new to the faith..or those seeking a relationship with God. Then there's the rest of the church. I think that's what Jesus was angry about and what he wanted to straighten out about worship..that it must be inclusive and inviting - not an exclusive club.
Folks, at Lakeview Church this has been and will continue to be of the highest priority. It is a key part of what this community is all about. That's why our weekend services almost always address seeking people. And that's why the messages and songs and media are often done at an introductory level..without apology. We introduce the truths of God's Word at a 101 level intentionally. We work hard at singing songs with words people can understand and we take extra effort to not use churchy words or exclusive language. And we only want to get better at it. And for anyone who has been here more than one week - here's an announcement. You're now considered part of Lakeview Church and there is some responsibility that comes with that. Here's what I mean..All of us should be looking for opportunities to meet new folks and welcome them. Give them directions. Answer their questions or point them to someone who can.
Folks, part of worship, part of the way we honor God, is by honoring other people - by loving and welcoming those people into this church community so they too can find out how they can worship God.
Now let's get back to the first part of the story.
Mark 11:7-10: 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
Now - I've rambled quite a bit about what worship isn't, so let me tell you quickly about what it is. I'll go through these 4 reminders very fast, and then we'll do a little practice.
3. Worship should be free and spontaneous.
Notice what they did in order to worship Jesus..laid their coats on the ground - kinda like rolling out the red carpet for the king. They honored him the only way they could in that moment (spontaneous). Then they tore palm branches off trees and waved them and spread them along his path. Very spontaneous. Very free worship. All in the moment to honor their king. That's the 3 rd reminder - freedom.
4. Worship has a physical side to it.
If you could have been above this whole scene and saw what was going on, you would have seen people waving palm branches and clapping. People running here and there with their coats..and the whole procession was moving - walking with Jesus into the city. It wasn't stable, quiet or controlled. It was alive and moving and people were moving. This was more than just an internal response but it was external and physical worship.
5. Worship includes an emotional response.
This is a huge part of this story. Those worshippers were excited and it showed. They were singing and shouting "Hosanna! Praise God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord."
See, this was not just a cerebral, thought through controlled response. This was from the gut (or more appropriately) the heart. And it had energy with it. They just wanted to somehow show Jesus how excited they were about who he was and what he had done. And that it was an honor to be in his presence. Emotions ran high in this outburst of worship.
6. Worship is about whole-hearted commitment.
See, these palm-waving, Hosanna-shouting, coat-throwing worshipers were worshiping out of complete love for God - They were caught up in the moment with their whole lives and they allowed their spirits to be filled up with love for God and it overflowed into their actions.
See, in their heartfelt worship they abandoned any fears they had of looking silly, or doing something outside of the norm. In fact they didn't even think too much about themselves at all. They just responded out of complete commitment and abandon for God.
Now, I need to be very honest with you. I've got lots to learn when it comes to worship. Far too often if the songs aren't right for my liking then I have trouble connecting. And I've often got 37 other things running through my mind when I'm trying to focus on God. And I'm a pretty reserved Canadian guy..at least in church. I struggle with getting free enough to not care what other people think of me when I worship. I'm only ½ charismatic/Pentecostal. I raise my hands to here..I've got lots to learn..and you know what? Lakeview Church together has got a lot to learn about worshiping together.
See, if after looking at this story a worthy corporate goal would be to add some freedom and spontaneity..to add a little more physical response..along with a lot more emotional response..If that would be a goal, then I would suggest we've got a ways to go in the next few years as we worship God together. See, we're not in a hurry to go anywhere..and we're not trying to bend you or make you something you're not. For some of you, freedom may just mean sitting and listening with your heart. For others, it will be engaging more wholeheartedly.
Folks, our desire is to honor God when we come together in worship. And after that, it's a short list. So we're gonna sing now. Enjoy it. Feel it. Engage in it..but above all, honor God with it. Because He is worthy of this love and whole lot more. |
