Going back to the Word

In details, Jeremiah Burroughs expounds the subject of worship based on Leviticus 10:3: “Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” Burroughs notes that in God’s worship, “there must be nothing tendered up to God but what He has commanded. Whatever we meddle with in the worship of God must be what we have a warrant for out of the word of God.” (Sermon 1, y11) If we do not, it’s at our own peril. From the story of Nadab and Abihu, Burroughs indicates that how we approach the Lord in worship is important- if not to us, certainly to God.This is in contrast with what many worship leaders who are practicing pragmatism in their worship, which takes the place of the Word and rather focuses on our wants and needs.

Burroughs also shows us a God who is truly worthy of your worship and adoration  “The reason why we worship God in a slight way is because we do not see God in His glory.” God’s majesty is clearly exalted by the way Burroughs instructs his hearers as to their behavior when worshipping God: “Look upon the Lord lifted up in glory, not only above all creatures, but above all excellencies that all angels and men in heaven and earth are able to imagine.”(Sermon V) Continuing with his exaltation, Burroughs exhorts his hearers, “Look upon the Lord as having all excellencies in Himself, joined in one, and that immutably. Look upon Him as the fountain of all excellency, good, and glory that all creatures in the world have.” (Sermon V) Furthermore, Burroughs yearns, “Look upon the Lord every time you come to worship Him as that God whom angels adore and before whom the devils are forced to tremble.” (Sermon V)

The examples above are some profound and basic thoughts and observations by Burrough, which should be heeded by worship leaders today in their local churches.

Moreover, Give Praise to God notes the importance of the saturation of Scripture in worship. Sound theology should shape everything we do in worship and primarily the Word of God, rather than culture, should influence the worship practices. I am reminded constantly throughout this course that the Word is how we know about God, and therefore it is the foundation of our worship.

Identity Crisis

“How should we worship God?” is a question that has plagued Christians for centuries. The “Worship Wars” have been raging for centuries, and, quite frankly, they don’t appear to be stopping any time soon. 

Hundreds of years ago, the liturgy of Christendom had a reason behind it. Whether the Western Church held to the authority of God’s Word and/or Church tradition, her mind informed her emotions.

However, it has recently become popular to throw away Christian traditions and adopt the newer, “better” styles and forms of our contemporary culture. Of course, discarding traditions that are anti-biblical is fine and definitely should be done. However, getting rid of what is anti-biblical is not the problem the church is facing. By the time of the Pentecostal Vineyard Movement, “ministry was no longer seen as primarily grounded in the objective word of God in Scripture; the focus was shifted to the Spirit’s physical action on people, channeled through prayers, laying on of hands, and various deliverance methods” (GPTG 410). Nowadays, there is “a tendency to construct and evaluate worship in terms of the human subject – human experiences, feelings, and responses – rather than in terms of the divine object, God, the blessed self-revealing Trinity, and his will, word, and activity” (GPTG 407). This shift from God-focused worship to man-focused worship has had huge repercussions on the church. 

Horton is concerned with the same problem when he states, “I cannot help but observe the similarity between the practical denial of the sufficiency of Scripture (the grand narrative proclaimed by the gospel) in our day and in the medieval church” (GPTG 440). “Evangelical churches have thrived on careful exposition of the Scriptures, and lengthy sermons. But we are approaching the place where there is no intellectual content left in the sermon. So we will be driven to the power of liturgy and the communication of the gospel through the arts” (GPTG 440). 

Christianity has changed drastically since the shift from God-centered worship to man-centered worship. How can the church be saved from pleasing man rather than God? The church must come back to the ultimate authority and its ultimate end. Without glorifying God and focusing on scripture, there is no hope for Christianity, and the church will remain in an identity-crisis.

Final Thoughts...

As I've considered what I've learned this semesters Foundations and Issues class the thought that first comes to mind is also what I believe to be the root of many of the problems in our contemporary worship circles. Quite simply, our thoughts of the greatness of God are far too low.

On page 92 of Gospel Worship Burroughs uses the example of the elders in Revelation 4 who "worshipped God to purpose when they saw the Lord in that majesty as he was"and of course Burroughs makes the application for us saying, "We should at all times have high thoughts of God". 

I wholeheartedly agree and would add that from what I have gathered from things that I've read, people I've interacted with in different worship circles, and pure observation I am convinced that our biggest problem today is that people are so occupied with God's immanence to the point where He is simply a friend without being a Lord. To many He is a fellow servant and not the Master, a brother but not The Great High Priest. 

This is clearly a result of our cultures proclivity to raise personal experience over truth or further still it is a direct result of a people who believe that all ideas are valid thereby causing them not have a truly submissive spirit when comes to matters of worship (or hardly anything else at that). When personal thoughts regarding the worship of God are all (or mostly all) that God's people reference when seeking to worship Him their ideas, feelings, and desires ultimately control what they want worship to be as opposed to how God says He is to be worshipped. Furthermore, God has simply become who they think God ought to be and not who He says He is. Burroughs warns us after using the examples of the elders in Revelation chapter four saying that we must "take heed of having low thoughts and apprehensions of the infinite majesty of God at any time, but especially when you are to worship the great God (p.92)". 

What then should be done about the perpetually low thoughts of God that our people hold in their hearts and minds? Burroughs says, "there must be much reverence and much fear when you come into the presence of God to worship Him. You do not glorify God as God unless you come into His presence with much fear and reverence of His great name (p 101)". 

Are the problems in our contemporary worship scenes really that simple? Can they truly all be fixed with the batting of an eye? Well sure, there are much broader issues to be dealt with and yes, one could look very deeply into our churches and see a great number of other problems. However, I fully believe that at the heart of what is going on these days the first solution is for God's people to submit, submit, submit to how He wants to be worshipped not how they prefer to worship. Certainly at the very least if our thoughts were to become higher of God we would cease to fuss with stylistic preference for the most part. 

The end goal in raising our fear and reverence for God would be of course to glorify and enjoy Him forever. Burroughs says that Those who can delight in God's worship, even though they find nothing coming to themselves, aim at God in holy duties (99)". He charges us that in the duties of worship one of the primary ingredients is what he calls "strength of affection". He says, "the affections must work mightily after God, striving with God...If ever you had a heart enflamed with anything, it should be when you are praying or attending upon the Word as the heathens who worshipped the sun (107)". Furthermore, He says that "It is a good sign of a gracious fear when the soul can be struck with more fear from the Word, and from the sight of God in enjoying communion with Him in His worship...(103)". 

It is in fear and reverence and awe of the Lord that we desire to enjoy worship. It is not our goal to "subject the worship of God to our lusts (94)" by starting wars on style, appearance, presentation, etc... as it relates to what man wants. We must wholeheartedly believe that God is wholly other and ought to be enjoyed in His glory and awe, on His terms, with His people. 

Who am I, O gracious God that you would mind my woe? 

Who am I, O mighty King that you would look so low?

To cleanse my heart, my words and thoughts and wash my filthy threads? 

By dying on that gruesome cross and raising from the dead! 

The Truth Wars

The worship battles might be about style, but the war is about truth.

Scripture is clear that we are in the midst of a spiritual war. And contrary to popular culture, the devil is not so undisguised as to prance around with a pitchfork and red suit, nor is he, as the song would put it, “under my feet.” Satan is cunning and a student not only of scripture but also of culture. The Bible shows that one of Satan’s greatest deceptions is that of misdirection. Rather than openly combat the object of our worship, he rearranges our priorities by having us focus on the means elevating our taste and preferences over our purpose. Simply put, it is role reversal just as we see time and time again in scripture: children acting like parents, men acting like women, women wanting to be men, music being more important than worship, etc. This semester has provided a few simple principles to combat this travesty.

First, “How we worship determines whom we worship. That is why both the medium and the message, both the means and the object must be attended in worship” (GPTG pg. 33). If both the means and the message are important than it is vital for those to be done correctly or we risk offering strange fire like Nadab and Abihu.

Second, to find the correct means and message we must “Read the Bible, preach the Bible, pray the Bible, sing the Bible, and see the Bible” (GPTG pg. 65). The Bible is key. If we truly desire to serve God then we must do it on his terms. “Violation of God’s commands on worship is viewed as breaking the covenant and is cataclysmic in its consequences.” (GPTG pg. 39)

Third, the focus should be on truth. The bible does not come with hymnal notation it comes with words. This is the vehicle in which God has chosen to reveal Himself. Therefore, if the words are ever subjected to human will and taste, it is a corruption of what God has ordained. Also, if the main focus is truth then Christians should disdain chronological snobbery. This legalism can be seen on both extremes, either only using what was written two hundred years ago or only using what was written five days ago. “If there has ever been an age so myopically transfixed by its own importance and significance and a people so quick to dismiss its spiritual heritage, the age is ours and the people are evangelical.” (GPTG pg. 256) We are part of a universal body. Let us rejoice whenever truth is proclaimed regardless of the style.

In conclusion, the worship we present is not a matter of style but a matter of spirit and truth. When we gather together let us not fall prey to the enemies trap and commence fighting amongst us. Let us prepare. Let us know the word and let the word prescribe out methods. Let our worship be saturated in truth. “The God whom we come to worship is a great and glorious God and, having to deal with such an infinite, glorious, dreadful Majesty, it is fitting that we should make preparation when we come nigh unto Him.”(GW pg. 56)

Last few thoughts

This semester has been an awesome semester and there are many things that this course has caused to me to think differently about, for instance prayer, communion, and how Bible saturated our church services ought to be! I hope that from this class I will be able to not just become critical with how church is done but also not to be satisfied when the preaching of the Word is not found. I hope that through this class it will help me in the future to be able to discern what is good and profitable  for growth. I have learned that you don't need all the "stuff" or "equipment" in churches to make them great. But it should always be Bible centered and about giving the glory back to God and making much of Christ and very little of yourself. Thank-you everyone for your blogs I have been very privileged to gleam from what you all know and I love how you all are very serious about worshiping our God. I hope and pray that that will never end. Have a wonderful break and for all of you who are graduating congratulations and I will miss you all!

Reverence in Worship.

     Over this past semester, the idea of improperly worshiping the Lord had never rightly occurred to me before because I have rarely heard it spoken upon. Simply put, some of what I started to realize far outweighed what I was prepared to hear/be reminded of. That being said, I slowly started to realize how God is not interested in my sharing of brokenness when I come to worship Him as much as He is interested in my ability to radiate Himself by simply taking confidence in that which scripture clearly outlines how I am to revere Him. Sure, it may sound obvious to some, but to me, it was a scary yet refreshing notion to have in realizing that I have been more superstitious within my private worship than i've realized. But why stop there? This class not only educated me in how to identify the sin, but also how to properly readjust ones mindset in worshiping the Lord. Instead of bringing my brokenness with me to an assembly of believers, I should, as Burroughs puts it, "Tender up that homage that is due from the creature to the infinite Creator, so that I must so pray as I must manifest that high respect that I owe to God as my Creator" (Burroughs Pg. 38), or in other words, take seriously the responsibility of in that which it means to prepare ones heart before hearing the Word, receiving the sacrament, and praising Him through song. Thus, this class has largely brought me back to the heart of worship via what it means to joyfully bare the responsibility of revering Him privately before praising Him publicly and therein reminding me of my limited/superstitious nature.

"When any creature is raised in a religious way above what it has in it by nature, if I do not have Scripture to warrant me, I am therein superstitious. It is a very usual rule to help you. If any creature that you make use of in a way of religious beyond what it has in its own nature, if you do not have some warrant from the Word of God (whatever specious show there may be in it), it is superstition" (Gospel Worship. Pg. 12). 

Ps. Thank you, Doc. 

Christ's Death... My Life. Some final thoughts from a foodie.

Walking into the auditorium on a particular Sunday, I see that there are covered silver platters on the wooden table in front of the pulpit. I know one of the covered plates holds some form of bread or crackers, and that the other is filled with several little plastic cups containing--usually--grapejuice. These elements serve as a reminder to me: a reminder that it's time to flip to the next page on the calendar. 

Sadly, this has often been the case for me, and possibly for my brothers and sisters. My first thoughts upon seeing the communion table at the front of the sanctuary are "Oh, it's the first Sunday of the month already? How quickly time flies!" instead of thoughts of Christ's atoning death and resurrection. Eventually, of course, I remember what its real purpose is. But my first reaction is to classify it mentally as a ritual. I believe this is something many of us struggle with, at least from time to time... or maybe I'm the only sinner in my church.

As we discussed in class, a big part of why many of us would tend to think of the Lord's Supper more as a ritual is that it is often tacked on to the end of a service on the first Sunday of the month. It's almost never spoken of any other Sunday of the month, let alone any other day. 

I don't think regularity itself is the problem. We are instructed to partake in communion regularly, to "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The problem is when we let it become purely a ritual, and it loses its impact. Allowing communion to become only a ritual isn't only about it losing meaning. It can become a ritual when it causes you to go into "quick fix" mode with God, ponder its meaning for 10 minutes, and don't give it a thought the rest of the month. It is intended to remind us of Christ's sacrifice on the cross in our place, which allows us to have abundant life, and if we allow it to lose its freshness and impact in our souls, we aren't truly allowing the gospel to penetrate every aspect of our lives. 

The Lord's Supper reminds us that our lives are not our own to live; we belong to God because we have life through Him. He is the one that sustains and strengthens us. In God's tenderness, compassion, and understanding, He, being a spirit in nature, gives us, being partly physical creatures, a physical reminder of His work in us. We must not lose the spiritual meaning in the physical means. Phillips remarks about the efficacy of the sacrament, "the spiritual benefits we receive in the sacrament are analogous to those benefits received by the body through eating and drinking. In the Lord's Supper, then, the believer is strengthened and fed, receiving sustenance and life" (Give Praise to God, 205). As a reminder of our source and purpose as believers, communion serves as a source of vitality. How sad it is to lose this humbling, revitalizing act to monotony! 

We are to proclaim the Lord's death until He comes, because through His death we have true Life. How sweet it is to celebrate this alongside our brothers and sisters.