Posts Tagged ‘true worship’

Vain worship vs genuine worship

Posted: February 12, 2013 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, February, Matthew
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
1

Jesus quoted Isaiah in Matthew 15:9-10

“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

John Piper preached a sermon, “Worship is an End in Itself” based on this passage, and here is the concluding paragraph. He said, “Only worship is an end in itself. Only worship should not be done as a means to achieving something other than itself.”

In conclusion, by way of summary, Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Therefore, even though worship can refer to a form of activity in which the heart is distant, yet true worship which delights God is the drawing near of the heart to God, or, to put it another way, the quickening of the heart with genuine feelings in response to God’s glory. Such feelings are never performances of will power calculated to accomplish other ends. They are ends in themselves. Therefore, since they constitute the heart of genuine worship, worship is an end in itself. And our Sunday morning service is unique in its focus on God who is greatly honored in such worship. And it is for his name’s sake that I ask you all very earnestly to take time Saturday night and Sunday morning to prepare yourselves to meet him here, praying with the psalmist, “Open my eyes that I might behold wondrous things in your word” (Palm. 119:18). And: “Unite my heart to fear thy name” (Psalm 86:11).

Read or listen to the rest of the sermon

Give Me your heart

Posted: April 18, 2012 by Pam Larson in April, Devotionals/Commentaries, Mark
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8)

J. C. Ryle comments:

The heart is the part of man which God chiefly notices in religion.

  • The bowed head,
  • and the bended knee–
  • the grave face and the rigid posture–
  • the ritual response, and the formal amen–
  • all these together do not make up a spiritual worshiper.

The eyes of God look further and deeper. He requires the worship of the heart. “My son,” he says to every one of us, “Give me your heart.“

Let us remember this in the public congregation. It must not content us to take our bodies to church, if we leave our hearts at home.

Responding to the Greatness of God

Posted: April 13, 2012 by Pam Larson in April, Devotionals/Commentaries, Judges
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord! “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.
—Judges 5:1-3

The Song of Deborah is a great example of how we are to worship God–singing his praises by recounting all of the things he has done to save us from our sins and to deliver us from our enemies. The Psalms are God’s own hymnal given to us. Much like the inspired songs of Moses, Deborah, and others, the Psalms tell of God’s mighty deeds and they also record the fears, joys and sadness.  We identify with the emotions and expectations of David and the other psalm writers. Think, too, about the “songs” recorded in the New Testament, such as Mary’s “Magnificat” and Zechariah’s “song.” Singing Scripture is always a good focus of our worship.   When we let God tell his story through song, we are reminded of His great and mighty acts, and are encouraged to remember God’s faithfulness and power.

Emotion is not a bad thing in worship. When we consider all the amazing things God has done, how can we NOT be moved in our emotions? There is a place for joy, exuberance, tears, and even raising our hands. But experiencing emotional highs and expressing them is not the goal of worship.  They are a response to the greatness of God!

Worship music should let God tell his story, like we see in the Song of Deborah, and  we reflect upon what he has done.  God is always faithful to His promises, and songs like Deborah’s  are a great reminder of that!

Spurgeon: David makes every limb vocal

Posted: February 12, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, February, Psalms
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.
All my bones shall say,
“O Lord, who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?” Psalm 35:9-10

Charles H. Spurgeon writes in the Treasury of David:

As the tongue were not enough to bless God with, David makes every limb vocal—All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee? His whole anatomy he would make resonant with gratitude. Those bones which were to have been broken by my enemies shall now praise God; every one of them shall bring its tribute, ascribing unrivalled excellence to Jehovah the Saviour of his people.  Even if worn to skin and bone, yet my very skeleton shall magnify the Lord, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him. God is the champion, the true knight errant of all oppressed ones. Where there is so much condescension, justice, kindness, power, and compassion, the loftiest songs should be rendered. Come, dear reader, have you not been delivered from sin, Satan, and death, and will not you bless the Redeemer? You were poor and weak, but in due time Christ sought you, and set you free. O magnify the Lord today, and speak well of his name.

Weak, wicked or worship

Posted: December 10, 2011 by Pam Larson in Amos, December, Devotionals/Commentaries
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Seek the Lord and live…

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
the Lord is his name; Amos 5:4,6,8

Charles H Spurgeon, in a sermon from 1907, “Reasons for Seeking God”

The order, the regularity, the manifest calculation and design which appear in every one of the constellations, in every single planet, in every fixed star, and in every part of the great multitude of worlds which God has created, are such decisive evidences that, if men do not see something of God in them, they must be weak in their minds or wicked in their hearts. Surely, what is seen of God, in this way, has tended to make us worship him. Many of you may know but little of astronomy; but, still, you see every day that God is working everywhere around us, and that heaven, and earth, and land, and sea, are teeming with the products of his marvelous skill. The revolutions of day and night, and the formation and fall of rain are indisputable proofs of the presence of eternal power and Godhead. Let us, therefore, seek the Lord!

Worship or entertainment?

Posted: August 2, 2011 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, Ezra
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0
Stephen Cole, of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship comments on Ezra 3-
 
Note first  that both personal and corporate worship focus on God and affirm by faith His goodness and covenant love (3:11). Worship requires skillful musicians (3:10), but if the focus is on them, you’re into entertainment, not worship. Worship praises the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” Remember, these people had just come through 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Many had lost loved ones, as well as possessions and homes, when Jerusalem fell. If they had been focused on themselves, they would have complained and impugned the goodness of God. But by faith they knew that the Lord had afflicted them out of His goodness (Ps. 119:67, 71). So now they could sing of His goodness and covenant love toward His people. 

J. C. Ryle: Why take our bodies to church, if we leave our hearts at home?

Posted: April 18, 2011 by Pam Larson in April, Devotionals/Commentaries, Mark
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8)

J. C. Ryle comments:

The heart is the part of man which God chiefly notices in religion.

  • The bowed head,
  • and the bended knee–
  • the grave face and the rigid posture–
  • the ritual response, and the formal amen–
  • all these together do not make up a spiritual worshiper.

The eyes of God look further and deeper. He requires the worship of the heart. “My son,” he says to every one of us, “Give me your heart.“

Let us remember this in the public congregation. It must not content us to take our bodies to church, if we leave our hearts at home.

Horning, Hoofing or Thanking?

Posted: March 23, 2011 by 4theloveofgod in Devotionals/Commentaries, March, Psalms
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

What kind of sacrifice does God desire?

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Spurgeon comments on Psalm 69:30-31

bullHere he puts dishonour upon mere outward offerings by speaking of the horns and hoofs, the offal [Waste parts, especially of a butchered animal] of the victim. The opus operatum, which our ritualists think so much of, the Lord puffs at. The horning and hoofing are nothing to him, though to Jewish ritualists these were great points, and matters for critical examination; our modern rabbis are just as precise as to the mingling of water with their wine, the baking of their wafers, the cut of their vestments, and the performance of genuflections towards the right quarter of the compass. O fools, and slow of heart to perceive all that the Lord has declared. “Offer unto God thanksgiving” is the everlasting rubric of the true directory of worship. The depths of grief into which the suppliant had been plunged gave him all the richer an experience of divine power and grace in his salvation, and so qualified him to sing more sweetly “the song of loves.” Such music is ever most acceptable to the infinite Jehovah.

John Piper: Only worship is an end in itself. Only worship should not be done as a means to achieving something other than itself.

Posted: February 12, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, February, Matthew
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Jesus quoted Isaiah in Matthew 15:9-10

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

John Piper preached a sermon, “Worship is an End in Itself” based on this passage, and here is the concluding paragraph. He said, “Only worship is an end in itself. Only worship should not be done as a means to achieving something other than itself.”  Click here if you would like to read or listen to the rest of the sermon:

In conclusion, by way of summary, Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Therefore, even though worship can refer to a form of activity in which the heart is distant, yet true worship which delights God is the drawing near of the heart to God, or, to put it another way, the quickening of the heart with genuine feelings in response to God’s glory. Such feelings are never performances of will power calculated to accomplish other ends. They are ends in themselves. Therefore, since they constitute the heart of genuine worship, worship is an end in itself. And our Sunday morning service is unique in its focus on God who is greatly honored in such worship. And it is for his name’s sake that I ask you all very earnestly to take time Saturday night and Sunday morning to prepare yourselves to meet him here, praying with the psalmist, “Open my eyes that I might behold wondrous things in your word” (Palm. 119:18). And: “Unite my heart to fear thy name” (Psalm 86:11).

Worship God!

Posted: December 25, 2010 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Revelation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
1

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Revelation 22:8-9

John Piper, in a sermon, “Worship God!”

The angel said to John, when he fell down at the angel’s feet, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.” In other words, don’t worship angels, worship God! Don’t worship nothing, worship God! Don’t neglect God or despise God, worship God! This is the last chapter of the Bible, and this is the last duty of man: worship God!

Older Entries