Lessons In Worship - Part Three

 

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LESSON

Suppose someone acquired a beautiful estate through marriage to an heiress. If this person constantly said to people, "Oh, come out sometime and see my home," and took all the credit for himself, people would find him obnoxious and would eventually want nothing to do with him. But when the Lord Jesus Christ says, "I want to spread before you My holiness and My glory where you can see it," immediately it becomes the most wonderful thing in all the universe. Here is the exhibition of perfection and in perfection, there cannot be any pride.

 

A great singer is happy to sing in order that people may have pleasure from his voice. A great teacher in the university is delighted to answer the questions of his students that they may grow. But our great God delights in displaying all His glories and perfections because there is nothing better. His glory is the climax of everything there is in life and being.

 

If you visit a scenic spot, such as the Grand Canyon, and stay there for two or three days, you would hear the initial responses of people who came and saw that natural wonder for the first time. One after another, they would say, "Oh, how breathtaking!" "How wonderful!" "How beautiful!" Some would be just speechless. They would go aside to contemplate that awesome and wonderful beauty of nature. Here is something caused by destruction and erosion, and yet as we see it, we proclaim, "How wonderful!" How much more wonderful are the perfect glories of Christ as they are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit!

 

One day I was leaving England to fly home to America. The plane flew west in the direction of the setting sun, soaring high above the clouds. In that sunset, I saw the infinite billowing of the clouds, some of them rising up above us like mountains and some of them forming huge valleys below us. Occasionally, we would come right along beside a cloud and our wing would practically cut the edge of it. As we flew, I thought to myself, "Just think! For thousands of years before there were airplanes, all this beauty was up here and no one ever saw it, but God and His angels." God has never painted the same sunset twice. The shape of the clouds is always different. I thought of the fact that there were a million possible points on this earth where one could see a million different sunsets. Then I just sat there and said, "My what a wonderful God!"

 

Yes, it is possible to worship God in nature. For nature was created by the word of His power. But when we worship God in Christ, we are acknowledging the expression of His person. We are responding to His infinite love. The Holy Spirit reveals to our minds the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ and the beauty of the Lord as manifested in grace (love that stoops). We see Him leaving the throne of heaven saying, "I'll put myself in the hands of men and I'll let them nail me to the cross in order that I may satisfy God on the behalf of sinners." When we who are the sinners, realize what He did, we are overcome. Our hearts are lifted toward Him in praise for His greatness, His salvation, His holiness, His love-and we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

True worship has certain characteristics. In Hebrews 10:22, it says, "Let us draw near." Worship is drawing near to God. There is nothing frightening about worship. In acknowledging the wonders of God in nature, people may be afraid of Him. They may tremble before the majesty of a storm, or the wonders of the great phenomena of nature. But in worship we are drawn to God. In fact, God has saved us in order that He might be closer to us. That is the nature of His love.

 

Worship needs no earthly house, no earthly form. I wonder sometimes if the very fact of the existence of churches doesn't block the spiritual reality of what the Bible teaches. Does a building with stained glass windows really induce worship? There's no doubt that natural man thinks so. He has built his cathedrals as symbols of greatness and beauty. I've been in buildings that all the artists say are the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Yet I find that they do not draw my heart to God, and I don't think God wants them to. God doesn't need a fancy building or a picture of Christ in order to draw our hearts to Him. He doesn't need pews and pulpit and windows to draw our hearts to Him.

 

When Hebrews 10:22 says, "Let us draw near. .." that "drawing" must be in our hearts. This involves the conscious exclusion of everything else in our surroundings. In worship, let your memory be active. Jesus said, in reference to the Lord's Supper, "Do this in memory of Me." The Lord wants you to be going over ail the things that He's done for you. These things will tell you more about who He is. When your heart can think of who God is, it will be drawn to the last step of worship, which is hope.

 

In the Lord's Supper, Jesus links memory with hope-"You show the Lord's death till He comes." Our heart in worship turns to the hope of His coming to the day when we won't have to worship Him through the barrier of time or our senses, or the weakness of the flesh, fighting all the forces that would drive our attention away from Him. Then, we will really know what it is to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

 

Learning the lessons of true worship is the greatest factor in spiritual growth. You will grow faster by taking time out to think on things the Lord has done, and to think on the things He is, and to thank Him for these. Think of His condescension of leaving the throne of heaven to come and die for you. Think of His patience toward you. Think of His heart of love. Think of His holiness. Then think of whatever the Holy Spirit brings to your heart. In the fulness of the Holy Spirit, you will experience your greatest blessing-the true worship of God.

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