Worshipping AND Doing

I grew up in the Charismatic Church. We were really into worship. It was everything. And by worship, we meant the singing and emotional feel of the service before the preaching. In fact, on some occasions, if we "felt the Spirit" just right, the preaching would be sidelined for more singing and emotion. It was very feeling oriented. And I read Psalm 81 thinking about how often the feeling of worship and the form of worship can be a shady cover for hearts that aren't actually listening to God or doing what He says.

The Psalmist opens:




Psalm 81:1–3 (ESV) 1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! 2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.

The idea in the first three verses is that of orderly, well structured, planned and perfected worship. Everything is going just as the Levitical prescription is laid out in the Pentateuch. But when the Word of the Lord comes, it is a strong word of warning.
Psalm 81:8–10 (ESV) Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

God says listen and hear several times in the remaining verses. He doesn't just want us singing to Him looking for that "feeling" of His presence. He IS with us whether we feel Him or not, therefore walk in His ways all the time.

It's so easy and natural to segregate our lives. But this was never God's intention. He made all things and gave us all things for His purposes and glory. We don't do our "God stuff" on Sunday and business Monday through Saturday. We are always worshipping... it's just not always the ONE LORD and ONE GOD. 

It's funny, the culture at large is perfectly fine with Christians who segregate themselves and cordon off their worship into a time slot on the weekend. What the world has a problem with is that Christian who carries their convictions from the church house into the public sector of life and lives according to a sure Word from God. 

Notice the problem God has: It's that His people will not listen... not the world:
Psalm 81:11 (ESV) “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.

God isn't looking to the lost to shine the light and live right, He's looking to those He chose and called. We are the people called to bear witness as to what life with the One True King is like. However many Churches look to the lost to listen to God and do what He says. That's not their job! That's ours. The goodness of the Lord is only experienced and seen when the people of the Lord are walking in the light of His truth day by day.

This is what God is looking for. People who worship Him in daily life! That's the salt and light Jesus talked about. Radical commitment to Christ in everyday doings are the makings of true worship that others see, some hate, and many will appreciate.  

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