Worship Is About God
The great mistake we make in Evangelical churches today is making the music singing in the Church about us. Many hop from church to church looking for the right mix that "fits" them or makes them "feel" blessed from the singing. Some only want particular Hymns, others only want particular praise songs in particular styles of music.
How quickly we turn inward. I truly believe the gravitational pull of every Christian is to look inward and not outward!
Don't get me wrong, we should feel the joy of God's presence, but the purpose of praise is to praise, not to experience!
Psalm 134 is the highest point of the Psalms of Ascents. Pilgrims have gathered in the Temple in unity (Psalm 133), and are now in worship. In this high point of praise, the Psalmist calls us to WORSHIP and BLESS the LORD!
Psalm 134:1–2 (ESV) Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!
Worship isn't about you. Worship is purposed to bless the Lord! That's why we raise our hands. It is the universal sign of surrender. We raise our hands to let God know - we aren't in control and we desperately need Him. Like children running to daddy for his grace and compassion, we lift our hands in joyful praise, blessing the Lord!
We have many reasons to lift our hands and bless Him... He's saved and redeemed us, He has called us His own. We have a wonderful salvation. He's worthy of our consistent praise!
Sometimes we forget that.
I recently heard it illustrated like like this... We are saved! Like drowning men someone threw us a life preserver. When you are saved from drowning, you get happy about the fact that you're not dead... really happy. Yet something terrible happens to many of us. We learn to swim. Then we think we can do it on our own. We don't need the Savior as much any more... How sad! And every now and then we need to be tossed into the ocean and alone to see just how faithful our God is to us and just how helpless we are apart from Him. It's how He gently reminds us that He is our Everlasting Father.
Worship is about God, not us.
We worship God because God saved us.
Let's not make the mistake of turning inward - let's go upward!
Amen.
How quickly we turn inward. I truly believe the gravitational pull of every Christian is to look inward and not outward!
Don't get me wrong, we should feel the joy of God's presence, but the purpose of praise is to praise, not to experience!
Psalm 134 is the highest point of the Psalms of Ascents. Pilgrims have gathered in the Temple in unity (Psalm 133), and are now in worship. In this high point of praise, the Psalmist calls us to WORSHIP and BLESS the LORD!
Psalm 134:1–2 (ESV) Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!
Worship isn't about you. Worship is purposed to bless the Lord! That's why we raise our hands. It is the universal sign of surrender. We raise our hands to let God know - we aren't in control and we desperately need Him. Like children running to daddy for his grace and compassion, we lift our hands in joyful praise, blessing the Lord!
We have many reasons to lift our hands and bless Him... He's saved and redeemed us, He has called us His own. We have a wonderful salvation. He's worthy of our consistent praise!
Sometimes we forget that.
I recently heard it illustrated like like this... We are saved! Like drowning men someone threw us a life preserver. When you are saved from drowning, you get happy about the fact that you're not dead... really happy. Yet something terrible happens to many of us. We learn to swim. Then we think we can do it on our own. We don't need the Savior as much any more... How sad! And every now and then we need to be tossed into the ocean and alone to see just how faithful our God is to us and just how helpless we are apart from Him. It's how He gently reminds us that He is our Everlasting Father.
Worship is about God, not us.
We worship God because God saved us.
Let's not make the mistake of turning inward - let's go upward!
Amen.
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