No. 9 Discipline of Worship (a spectator sport) – Men Of Destiny
What do you think of when you hear the word “worship”? Most American Christians would immediately associate worship with the portion of a service or meeting that focuses on singing. In fact, singing and worship have become so exclusively intertwined that it’s hard to think of anything other than singing when we hear the word “worship.”
Many Christians have never thought through the meaning and importance of worship.
Spectators
Have we just become “spectators?” I played sports as a young man. I also have my favorite teams in soccer, basketball and football and love to cheer for them and attend games. So I know what a spectator is. Essentially, a spectator is one who watches, i.e., one who does not participate. Is that what we’ve become, especially on Sundays during the worship service? Have we left the work to the “professionals”? I sincerely hope not, and yet I can see places in my own thinking that lead to making church a spectator sport.
I begin to base judgments about the service based on entertainment values, rather than biblical values. I determine goodness or badness based entirely on my opinion and how things made me feel. Subtly, worship becomes a fickle popularity contest to see what or whom can vie for my attention successfully.
Dive in!
So a very real application of this would be to think through how we will evaluate (eww, such a bad word here, but the best I can think of) Easter Sunday. Will we come away on Sunday liking or disliking the service based merely on how many songs were sung or if “my” songs were sung? Will we evaluate the service based on our feelings about the message, the special music, the distracting baby crying, etc.? I pray that we are rescued out of our natural shallowness regarding worship and be raised up to see that “worship is the number one priority of the church.” God desires worship above all else. If that is true (and I think it is) how can we stand back and just “spectate”? We must dive in, participate, get involved, commune.
Have you noticed the massive amount of space set aside in the Old Testament to worship. The Bible includes an entire songbook, 150 of them! Those “boring” parts of the Bible in Exodus and Leviticus are actually God saying, “Worship is so important to me that I want you to get it right!” Do we want to get it right? Sometimes I think that all we want to do is get it done.
It doesn’t just happen!
Another important thing to point out is that worship doesn’t just happen. Now, it is true that all of life is worship, but here we are mainly focusing on the disciplined attention to worship on Sunday morning with God’s people. Of course worship can happen spontaneously and often does! But if we only worship spontaneously, we sacrifice depth and sincerity. It’s like saying that I don’t need to exercise regularly because I’m sure I’ll be exercising spontaneously soon. Maybe. Or maybe not. Regular disciplined exercise will actually enhance spontaneous exercise. In the same way, regular disciplined worship will actually enhance spontaneous worship.
I urge you to come to church on Sundays prepared to worship. “Sunday morning begins Saturday night.” What if we guarded our Saturday evenings because Sunday mornings were so important to us? I pray that reading this post will have reminded us of the importance of the Sunday gathering for corporate worship.
In my house!
Let me point out something that is all too often absent in my own heart, and that is the expectancy that should accompany our thoughts of Sunday worship together. There is a huge difference in times of individual worship at home and times of corporate worship with God’s people. This was brought home by Martin Luther: “At home in my own house there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.”
However, there cannot be real, fervent, continued expectancy if we do not know the One we are expecting to meet. The better informed we are, the better we can worship. How much better equipped we are to worship when we know the attributes and character of the One we are worshiping. And of course, the intellectual meets the emotional as true worship flows from the inside out.
Will you join me?
Indeed, Eugene Peterson said, “Worship is an act which develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God which is expressed in an act of worship.” Likewise, let me point out that worship requires work. There are so many distractions, both external and internal, and we must put our nose to the grindstone to focus on worship.
I pray that we will come away with a renewed appreciation for the greatness of God presented in the right worship of him in the assembly of sinner-saints he has redeemed.
Men, what are we doing to elevate the importance of the corporate worship gathering on Sundays? Are we willing to sacrifice that movie, that game, that video game, that whatever-it-is, in order to prepare ourselves to come together before the Lord of the Universe and worship him in spirit and in truth? I confess my slackness in this area and resolve to work, to sweat, to labor at prioritizing the Sunday worship gathering. Will you join me?
https://manlytraining.com/2018/01/26/discipline-godliness-destiny/
Patreon Members:
Patreon allows you to pledge as little as $1 a month, and in return you’ll get some pretty cool rewards, ranging from your name and blog on my MTM VIP page, exclusive content, and PODCAST VERSIONS of my posts!
Just Click here and go to Patreon to start receiving
exclusive material from Manly Training.
We Won’t Change, I Promise.
Manly Training is still going to be EXACTLY what it is now — New Posts every Tuesday and new Podcasts every Monday. Patreon perks are simply that: extra perks!
I have big plans for Manly Training– including a book AND a YouTube channel.
Your pledge will help me continue to put the considerable time and effort into each and every post that makes Manly Training what it is.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart. I pray every day for each and every one of you who take the time to read my words. You are a blessing.
Thank You!
STAY CONNECTED BY EMAIL. CLICK HERE
© 2017 MANLY TRAINING
Patreon Members:
Patreon allows you to pledge as little as $1 a month, and in return you’ll get some pretty cool rewards, ranging from your name and blog on my MTM VIP page, exclusive content, and PODCAST VERSIONS of my posts!
Just Click here and go to Patreon to start receiving
exclusive material from Manly Training.
We Won’t Change, I Promise.
Manly Training is still going to be EXACTLY what it is now — New Posts every Tuesday and new Podcasts every Monday. Patreon perks are simply that: extra perks!
I have big plans for Manly Training– including a book AND a YouTube channel.
Your pledge will help me continue to put the considerable time and effort into each and every post that makes Manly Training what it is.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart. I pray every day for each and every one of you who take the time to read my words. You are a blessing.
Thank You!
STAY CONNECTED BY EMAIL. CLICK HERE
© 2017 MANLY TRAINING
Top Posts & Pages
You must be logged in to post a comment.