Worship
Part 9 - The Worship Routine
Why do you go to worship? You go to meet with God's people. You enjoy singing the praise of God in the Psalms with others. You also go to hear the public reading and proclamation of Scripture. Then too, you go to enjoy the fellowship of the church. You look forward to visiting and catching up on the lives of people you love. All of these things are good and proper.
You also sincerely and rightly believe God mandates these activities. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). So you dutifully attend weekly services of worship and study as God directs you. It's all part of your weekly routine. Herein lays the danger. It all becomes a matter of routine. Duty becomes mundane. Expectations become low.
Consider the alternative. The assembly of God's people gathered for worship is an outpost of heaven. As the church we are living stones being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 1:5). We are a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:22). In this temple, we offer to God spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 1:5). As Hebrews 13:15 puts it, "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." Finally, God is graciously present among us, in this temple, to fulfill His covenant promises (2 Corinthians 6:16). This New Testament view of worship rests on the symbolism of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple.
What is God's purpose in all of this? Look at what God said about the daily sacrifices. He explained what the people must do. Then He made a tremendous promise. "Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs each day, continuously. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight... It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there" (Exodus 29:38, 39, 42).
As the people offered up their sacrifices, God promised to meet with them and to speak to them. Similarly, as we come together in worship and offer up sacrifices of praise, God promises to meet with us and to speak to us. Our Lord anticipates us. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27). When we listen to the reading of Scripture and listen to the proclamation of its message we may also hear the voice of the Savior and follow Him.
The apostle Paul teaches the same thing. Note his second question. "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe Him[1] whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14). In the context of worship, where God is graciously present and active, we have the privilege of meeting, hearing, and believing the Savior.
Worship is a privilege. We enter to enjoy God's presence. We expect Him to speak to us and to encourage us. When our elders lead us in worship, they therefore ought to pray for and lead us into the enjoyment of God's presence. When our pastors prepare their sermons, they ought to pray for and expect God Himself to speak to us. When we come to worship we ought to anticipate enjoying fellowship with God Himself as He meets with us and speaks to us. After all, our chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
