In college, I had an elderly lady in one of my history classes. She sat on the front row, and asked all of the right questions. Our professor graded on the curve, but the lady ruined it for everyone. One day toward the end of the semester, the professor was late. The lady began telling the students around her that she didn’t enjoy the class, and she didn’t think much of the teacher. The professor arrived in time to hear the last comment. He cleared his throat. The lady smiled and began to look at her textbook.
The Israelites in Isaiah’s day treated God like the elderly lady treated the professor. Isaiah 29:13 says Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. (KJV) They made the right offerings, and said the right prayers, but their hearts were far from God. By their actions, they showed the offerings were meaningless. They wanted another god; a god without all of the rules and regulations, a fun time god. They were going through the motions. They had the routine down. Our worship shouldn’t turn into something we do. It’s not the same as going to a ball game or doing a workout at the gym. The routine of worship let the Israelites down, and in this fast paced modern day life it will let us down. We need to have a passion about God.
A lack of passion has affected the churches in Europe. Many of the churches of Europe which were once alive with worship are now dying. Some have turned into museums; a dinosaur of the past. The people feel safe as long as they can see a church on the landscape. God is there in His house, if needed. Otherwise, God doesn’t have a part of their lives.
Here in America, we face a different danger. The danger of becoming entertainment centers. Today’s society wants entertainment. The biggest problem a music group or song leader has is to get us out of the entertainment mode. Only then, can we start to worship God as we should. Otherwise we become like kids standing in line to see Santa Claus. The guidelines for proper worship were completed almost two thousand years ago. The words found in I Corinthians 14:40, decent and in order covers a lot of ground. In the early church their worship was centered on the Scriptures and prayers. Songs are basically prayers set to music. It is important that we have songs that are sound doctrinal. Sermons might inspire us, but it is the songs which we remember. They seep into our soul. The Hebrew word for worship involves submission or surrender. One of the reasons for lifting up our hands is to show an act of surrender.
We honour God when we worship. It is what it is all about. Contemporary or traditional, they are only man-made labels. We go to great lengths to try and put God in our box. Instead of seeing the awesome God we serve. What God wants is worship that is authentic.
The lady in my history class got an A for the course. The professor got his paycheck, and they both went their separate ways. However, God doesn’t need a paycheck. God wants us to come before Him with an open heart, ready to focus our thoughts on Him. When we meet Him on His terms we will be amazed at how all of the other issues fall in place.
