The Barometer of Worship

The topic of worship has been a hot-button issue for some time now.  There have been many thoughts as to what is proper in worship through the years.

There are several reasons for opposing it.  One, it’s too new.  Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous.  The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style.  Because there are so many songs, you can’t learn them all.  It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than Godly lyrics.  This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly.  The preceding generation got along without it.  It’s a money-making scene and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.

The quote above was from a pastor to a local newspaper in 1723.  It was attacking Isaac Watts, the writer of some of the Christian faith’s greatest hymns.  Sound familiar?

The problem far too many times is that the focus of much worship is on what is pleasing to us rather than what is pleasing to God. We all may have different preferences (that’s not a bad thing or a sin), but when it comes to worship, it is really not for us.  As Big Daddy Weave reminds us, we are singing to an “Audience of One.”

What does God require from our worship?

In Amos 5, we see an instance when God addresses the worship that was being done by His people.  It is not a pretty scene.

I hate, I despise, your feasts!  I can’t stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.  Even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them;  I will have no regard for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle.  Take away from me the noise of your songs!  I will not listen to the music of your harps.  (Amos 5:21-23 CSB)

We can see clearly from these verses that God was not pleased with the worship that was going on from His people.  Is it because they were doing the wrong things?  Were they singing the wrong songs?  Were the wrong instruments being used?

No.  Each of the things that were mentioned in these verses had been called for by God in the Old Testament book of Leviticus.

In Amos 5:21, God said that He hated and despised their feasts.  Because Israel had refused to hate what was evil in their everyday lives, God hated their religious feasts.  God also shows that He is sickened by their solemn assemblies.  These were moments when God’s people gathered before Him in a sweet time of worship and devotion to God. The Bible stated on many occasions that these times would rise to God like a “pleasing aroma”. Because of their hypocrisy, these moments were actually producing a stench to God.

In Amos 5:22, we see that God ignored their fellowship offerings.  These were offerings that signified peace between two parties. When it is ignore, it shows that there was not peace between the people and God.

If you look at these verses carefully, you will notice something important. As God refers to each of these worship activities, He uses a particular pronoun – “you” or “your.” He never says anything about “My”. This is a revelation that what was taking place was not what God had prescribed. It was simply motions that the people wanted to do. This is one big reason that God was not pleased with it and would not accept it.

The Issue Then and Now

Could it be that God is still not pleased with nor accepting the worship of His people at times?  I believe that the answer to that question lies in what is behind our worship.

The truth is that a person can go through the motions of worship and still completely miss God.

• Religion = do certain things to earn from or appease God.
• Relationship = do certain things because you love God and are loved by Him.

How people worship has always been a clear indication of how they view God. If people see God as an angry tyrant, then they will seek to appease Him somehow. If they see God as a gracious Father, then they will come before Him in adoration longing to express their love to Him.

What is the Purpose Behind Worship?

One problem that we see from these verses in Amos is that the Israelites were going through the religious motions during worship, but it was not affecting their lives outside of these moments.

What was missing in their worship was authenticity manifested in a lifestyle of obedience.

If we are not careful, we can see the same thing in our experiences. We can check off our “religious to-do lists”, but if it does not cause us to live a different way than those who do not follow Christ during the rest of the week, then we will find our worship unacceptable to God.

Worship is not supposed to be something that we just experience for a few minutes once or twice a week. It is something that comes from a work already done, and it causes us to do more.

Our worship of the One, true God is an important part of our lives. It is something that God uses to mold us, instruct us, and give us encouragement for whatever may be ahead.

If our worship of God does not bring about a change in our lives, we must ask ourselves a couple of key questions.

• Who is my worship really aimed at?

• Is God accepting my worship.

The worship that God accepts from His people is the kind that is backed up by a lifestyle of obedience to His commands.

May the worship we bring before God today and each following day be acceptable and pleasing in His sight.

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Follow Up on "Is God There?"

I had really expected to get to this a lot sooner than now, but you know how schedules go...  The time that I have had to investigate the question that I posed in an earlier post has been hit and miss.  The question was "if God is omnipresent, is He in hell?"  I had asked for response to this and got no takers other than one or two people contacting me through facebook saying that they were going to look at this some more.

Here's the conclusion that I have come up with...Yes, I truly believe that God is in hell.

Having grown up in the church, I was taught that hell was "eternal separation from God."  People would use Isaiah 59:2 and Matthew 25:31-46 as support for this teaching.  I admit that I have used the verse from Isaiah in talking to people about salvation and the need to confess Christ frequently in the past.  I had never had anyone ask me to try and reconcile the ideas of God's omnipresence (He's everywhere) and hell.  At first glance, it appeared that there was something not right... something like a contradiction.  But as I studied more, it became more clear.

Before I get too far down that road, let me share Scripture as to why I say that God is present in hell.  Psalm 139:7-10 talks about the omnipresence of God.  It basically says that there is no place in all of creation that you can go to get away from the presence of God.  David even speaks of the place called "Sheol" as a place where God was present.  This "Sheol" was the concept of hell in the Old Testament.  This same concept is found in Amos 9:1-4.  Amos talks about God's hand reaching into "Sheol".  One of the clearest pictures of God's presence in hell is found in Revelation 14:9-11.  In verse 10, John records that those who are in hell "will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb."  We know that the Lamb is referring to Jesus Christ (God).

Back to the road I was on.  How do you reconcile God's omnipresence and the thought of hell (eternal separation from God)?  Many times when God's presence is referred to in the Bible, it is speaking of His blessings (Genesis 4:14; Jeremiah 7:15, 15:1, 23:39, 52:3-4; 2 Kings 17:18-23).  What I've come to understand is that there is a difference between spatial presence (the physical part of where someone is) and relational presence (how you relate to someone).  This is the answer that shows that God is everywhere, even in hell.  Why it's easy to see God's presence (both spatial and relational) in heaven, His spatial presence is very much in hell.  Sadly, it is the wrath of God to the fullest extent is what is present in hell.  God's relational presence (blessings) have been removed from the place called hell so that His wrath is fully shown.

I know that this is not a warm and fuzzy topic, but I truly think that it is a topic worth addressing.  Peter reminds us to be ready to give an answer for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).  Paul reminds us to be able to properly handle the truth of God (2 Timothy 2:15).  If we are going to be true disciples of Jesus Christ, then we must tackle the tough questions and let God's word and the Holy Spirit show us the truth.

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Broken Altars

As I continue my study through the book of Amos, I have come to a very interesting point.  In Amos 3:13-15, one can see that judgment is proclaimed against Israel during these days for two things: false worship and materialism.  It is interesting to me that the temples that were set up in the northern kingdom during this time were to be much like the one in Jerusalem.  So why did the Lord proclaim judgment on Israel when they were trying to do things like they were done in Jerusalem?  As you study the Old Testament, you see that though they had tried to duplicate the temple in Jerusalem, their practices were anything but pleasing to the Lord.  They were using all sorts of pagan practices in trying to worship God instead of just following the simple instructions given to them by God.

This got me to thinking a little.  In our own lives, do we give the things that are supposed to be devoted to God to other things?  Do we try to concoct our own brand of worship to the Holy One?  Sometimes I think that we can make things so difficult in worship when God gave us a simple plan: seek His face and heart and follow His word.  Jesus told us to give to God what is properly His (Matthew 22:21).  What of God's are we giving to other things?

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Thoughts From the Book of Amos

I am currently studying the Old Testament book of Amos in my personal time.  Before now, I can't remember looking into the words of this prophet of God.  I realize now that I have truly been missing out on some awesome stuff.  This was a guy from Judah (the southern kingdom) who was sent to Israel (the northern kingdom) to let them know what God was up going to do.  His approach was great.  He started by pronouncing all kinds of judgments from God on the surrounding nations.  This got the people's attention and them all excited.  Who doesn't like to hear about the fall of your enemies?  But in the middle of chapter two, the tide turns.  God begins to reveal how His judgment is coming on Israel for their sins also.

This really got my attention.  God was not going to put up with sins of people any longer.  They had gone too far.  The interesting thing to me was that just because Israel was His chosen people, they did not get a pass.  I wonder how many times we think that our "little sins" won't be taken so seriously because we are "God's children"?  The sins of Christians make God just as sick to His stomach as the sins of unbelievers.  Those of us who are followers of Christ should not think that God will just overlook our shortcomings.  Jesus reminds us that God sends sun and rain on the righteous and unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).  Who's to say that His judgment will not fall on both for sin also.  I understand that in speaking of eternal consequences, the believer's sin has been washed in the blood.  But we (believers) should not think that we will be passed over by the earthly consequences of our sin.  Maybe we should remember the words of Peter when he wrote, "for it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God" (1 Peter 4:17).

Just some food for thought...

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