Worship; something Christians do regularly, but does the commonness and routine of it cause us to lose its specialness?
I have been teaching Revelation in West Kentucky Bible School and have been reminded of the importance of worship. The great heavenly throne room chapters (4-5) show us where our song ends. They show us that preaching is about proclaiming the slain lamb. They show the reasons Christians sing and how in heaven the four living creatures, 24 elders, and the innumerable host praise God. Worship is when we join nature, the heavenly redeemed, angels, and these 24 elders in praising God. We see the prayers of the saints changing heaven and earth (ch. 5, ch. 8). In chapter 7, we see the redeemed from all nations who have come out of the tribulation crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” (7:10).
Revelation describes these exciting, beautiful scenes of worship that thrill our hearts and souls. Yet, I must ask how much are they in contrast to our typical worship?
We need to value and appreciate the spiritual and emotional importance of worship.
We need to prioritize attendance. Just like this story.
[important]At the last Revelation class I had a conversation with a middle-aged father, who is a policeman. He works the midnight shift. He commented to me that he was tired as we were preparing for class to start. I commented that I know that shift must be difficult with having normal hours on the weekend and then going back to midnights. I asked him if he had the possibility of going to day hours. He said he does, but it would involve working every weekend, because of seniority issues. He said he would rather work midnight shift than have to miss worship every Sunday with his family. I was impressed with his value and appreciation of worship.[/important]
We need to sing with heart and joy. Would we sing so lethargic and quiet if we really considered God hearing our songs in heaven? What about Christ sitting beside us?
We need to prepare for worship and sanctify the Lord’s day as holy. I really appreaciate men who consider what public role they will be fulfilling and give attention to being ready for this assignment.
We need to have an awe and respect of worship throughout the building. The nursery is not a place for teenagers or ladies just to go to avoid worship. When in the hallways and foyer areas while the church is worshipping we should be respectful and reverent. Technology allows us to stream the worship into nurseries or other areas, those in these rooms should use these as they are able.
We need to look past the human frailties and failings of our worship, and still see the spiritual importance. Sermons are not always the best. Preachers are sometimes boring, chasing rabbits, and not connecting. The song leader may be off key and the man leading prayer may be rote and memorized. Yet, we should not be overly discouraged and focused on these human elements, we need to do our best at keeping the focus on our personal offering of worship in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24).
Worship may be the hardest thing we try to do in this life. Let us not treat it casually and habitual. It is special and holy and should be treated as such.
