Worship 25

July 17, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

1 Peter 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Peter is very clear at many points and in many things. The person who has speaking gifts (preaching) is to speak and preach as if he is speaking the very utterances of God, and in a sense that person is speaking the very utterances of God. True preaching (John Calvin held this as well) is when a man has been gripped by the Spirit of God and stands up and speaks to the people the words of God. In a sense the man is used of God to speak to the people. Men are not to stand and preach the fruits of their own brains, but instead they are to be the instruments of God and their mouths are to be the mouthpieces of God.

The person that serves is to serve “by the strength which God supplies. Why is the person to do that? It is so that “in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” The “so that” also includes the preaching as well, but notice again that preaching and serving are God-centered. The person who is preaching and the person who is serving are to do so in a God-centered way and fashion so that God would be glorified through Jesus Christ. After all, as the text sets out, the glory and dominion belongs to Him. If we do anything apart from doing it that God would be glorified through Jesus Christ we are doing it for the glory of self. This would be in one sense attempted theft of the glory of God.

In looking at how this applies to worship, one does not have to look very far at all. Preaching is worship in the specific sense, though one can argue that serving can be in the more general sense. However, the text tells us that whatever we do it is to be done in a way that God would be glorified through Jesus Christ. This means that we are to worship in a way where God is glorified through Jesus Christ. If we look at the text of Scripture again, we see that what glorifies God is when we speak we are to speak as speaking His utterances and we are to serve in His strength. The deduction for worship is obvious. We worship in spirit and truth when we worship according to the truth of His utterances and our worship comes from the strength He supplies.

When we worship in accordance with His truth and we worship with the strength He supplies, then our worship glorifies God through Jesus Christ. We are to serve in the strength that He supplies so that God would be glorified through Jesus Christ, so when worship in the strength He supplies so He will be glorified through Jesus Christ. If we don’t worship according to His truth and in the strength He supplies, then our worship is guided by our fallen understandings and our worship would be from the strength the flesh supplies. This should strike a nerve in our souls and cause a shiver to run up and down our spine.

Do we strive to worship God and yet worship in the strength of the flesh? Do we seek the Lord for true humility and lowliness of heart and seek Him to give us the strength to worship Him? Are we concerned at all where the strength comes from that we worship (or assume we worship) with and in? We worship the God that Christ has revealed and we also worship by the strength He purchased and grants us to come to the Father with. We can do nothing apart from Him (nothing spiritual), so we must worship in the strength that comes from Him. Following the bulletin in the required things is not enough, we must have Christ and the Spirit of Christ to truly worship.

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Worship 24

July 16, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

1 Peter 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

In essentially any verse one turns to regarding worship, when looked at with any degree of care the focus is on God and the purposes of God. If we look at I Peter 2:9 we can see the purposes of God. Why did God choose a people so that they are called a chosen race? For His purpose of them proclaiming His excellencies.. Why did God make a royal priesthood out of His people? For His purpose of them proclaiming His excellencies. . Why did God make a holy nation out of His people? For His purpose of them proclaiming His excellencies. Why did God take a people and now they are His own possession? For His purpose of them proclaiming His excellencies. Why did God call a people out of darkness into His marvelous light? For His purposes of them proclaiming His excellencies.

This may seem to many a rather startling conclusion, but the text does not really leave us an alternative. God saves sinners and makes them into great things for the purpose of proclaiming His excellencies. This text does not teach us what to sing or preach or anything like that, but the focus is to teach us why God saves sinners. The context demands that we take this view as the chosen of God are contrasted with the previous verse where it speaks of a doom that some were appointed to. We are not just to bow before God and thank Him for saving us, but the purpose of Him saving us is to declare the wonders and the glories of the excellencies of God. It is the Gospel of grace alone that sets forth the beauty and wonder of God in Christ. It is in the Gospel that we behold the glories of a free-grace by which Christ saves sinners to the glory of the Father.

It is the Gospel of free-grace that frees sinners from self-love and pride (not perfectly, but just as He has ordained) that their hearts may be loosed from the things of self and the world that they may proclaim the wonders and excellencies of God that He has demonstrated and manifested in the Gospel. It is in the face of Christ that God has manifested His glory in the Gospel of the glory of Christ (II Cor 4:4-6). The Gospel is not just some bits of information we tell people so they can make a decision or pray a prayer in order to be saved, but it is the good news of the glory of God in Christ. The true Gospel is filled with and manifests the excellencies of God. Therefore, we were saved in order to praise those excellencies.

True worship, once again and perhaps to beat a dead horse, is not about human beings and their feelings being the central thing in worship, but true worship is about the glory of God. True worship is about proclaiming the excellencies of God that has been and is continuing to be displayed in the Gospel and in and through His Church. Sinners are saved by the acts of God set forth in the Gospel and sinners are to worship the excellencies of God as set forth in His acts that have manifested His glory. Because of who God is, a God-centered God, the Gospel is all about God. Those who are saved by Him should praise Him because of who He is and they are saved in order to be all about Him as well. It is only when the churches are all about God that they are like Him.

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Great Quotes

July 15, 2016

Christ is all, and in all – the words are a Proposition. In which we have the Subject, Christ; But Christ; and the Predicate, He is all, and in all. He is all things that are necessary to salvation and that in all persons, who do believe in him, who are renewed and regenerated by his grace. – Christ is all by way of merit. Jesus Christ is meritoriously all in all to believers. Whatsoever they are, whatsoever they have, whatsoever they do, or can expect, is only upon the score and account of his purchase and merit. They enjoy no good thing upon any other terms, but only upon the consideration of Christ’s merits. Because he hath done and suffered for them, and in their stead, therefore do they partake of those blessings which make them happy to all eternity. The Patriarchs in the Old Testament, Christians in the New Testament, have pleaded with God for all blessings only upon the account of Christ. “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.” {Dan.9:17} Of this the Apostle speaks, when he saith, that Christ is made unto us of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. {I Cor.1:30} Christ doth bestow upon us, and God is pleased to accept for us the merit of Christ’s Passion, Death, Obedience, and Righteousness. 2. Christ is all in all to them by way of conveyance. As he hath merited all for them; so ’tis from him and through him that all good things are communicated to them. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.” {Jn.14:6} As we have all propter Christum, so we receive all we have per Christum through Christ. He is not only the Fountain, but the Medium and Conduit through whom all a believer hath is conveyed to him. Jesus Christ is a believer’s Root. “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” {Jn.15:5} Now as all the sap which is in the branches is communicated through the root, so all the good which a believer hath is derived through Christ. God hath put all that good he intends to bestow upon his Elect into Christ’s hands as a Feoffee in trust, and from him as the great Lord-steward is all communicated unto them. Of this the Apostle speaks; from Christ the Head, the whole body by “joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” {Col.2:19} Jesus Christ is, as it were, the hand of God, through which all good things are sent in to us. He is the door; “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.” {Jn.10:7} 3. Christ is all in all to them, by way of efficiency and causality. He it is that works all in all in his Saints; “there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” {I Cor.12:6} This our Saviour bears witness unto, when he tells us, that without him we can do nothing. {Jn.15:5} The soul is the principle of all action in man, Jesus Christ is the principle of all motion and spiritual action in his Saints, for he is the soul of their soul. Not a good desire, not a good thought but what is inspired by Jesus Christ. The Apostle doth freely acknowledge this. “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;” {Gal.2:20;} so “work out your own salvation, &c. for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” {Phil.2:12,13} 4. Christ is all in all to them virtually; he is instead of all things to them. Solomon saith that money answereth all things, for it is meat, drink, clothes, house, lands, &c., {Ecles.10:19,} all things that are vendible may be procured by money. Jesus Christ is virtually all things, for he makes up all things that are wanting. Hence it is that he is in Scripture compared to all things, to food, to clothing, to physick, to gold, to health, &c., because he stands for all these things unto the souls of his Saints. Hence is that promise; “he that overcometh shall inherit all things. {Rev.21:7} Jesus Christ is for all uses and purposes. This is in the text; he is Circumcision to the Gentile, wisdom to the Barbarian, &c. 5. Christ is all in all to them by way of benediction and sanctification. It is from him that any good they enjoy becomes a blessing to them. He makes everything effectual for those ends for which they are appointed. No good thing would be good to us without the benediction of Christ; yea were it not for his blessing, every good thing would prove a snare, a cross and a curse to us, as they do to them, who have no interest in Christ. This is that which Solomon saith, “the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich.” {PV.10:22} Thy health would be thy greatest sickness, thy wealth would be thy ruin, thy parts and abilities would be a snare to thee, did not Jesus Christ sanctify them by his blessing. All the good the Saints enjoy depends upon Christ’s blessings to make them good to them. The Application follows: Use 1. How injurious to Jesus Christ are they who mingle other things with Jesus Christ as the causes of their salvation. The Papists mingle their own merits, and righteousness, indulgences, the sufferings of other men, with the merits of Christ, as the causes of their justification and salvation. What else is this but to deny the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ? If he be all in all for justification and salvation, he needs not have his merits eked out with such kind of helps as these are. If Christ be all in all, then these are superfluous; yea, the addition of these doth derogate from, and destroy the fullness and all-sufficiency of Christ. Yea, Christ who is all in all to believers, will be nothing at all to them who are not contented with him alone. “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” {Gal.5:4} Consider this you that are self justifyers. Use 2. If Christ be all in all, then is nothing anything at all without Jesus Christ. All the world, the riches, pleasures, honors of the world is but emptiness without Christ. “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity;” {Ecles.1:2;} that man hath just nothing, that hath not Christ who is all things; the world is but complete loss without Christ. Thy wisdom, thy parts, thy children, thy offices, thy preferments, thy lands and revenues, all thou hast, if thou want him that is all things, can amount to nothing. They are but cyphers without a figure. O that men would consider this! Use 3. What rich inheritance have all those who are truly interested in Jesus Christ! My God and My All. They possess him that is all in all, and in possessing him they possess all. I have all things my brother, saith Jacob to Esau, {Gen.33:11,} for he that hath him that is all in all, cannot want anything. All things are yours, {saith the Apostle} whether things present, or things to come, and you are Christ’s. {I Cor.3:22,23} A true believer, let him be never so poor outwardly, is in truth the richest man in all the world; he hath all in all, and what can be added to all? Use 4. It shows the reason why the Saints are so fearful of losing Jesus Christ. They value all things at a low rate in comparison of him. They would rather lose all then Christ, they are contented to part with liberty, estate, life, rather than with Christ. Is there not cause for it? Christ is better than all things else. Riches are something, liberty is something, life is something, but Christ is all in all. There is nothing besides Jesus Christ that is good for all uses. Garments are good to cover, but not for food; meat is good to feed, but not to warm, &c., but Jesus Christ is good for every use, for all persons, for all times, for all sexes, for all conditions. They know if they lose Christ, they lose all things. If a man had all his estate in one jewel, you would not blame him to be very careful of keeping that. Jesus Christ is their all, they seek him when they are deprived of him, with greatest care; they keep him when they have him, with the greatest diligence. “I found him whom my soul loveth; I held him, and would not let him go;” {Cant.3:4;} do not wonder at it; for he is their all in all. Use 5. That no soul esteems Christ aright, that doth not esteem him all in all. To esteem anything equal to Christ is to disesteem Christ. Thou dost never truly account him anything, till thou do account him all things; yea, better than all things, and all things as nothing in respect of him. If thou canst not make up all things in Christ, thou makest him but a poor Christ. If thou canst not make him a friend in the want of a friend; an habitation in the want of an habitation; if thou canst not make him riches in poverty; if there be any condition in which Christ will not suffice thee; if Christ be too little to satisfy thee, thou dost but undervalue him; he is never truly accounted anything, till he be accounted all things. Use 6. Learn hence, the misery of those that want Christ. He that wants Christ, wants all things. “Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless,” saith Abraham. {Gen.15:2} Abraham had much, and yet because he wanted a child, he wanted everything. The soul that wants Jesus Christ hath indeed nothing. The Apostle possessed all things when he had nothing; “as having nothing, and yet possessing all things;” {II Cor.6:10;} having Christ he possessed all things. Those that want a saving interest in Christ possess nothing, though they seem to have all things; all they have is emptiness; yea, all they have is a curse, because they have not Christ. O that God would convince men of this truth!

Ralph Robinson (Christ All in All)

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Worship 23

July 14, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

Isaiah 43:21 “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

In going back just a little to expand on a thought, there is a huge difference between a man-centered God (concept 1) and a God-centered God (concept 2). The concept and practice of true worship in many respects revolves and hinges on that difference. If we think of God as being focused on man and His main goal is to help man and bless man (concept 1), then we will worship Him as the One who helps us and will only worship Him if He helps us. This is to say that concept 1 makes or leaves men in their self-centeredness and that all they do is moved by a version or form of self-love.

If we think of God as from all eternity doing nothing but what will glorify Himself and in love for Himself as triune, then we see what He does in a far different way. The Gospel is not just His helping man and saving man from harm, but the Gospel is really God manifesting His glory and enabling men to enjoy Him as their chief goal and love. In other words, the Gospel saves men from self-love and enables them to love God for Himself and to join His joy in Himself. God justifies sinners in order that He may dwell in them and manifest His glory in and through them and He does so for the glory of His own name and that He might enjoy Himself manifested.

For true worship to occur the justified soul is enabled to worship God for His own glory and the soul worships God for Himself. A person is not justified for his own sake, but for the sake of God. A person that does not worship for the sake of God is instead in worship of self (for the sake of self) in some way. A worship that is not for His own glory (in truth) is for the glory of self. Fundamentally, then, true worship must be for a God who seeks His own glory or it cannot be true worship. True worship is not the response of the flesh to some perceived benefit, it is being enabled by God or being an instrument of God to shine forth His glory and then adore that glory. It is to share in His joy in Himself and for His joy to be the very joy of the believer.

While Isaiah 43:21 can be taken to refer to the nation of Israel, we can also see that as spiritual Israel for all time as well. God has to create a people (new birth, new creation) for them to praise Him. In fact, He created them for that purpose and as the newborn baby cries for milk so the newborn soul cries out in praise and worship. Worship is not primarily for the benefit of believers, though it benefits them, but true worship is God expressing Himself and His glory in and through His people who are new creations in Christ. Not only does God save sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace, but He saves sinners that they may and will praise Him for the glory of His grace.

We must begin to see, understand, and practice worship as those that God has justified by His grace so that they may enjoy His grace and worship Him by grace in exalting Him as a God of grace. It is grace alone that can subdue a sinful heart and turn it to where it is pliable and exalting in God rather than self. It is grace alone that can soften a hard heart and make it melt with rays of glory upon it that it might now reflect His glory for who he is. Worship is not following the bulletin in an order of prayer, singing, and preaching; but it is an eternal plan for those chosen from all eternity to be a means by which God declares His glory through the mouths and hearts of human beings. If God is not the true focus in the time of worship, then self is. If God is focused on man in the time of worship, then it is not wrong for man to focus on man in the time of worship. However, in true worship the God-centered God is focused on Himself and therefore He brings the hearts of His people to be caught up in adoration and admiration of Himself.

 

 

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Musings 115

July 13, 2016

Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

Matthew 22:39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

I Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Isaiah 64:7 There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

When we think of what is going on in our world today, it is not the same world and we do not live in the same country we used to. While our country has the same title, it is far from being the same country that it was even ten years ago, much less than 40 years ago. What we have to come to grips with, however, is that the real problem is not political, but instead it is spiritual. The real problem that our nation has is with God. It is the true and living God who is fighting against us and it is God who is hardening our hearts and turning us over to our sins.

It is true that the previous paragraph sounds in the modern ear like it was written or spoken by a crazy person. The way people look at the world is through the lenses of naturalism as if the world ran according to natural law rather than according to God. It is thought that we are making great progress in our day, and that is true if one judges progress by technology and ease of life. However, if one judges progress by how much people are growing in their love and obedience for God, then it is easily seen that we are going down the hill at a rapid rate.

Do people in our nation love God more than themselves? Do people in our nation love their neighbors as they love themselves? Are people being conformed to their lusts in their ignorance of God or are they pursuing holiness which is to be like God? When people are not doing those things, but instead are going the opposite direction, it is evident that God has hidden His face from us and has delivered us into the power of our iniquities. While the citizens of the United States pride themselves on the freedoms set out in the Constitution, they are actually going backward more and more into a spiritual slavery that is far worse than they can possibly imagine.

While so many in our nation (and world) is suppressing the truth of God as hard and as fast as they can, what is happening is that the living God that they try to deny is turning them over to a hardened heart and they are becoming more and more foolish in their understanding. While so many in the world try to deny God in all ways, there are many outwardly religions people who deny things about God so that they can have a god of their own understanding. While they hate the true God, they can come up with a false god that is tolerable to them and so they love that God (they think). They can come up with their own standards of loving their neighbors and as such they can come up will all kinds of self-righteousness as they attend church each Sunday morning (and perhaps other times as well) and do their religious duties.

The real issue with our nation is that the professing churches are fleeing from the truth of God and are settling for tradition, for some modern idea, or just about anything that is not the true God. As the professing churches are fleeing from the true God, both conservative and liberal, they are being hardened toward the true God and the nation no longer has salt and light. The problem is not a lack of religion or a lack of belief about some things people believe to be true, it is about a lack of true faith and love to the true God. Some people have a high level of commitment to their idea of God, but they have left the true God behind and have embraced a false one. Our nation is grappling with ideas of racism and the economy and on and on it goes, but apart from the light that God gives our nation is in utter blindness and do what they do in their blindness. We have political leaders who do not bow to God and as such they are the blind leading the blind while we have religious leaders who have false gods and as such they are the blind leading the blind. Apart from God giving us grace to seek His face, the churches cannot turn to God. We are in the hands of the one and only God, the sovereign God. We must seek Him.

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Worship 22

July 11, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

While being guilty of repetition, it is so vital to grasp the biblical fact that it is not worship when people say things about God and yet their hearts are far from Him. All that a person does is in vain if they teach as doctrines the precepts of men. All that men offer up in the name of God that comes from the flesh is not worship in spirit. All that men teach about God, doctrine, and worship that is not from God and is not centered upon God as God-centered is nothing more than the precepts of men. The Scriptures are quite clear that worship is not something that is in the power and ability of man and as such it is dangerous business to bring worship down to the level and ability of man.

When Isaiah 57:15 tells us that God dwells with the contrite and lowly of spirit, that tells us a lot about two vital issues regarding worship. One, God dwells among His people. Two, a lowly heart is necessary for God to dwell among people. While this has been discussed, it has not been discussed in the context of worship being God-centered and God-focused. Worship is not man coming to God in man’s own strength, but worship is when God brings His people into the joy of exalting Him and in Him. God brings His people into the joy of exalting Him when He comes down and dwells in His people and communicates truths to their minds and joy to their souls.

Exodus 40:33 He erected the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exodus 40 has a lot to teach us about worship if we have ears to hear. In the earlier part of the chapter we see the particulars of animal sacrifice and of the ceremonial aspects of Old Testament worship in the tabernacle. What we should take notice of, however, is that after the Tabernacle and the priests were as the Lord had commanded and the proper sacrifice had been offered, the glory of God came down and filled the tabernacle. There is a cleansing of the people and an appropriate sacrifice and God came down in glory. We see this in another way in Leviticus 9:24 that when the fire of God consumed the sacrifice the people shouted and fell on their faces. True worship does not come from human flesh as such, but instead true worship can only occur when there is an acceptable sacrifice offered to God and He comes down among His people.

When the congregations of God assemble they should seek to worship the living God. This means that they must seek to worship Him in a way that is built on the perfect and acceptable sacrifice of Christ. This means that they must seek for humbled and broken hearts for God to come down and dwell among His people. The Gospel of the glory of God is the good news that God has accepted a sacrifice in the place of His people and the people should shout and fall on their faces (at least figuratively). The Gospel of Christ is in one sense how Christ has opened a way into the Holy of Holies and how the people of God have access to Him and now He can come to His people and dwell in them by and through Christ. The Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of God and as we behold His glory in the Gospel we behold the beauties and glories of a satisfied God who is satisfied with Christ. In the Gospel we can behold the glorious truth that the “riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). We must seek to worship in light of the Gospel of a crucified Savior and in light of a Savior who saves sinners that He might dwell in them and manifest His glory to them. Then we worship.

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Worship 21

July 9, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

There can be no real question that in light of the verses above (as representative of Scripture) that there can be no possibility of true worship apart from the worship of the entire soul. We cannot settle for bulletins that outline our worship, but instead we are to seek the Lord for hearts that worship. We cannot just assume that we are going to worship instead of just going to a building to do religious acts. We cannot assume that we actually worship just because we sing songs, say words we think of as prayer, and give or listen to a man up front saying things about God from the Bible. God is real and God is everywhere. Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead and He lives in His people. He is the life of His people. Those who truly believe are said to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.

If we really believe that the paragraph above is even close to true, something must change if we are going to truly worship. While this may sound radical to some if not many, we must quit thinking of worship in an Arminian manner and seek it as if comes by free-grace. It seems that the norm of the Arminian way of worship is for people to assume that if they beat their own wills into submission, show up at “church”, and go through the steps outlined in the bulletin that they have engaged in worship. In that type of thinking (though the creed and the stated theology is different) worship happens when people decide to do so and they do the external acts. Some, though based in the Arminian type of thinking, will try to fire up the feelings of others as if their music and hyper-activities can fire people up and get them to worship.

I will argue in what remains in this post that true worship can only happen if it is moved by the free-grace of God. Yes, this has been stated before, but it is such a vital point it needs to be repeated several times. If God is sovereign and God sovereignly reveals Himself and sovereignly moves the affections and will as He pleases, then true worship can only occur when the work is God’s. We should seek the Lord to reveal Himself to us and open our hearts that we may truly worship. We cannot worship with proud hearts and hearts full of self, so we should seek Him to humble us and bring us low that we may worship in spirit and truth. We cannot bring the sacrifice of praise until our hearts are sacrificed to Him, which is to say that our hearts are broken from self and pride and we are irrevocably given over to Him and His glory.

I have read of a preacher who did not want to enter the pulpit until he had the presence of the Lord with him. The congregation would sing and sometimes for a longer period of time until the man thought the Lord was with him. It was said that the elders would watch out of the window and would see the preacher step off of the trail and bow in prayer seeking the Lord for His presence. Indeed this is what preachers should do, but this is also what the people should do in order to praise the Lord. We never earn His presence and we never earn His blessings, but we are to seek Him to empty us of self and pride so that His grace would work in us. We must always remember that worship is a blessing and it is by free-grace. We do not and cannot deserve to worship the living God, so we must always approach worship in that way. God must grant it by free-grace and come to us and share Himself with us. Oh that the Lord would open our eyes to what true worship is and how it comes so that we may seek it at the throne of grace and seek it as we would true grace.

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Worship 20

July 8, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

While it appears that men think of worship as when they say good things (in their own minds) about God and can sing with some degree of shouting and/or near ecstasy. That can be nothing but the worship of self in doing all for exalted feelings. That can also be nothing but the proud heart seeking things for self and being proud that it can worship. However, in order for worship to be from the heart the heart must be broken from pride and self. It is God who must be sought in worship rather than self. It is God who must be exalted in worship rather than self.

It is true that Psalm 51 is of David’s confession for his sin with his dealing with Bathsheba and Uriah her husband. However, there are some powerful theological points that he makes there as well. What is it that pleases God? Is it the sacrifices of thousands of animals? Is it the human being making something of a sacrifice in order to do things for God? Not according to David in Psalm 51. The only real sacrifice is that of a broken spirit which he says is a broken and contrite heart.

In the Old Covenant sacrifices were commanded, which was animal sacrifices. The Israelites thought that by offering up the sacrifices that they were doing what was commanded. However, if we follow David in Psalm 51 with Amos 5 in the background, we can see that there is only one true sacrifice. That sacrifice is the heart. We can see something of that in Hebrews 13:15 as well: “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.” Praise is said to be a sacrifice. How is praise a sacrifice? It is a sacrifice when the heart is broken to the things of the world and the things of self and is given over to God and to the praise of God. As long as the heart is unbroken or full of self and pride, all the praise is really for the purposes of self and is not a sacrifice of praise.

As we move a little deeper into this line of thinking, as we look at what happened in the Old Covenant we can see that it was the animal that died and as such was the sacrifice. The human being did not really make a sacrifice as such. The human only became a sacrifice when his or her heart was a sacrifice to God. A sacrifice to God was when the thing offered was given over completely to the purposes of God. This is what our hearts are to be like if we are to truly worship. True worship of the true God cannot happen unless our hearts are irrevocably given over to Him to do with as He pleases much as the animals were in the Old Covenant. It is only when the hearts of the Israelites were broken were their sacrifices then acceptable to God.

As we move into the modern times we can see where we have gone astray in our thinking about worship. We have focused on the way things are done rather than the state of our hearts. Our praise is not acceptable to God regardless of how well it is done or how biblical we are in our words and practices apart from a broken spirit. We can follow the most orthodox bulletin in the most orthodox prayers, singing, and preaching and yet without those broken hearts all of that orthodoxy is in vain. Apart from a broken heart there is no sacrifice (as defined and set out by David) and as such our praise is nothing but awful noise in the ears of God. Apart from broken hearts there can be no acceptable sacrifice and as such no true worship. Can it be that all of our efforts at “worship” are despised by God if we don’t have a broken heart from which all true worship comes? If so, perhaps the times that the church comes together should be a lot different. Would that be uncomfortable? Of course, but it might lead to true worship.

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Worship 19

July 7, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

The concept of worship is not just something that is okay to do, but it is vital to our whole lives as Christians. If we do not worship in truth and love, then we do not worship at all. We are commanded to worship God and we are commanded to worship God in, by, and through Jesus Christ. There is no true worship of God apart from the heart of man (where Christ dwells) and when there is reverence, awe, love, and truth. The first two commandments deal with worship in their own ways. However one views the commandments, the first two are written in stone and written on human hearts. Human beings worship something or someone at all times, the question is whether it is the true God or not and whether it is from the heart moved and strengthened by grace or not.

In thinking of worship in terms of the Bible and theology as a whole, what is it that man brings to God and what is it that man can do for God? If we think through those two questions carefully, we will begin to understand something of true worship. Man can bring nothing to God that pleases Him but God Himself. Man can do nothing for God unless it is God working through man to manifest Himself for His own glory. In that context, then, worship can be nothing but the manifestation of God. It is not man doing something for God, it is God shining forth His glory (Christ) and beholding Himself in man and manifesting His glory (Christ) through man. This is not to say that there are no benefits to man in worship, but it is to say that worship is for God primarily and in that man is to find joy. It is God manifested that man is to have joy in and not the feelings of the music.

True religion derives its pedigree from heaven—it comes from heaven, and constantly moves toward heaven again; it is a beam from God, as ‘every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning,’ as St. James speaks. God is the first truth and primitive goodness; true religion is a vigorous efflux and emanation of both upon the spirits of men, and, therefore, is called ‘a participation of the Divine nature.’ Indeed, God hath copied out Himself in all created being, having no other pattern to frame any thing by, than His own essence; so that all crated being is by some stamp or other of God upon it, at least remotely allied to Him; but true religion is such a communication of the Divinity, as none but the highest of created beings are capable of…Religion is a heaven-born thing, the seed of God in the spirits of men, whereby they are formed to a similitude and likeness of Himself. A true Christian is every way of a most noble extraction, of a heavenly and divine pedigree, being born from above. (John Smith, 1660)

If one will take the time to meditate and pray upon the quote of John Smith just above along with the relevant Scriptures, a different picture will emerge of worship than simply following a bulletin at a church service. True religion/worship does not start with men, even redeemed men, but the original of it must come down to man and be aimed at heaven from where it came. True worship comes from God first and that is the only true source of it. True religion and true worship is a participation of the Divine nature (II Peter 1:3-5) as opposed to being what man does for God. The praise of God can only come from God as opposed to the human voice moved by self and pride. The praise of God can only come from illuminated minds who have the love of God given to them where they love God and as such adore Him in Christ. Praising God is not just saying good things about Him, it is having died to self one now is lifted up in Him and exalts Him and enjoys being in His presence. It is God coming down, coming among His people, and then granting them a sight of Him and a taste of Him where they join Him in admiration of Him and His glory. As they admire and praise His glory, that is His glory shining through them.

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Worship 18

July 6, 2016

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Amos 5:21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME 9 ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

When the hearts of men are not involved in worship, there is no true worship. When the doctrines of men are nothing more than the precepts of men, there is no true worship. Following a bulletin in the songs to sing, time for prayers to be prayed, and for the time of preaching seems far removed from true worship. Even when the songs are from Scripture the heart can be absent and as such true worship is absent. Even when the songs are from Scripture and the doctrine of that song has been turned into a precept of man, it is clear that true worship is not present. Even when the prayers are for good and biblical things that does not mean that there is worship. Even when the sermon is orthodox and perhaps a strict exposition of Scripture, that is far from a guarantee that true worship occurs.

We are to love God with all of our being and as such our whole soul is to love Him. We are to love Him with our minds, hearts, affections, desires, intents, motives and each part. Worship is the act of the soul that loves God and it involves adoration, awe, joy, reverence, admiration, and perhaps even being lost at the sight and taste of His glory. Worship is not found in singing songs that are not true about God, but neither is it necessarily found when the songs we sing are built on solid doctrine. The heart has to be present and involved for there to be true worship. While one may argue that this has been repeated over and over, sometimes things that are true have to be repeated over and over when people are blinded to them. In much of the Reformed world today it seems that the focus is on the correct form of music, the correct this and the correct that. It seems as if worship is now what man does in terms of the form rather than what God does in the heart. This cannot be.

If all spiritual blessings are in Christ, then worship only occurs in Christ. If all blessings in Christ come to the believer by free-grace alone, then all worship is of free-grace. In other words, and to put the matter plainly, worship is by free-grace apart from all the merit of things that sinners do in what they call worship. Worship is granted to sinners by God and that by free-grace alone. It is not worship because we do the right things (external), it is worship when God prepares our hearts and then works the worship of Himself in us. Worship is not the creature giving God praise out of something the creature finds in himself, but worship is when God comes down (so to speak) and gives Himself to the creature so that the creature joins God in praise of God. The creature gains nothing in stature before God by worship or by any kind of activity called worship, but the creature worships by free and sovereign grace.

This changes everything, or perhaps it we should say that it should change everything. Instead of gathering together and doing external things and calling it worship, we should gather together to seek the Lord that He would grant us worship. We should not try to worship out of our own natural strength; we should seek the strength of grace to worship. We should not try to worship just because we come together, but instead we should seek the Lord to worship out of love for Him. We should not do things to worship just because He commands it and we think it is our duty to carry it out, but out of love for Him and His glory we should seek Him for hearts to worship.

Behind the previous paragraphs is the glorious truth that God is sovereign and man is not. If it is true that God justifies by grace alone, then we should consider that all that He gives us in Christ is by grace alone as well. We should strive to keep works out of worship as much as we strive to keep works out of justification. If we are not justified by our so-called free-wills, then we cannot worship out of our so-called free-wills either. If we have to do all things out of the strength God gives by grace, then worship can only occur by the strength God gives by His free and sovereign grace. This is to say that worship is a doctrine as well and we must not make it a precept of men if we are going to truly worship.

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