Christian worship and singing in church
Published 05/11/2012
What place should glorifying God have in the life of a Christian? Why and why did we become Christians and what is the purpose of our Christian life? Not to be Christians, and not to follow the commandments. We became disciples of Christ in order to be with our heavenly Father. Discipleship is not an end, but a means. Our goal is to be in His presence. We use the subway not to travel, but to get to our destination. The metro is a means to an end, but not the end itself.
Glorifying God
Let's look into the past, how it all began: when God created man, He did not create him so that the person would be a Christian, so that he would preach or not sin. He created man to walk with Him. Our purpose from creation itself is to be in His presence. And we have such an opportunity here, already now.
Let us now look ahead to what awaits us there in Heaven. Revelation 4:10-11,19:1-7.
“Then the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and lay down their crowns before the throne, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and by Thy will all things exist. and it was created” (Revelation 4:10-11).
What's going on there? Praise and glorification! This is what I wanted to talk about today.
Praise and glorification have amazing power and can make an incredible difference in our lives.
Unfortunately, people did not always attach due importance to praise (which sometimes happens now). This is not just a little glorification, a little praise, it is a disaster for people, and I did not come up with this, the Scripture says so:
“But how, having come to know God, they did not glorify Him as God and did not give thanks, but became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; calling themselves wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things; and God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, so that they defiled their own bodies" (Romans 1:21-24).
What is number one on the list of reasons why God left man in his lusts? They did not glorify Him as God. It is not that they began to commit adultery, steal or kill, but they did not glorify Him as they should. Unworthy glorification cost man His presence.
In the story of the ten lepers from Luke 17:12-19, it seems to me that this Samaritan was the only one who did not reach the priest, while everyone else, having obeyed Christ, went and showed themselves to the priest. It seems that it even turns out that this man disobeyed Jesus, but we do not see even a hint of reproach in his direction, moreover, Jesus sets him as an example. What is the reason? He came and gave glory to God!
Interestingly, Jesus noted his faith. And what did He see it in? In the case of the centurion, everything is clear, he [the centurion] said that Jesus does not even have to come to him, it is enough to simply command. What did this man do that made Jesus discern faith? Praise!
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Confidence in the invisible! Only faith makes it possible to glorify God in any circumstances!
Another amazing story in Luke 7:36-47 is about the Pharisee Simon, who arranged a banquet for Christ, but did not show due respect to Christ and the woman who anointed His feet with oil and wiped them with her hair.
“If you wanted to dishonor or humiliate a person who entered your house, then you should not have ordered your servants to wash his feet. This rule of foot washing was especially carefully observed in the house of the Pharisee, to whom outward cleanliness meant everything. Jesus clearly said that when He entered Simon's house, no one washed His feet (Luke 7:44). It seemed that Simon wanted Jesus to come, but he did not want to honor Him. How often do we want God to be present in our meetings, but we refuse to honor Him as we should and neglect to worship?” (Tommy Tinney, Seekers of God, p. 171);
… “Mary denied her glory to serve Me.” If all the disciples were in that house, then there were at least 12 more people there, and not one of them achieved the intimacy that she acquired that day. The disciples missed this opportunity, even though they were good people like Peter, James and John.
Friend, listen to me: you can be a disciple, even do what disciples are called to do, but still neglect worship! Do you really think that God needs us because He needs workers? Isn’t He the Creator who went out onto the balcony of heaven and scooped up the seven seas with a handful? Didn't God raise mountains on earth? It is clear that He does not need you as a worker. What He really wants from you is worship.” (Tommy Tinney, Seekers of God, p. 173)
“Jesus said to her: Believe Me, that the time is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You do not know what you bow down to, but we know what we bow down to, for salvation comes from the Jews. But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24).
God doesn't need us as workers! He doesn't need anything we can do. God is looking for people to worship Him! Worship is not works, it is the state of our hearts before Him! It is awe in His presence, it is kneeling before His throne, it is hands reaching out to Him, it is words of praise and glorification.
A worshiper is a person who has come to know God! It is impossible to recognize Him and not fall on your knees before Him! God is looking for those people who would know Him!
“But You, O Holy One, dwell in the midst of the praises of Israel” (Psalm 21:4).
Demand determines supply. Thirst determines the measure of God's presence.
There are two interpretations of this passage: 1. God comes first, and because of this, everyone begins to praise Him; 2. First glorification, then He comes. Personally, I lean towards the second point of view and here's why: God was originally among His people, but when they stopped worshiping Him, He left them. They were oppressed, taken into slavery, etc. But when they began to cry out to Him, He came again and had mercy.
Acceptable Praise
The other day I was flipping through my Bible, checking out some passages about praise. And suddenly three words that I had not noticed before attracted my attention. It seemed to me that, besides them, there was nothing on the page: “Offer sacrifices of righteousness” (Ps. 4:6).
The word “truth” caught my attention. How do the “sacrifices of righteousness” relate to the “sacrifices of praise” that the Bible tells us we should offer to God continually?
Since the atonement for sin was a matter of first importance, sacrifices for sin took first place. Further, through the burnt offering, the sinner dedicated himself to God and His service. The grain and peace offerings then expressed gratitude and fellowship with God and a sense of reconciliation with God.
The laws regarding victims were clearly defined. Sacrifices were not to be offered randomly or according to the personal whims of the people. God tells us: “If you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, then offer it in such a way that it may find favor with you” (Lev. 22:29).
The sacrifice of thanksgiving was not offered for sin. The only victim of the truth
there was a sin offering for sin. The defilement must first be removed in order for the thanksgiving sacrifice to be acceptable to God.
The conclusions are obvious. Of course, sacrifices in the temple are no longer necessary. Christ became the sacrifice for our sin once and for all on Calvary. We are now cleansed from sin through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus. Now the sacrifice for sin made by Christ occupies the most important place in our relationship with God. Now, as then, the holiness of God requires that we first be cleansed from the filth of sin and only then
offered sacrifices of praise. Only then does praise become a sacrifice of truth and pleasing to God.
What should be the touchstone of our faith regarding our sins or prayer for others? This is redemption. And for him we always have the right to praise God!
Glorifying God is important to ourselves
“But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants said to him, Behold, an evil spirit from God troubles you; let our master command his servants who are before you to look for a person skilled in playing the harp, and when an evil spirit from God comes upon you, he will calm you, playing with his hand. And Saul answered his servants, Find me a man who plays well, and present him to me. Then one of his servants said: Behold, I saw Jesse the Bethlehemite’s son, who knew how to play, a brave and warlike man, and intelligent in speech and distinguished in appearance, and the Lord was with him.
And Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send to me David your son, who is with the flock. And Jesse took a donkey with bread and a bottle of wine and one kid, and sent it with David his son to Saul. And David came to Saul and served before him, and he liked him very much and became his armor bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, Let David serve with me, for he has found favor in my eyes. And when the spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the harp and played, and Saul felt happier and better, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:14-23).
Surprisingly, somehow the sounds of music could influence spiritual realities!
Our worship in meetings, I believe, can influence our spiritual (mental) state. Spiritual chants accompanied by music are great power in the hands of God!
“And they arose early in the morning, and set out towards the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they had set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said: Hear me, O Jews and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and be strong; believe His prophets, and you will prosper. And he consulted with the people, and appointed singers to the Lord, so that in the splendor of the sanctuary, speaking in front of the armed men, they would praise and say: glorify the Lord, for His mercy endures forever!
And while they began to shout and praise, the Lord aroused disagreement between the Ammonites, Moabites and the inhabitants of Mount Seir, who came to Judah, and they were amazed: for the Ammonites and Moabites rebelled against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, beating and destroying them, and when finished off the inhabitants of Seir, then they began to destroy each other. And when the Jews came to the high place in the wilderness and looked at the multitude, and behold, there were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no one left alive” (2 Chronicles 20:20-24).
“The people also rebelled against them, and the commanders, tearing off their clothes, ordered them to be beaten with sticks and, having given them many blows, threw them into prison, ordering the prison guard to guard them tightly. Having received such an order, he threw them into the inner prison and hammered their legs into a block. Around midnight, Paul and Silas, praying, sang praises to God; the prisoners listened to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison shook; immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:22-26).
Life in Christ is a spiritual life, a life in the Spirit, and in order for us to be in the Spirit, it is necessary for the Spirit to be in us, and there is a sure way for us to be filled with God's Spirit:
“And do not get drunk with wine, which causes debauchery; But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:18- 21).
Let me quote a few quotes from Kenneth Hagin's book, The Unknown Power of Praise:
“The more you talk about how bad you feel and how depressed you are, the worse you feel. And on the other hand, the more you begin to praise God for all that He has done for you, the better you will feel, and the brighter your life will begin to shine.”
“One of the blessings of praise is that praise turns your gaze from yourself to God. Praise helps you overcome selfishness because as you spend time in the presence of your Heavenly Father, He begins to work with you and change your selfishness and ingratitude.”
“If we can feel for a football player running after a ball, we should also be able to not only deeply honor God, but also rejoice in Jesus Christ who redeemed us! The time has come for us to learn to appreciate and honor that which is truly worthy of our praise – the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father!”
“Defeat comes when we focus our gaze and our attention on circumstances. For example, when Peter walked on the water to meet Jesus and turned his gaze from the Lord to the circumstances - to the wind and the loud roaring waves - he immediately began to drown (Gospel of Matthew 14:30). But as long as Peter looked to Jesus, he could not fail no matter what was happening around him! When you commit your situation to Jesus, praise will help you keep your eyes on Him, He is the master of every situation, He will help you look past the circumstances. When your gaze is fixed on the Master of every situation, you cannot fail!”
Let me give you another comparison. Imagine: there are dark, dark clouds overhead, rain, thunder, lightning. The sun is not visible, damp, cold. You board the plane, it begins to slowly rise higher and higher. Those same thunderclouds are already overhead! But a few more moments and... the clouds remained below, and you were blinded by the radiance of the sun. And the clouds did not disappear anywhere, and the sun remained where it was, but... You rose above the clouds! Often such “clouds” arise in our lives (problems at work, in the family...). But we have these “wings” on which we can rise above all clouds and find ourselves in the radiance of the “Sun”. These wings are praise and glorification!
We praise God for who He is
God has left us with a wonderful guide to praise. Born out of the experience of bitter suffering, misfortune and hostility, it is purely practical. I compared many passages and found that the words “tears”, “trouble” and the cry “set me free!” are found in the Psalms more often than in any other book of the Bible. But the word “praise” is also often used.
However, I did not notice that the psalmist praised God for sin and gave thanks for evil. Nothing like this! Evil is vehemently denounced. The Bible says: “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 96:10).
But we see that the psalmist praises God for who He is: Creator, Savior, Redeemer, Preserver of all things. He extols the glory of God, His holiness, His righteousness, His greatness, His power, His omnipotence, His faithfulness, His justice, His kindness, His abundant grace, His mercy and steadfast love. In the darkness of personal experiences, he praises God, who supports us, who has freed us in the past and who will free His faithful in the future.
The devil tries to get us to praise God for the devil's actions instead of praising the excellence of our God. When we are in despair, we cannot praise God as the cause of our problems, but we can and should praise Him for WHO HE IS.
