Worship

I want to share something my friend Art has written dealing with worship, but perhaps seeing it in a much bigger and greater perspective than how most have fossilized it.

Rich

In the Old Testament the word “worship” is used over 60 times, using the most common Hebrew word for worship as seen here. Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Worship here is the Hebrew word “shachah.” This Hebrew word is the similar to the New Testament Greek word “proskuneo,” meaning “to prostrate,” but with an added description as seen here below according to Strong’s Concordance.

“Worship,” Hebrew 7812, Strong’s, shachah, shaw-khaw'; a primitive root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive in homage to royalty or God)…

Notice that “worship” of the sort defined here above in Strong’s is “especially REFLEXIVE,” that is its not planned or premeditated worship. After all a “reflex” is a spontaneous reaction to something. True worship as a reflex is then is an impulsive, spontaneous, automatic, genuine heart response to God.

By example; my reflexive response to seeing the many powerful life-changing truths of the Pauline “gospel of the grace of God” is to love the Lord all the more, wanting to serve Him. I dare say that I do not know exactly what my reflexive response will be in that day when I see Him face to face, but this I do know; I am sure my reflexive response on that day will be genuine.

In the Old Testament we have many accounts of Israel ’s external worship in ceremonies and rites under “the Law.” They sometimes included a prostrated bodily position, singing, lifted hands, instrument, dancing, etc. Yet, we see none of this or any form of “congregational worship” encouraged in Paul’s epistles to the mainly Gentile “body of Christ.” (Note: “Lifted hands” as seen in 1Tim 2:8 is a matter of an individual’s own personal consecration in prayer (see v1), not “congregational worship.”).

Paul’s emphasis was always upon the speaking ministries given to the church, which builds up (edify) the believers… by encouraging, teaching, and preaching.

Ephesians 4:11 (AMP) And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (AMP) Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.

Each of the functions noted in these verses above relate to speaking the proper exposition of the Bible’s truths of Paul’s gospel that applies to us today under “the dispensation of the grace of God.” Proper knowledge of the truths of God is what has always been lacking among God’s people and, to me, it seems the dearth of proper Biblical exposition and understanding today is most dangerous. In most all Paul’s prayers, as seen in his epistles, were for the believers to gain experiential knowledge, understanding, enlightenment, and revelation (e.g., Eph 1:17-18). This is why our gatherings of believers today should not be centered upon so-called congregational worship, but rather the proper, spirit empowered, “rightly divided” (2Tim 2:15) exposition of the Bible’s truths. There seems to be no place in Paul’s epistles for Old Testament style outward congregational worship, and clearly Paul speaks against tradition, philosophy, ritual, and the presentation of men’s ideas (Col 2:8).

Paul’s one favorable reference translated “worship” is enlightening. Philip. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which WORSHIP (Gk. latreuo, serve) GOD IN THE SPIRIT, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Here, Paul tells us the source of true worship. Paul says worship of God is to properly be “in spirit,” where the believer is in union with the Lord’s resurrected “Spirit of life” as “one spirit” (1Cor 6:17). True worship is innermost and may be invisible to the eye. Thus, genuine worship may be conducted with or without any audible words being spoken, and unrelated to bodily prostration, lifted hands, singing, music, etc.

I am not opposed to the outward expressions of genuine reflexive worship. Sometimes, I find myself with lifted hands, reflexively, as I sing along with some Gaither music or as I am moved to offer thanksgiving to the Lord, thanking Him for so much; for His faithfulness, His grace, His consistency, His genuine love, His hand in my life, etc. Again though, true reflexive worship may or may not include singing, lifted hands, dance, clapping, or other outward expressions…it springs from within and may be entirely inward.

There is so much misunderstanding about worship among believers today. I recall that when I was a so-called charismatic believer we were encouraged to outwardly worship based upon Psalms 22:3. “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel .” The charismatic leaders told us worship was needed in order to bring God’s presence into the meeting. This of course is pure folly. This is typical of the misuse of Scripture whereby many erroneously assign what is spoken to Israel to “the body of Christ – the true church” today (Eph 1:22b-23a). In the Old Testament “the Spirit of God” came upon holy men of old – He did not indwell them and stay as He does today. This is why David prayed “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11).

But today, under the Pauline “mystery” (musterion, secret) gospel of “Christ in you” ( Col 1:27) things have changed. Now the LORD INHABITS US, individually. He indwells each believer’s human spirit as any father’s DNA indwells their individually birthed offspring. If the Lord doesn’t indwell us, then we are “none of his” (Rom 8:9-10). Thus, the presence of the Lord in our meetings occurs only because each believer who walked into the meeting room carried the Lord’s Spirit with them when they entered the doorway. He forever indwells our human spirit (1Cor 6:17). We do not have to earn or work-up His presence. Forced external prayer and external worship are purely false.

Surely, we recognize that oftentimes the outward acts of worship, which most people call worship, is not necessarily a genuine bowing, submission or thankfulness of their hearts as reflexive response to Him. Today, the only acceptable service or worship is for us to live in accord with the spirit union we have with Him. The core of genuine worship is that of an attitude of heart and that springs reflexively or spontaneously from our “spirit.” To be “in the spirit,” as Paul instructs us, is for us as a soul (our mind, emotion, and will) to be yielded to Christ’s “Spirit of life” within our spirit. When we live and walk in accord with Him, trusting Him… this is worship.

Thus, there can be true worship both with and without any visible outward indication of worship as we carry our genuine reverence and reflexive love for our Lord in our hearts, moment by moment in our daily walk. 1Samuel 16:7b … the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Spiritual Porn Addiction*

Ummm…okay…
At first glance this phrase would strike most Christians to be just a tad shocking, jarring, oxymoronic, and incongruent to the extreme, but at the same time strangely intriguing… when you allow yourself the freedom to think about it. After all, one does not normally link the word ‘spiritual’ with ‘porn’ (it usually being equated with erotica). However, I was drawn to this lesser-known dictionary definition:

pornography
: the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction

Now, I recently discovered my own addiction: house porn. For several years, I felt compelled to buy decorating/renovating magazines and constantly watched shows dealing with the same subject matter on TV. I couldn’t wait for the next programs or publications (a.k.a. ‘fixes’). The world stopped while I got my next hit. It all seemed so harmless! I wasn’t hurting anybody. On the contrary, I derived many excellent ideas from my little obsession. The problem was I couldn’t afford to see these ideas materialize! I am not even remotely a rich person…we live in a modest house with a big mortgage and we struggle financially. But because I lacked the money to carry out my projects I found myself endlessly frustrated - which led to an envy of rich people, to coveting wealth, to extreme discontent with my lot in life which in turn led to marital discord and an underlying, slow-burning, smoldering resentment towards God. What I didn’t realize was that I had gradually been beguiled by the enemy of my soul who twisted my ‘innocent’ voyeurism into a serious spiritual entrapment, which in turn sought to poison my trust in and affections for my Heavenly Father.

As far as my husband Richard goes, after having been born-again for over twenty years, the day finally came when to his dismay he discovered that he had inadvertently become as addicted to religion as any crack addict is addicted to his/her next fix. He could never get enough! In essence, church** became his crack den where he got high. Since he was in a leadership position, it made the attraction even more alluring because it fed his soul’s longing for attention. He craved (and often led) the praise and worship, the teachings, the bible studies, the home gatherings. He spent multiplied thousands of dollars on Christian literature, books, magazines and tapes as well as traveling to retreats, seminars and conventions. What made it even worse is that he was in the thick of and mesmerized by the “Toronto Blessing” with all its hype and excess. That in itself was an intoxicating narcotic, arousing (according to the dictionary definition of pornography) “a quick intense emotional reaction”…not only in my husband but in literally hundreds of thousands of others worldwide.

Now, to fellow Christian friends and congregants (including me), Richard’s apparent devotion to the Lord was considered admirable. Over and over we commented on his obvious passion and zeal, his ability to speak articulately and to expound upon the Word of God, and you’d have to be blind not to see that the Lord had obviously deposited a hunger for truth in my husband’s soul. But we were all very wrong. What we saw really wasn’t commendable whatsoever, because Richard had fallen prey to the insidious lies of the enemy of his soul which made his zeal only look lovely and ‘spiritual’. In actuality, he had been beguiled. He had essentially substituted his love for God with an unquenchable thirst to gain knowledge and to be seen and heard. It was a subtle enticement, but extremely effective in a diabolical way.

However, we now know it was good thing that Richard had been led astray, because eventually he came to a place where he saw that what he had mistaken for God was really Satan usurping the Lord’s rightful place in his affections. Richard’s unquenchable hunger for spiritual highs became his personal Turkish Delight (if you haven’t read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, Turkish Delight is an enchanted candy that leaves the consumer with an insatiable desire for more).

When he finally left organized Christianity, it was such a traumatic, sorrowful experience that Richard felt as if a part of him had died. In essence, it had – it was as if a gangrenous limb had been amputated. However, since that time he has been on a journey of liberation, of extricating himself from the bonds of the religious addiction that had so ensnared him. The bible refers to this process as ‘working out your own salvation’.

It is written that “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. It would be tempting for Richard to feel great remorse over the fact that he had wasted so many years as a religious addict, but in truth the best thing is that coming to know the truth about who he is in Christ has been Richard’s ongoing, glorious rehab!

*a phrase coined by Darin Hufford in a piece he wrote on “The Free Believers Network”:
http://freebelievers.com/blog-entry/spiritual-porn-addiction
** by ‘church’ I mean organized Christianity

Rich/Margi

From the Mouths of Babes

My wife teaches Junior/Senior Kindergarten and she loves her little students. Recently, she led them, step by step, into making paper doily ‘angels’ for the hall bulletin board. As is the case with many boards of education in this day and age teachers cannot simply put up students’ artwork; it has to be accompanied by a writing activity. Since only her junior students, ages 3 and 4, made the angels, this posed a problem (most find it challenging even to print their names)!

So my wife came up with a solution. She asked the students what they knew about angels and wrote down their responses. She says she always takes what her little kids say seriously, since most people do not – nevertheless she often has to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the charm and delightfulness of what comes out of their mouths! Following is their response to the question “What do you know about angels?”

What I Know About Angels

Angels are in my backyard. I saw them!

Angels have wings for to fly. They fly up in the sky. They eat snow. That’s what makes them white.

I don’t know about them except I know they live in the wild.

Angels live maybe in caves like monsters. They eat flies. They can follow trains (it’s magic).

Angels fly. They have wings made of glue.

Angels do not walk on leaves. They’re not allowed.

Some have arrows on the front of them.

Angels live in little circle things and stand in the grass. They have jet packs that help them fly. They blast off.

Angels live in walls. They eat chicken.

Angels are white. They eat grass. They have names like Bugs Baby.

Some angels are statues. Real angels have wings made from plastic.

Angels are like a rainbow. They have pink hair bands. They live in fairy castles and eat peas, apples, pineapple and ice cream.

I’ve included a delectable visual presentation that spoke to my heart from what these precious children shared, please enjoy.

Rich

Little is Much When God is in it

If you could understand a single grain of wheat you would die of wonder. (Martin Luther)

Rich

I Must Turn Aside and Look Into This Matter

In some of my recent thoughts (on both of my blogs) I have shared about the inevitable struggle-grind we all are confronted with.

It was in becoming flesh that God in the person of His son Jesus Christ fully entered into our plight/struggle, and transformed it, and in so doing has established a living hope for all.

From the book, Amazing Grace, (A Vocabulary Of Faith), Kathleen Norris shares this: ‘I am grateful now for that experience of pain and struggle; it makes my present enjoyment of worship all the sweeter.’

And this: 'I didn't do living right, at first. When I was six months old, I nearly died. All wrong, for an infant, to be so caught up in the last things. Naturally, the hospital was called Providence; in all likelihood, as I was in danger of dying, a nun baptized me there. My official baptisim came four months later, in the arms of my grandfather Norris, a Mthodist pastor. Six months of age is too early to learn that one's mother and father are helpless before death. But the struggle that took place in my infant body and still-forming, pre-verbal intelligence was between life and death, and I am convinced that a sense of something vast, something yet to come, took hold in my unconscious and remains there still.'

Rich