THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP (PART 22) - THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES (TRUE WORSHIP CAN BE OBSCURED BY TRADITION)

As worshipers we must guard against substituting mere tradition for TRUE WORSHIP. Jesus taught us why when He confronted the issue of traditionalism.



Tradition exalts people - Truth humbles people. 
Tradition creates pride - Truth creates holiness
Tradition is impersonal - Truth is intimate
Tradition only affects the outside - Truth penetrates the heart.
Tradition produces hypocrites - Truth produces servants of God.
Tradition is something you keep - Truth is something that keeps you!




THE TRADITIONALISTS CONFRONTED JESUS
Matthew's Gospel records that "the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 'Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread'" (Matthew 15:1-2).
The people who came to Jesus with this question about tradition were not insignificant people. They were the religious authorities among all the Israelites.They were the leaders who determined the standard of worship for God's people - or at least they thought this was their responsibility. 
 To the scribes and Pharisees, it was becoming very clear that Jesus' teaching opposed the accepted traditional standards.
The issue on which they chose to confront Jesus was the tradition of hand washing during meal. Were they worried about hygiene? Yes, hygiene was one reason for hand washing. But the leaders did not make the long trip north from Jerusalem to Galilee because they heard that the disciples were being careless and spreading disease. Their concern was for the ceremonial aspect of the tradition.
The religious leaders believed that to implement God's command of personal holiness it was necessary to avoid contact with anything the Scriptures might deem unclean. Eating was especially worrisome since it involved touching hand to mouth. A person who touched an unclean item and then touched his mouth, it was claimed, transferred the guilt into his whole body. Thus every Jew was expected to observe an elaborate hand-washing ceremony before and after eating.
The traditions of the elders, such as ceremonial hand washing, had been passed down orally through the generations of leaders. These traditions consisted of four elements: oral laws that Moses was supposed to have given in addition to the written laws; decisions made and precedents of judges; explanations and opinions of noted teachers; and votes of the Sanhedrin
In accusing His disciples of ignoring the teachings of tradition, the leaders were actually accusing the Teacher who gave the disciples such an example. In the leaders' minds, Jesus and not the disciples was the root of the problem.

JESUS CONFRONTED THE TRADITIONALISTS
Christ has an immediate response to their veiled accusation: "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:3). Now Jesus was turning the tables on the scribes and Pharisees by citing one of their laws that clearly contradicted God's law.
"For God commanded, saying, "Honor your father and your mother"; and, "He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death." But you say, "Whoever says to his father or mother, 'Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God' - then he need not honor his father or mother." Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. (Matthew 15:4-6).
Jesus stated God's standard. God clearly commands His people to honor their parents and forbid us to speak disrespectfully of them (Exodus 20:20:12, 21:17). ANd since God forbids wrong speaking, He certainly forbids wrong actions. God's standard obviously prohibits us from doing anything that fails to honor our parents.
Yet the scribes and Pharisees held to a tradition that contradicted God's command. This tradition allowed a person to pronounce that any of his possessions were "Corban" (Mark 7:11), a gift from God that was dedicated to His use. A person could even pronounce a blanket oath over everything he owned.
Complete dedication to God is, of course, a correct attitude. But the religious leaders developed the tradition of "Corban" so that they could decline to help needy parents. If their possessions were dedicated to God, after all, they could not take these things away from God and give them to their parent! What was worse, the tradition allowed people to continue using their possessions for themselves even after they pronounced the "Corban." This practice was a common one in New Testament times.
"All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition," Jesus declares in Mark's account (7:1-13) of confrontation. And twice in this passage Jesus points out that "many such things you do."

JESUS EXPOSED THE PROBLEM
These leaders presented an appearance of righteousness, but Jesus ripped away their religious facade. "You hypocrite!" He called the scribes and Pharisees - and then He went straight to the cause of their hypocrisy.
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you:'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.'" (Matthew 15:7-8).
Jesus here quotes Isaiah 29:13, who compared the people's spiritual blindness to a closed book. The root problem for these religious hypocrites, Jesus says, is their failure to honor God from their hearts, not just with their words. As a result of their failure, "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9). Drawing a contrast to the scribes and Pharisees who were obsessive about unclean food, Jesus turned to the gathered crowd and to His disciples, saying,
"Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man ... Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man" (Matthew 15:11, 17-21).
Jesus concluded that the religious leaders' worship was vain and empty. That is not to say that the scribes and Pharisees did not worship. They worshiped a great deal. They were very busy. But their worship was not honoring to God, and so it was pointless. Their hearts were not right; they were giving honor to traditions of men rather than to the God they professed to serve.
Each week, untold multitudes go to church for reasons other than communing with the LORD, enjoying Christian fellowship, and being instructed from the WORD. Some think it is good for business or enhances their social standing. Others make an appearance to display their piety. Some attend merely out of a sense of duty. Not one of these motives brings to God. But since we have our traditional sanctuary, our organ, our robed choirs, our priest or minister in his vestments, we can lay claim to "having a form of godliness, [though] denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:5).
Have we allowed our traditions and practices to obscure or even replace True Worship? Do we believe that, as long as we show up for services and do the "right" kinds of things, we are worshiping - even if our hearts are filled with greed, lust, anger, and pride?
(an extract from True Worship by David Whitcomb & mark Ward, Sr.)

THE WORSHIP SERIES (PART 2) - WORSHIP THAT GOD ACCEPTS

THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP - CAIN & ABEL 

TRUE WORSHIP IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD

WHEN IT COMES FROM A RIGHTEOUS HEART

A good place to begin the study of TRUE WORSHIP is with the first example of worship found in the Bible, the story of Cain and Abel. In this account we learn that these two sons of Adam and Eve were different, not only in age and occupation, but also in character. 
Abel was a submissive shepherd (Genesis 4). This fact in itself, however, did not give him any natural advantage with God over his brother. Abel did not please God more simply because he was a keeper of sheep and Cain was a tiller of the soil. Yet shepherding was Abel's chosen profession, a choice that was based probably on a desire and ability to work with animals. It seems likely that Abel was quite satisfied that shepherding placed him in God's will.
What was obvious from Genesis 4 is that Abel understood God's requirements regarding sacrifices and offerings. "And the Lord respected Abel and his offerings" (Genesis 4:4). When it was time to bring an offering to God, it appears there was no argument from him - he was submissive to God's will and purposes.
In contrast to Abel, Cain was a farmer. When it came to pleasing God, Cain was not at a disadvantage simply because of his occupation. Farmer was then, as it is now, good and honest work. The prophet Amos was a farmer too - God certainly did not condemn Cain for his line of work. The Bible does not say why God rejected Cain's sacrifice.

1) TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF HEARTS
Indeed it seems reasonable to assume that Cain was equal to Abel in his knowledge of God's requirement for offerings and sacrifices. But instead of submitting to God's parameters regarding his offerings, Cain chose to do his own thing in his own way. How do we know this? We read in Matthew 23:34-35 that Jesus in His discussion with the Pharisees declares that Abel was righteous and equal in status to one of the prophets - that meant that Abel had received God's Words and lived as a godly example before his brother Cain. Hebrews 11:4 states, "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous." This is an affirmation that Abel exercised faith in what he knew about God, and that he did so not only in daily life but specifically when it came time to express worship fulfilling God's requirement. Whereas Cain worshiped the way he did because he had a HEART that was predisposed to oppose God. How do we know this? Jude writes, condemning rebellious teachers, "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain." (Jude 11). Cain did not hesitate to do something religious, but his HEART was far removed from God.

2) TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF WORSHIPS
"And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the first born of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4:3-4)
Even though their outward offerings of worship seemed very similar, Cain and Abel offered different expressions of worship - because their HEARTS were different. Of course, it was to be expected that the outward expressions of their worship would be similar, since both men were aware of God's requirements:
1) Both Men brought their offerings to God at a set time 

- Here the Hebrew words translated "in the process of time" literally mean "at the end of time." What was that end? Maybe it referred to a thanksgiving offering that God prescribed at the end of the year or at the end of harvest in order to call man's attention to God's goodness. Maybe the phrase points to the end of the week, a Sabbath that commemorated God's day of rest after six days of creation.

2) Both also engaged in worship in the same place
- The words "brought ... an offering unto the Lord" probably indicate a specified location.
3) Both Cain and Abel were engaged in acts of worship 
-  The simple action action of presenting an offering implies bowing down before the mighty God to express submission or obedience. At least outwardly, Cain and Abel appeared to be doing the same thing. Yet beyond the apparent similarities, Cain and Abel were actually quite different in their expression of worship.
The distinction is an important one, and it applies to everything we see in the world of religion today. Not all expressions of worship are truly worship. Abel's worship proved that he had a HEART of submission to the Lord: he understood God's Words and trusted them, and he acknowledged God's authority to prescribe worship. He also expressed his submission by giving God the BEST he had to offer. "Abel also brought of the FIRSTBORN of his flock and their fat." (Genesis 4:4) - these terms always indicate a sacrifice of the BEST!
By contrast, Cain's worship was empty and self-centered. He knew God's requirements and he did what God required him to do - but no more. "Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground to the Lord ... but [the Lord] did not respect Cain and his offering." (Genesis 4:3, 5).Fruit was an acceptable offering (i.e Mosaic law includes grain offering), but notice the glaring omission - the text does not say that Cain, as compared to Abel, offered his first or his BEST. Therefore we cannot say that Cain's offering of grain was inherently less acceptable than Abel's blood offering. 

THE DIFFERENCE LAY NOT IN THE OFFERING

BUT RATHER IN THE HEART OF THE OFFERERS!

3) GOD ACCEPTS ONLY TRUE WORSHIP
What was the difference? Cain and Abel worshiped at the same time, at the same place, and through the same outward actions. But God "had respect" for Abel's expression of worship; the phrase means that He regarded it favorably and accepted it kindly. In other words God was predisposed toward the kind of worship Abel offered.
However, God "did not respect" Cain's expression of worship. Why not? What was wrong with Cain's worship?
Cain proved by his response to God's disapproval that his HEART was not right before God. When God disapproved of his worship style, "Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell" (Genesis 4:5). He did not ask for forgiveness or accept correction. Instead, he took his anger out on his brother, whose righteousness highlighted his own unrighteousness. That attitude characterized Cain's HEART, and it became obvious in his worship.
Cain became angry, and then he compounded his problems by refusing to do well. "If you do well, will you not be accepted?" the Lord asked; "and if you do not do well, sin lies at the door" (Genesis 4:7). When God rebukes us, as He did Cain, for failing to have a RIGHT HEART in worship, we still have the opportunity to do good. God challenged Cain to that end, but Cain was not interested. Instead of dealing with the sin expressed itself in false worship, he refused to acknowledge his error. That refusal led him into a downward spiral until he committed the ultimate sin of the flesh - murder.
(an extract from True Worship by David Whitcomb & Mark Ward)

In conclusion, THE ESSENCE OF TRUE WORSHIP - is expressed by those who have A RIGHTEOUS HEART - those who are intimately acquainted with and has a daily relationship with God exhibited through OBEDIENCE. 

THE JOY OF THE LORD

"Be joyful always ...

give thanks in all circumstances

for this is God's will for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There is a great difference between JOY & HAPPINESS. Joy is the realm of the spirit whereas happiness is related to our emotions and circumstances. When things are going well, we have happiness. It is good to have happiness, but we cannot have it all the time.

To illustrate: If I lost my wallet, I would be very happy when the founder returned it to me. After a few days, I would no longer have the feeling of happiness although my wallet is still with me. What I have actually lost is the feeling of happiness at the time of finding it.

Joy on the other hand, is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. There is only one source of Joy and that is God - God Himself! That is why it is possible to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul actually commands the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord always "(verse 4) and they are able to do so because "the Lord is near" (verse 5). You will note that while submitting they are also encouraged to submit their petitions; their prayers include the spirit of thanksgiving. (verse 6) And the resultance is having "the peace of God" (verse 7) in midst of whatever circumstances.

Therefore, when our circumstances cause us nothing but grief, fears, doubts, anger, depression ... we can still rejoice because our joy is not based on fluctuating circumstances, but has it's source in the One Who loves us and is the object of our love. Beloved, if we but exercise our faith and choice to "rejoice in the Lord", in the midst of our adverse circumstances, these negative feelings of grief, fears, doubts anger and depressions will just melt away!

Why It Is Important For A Christian To Have JOY OF THE LORD?

1) The JOY of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
2) Without it we could have lost the JOY of our salvation. (Psalm 51:12) As a child of God, JOY is our Christian testimony to reflect to the depressed world that in any situation, God is good all the time.
3) A healthy Christian is one that is JOYFUL because he is actively connected to "The Vine and bearing fruits." (John 15:5 & Galatians 5:23)
4) A JOYFUL believer is one that has his prayers answered. (John 16:24)
5) We are commanded to "Rejoice In The Lord Always!" (Philippians 4:4)
6) It is God's will to be JOYFUL! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
7) JOY is one of the key to God's presence! (Psalm 100:4)
8) JOY is the evidence of one who is living in a Victorious Abundant Life. (John 10:10)

Apostle John in 1 John 1:4 - "We write this to make our JOY full."
This verse shows that:

a) We need to read, mediatate and be a doer of the Word so that we do not leak. Some Christians may be walking with either half tank or worst still with an empty tank without JOY! We let the emeny rob (like a thief - John 10:10) us of our JOY through the circumstances and pressures of life. The key to a JOYFUL and abundant life is to stay connected to The Vine (John 15:5). Only then we can "Count it all joy even when we fall into divers trials or testings" (James 1:2) because it is "The Joy of the Lord" which is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) that will carry us through.

REJOICE!\0/\0/\0/
TPWC