THE WORSHIP SERIES (Part 16): The Essence of Worship: DAVID (Bowing Down To God's Ways)

God's way does not always involve His answer to prayers. The reverse is often experienced. What should be our attitude in such circumstances?

In 2 Samuel chapter 12 we have the record of King David's sin in connection with Bathsheba. God sent the prophet Nathan to him with the message that the child would surely die. David had sinned, but he loved his son though the child was the fruit of his sin. He had a father's heart and he pleaded with God for his son's life. But God said, "Because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die" (verse 14 NIV). But David continued to seek the Lord and he sure knew

how to pray. We see in verse 16 that he fasted and all night long he laid prostrate on the ground before God, but the child died! Anyone who has not learnt how to be subjected to God's way would have charged Him with harshness when his request was not granted. Many Christians have controversies with God when His ways conflict with their ways. Other might rebel or loose heart but not David. When the child died, his servants feared to break the news to him. They reasoned among themselves that if David was almost overwhelmed with anxiety when the child fell sick, his grief would be unbearable if he should learnt of his child death.

What actually happened?
 "Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, he put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and WORSHIPED. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food and he ate" (2 Samuel 12:20 NIV). 

What is worship? It Is bowing to the ways of God. It is not a dull kind of submission. It is not lapsing into hopelessness or passivity. It is a positive recognition of the sovereignty of God's ways.

It is often necessary for God to vindicate Himself in relation to us. It means that if we sin He has to justify Himself by making it clear to the angels, to the devil, to the world and to all His children that He has no part in our sin. He has to make it plain to the principalities and powers, to the world and to the church that He cannot be involved in our iniquity. When we are found guilty before Him, His governmental hand comes upon us and we are tried in fires of affliction. How do we react at such a time? Worshipers who know His ways will say: "If my affliction can vindicate Thy holiness, then I say, amen! If You can make known Your righteousness by my suffering, then I acknowledge that You do all things well and I gladly accept Your dealings upon me."

May God deliver us from our controversies with Him. When we meet with disappointments and frustrations we shall choose to worship Him if we see His ways.
(Watchman Nee - Twelve Basket Full - Vol 2)

Comment: I believe it was King David's act of true repentance (Psalm 51) and his acceptance of God's vindication (in bowing to His way - in worship) that we see God's blessing upon David's life. Later Solomon was born through the forgiven union of David & Bathsheba where God chose this unimaginable channel through which the Messiah was born as revealed in the Genealogy of Jesus Christ [Just like Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2); and Ruth the Moab's union with Boaz (Matthew 1:5-6)]. 
God is sovereign! His ways are higher that our ways and Hi thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). We bow in worship to God's Sovereign ways and will in our lives!

THE WORSHIP SERIES (PART 15) - THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP: JOB (BOWING DOWN TO GOD'S SOVEREIGN WAYS)

We all know Job was a righteous man. God in the mystery of His ways permitted him to be deprived of everything he possessed though He Himself declared that "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shun evil" (Job 1:8 NIV). 

How did Job react to the sudden calamities and disasters that stripped off all of his wealth? " At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:22-21). Job first's act was to worship God. In Job's case there was no question of God having to vindicate Himself because of sin in his life. It was purely a question of God acting as He deemed well. Though Job in a matter of hours had been stripped of all his possessions, he could instantly fall down and worship God. Here was a man so utterly subjected to God that he could unhesitatingly bow to all of God's ways. Where there is TRUE WORSHIP, there is no complaint. Whatever God's dealings with you maybe, whether they seem reasonable or unreasonable, they are invariably good (Roman 8:28). 

Job's initial response to the first wave of trials was to humble himself and worship. His livelihood (i.e his oxen and donkeys) had been destroyed. His transportation (i.e his camels) had been stolen. His body was covered with boils (his health). And His children (i.e his legacy) had been killed. All of these in one day! And Job's first reaction, after his initial shock and grief, was not anger, not questions, and not apostasy. IT WAS WORSHIP. He violated every psychologist's formula for the stages of grief.
How could Job do such a thing? He knew, deep down in his heart, two essential facts that most of us question from time to time:
(a) GOD IS SOVEREIGN
(b) GOD IS GOOD

Job could WORSHIP because whatever was happening, it was under the SOVEREIGN hand of a really GOOD GOD. He didn't know why bad things were happening, but he knew who watched over him. And despite circumstances, he knew that the One who watched over him is WORTHY!
When lives fall apart, we're inclined to accuse God of not living up to His end of the bargain. Job remembered that he was not in a bargaining position - never had been. All he had received from God was from His mercy. He knew that it was now gone had nothing to do with God's character. That 's why Job could said in verse 21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb,and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

When our trials weigh heavily upon us - even when crisis strikes - we must remember the unchanging, merciful God.

"COME LET US BOW DOWN IN WORSHIP, LET US KNEEL BEFORE THE LORD OUR MAKER." Psalm 95:6

THE WORSHIP SERIES (PART 14) - THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP: ELIEZER (BOWING TO GOD'S PROSPEROUS WAYS)

In Genesis chapter 24 we read the story of Eliezer, Abraham's servant, who was given the responsibility to find a wife for His master's son, Issac. By this time, Abraham was about one hundred and forty years old. And though God had promised to make of his descendants a great nation, Abraham was becoming concerned. His son was now forty-two years old and had no wife or children. Abraham did indeed have faith in God's promise. But because he and Isaac lived among the Canaanites, Abraham was concerned that his son not take a wife from that pagan people. He realized that God's promised seed could not be pure if it came through a Canaanite woman, and so Abraham had to arrange for a wife to be brought from his own kindred back in Mesopotamia. (Genesis 24:2-4)

 1) GOD'S SERVANT FACED A CHALLENGE

Abraham was then living Canaan and to reach Mesopotamia involved crossing two rivers and a stretch of desert in between. The journey was nearly five hundred miles through solitary country with no roads or transportation services. It was a difficult task for Eliezer to travel to a distance strange land and to persuade a young woman to accept this offer of marriage.

But would Eliezer agree? As the chief servant in Abraham's household, Eliezer was next in line to be his master's heir if Isaac were to die without children. Even if Eliezer did agree outwardly, it could have been easy for him to fail in his task intentionally. However, praise the Lord that he was a righteous man who had always obeyed his master's will. Still, in agreeing to the journey he needed Abraham to clarify his instructions. Eliezer expressed his concerns to Abraham:

"Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?" But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God ...swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you ..." (Genesis 24:5-9)

The whole matter of Isaac's getting a bride and producing seed resolved around God's promise: He would give the land to Abraham's seed. The same truth applies today. All details of our lives as Christians must resolve around God's promises. We cannot leave the place where God wants us to be and still expect those promises to be fulfilled. These thing being true, as worshipers, we must make the daily decisions of our lives based on God's instructions and promised (OBEDIENCE).

2) GOD"S SERVANT PRAYED
But Eliezer was looking to God. He prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See I am standing beside this spring, and the daughter of the town people are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says,'Drink, and I will water your camels too' - let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." (Genesis 24:12-14). 
Notice also that in his prayer Eliezer considered God first, then his master Abraham whom he represented, and only then did he express his own petition.

3) GOD'S SERVANT WORSHIPED THE  PROSPEROUS WAYS OF GOD
Abraham's servant had not even finish praying when Rebekah arrived at the well, and in detail all his requests were transpired (imagine the time taken and amount of water needed to feed ten camels). But what if the girl was not of Abraham's family? So Eliezer asked about her connections. As soon as he was assured that Rebekah was a relative of Abraham, he "Bowed his head and worshiped the Lord." (Genesis 24:26)
Do you see the ways of God? if you request Him to do certain thing and begin to trust Him, and then things fall out as you asked, you will adore Him for His ways with you. What does it means to worship the ways of God? It is to render all glory to Him. When you are faced with some difficulty and He carried you through, do you just rejoice in the prosperity of your way? It was not with Eliezer, He did not even stop to talk to Rebekah, he straightaway worshiped. He did not feel embarrassed but instantly bowed his head and blessed the Lord.

There is a connection between glory and worship. To bring glory to the lord is to worship Him and it is our bowing before Him that is true worship. The proud in heart cannot worship Him because they will find it difficult to bow to Him. When their way is prosperous they attribute it to their own ability or to chance; they do not give glory to the Lord. To be a true worshiper is to offer without reservation all the thanksgiving, praise and worship to Him for everything we meet. At every turn Abraham's servant did so. When he went with Rebekah to her home and explained his mission and found Laban and Bethuel willing to let Rebekah go at once, again his instantaneous and spontaneous reaction was to adore the ways of God. "He bowed himself down to the ground before the Lord." (Genesis 24:52)

As worshipers, we must not only learn to recognize His works, but we must learn to acknowledge the way He works. Apart from from worshiping Him for Who He is, we must learn to worship the ways of His working in our lives. If our hearts are set to be worshipers of God, He will give us more and more opportunity to worship Him.God will orders all our affairs so that we may bring Him the worship that He desires. At times He will make our way so prosperous that we have to acknowledge it is He alone Who did it, and all the glory goes to Him.

The humility that Eliezer had demonstrated in his prayers to God was manifested in his worship. And his response was simply to bow his head and prayerfully give God glory. And He did not rejoice first for his own sake; rather he rejoiced first in God's favor for Abraham  These attitude are foundation to the ESSENCE OF TRUE WORSHIP.

THE WORSHIP SERIES - THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP (Part 13) - HANNAH (WORSHIP REQUIRES COMMITMENT)

Hannah provides an Old Testament example of someone who manifested complete commitment in her worship. As the first book of Samuel opens, Hannah is carrying a great burden. She is unable to have children. This experience is a painful one for any woman, but it was especially difficult for Jewish women who felt obligated to continue the seed of Abraham. And Hannah faced individual circumstances that aggravated the problem. Her husband Elkanah had another wife, Peninnah, who had children (1 Samuel 1:2).
Peninnah was not a nice person to Hannah. The Scripture record that "her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable,  because the Lord has closed her womb ... therefore she wept and did not eat" (1 Samuel 1:6-7).  Yet Elkanah "loved her" (1 Samuel 1:5) and tried to compensate for her barrenness by giving Hannah extra provision.
The story of Hannah illustrates to us how God can bring good out of our difficult circumstances by using those circumstances to draw us into greater dependence on Him. Our greater commitment to God, in turn, leads us to more TRUE WORSHIP.

1) THE WORSHIPER MAKE A VOW

The way Hannah dealt with her problem illustrates the fact that she learned humility and commitment. Her "heart grieved" (1 Samuel 1:8) or, as we would say today, her heart was broken. Hannah was not merely a woman who was angry at her circumstances. Literally, the Hebrew word speaks of a heart that trembles out of uncertainty or fear. When Scripture says that Hannah "was in bitterness of soul" (1 Samuel 1:10), it means that she was in pained because of her heavy burdens. What did Hannah do? In the pain of her broken heart she vowed a vow to God.

"Then she made a vow and said,'O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life ...' " (1 Samuel 1:11).

Hannah willingly committed what she did not yet have to God's service. Put yourself in Hannah's situation. What if God did grant her request, as she fully believed He could? She was agreeing up front to surrender the very thing she requested and wanted so badly! No selfish person would be willing to make such a vow! Only through an unselfish heart can we, like Hannah, truly display God-honoring humility. If our worship and requests are not rooted in humility, they will be rooted in selfishness.
By her unselfish request, Hannah demonstrated her humble submission to God. This demonstration was reinforced by her subsequent actions. "And she said, 'Let your maidservant find favour in your sight.' So the woman went her way, and ate, and her face was no longer sad" (1 Samuel 1:18). Her vow was not impulsive, frenzied outburst that left Hannah emotionally drained, wondering what she had promised God in the heat of the moment. Hannah was satisfied to make her commitment and trust God. This point is critical. Although her circumstances had not changed, she was satisfied to let God handle the matter as He saw fit. The next day, with a confident spirit, she and Elkanah "rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:9).
Like Hannah, we too can offer God TRUE WORSHIP when we lay everything at His feet and are satisfied to let Him do with it what He wants.

2) THE WORSHIPER KEEPS HER VOW
The Scriptures recorded that Elkanah and Hanah worshiped at the tabernacle before returning home from the annual sacrifice. They came into the presence of God, in the manner He prescribed for them, and they bowed in humble commitment. In this case, God granted Hannah's request and personally intervened in her circumstances. Upon return home, "Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her" (1 Samuel 1:9). Hannah conceived and bored a son, and called his name Samuel, saying' Because I have asked him from the Lord.' " (1 Samuel 1:20).

As soon as the child was weaned she brought him to the temple in Shiloh and presented him there with these words: "For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord." So they worshiped the Lord there." (1 Samuel 1:27-28). 
Let us note two phrases here: "The Lord has granted me ... I lent him to the Lord." The Lord gave her the child and she gave the child back to the Lord. The sum total of her request was for this child and when she had received all she had craved for, she gave ALL back to the Giver!
Hannah's offering can be truly written that she "WORSHIPED THE LORD." It is not the person who wants God's grace, but the person who wants God Himself, who can worship Him wholeheartedly! Hannah shows us what was supremely precious to her ... not the answer to prayer, not the grace given but God's way with her in the giving of His gift. God gave Samuel to her and she gave Samuel back to God; and as Samuel passed out of her hands into God's hands, WORSHIP emerged from her heart to God's heart.

THE WORSHIP SERIES - THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP (Part 12): GIDEON (Obedience Precedes Worship)

It is possible for us to be so concerned about the acts of worship, that we run ahead of the necessary steps of God requires as He leads His people to True Worship. In a sense, True worship is not an act but rather a natural response to foregoing knowledge or experience. In other words, whereas God's people can run hither and  yon trying to discover genuine ways to worship God, He would rather they obediently follow Him throughout the week  so that Sunday worship will be a natural expression of their relationship with Him.

We look into the Old Testament story of Gideon. God put a heavy burden on Gideon, though he lacked confidence about his ability to lead God's people. Since Gideon was weak in faith, he begged God to confirm His will by making a fleece wet or dry. God obliged and then instructed Gideon to fight a massive enemy army with only a handful of men. When Gideon was unsure, God told him to go to the enemy's camp in the middle of the night. Gideon OBEYED this seemingly strange requirement and, in so doing, learned an important lesson about God's power. His natural response was to fall down in WORSHIP and then rise and serve in CONFIDENCE!

OBEDIENCE BUILDS FAITH

Gideon was going through a very difficult time. As the Bible records in Judges 6, God had allowed the nation to suffer seven years of enemy occupation because Israel was in sin. The Israelites cried out, and God sent prophet to confirm His promise. Gideon was minding his own business, doing farm chores for his father, when "the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor ... Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?' " (Judges 6:12-14)
We read of the progress of Gideon's faith through his obedience:
- He started out alone in faith protesting of his weakness but God assured Him (Judges 6:15-16)
- Then he began to asked God for a sign that it was God who was speaking to Him. God was gracious and gave Gideon a sign followed by a promise ("peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die." - Judges 6:17-24)
- Then Gideon obeyed God's further instruction to destroy Baal's altar. Although he received death threats God protected him (Judges 6:28-31)
- More importantly, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon." And the men of his town and tribe rallied to his cause, and messenger were sent to rally other tribes. (Judges 6:34)

Gideon was moving in the right direction. He obeyed God's command, then worshiped his Lord and was encouraged to start assembling an army. yet still lacking complete faith, he"put out the fleece" (Judges 6:36-40) so that God might give another confirming sign. God did so, and at the start of the events recorded in Judges 7. Gideon had amassed a host of twenty-two thousand soldiers. However God instructed Gideon to let the fainthearted go home and only ten thousand remain. But incredibly, God declared that "the people are still too many." So He proceeded to reduce the Israelite force to a mere three hundred men.  

FAITH BUILDS ENCOURAGEMENT
At this stage, Gideon had no army at all, but only a small band of soldiers. Yet that situation was precisely the place God wanted His people to be  - in complete dependence on Him. Gideon knew what he was supposed to do. God had given him clear instructions: "Arise, go down against the [enemy] camp, for I have delivered it into your hand." (Judges 7:9). If Gideon was afraid to scout the enemy alone, God had told him he could take his servant along. But that very night God commanded Gideon to go "down to the camp ... and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened  for the ensuring contest (Judges 7:10-11)
Gideon obeyed and his OBEDIENCE was no small matter since "the Midianites and Amalekites" were mighty and numerous. (Judges 7:12). The odds seemed overwhelming, but Gideon trusted God. To his surprise, in the enemy camp Gideon learned that his foes were apprehensive about him! One soldier even had a dream that, through his symbols, depicted the Midianites' destruction by the "sword of Gideon," the man who had God on his side (Judges 7:14). Like Gideon, we will not experience God's encouragement until we trust Him enough to obey Him. When Gideon heard of the fear among God's enemies, he bowed in humility before his Lord.
"And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped." (Judges 7:15)
The text uses a Hebrew word - SACHAH that speaks of a servant or slave's lowering himself before his master. Thus most depictions of worship in the Old Testament show worshipers bowing or prostrating themselves in humble recognition of God. That recognition was often gained as it was with Gideon, through OBEDIENCE. THE ESSENCE OF TRUE WORSHIP results when God allows His servants to see His mighty power and realize their own meager state.
Gideon could worship God truly because he had learned some important lessons from God. But in order to learn those lessons, he first had to obey God and trust Him. In the same way, when we are living or acting in OBEDIENCE, we learn to trust God more. As we grow in that trust, He reveals to us His great power. And in glimpsing that power, we fall prostrate before Him and worship. Does that pattern describe the kind of worship we have today? 

THE WORSHIP SERIES (PART 11) - THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP: It Involves Faith, Sacrifices and Obedience (Daniel and The Three Hebrew Children)

A Worshiper Is One Who Is Intimately Acquainted With And Has A Daily Relationship With God Exhibited Through Obedience - John W. Stevenson

We were created NOT to DO but to BE a worshiper. In order for us to gain greater insight into what it takes to be a worshiper of God, we must use the "Law of First Mentioned," a principle that states the first time a word or idea is mentioned in Scripture is significant, for it sets a foundation and framework for any other time the word is used throughout the Scripture. The first time the word "worship" was used in connection with Abraham offering Isaac (Genesis 22) and it involves Faith, Sacrifice and Obedience.

The life of a worshiper is not without tests, nor without the pressure that comes with living in sinful world. It is God's grace that strengthens us and helps us to walk in victory even in our most challenging times! Let us see other worshipers in the Bible who walk in Faith, Sacrifice and Obedience in order to learn from them:

1) The Three Hebrew Children In The Fiery Furnace 
"Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18 NIV)
This was a faith-defining moment for these three worshipers. They made it absolutely clear that they would not compromise and maintained their covenant relationship with the God of Israel and refused to bow down and worship anyone other than Him. As worshipers they were confident in their God and His ability to keep them!

At this point it looked like these men would surely die for their beliefs. They were tied up and thrown into the fiery furnace and that's when the miracle happened! These young worshipers were now joined in the fire by the One they worship! That's worshiping God with their lives in Faith, Sacrifice and Obedience... no instrument and no songs but they encountered the manifest presence of God - "The 4th Man!"
As a result, the king gave praise to the God of Israel and decreed that from that time on anyone who said anything against Him would be executed “for no other god can save in this way” (Daniel 3:28-29).

2) Daniel In The Lions' DenAs a worshiper, Daniel had enjoyed God’s favor all his life, and when king Darius appointed Daniel as one of 3 administrators to oversee the kingdom he so distinguished himself that king Darius thought to give him sole administrative authority over all the kingdom. This of course made the others jealous and they sought to discredit him, but Daniel was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent (Dan 6:4). Finally they devised a scheme to trap Daniel by making it illegal for him to worship God. They convinced king Darius to make it mandatory for all his subjects to worship him for the next 30 days and anyone caught worshiping anyone else must be thrown into a den of hungry lions (Dan 6:6-9).
Daniel of course remained true to his God and since he made no attempt to hide this, he was caught praying and worshiping God and was thrown into the lions' den. From the original language of Dan 6:16-20 it appears that king Darius believed God was obligated to save Daniel because he was intimately acquainted with and has a daily relationship with God exhibited through obedience. 

In Dan 6:23 the word translated trusted means to trust continually. The fact that the lions immediately devoured Daniel’s accusers in the morning proves they had been hungry all night long. This faith became one of the great examples in “The Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11:33). 
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:11 (NIV). Faith is trusting what the eye can’t see. The natural eyes see the prowling lion but faith sees Daniel’s angel. 

In conclusion, I would like to quote from John W. Stevenson's book - Worshiper By Design: "God does not test us to destroy us, but rather to make us! As worshipers, we must come to expect times when we will be tested. But "those who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits" (Daniel 11:32). In every case, God honors and protects those who are intimately acquainted with and have a daily relationship with Him as exhibited through their obedience to His word. He honors His worshipers!"

Blessings
TPWC

THE WORSHIP SERIES (PART 10) - THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP: IT INVOLVES FAITH, SACRIFICES AND OBEDIENCE (ABRAHAM - 2)

In our previous posts we learnt that the life of a WORSHIPER is a life of FAITH, OBEDIENCE AND SACRIFICE.This week let us look at the life of Abraham who is one great model to learn from:
1) The Promised Of A Son
So After Waiting Patiently,
Abraham Received What Was Promised
Hebrews 6:15
As a childless couple, they had been told by an invisible God that they would be the parents of countless descendants. They had no Scripture or fellowship of believers to encourage their FAITH on a discouraging day. All they had was a promise and a lot of time to think about it. Too much time, in fact. They passed childbearing age, not just barely, but hopelessly. 

This is the same Abraham who suggested that his servant Eliezer might be his best chance at an heir (Gen 15:2-3); the same Abraham who listened to Sarah's advice to try for a miracle son the natural way through her servant Hagar (Genesis 16); and the same Abraham who laughed when God repeated the promise well after childbearing years (Genesis 17:17).

When God changed both their names from Abram to Abraham (father of many nations) and Sarai to Sarah (mother of many nations) (Genesis 17:5-6 & 15-16), it was the ACT OF FAITH to be calling each other daily by their new names without seeing the promise. Yes, we are told, this is the Abraham who "did not waver through unbelief" (Romans 4:20) and waited patiently.

But against all odds, God fulfilled His promise. The child was born, the invisible God was vindicated, and the couple rejoiced. 

2) The Sacrifice Of IsaacGod said to him, "Abraham!" 
"Here I am," he replied

Genesis 22:1
God called upon Abraham with a test. It was perhaps the most difficult test any of us could think of. Did the thought of sacrificing his own son horrify Abraham? Did he weep all night before he got up and went to Moriah? The text doesn't say. All it says is that Abraham OBEYED. And that OBEDIENT began with a simple statement of readiness: "Here I am." In fact we were told that "EARLY NEXT MORNING Abraham got up .... he took with him two of his servants and his Isaac ... and on the third day ... said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. WE WILL WORSHIP and then WE WILL COME BACK to you.' " (Genesis 22:3-5)
We know that Abraham feared God and that he was obligated to God. But somewhere wrapped up his reverence and duty was the simply desire to please the Lord who has graciously provided the son. His response was more than that of a slave or a subordinate. It came from the HEART; it had to, considering the command. It mean that Abraham had cast his affections on a very trustworthy God.

As worshiper, when God calls do you say, "Here I am"? Probably so. But here's a deeper question" How do you say it? Let your response flow from a loving, reverential FAITH in your PROVIDER.

Abraham's OBEDIENCE is commended as the cornerstone of righteous, biblical FAITH. The FAITH that led Abraham up that mountain is unimaginable. Any illusion that the life of FAITH is a life of comfort and ease is undone by this story. FAITH is excuriating, sometimes illogical, and always right.

Does your FAITH sometimes defy logic? If not, it hasn't been stretched as far as God wants to stretch it. Has God ever called you to give up His promise as an act of OBEDIENCE AND SACRIFICE? If not, your FAITH has deeper depths to reach.

3) The Faith Of Abraham
What did Abraham see in that day? He saw nothing. Year after year until he died, he only begot Isaac. Of the numerous descendants promised to him, who would be as man as the stars in heaven, the sands by the sea, and the dust on the earth, he only saw Isaac! When his wife died, he did not have one plot of land in which to bury her. He had to buy a burial ground. Is this what God had promised? Yet as the WORSHIPER and father of our father, he did not doubt. He knew what FAITH was and what it was not to live by sight

What a lesson of on FAITH, OBEDIENCE and SACRIFICE!

TPWC

THE WORSHIP SERIES (PART 9): THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP - IT INVOLVES FAITH, SACRIFICES AND OBEDIENCE (ABRAHAM - 1)

Pastor John W. Stevenson in his book Worshiper By Design defines a worshiper as:

one who is INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED with, and has a DAILY RELATIONSHIP with GOD exhibited through OBEDIENCE.

He said, “You were NOT created to DO, you were created to BE”.

The first time you find ‘worship’ in Scripture is in Genesis 22. It reads:

" And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the lad will go yonder; we will worship and return to you ." (verse 5 emphasis added)
It is important to note that Abraham was not going up yonder with a musical instrument to sing a song with Isaac. He was going up there to put the most treasured possession in his life to death, simply because God ask him to do it! So as you can see worship involves faith, sacrifice and obedience. These three elements set the foundation for all Christian worshipers.

God never intended for worship to be ‘synonymous’ with music and the arts. Christians tend to ‘compartmentalize’ worship. For example worship seminar tends to focus on the "doing" rather than Christian living. Why do worship workshops attract only musicians, singers and worship leaders? The reason is that Christians have drawn a line of demarcation between worship and the Christian life. True worship is a life of obedience and out of that life will flow songs of worship, which will delight the heart of God, rather than repulse Him as in the following Scriptures:"Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry"(Amos 5:23-24 NLT).
You see, there really is no difference in singing a song out of a hymnbook or singing a song that is projected on a screen. The real difference is in the heart of the person singing. Singing "worship" songs does not make you a worshiper! Having a worship team does not make you a worshiping church! All of that can become religious exercise if we are not intentional to keep our hearts engaged in the exchange and remain in passionate pursuit of the ONE we are worshiping - JESUS! It is our daily relationship with Jesus that makes our worship of God genuine and authentic.

The church has entered a season in which the Holy Spirit is confronting us about the things we have taught in many ways have moved us away from a worship relationship and a worship life to a place more focused on worship activity. If we are going to help bring about change in the Body of Christ, it must start with changing our own models, our vocabulary, and our teaching on worship.

Worship is not about doing! It is a lifestyle that flows from dwelling in the very presence of the Lord. The worship life of the believer is living with the awareness that we are daily in that Presence. It is living in the reality that we are in Him and He is in us. When we worship Him, we are not trying to work our way into His presence. we are acknowledging that we are already in His Presence and our worship of Him is what gives us access to relate to Him.

What does it take to be a worshiper of God? Considering our definition of a worshiper, we realize that to focus on the elements of music and the arts is to reduce worship to something less than God intended and something far less than He deserves. If a worshiper is one who is INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED with and has a DAILY RELATIONSHIP with GOD exhibited through a life of OBEDIENCE, we must move beyond songs, instruments, banners and art to something deeper and greater; we must move to something encompasses all of life and it involves faith, sacrifice and obedience!

WORSHIP IN NOT ABOUT DOING - IT'S ABOUT BEING!

(an extract from Worshiper By Design: A Unique Look At Why We Were Created by John W. Stevenson - for more information: www.jwstevenson.com )

THE WORSHIP SERIES (Part 8) - The Essence of Worship: Joshua - True Worship Centers on God's Word

WORSHIP ACCORDING TO GOD’S LAW
When Joshua began to settle God’s people in the Promised Land, one of the first things he did was to draw the people together in worship of God. Since this worship centered on sacrifices and offerings, the surrounding pagans might observe the Israelite's  worship and conclude that they were all doing the same kind of thing. But there was at least one major difference between the Israelite’s worship and that of their pagan neighbors.  After Joshua had built an altar, gathered the people and made offerings, their worship included the reading of God’s law.
“[Joshua] read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursing  according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel.” (Joshua 8:34-35)
Declaration of God’s Word was the focus of the Israelite’s worship. The ESSENCE OF TRUE WORSHIP must draw people into God’s presence where they can hear, read, and study what God says about Himself, His people, and mankind in general. 

SETTING UP THE ALTAR THEN WORSHIP
Secondly, Joshua led the people to a specific place, Mount Ebal, as God had commanded through Moses in the law (Joshua 8:30). There they built an altar according to specifications:“an altar of whole stones, over which no man has wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings” (Joshua 8:31).
Why a plain structure of undressed stone altar? During this time in history, the pagans built beautiful, ornate altars for the worship of their gods. How could the Israelite impress their enemies with only a plain altar of stones? In requiring that the altar be made of natural stones, God was making an important distinction. The principle of simplicity in worship is still in effect. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27). God does not need human glitz or gimmicks in worship. He will be glorified and magnified when we honor Him with our worship that is from the depth of our heart.
After Joshua built the proper altar, the people worshiped with offerings and sacrifices. Their burnt offerings illustrated thankfulness and dedication to God, while the peace offerings indicated a right relationship with God. They were thankful for the privilege of knowing God, of being His people, and dedicating themselves to His service. They gave their freewill offerings to the LORD, beautifully picturing the picture of our offerings in worship today – our offerings must express obedience to God’s WORD and a genuine love for God. We cannot engage in THE ESSENCE OF TRUE WORSHIP when we give offerings under compulsion; we must give to the LORD because we love Him.

THE PEOPLE COPIED GOD'S LAW. 
While the people watched, Joshua "wrote on the [altar] stones a copy of the law of Moses" (Joshua 8:32). He did not personally chisel the words into the stone; that method would have taken too long and limited what he could write. The Hebrew words here indicate instead that the stones were covered with plaster. So Joshua copied exactly what God has given, which was the same law that Moses gave to the people. By copying the exact law in the presence of all the people, he revealed to them that he had great respect for the law. Why did Joshua have this respect for the law? He knew that it came from God. Christians today must likewise respect God's WORD simply because it is from God.
By writing God's WORD in stone Joshua also pictured the importance of preserving God's principles. Similarly, when we gather for worship today, there should be no question of the people that God's WORD is important. That regard for God's WORD is what we need for TRUE WORSHIP. When the excitement of the meeting is done and the "mountain top experience" is over, what do we have left? Emotions change and fade with time, but the principles of God's WORD endure forever.

THE PEOPLE HEARD GOD'S LAW

After the people saw Joshua write a copy of God's law, something very significant occurred. The Bible records that "all Israel, with their elders and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord" (Joshua 8:33).
Here we see a picture of the people gathered together, and in the very center of the crowd is the ark symbolizing God's presence. There were reminders of God's power in that ark. These included a sample of the manna that had fed the people in the wilderness, along with Aaron's rod of power and the original (second) set of stones upon which God wrote His law. On the ark was also the mercy seat where God accepted the blood atonement for sin. And at special times, God's shekinah glory would come upon the ark. All of these realities reminded the people that God's presence could be found at the ark.

When the people were gathered around the ark, spreading out for many hundreds of miles between the two mountains, it appears that the leaders dispersed so "that they should bless the people of Israel" (Joshua 8:33). The passage then records that Joshua "read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursing  according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses commands, which Joshua did not read before the assembly of Israel."(Joshua 8:34-35).  Presumably, the leaders were also involved in the reading, for it would have been impossible for millions of people to hear one man speaking. This procedure was used, for example, in the time of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:1-8; see also chapter 13).
In our day, too, declaring the whole counsel of God must be the focus of our worship. God promises that His WORD is sufficient to make His people what they should be: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 
Christians in the early church met for the purpose of "continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42). They practiced THE ESSENCE OF TRUE WORSHIP, making God's WORD the center of their gathering.