...and so should we.
This material is borrowed from messages given at the worship services of Salem Bible Church on January 24, 1999 by Pastor James Delaney
Notice also in Revelation 5:8, these angels joined in the song of redemption. They had to learn redemption by watching the church and observing God’s plan unfolding. Notice as they sang their, doctrine was pure. They sang about redemption. They learned these truths, but they learned them accurately. They worshipped the Son of God intelligently. They all said Amen to the great song of redemption. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 14:15, that if we are going to pray, we should pray with the understanding. Do not just babble on. Do not just recite little clichés that we have heard. Pray with the understanding. Paul says if we are going to sing, sing with the understanding. If we are going to worship God it has to be with the understanding. The Lord Jesus told us that He loves worshippers. He seeks worshippers. He seeks men and women and children that will worship Him in spirit, with great enthusiasm and excitement over God and in truth – those whose worship lines up with the Word of God. I suppose it is possible to go off on a tangent and have our worship become doctrinally sound, but nothing more than cold, dead orthodoxy. It is also possible to have our worship go into another direction and to be all human emotion and enthusiasm and no doctrine. The Lord Jesus said, here is how I want to be worshipped, "in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24). There has to be both: a heart that is, on the one hand, on fire for God and enthusiastic for the things of God, and also on the other hand, a heart that is controlled by the Holy Spirit and bound by the Word of God. When that takes place, God is delighted with our worship.
As one reads through the Scriptures, it becomes obvious that it is possible to worship God and yet have Him be displeased with our worship. It is possible to worship God unacceptably. (Gen.4:3-4) It is possible to worship God ignorantly. (Acts 17:22-23) It is possible to worship God in vain. (Matt.15:9) It is possible to worship God and in fact, nauseate Him! (Isa.1:11-15) It is possible to worship God and actually anger God! Uzziah was smitten with leprosy for attempting to offer a sacrifice to God (II Chron.26:16-20) Nadab & Abihu were burned with fire for offering strange fire (Lev.10:1-2) It is possible to worship God and actually be despising God! (Mal.1:6-10) It is possible to worship God hypocritically. (Matt.15:7-8) It is possible to worship God half-heartedly. (Jer.3:10) It is possible to worship God contrary to His Word. (Lev.10:1-2) It is possible to worship God & be weary of it. (Mal.1:13)
What God wants is worship from the heart. Worship is a very simple thing. It comes from a heart that is in tune with God, a heart that loves God, a heart that is in harmony with God and His Word, and a heart that is bowed down before Him in reverence and humility. It is something I cannot give to you. The choir is not going to make you excited about God. This is the individual responsibility of each and every one of us. I am responsible for my heart. I am responsible to stir up my heart every single day in the things of God so that I do not get drawn away by the things of the world. That is the responsibility of all of us. We need to be provoking one another and encouraging one another. The whole world is designed to drag us away from heavenly, spiritual things. But when our hearts are right, God delights in our worship. Is not that exciting? The Creator of the universe can be pleased by a little hunk of clay and dust like me and you! And He delights in it. And there is nothing more thrilling than knowing God and worshipping Him - HIS WAY.
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