Angels Worship with Reverence

...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.

Also in Isaiah chapter 6, we see that Angels worship not only with a sense of humility, but also with a deep sense of reverence.  They chanted before God's throne (in Isaiah 6 and later on in Revelation 4),  "Holy, holy, holy, (Isa. 6:3).  You see, holiness is the preeminent characteristic of God. It, above all others, is to be accentuated in our worship. God is faithful. He is just. He is kind. He is compassionate. But the angels are not standing before the Lord, and praising him for his wisdom or compassion. They stand before his throne day and night saying, "Holy, holy, holy".  His Holiness incorporates all these other attributes. So whatever we do in our worship time it should enhance our appreciation of God's holiness and our reverence for him. Anything that diminishes or detracts from this sense of awe before his holiness ought to be removed entirely from our worship.  That is one of the reasons you will never see Rock N' Roll music in Salem Bible Church.   Music, more than anything, creates a sense of atmosphere. The atmosphere that we want before our infinitely holy God is not the sensual type of music of the world, but rather that which is pleasing in God's sight. Good music is joyous. It is thrilling and exciting, but it also ought to be reverent.  It ought to be an appropriate form of worship for the Lord.

We are a little handicapped in this building because our assembly room is our hallway Grand Central Station all the rest.  But by God's grace with our building program we are going to put up an assembly room where we go to worship, where we go to quiet our hearts, and to prepare our hearts to worship and living God.  As the Angels worshipped before God's throne and chanted holy, holy, holy, there was no one snapping bubble gum in the background or sipping on a cup of coffee.  There was no one telling jokes or chatting about the Super Bowl in the background.  When they went into God's presence was to worship Him. It is our responsibility, as we gather together as God's people, to bring with us a sense of reverence for God. Really does not matter what the size or the shape of the building is.  There could be sense of worship when believers gather together to worship in a grass hut in a jungle.  The important element in worship acknowledging WHO God is, that He is Holy.  It is important that we bow before Him and express our appreciation, and that we demonstrate a genuine sense of reverence before him. He is worthy.

When a visitor comes here, he may not understand our doctrinal position.  You may not have a clue as to what we believe. But I hope and pray that he can sense the spirit of worship here-- that we honor God, that we want to worship Him our whole heart.