April 2, 2008

The Restoration of Worship 

Here’s a quick Bible history of what I want to talk to you about. This introductory synopsis is to ease those diseased with the gift of suspicion, and to of course tout my ability as a noteworthy scholar of spiritual antiquities. Don’t even look at me like that, and do not make me write a sentence that will require three dictionaries, a thesaurus, and a forty-minute World Wide Web search to understand! Just walk with me for a moment.

 

If something is going to be restored, the first fact that has to be established is; what was the original state of the entity being selected for restoration? The second factor is to what degree is the restoration to be recognized as complete. There were very distinct laws concerning restoration given in the Bible. Exodus 22, gives the decree that stolen sheep are to be restored at a ration of 4 to 1, and 5 to 1 for oxen, and applied to stolen livestock that had been killed or sold. If the livestock was found alive it must be restored doubled. Proverbs 6:31, declares that a thief caught in the act of stealing must restore the stolen good sevenfold.

 

What was the original state of Worship? Isaiah 14, shows a window into the conflict that allowed the fall of Lucifer. In this text Lucifer makes known his intention to; ascend into heaven, exalt his throne above the stars of God, sit upon the mount of the congregation, ascend above the heights of the clouds, and be like the most High! Lucifer’s perspective on God’s position must be attributed to a first hand knowledge. Jesus reviews the fall of Lucifer in Luke 10:18, “I beheld Satan fall as lightening from heaven. The scope of all perspectives focus on worship!

 

Lucifer was the Worship Leader of Heaven! The original state of worship was one of perfect pitch and beauty. Ezekiel 28:12-13, shows Lucifer as the most beautiful creature made by the hands of God. Ezekiel saw him as, “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” According to this same text Lucifer was created a living worship instrument; “the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was perfected on the day you were created.” As he moved, the very movement of Lucifer would create beautiful harmonies of sound in woodwind tones, accented with cymbals and bells. The original state of worship was that of a living, moving, harmony producing being that glorified God by its very existence. Ezekiel also make this distinction, “you were the anointed cherub that covered,” signifying his close association to God Himself. Lucifer wanted to be the object of worship. He is still trying to attain that position in Luke 4:7, when he tempts Jesus to, “worship me and all shall be thine.”

 

For you and I to restore worship to it’s original state is to become living and moving beings that produce worship by our very existence. And remember, the lowest level of Biblical restoration was always at least twice. When you worship with your life, you are at least twice as powerful as Lucifer ever was!

April 1, 2008

The Heart of Worship 

The heart is an amazing mechanism. It is the central core of what makes our bodies function. The heart is defined as a muscle that pumps the blood through a serious of various sized veins and arteries allowing it to service the entire body. There are internal organs you can function without. But, nothing in your body can survive without blood, and blood cannot flow without being pumped through a distribution system that is powered by a heart.

When it became necessary for my Father to undergo heart surgery several years ago it was amazing to me what was involved in replacing a valve, and bypassing several arteries that were no longer functional. The doctors were extremely kind in trying to explain the process in simple terms that we could understand. I think the one thing that remains more clear to me than anything else the doctors said was this, “This is a very serious, possibly fatal task. Anytime you open the heart, best case scenario, you are risking everything.” There was no question in our minds as to the seriousness of the operation. Because his heart would have to be completely stopped there was no guarantee that the doctors could actually get a sustained heart rhythm started again. The risks were enormous but without it my Father had a 100% prognosis of eminent death. Some decisions become so desperate that the risks are outweighed by the fact that there are no other options.

In a spiritual sense, as we seek to understand the structure and functions of the Body of Christ, I believe the central mechanism, or the heart, is in fact worship. Worship is the single action that sustains on a continual basis all other endeavors of the Christian walk and life. The first commandment given to Moses in Exodus 20 determines the priority of worship, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Worship is the heart of our spiritual quest to know and understand God. The term idolatry exists solely as the all-encompassing alternative to worshipping anything other than God!

At the risk of being stereotyped and labeled I want to open the heart of worship. Some decisions become so desperate that the risks are outweighed by the fact that there are no other options. I believe worship is that important and stands alone in a list of what must be engaged for our spiritual life. There is something vitally wrong with Christianity and to correct it we need spiritual open-heart surgery.

We are given the surgical tools we need in Hebrews 4:12. ” the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Let’s allow the word of God to cut away and by-pass everything that is congesting our spiritual heart. 

 Psalms 27:4 gives us the primary heart of worship, “One thing have I desired of the Lord…that I may dwell in the House of the Lord…to behold His beauty. This is the heart of worship.