If you can't worship God on Monday then you didn't worship Him on
Sunday. If you don't worship Him on Saturday you are not in good shape
to worship Him on Sunday..
(A.W.Tozer)
Dear Church Family
Last Sunday, we started our series on worship, with the question, "What
is the place of worship in your life?" Do you see being a 'worshipper'
as your highest call? Is the fruit of your lips, and the fruit of your
life, something worth presenting to God?
We briefly mentioned the Old Testament tabernacle, a portable temple that God commanded the Israelites to make, whilst they wandered in the desert. There, in the Most Holy Place, behind the veil, the very presence of God could be found. As with so much of the Old Testament, we discovered profound truths for our New Testament worship. For it was no easy thing to enter God's presence. There were sin offerings to be made at the Tabernacle gates, and a basin for washing, so the priest could prepare himself before approaching the veil.
If we had continued our 'virtual tour' of the tabernacle, and we gingerly approached the Most Holy Place, we would have found outside the veil a beautiful Golden Altar, on which fragrant incense was burned every day, morning and night (Exodus 30:1-8). What does this tell us, 3000 years later, about the presence of God?
a.. There is really only one way to approach the presence of God, and
that is through worship
b.. Like the sweet-smelling incense, offered twice a day, our aim
should be that our daily lives reflect our adoration of Him
c.. Just like the incense, and even the altar itself, worship is
costly. God isn't looking for a few cheap words, or the occasional nod
in His direction.
d.. Finally, just as the incense was ignited with fire from the
altar, so God wants to ignite us with a passion for Him that is fuelled
by His Spirit, through regular worship in His presence
So the question for us all to ask ourselves is - how does my life 'smell' to God? For all of us, there will be some areas that are 'smellier' than others. God is ready, willing and able to help us change.
This Sunday we are looking at passion in worship. G.K. Chesterton once said, "Sometimes our worship is more of a theory than a love affair." We will be asking ourselves what passionate worship looks like, and asking God to help us express our love and gratitude to Him, so that we too can offer fragrant incense, morning and night.
See you there!
Stuart