Annual Council 2002

Morning Devotional by Ivan Leigh Warden,

Associate Director, Ellen G. White Estate

October 9, 2002

 

 

Benefits of Individual Worship

 

I have not come this morning to express opinions, but convictions. Simply stated, we hold opinions, convictions hold us. It is as a pilgrim held by a divine conviction that I have come today to share with you this conviction.

 

It is a conviction that the call of God to people everywhere is to get lost in service for others. I have an obligation to all people. The apostle Paul, in his monumental letter to the Christians at Rome, speaks of his obligation to the civilized and the uncivilized; to the educated and to the ignorant. I come before you this day in that same spirit. I have an obligation to the people of the world wherever they are.

 

Finally, I am indebted to the Trinity who said, "You are somebody. Go and tell others that it is possible to overcome evil." All that I am, I owe to the Spirit of God working through the Black preachers and teachers of my childhood and adolescent years. I owe much to William Miller, Joseph Bates, Hiram Edson, Ellen G White, and the Spirit of Prophecy. I stand today as one who has accepted the torch of freedom, survival, dignity, and hope in a world darkened by the clouds of hate and misunderstanding. Today, as God's servant, I run proudly with that torch to continue lighting this darkened world. Let us pray.

 

We are gathered this morning between the din and the dither. So deafening is the din, and so disturbing the dither, that to speak of hope is viewed by some as an exercise in futility. And yet I come with a conviction and not an opinion. For this preacher, the benefits of individual worship are vital to my very existence. Worship is the breath of my soul. It is the essence of what keeps me focused in this evil world. I am of the firm conviction that worship revitalizes us, and when we depart from our individual worship with Jesus Christ, our Passover; Jesus, the first fruits of them that sleep; Jesus, Mary's baby and older than Abraham; Jesus, our High Priest, it is to serve, to be kingdom builders.

 

Somebody, somewhere wrote, "To worship is to experience reality, to touch life. It is to know, to feel, to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community. It is a breaking into the Shekinah of God, or better yet, being invaded by the Shekinah of God.

 

"Shekinah--glory or the radiance of God dwelling in the midst of His people. It denotes the immediate presence of God as opposed to a God who is abstract or aloof."

 

Until God touches and frees our spirits we cannot enter this realm. Singing, praying, praising all may lead to worship, but worship is more than any of them. Our spirit must be ignited by the divine fire.

 

Worship is our first, not second priority. The first command of Jesus is to love the Lord your God. (Mark 12:30, NASB)

 

In his worship experience, Isaiah describes an incredibly moving experience. His experience is suggestive of what should be, no, what takes place in individual worship.

 

"In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.' And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.' Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"--Isa 6:1-8

 

In 734 BC King Ahaz finally rejected the prophet's appeal to trust in God and turned to seek protection from the Assyrians. Perhaps Isaiah sensed the futility of his ministry and withdrew from the political scene to let things take their course. Now during a religious festival held during the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah was present in his official capacity as a prophet. Standing with the priest between the porch and the altar, he watched the play and movement of the ancient ceremony, so rich in symbolism, in color, and in music. To the worshippers it was a drama, familiar but still enthralling--that and nothing more. But to Isaiah, who had walked with God and grown ever more sensitive to spiritual and eternal values, suddenly there came an awareness of the divine reality behind the symbolism.¹ In reading this passage over and over again, I found myself borrowing a phrase from Eugene A Peterson, "contemplative exegesis," to extract the rich flavor. What came forth is a movement of seeing, hearing, and doing.²

 

There is a dynamic flow involving sight and sound, seeing and hearing. And when this interaction between sight and sound is over, a verbal exclamation occurs, "Here am I! Send me!"

 

Something happened to Isaiah. Did you see it? Something happens in us, above us, under us, around us, and to us in our individual worship. There is something rich and dynamic in worship. This word worship perhaps needs a definition. There are many definitions for worship. But this is an excellent one. "Worship is that process in which we make God first in our lives.... The worship comes first, then the work, and the work follows.³ Think with me. Worship precedes fellowship, evangelism, and religious education. Worship of God is my first duty. Evangelism, religious education, and fellowship are the by-products of worship.

 

In individual worship we draw near to God. I see the holiness of God. I cry out, Woe is me! For I am sexist, I am racist, I am classist, I am mean, I am self-centered, I am greedy. In my "I am" state I must control everything and everybody. The closer I come to God, the more the old nature is exposed and I cry out, "I am undone."

 

In true individual worship I am stimulated to change. As I draw close to the Lord in worship and see His person more clearly, changes come.

 

For transformation happens in His presence. Moses at the burning bush was never the same again. Saul on his Damascus journey was transformed; he was never the same again. Every day in my worship encounter, I am transformed; I am never the same again. When our eyes are open we see like we have never seen before. We are given a sharper perception, a clearer focus, our seeing is unbelievable!

 

Let us call this new found seeing, spiritual perception. That's it. In 2 Kings 6:8-17 an assassination attempt is about to take place on Elisha. His assistant notices silhouettes of chariots, spears, and shields in the first light of dawn as the army moves into place to surround Dothan. This is no fire drill, this is no dress rehearsal, he is not dreaming, the hit is about to take place. However, his excitement does not faze the prophet. When the prophet finally speaks, notice his words, "Lord, open his eyes." Now the assistant was not physically blind. It was his eyes that first saw the danger. Or was it? See what happens in response to Elisha's prayer. The assistant's eyes are opened, and with his spiritual perception he now sees chariots of fire surrounding the chariots of iron. How many times have we been shown the enemy's plot to annoy us, to hurt us, to embarrass us, and yes, even to kill us? How many times have the schemers and the evil plotters gone into a committee meeting feeling it is a done deal, only to have the righteousness of God break through the plot and foil the attempt. How many times have we faced critical decisions not knowing which way to vote, which way to go, which way to speak, and God opened our eyes? With our new spiritual perception we were able to vote correctly, act properly, and speak appropriately. I want to say Amen, and shout Hallelujah for Isaiah's experience of seeing.

 

Not only was Isaiah seeing, he was hearing. What was he hearing? It was praise. Antiphonal singing. The seraphs were calling to one another, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory."

 

In our individual worship we need to hear. If our motives are pure, we will hear God. Has He not promised to answer those who call upon Him? (Isa 65:24) In order to hear we must pause, we must be still and reflective. (Ps 46:10) This happens when we have learned the difference between loneliness and solitude. I am reminded of Richard Foster's thoughts on loneliness and solitude. He writes, "Our fear of being alone drives us to noise and crowds. But loneliness and clatter are not our only alternatives. We can enjoy solitude in cities; it is possible to be a desert hermit and never experience solitude. Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment."³

 

This individual worship benefit of hearing leads us to praise God because He is deserving and worthy of our praise. In this hearing mode of individual worship we learn the difference between singing to the Lord and merely singing about Him. We are reminded that God must be in the center of any act of true worship. We are reminded of the difference of praise and performance. We dare not bring leftovers to this praise experience.

 

In more than one hundred references in the Psalms, worshippers sing to the Lord. More than twenty passages speak of worshippers "ministering" to the Lord. Offerings ascend to make a soothing aroma "to the Lord." (Lev 1:9) This benefit cannot be substituted. If the encounter is real, the by-product is genuine.

 

Finally, all the above individual benefits--drawing near to God, seeing His personhood more clearly, hearing the praises sung to God--lead to transformation, which gives way to service. Seeing and hearing come together in this benefit of individual worship.

 

It is during our individual encounter in worship with God that we become excited. Like Isaiah, we see what a holy God has done for us. David cried, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Isa 51:5) But through grace by faith we may be reconciled to God, we become excited about that relationship. Hence this final benefit serves as a guard to keep us in a healthy tension between worship and service.

 

The primary word for worship in the Old Testament is abodah, which is translated "service." The Greek equivalent in the New Testament, latreia, has the same meaning. Both words are used in the sense of rendering a "service" of costly worship. Notice this motif in the book of Romans, where we are invited to offer our bodies in an entire lifestyle of worship (Rom 12:1). The book of Hebrews suggests that praise and good works should be natural expressions of worship (Heb 13:15, 16).

 

Isaiah's worship experience ended in, "Here I am, send me." Out of the true individual worship comes the benefit of a clear, concise conviction to Kingdom building. We build the Kingdom by building people. Any worship that does not lead to service is suspect. Using Kingdom values we become God's assets and not liabilities. This benefit of worship enables us to speak to people in the hallways of work, in worship places, and in school. There is worth and dignity in the individual. This benefit of true individual worship enables us to genuinely greet and speak to people on the different committees we serve on beyond the committee room. This benefit leads us to ensure that Church policies serve people, and not people serving policies. This benefit reminds us that the educated and wealthy have a divine mandate to lovingly help the uneducated and the poor.

 

Given the reality that our contemporary communities need to see Jesus, we who have had the benefits of individual worship should be able to come back from the mountain top into the valley where the human need is highly visible, able to serve.

 

We have seen our Lord.

 

Because of our seeing, hearing and doing, we become God's agents on earth to join Him in building the Kingdom by building people. Let us this day say like Isaiah: "Here I am, send me."

 

 

References

 

1. Interpreter's Bible, Isaiah, pp. 204, 205

 

2. Eugene H. Peterson, "Working the Angles", pp. 109, 110, 117

 

3. Bruce Leafblad, Music, Worship, and the Ministry of the Church, Portland, Oregon: Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 198, p. 21

 

4. Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 96