Be Prepared for Worship

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2,7b: "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few . . . . Stand in awe of God."





One of the tendencies that I see throughout Christendom is the unpreparedness of those who attend church to worship the One True God. It seems that many have compartmentalized God into one small segment of their lives. God gets an 11-12pm spot on Sunday; and even then, He gets a person who is detached from any true worship. Although the person is at church physically, he is checked out spiritually and emotionally. Why is this the case? Perhaps the person is too tired from a late Saturday night social, or is too distracted by what he needs to get accomplished after worship. Maybe he is so disconnected from any intimacy with the Lord throughout the week that his corporate worship experience is more a formality of familial or societal expectation. Maybe he notices that his spiritual life is lacking and comes to church hoping that the high-energy music will give him a "God-fix."



Even though he may sing songs of praise to the Lord, in his mind he is thinking about the Sunday afternoon football game, or what he will have for lunch, or the business transactions that need to be completed. His worship is uneventful, stale, and routine. In many instances, this type of worshipper will lose interest in church and cycle out of corporate worship. This disposition is commonly referred to as the "Revolving Door Syndrome." Almost as soon as this person pushes the figurative door to enter the church, he circles around and exits as quickly as he entered.



So what is the solution to such unproductive worship. First we must understand that our foundational purpose in life is not about ourselves; we are called first and foremost to glorify God! The passage above suggests that we are to approach our corporate worship experience in awe of God. We are not to treat such a time of collective worship with other believers as insignificant or uneventful; rather, we are to go with the expectation that we will encounter the Lord of Hosts . . . Our Sovereign Creator and Great God of Grace. We are to sing, speak, pray, and worship with thoughtful reflection that we are being ushered into the presence of the Almighty; if we understand that God is in our midst, then our self-absorbed notions of "eventful worship" will be squashed. We don't simply mutter words that have no significance or relevance in our lives, rather, we speak, sing, and pray with words that have been immersed in heart-felt reflection of our Loving Lord. When we approach worship with humility and passionate expectation of a Divine encounter, and we will fall before His throne to confess our sins and praise Him for His Holiness and His Goodness to us.



King David had a proper perspective of worship when he recorded these words in Psalm 51:16-17: "You (O Lord) do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." David was wise enough to know that simply going through the motions of worship would not accomplish anything; certainly, God was not pleased with such contemptible acts of uneventful praise. What God desires is a transformed heart that is willing to kick oneself off the throne of his life and surrender to Him as the One True God. God also sees as worship the person who in his vulnerability is willing to confess his sins and seek God's mercy. This person is also able to see that both his daily individual worship and his weekly corporate worship are a time for him to fulfill his ultimate purpose in life . . . to come before the presence of the Lord and give of his very best (his first fruits) in praise, thanksgiving, adoration, and celebration to God Almighty. As this person comes to worship the Lord with fellow believers, he already has examined his heart to make certain that he enters the presence of the Lord unencumbered by personal distractions. He has made it a point to focus himself throughout the week, especially the night before corporate worship, so that he is able to give the Lord his very best. God is not shuffled off to a small, rather insignificant place in the person's life experience; rather, He pervades the life of the worshipper in every part of his life. The true worshipper is so overwhelmed that God would desire to have intimate fellowship with him, that he can't wait to express his praise through song, study of the Word, prayer, ministry to others, etc. Worship is not an afterthought . . . it is everything.



Where are you in your times of individual and corporate worship? If you are finding worship to be rather dull and uneventful, maybe it's time to fall to your knees and confess to the Lord your indifference to His Lordship. Seek His Holy Spirit to bring to you a renewed appreciation of His Holiness, and commit yourself to a sacrifice of disciplined intimacy with Him each and every day. As your personal relationship with the Lord is strengthened, you will find that your corporate worship will truly express your heart of praise and thanksgiving for who God is and what He has done for you. Worship will no longer be stale; it will appropriately reflect the gratitude that you have for the Lord's transforming you into the person of passion that He has desired you to be from the beginning of time.