The Price Of Worship - Week 3

Reminders for this week:

Worship is a sacrifice of obedience to God that encompasses many aspects of our life, including time, finances, desires, and pride.

Worship is based on grace, and recognizing it as it is given from God daily. We worship in response to God's grace.

We are to shine our light to others so that they will shine theirs back to us.

Starting off this week, there are two words that many confuse with true worship of God.

The first is Religion.

Webster's Unabridged defines it as such: A specific set of fundamental beliefs and practices, usually agreed upon by a sect or group of sects.

The problem is that we don't agree. We don't agree with the guy or gal sitting in the seat next to us, much less any other denomination, or even any other church in our own denomination!

Why? Because we've all come from different circumstances and backgrounds. Each church, while possibly part of the same denomination, was founded by a different set of people.

You've heard the song "Gimme That Old Time Religion", right? It's a nice sentiment, but we can't even agree on who's "Old Time Religion" is the right one from person to person...

See, we tend to get caught up in adding more things to Religion than just the "fundamental beliefs and practices". We add things like dress codes, musical style, and other preferences to the word, and we end up with what I call "Porkfat Religion".

Most in Christian circles would probably not reference Jesse Ventura as a wrestler or as a governer when teaching a class on worship (or anything else for that matter!), but he did something as governer that I really appreciated. He had a big pink pig stamp that he would use when vetoing legislation that was so covered in riders and add-ons that the original bill became the minority part of what they wanted him to sign. The legislature would get it back with the veto notice, and a bright pink pork stamp on everything that he deemed to be "porkfat".

Every church (and every individual in it) has some porkfat when it comes to Religion.

The other word in play here is Tradition. Many traditions in the church are wonderful things to experience!

The tradition of observing Communion so that we remember what Christ did for us on the cross, and his promise to come again.

The tradition of giving our tithes and offerings with a cheerful heart that desires to give because of all that God has given to us.

The tradition of coming together as a body of believers to sing praises to God.

The tradition of hearing the Word of God preached so that we might understand Him better.

These traditions are things that we need to hold onto. However, just like with Religion, there can be "Porkfat Tradition" as well. We create this false form of Tradition in our lives and in our churches when we tie symbols, programs, ways of doing things, and physical items to what Tradition is to us.

Pews, Communion tables, Offering plates, Pulpits, Candlabras, Suits, Ties, etc... these are all symbols and physicial items that we tend to tie to our versions of Tradition.

Service style, Service content, Meditations, Music, Events, Sunday School classes, Service times, etc... These are examples of programs and ways of doing things that we tend to tie to our versions of Tradition.

Our own need for things that are comfortable and familiar keep us bound to what we know, and when that changes, it can cause unrest, division, and fighting for programs and forms of Worship.

While these things in and of themselves are not necessarily bad, they don't require a sacrifice to continue. They become routine and familiar, which is why it's so hard to let them go.

Jesus doesn't speak of Religion or Tradition when He mentions worship in John 4:23-24 [NIV] - But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

When He mentions the word "spirit", this isn't a state of mind or some out of body experience where our eyes roll back in our heads and we fall on the floor, but rather an experience with the Holy Spirit that comes to melt our hearts and let God warm our hearts to what he has done for us, and toward one another for we are all made in His likeness.


The big issue here is that we cannot approach God on our own terms. We can't expect God to meet us when and how we want Him to meet us. That's what got the Pharisees in trouble, because they chose to create their 200+ Pharisitical laws for themselves and the general public to obey, so that they never had to get even close to God's laws. Problem is, they were trying to use their man-created laws to meet God on their terms, and not on His.

The Bible is very pointed about how we worship. It must be on God's terms.

1.) We come to the Father in one way and one way only, which is through Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 [NIV] - I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

2.) I cannot come to worship and expect God to bless me if I have unforgiveness in my heart.

Matthew 5:23-24 [NIV] - Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

I have to acknowledge my issues and my part in the conflict, and then be willing to go and resolve them.

We can so easily push aside our spiritual issues with others, and they become almost non-issues with us. It might look something like this:

"I know I need Christ in my life, but I'm not feeling so hot about sitting next to Fred over here after he disagreed with my opinion in Sunday School... Oh well, I'll just press on through and go to church and worship God."

Isn't it funny how we think we can dictate the terms of how we worship, when the Bible speaks so clearly about how worship is to happen?

Here's a few items that the Bible calls for:

God calls us to sing to Him, which we do without much thought. We usually don't even question that physical act of worship.

God calls us to stand before Him, which we do to a point... Now, I'm not saying that we have to stand all the time. There are those who are physically unable to stand for longer periods, or at all for that matter. The Spirit may lead some to pray, kneel, or even dance before the Lord in worship. The problem comes when we choose to sit because standing (or other forms) cramp our style. "We always stand for 2 songs and sit for a 3rd. Why are we still standing?! I don't want to stand, so I am going to sit down!"

God calls us to assemble together, which we do each week. The Bible says in Hebrews 10:24-25 [NIV] - And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

God calls us to raise our hands in worship... Woah... them's fight'n words! Maybe so, but they're Biblically sound. I Timothy [NIV] - I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

It has to do with fully dropping our pride at the door and coming before God in a humble manner. God doesn't gloss over the details, and neither should we. If anything, church should be a place where we are even more resolute to follow the instructions of our leader than any other place on earth. God gave everything for us, so we should give everything for Him.

We have to remember that the Bible never gives us the ability to dictate how we come to God for worship. It's His way or the highway.

It all comes down to how deep our relationship with Christ is going to be. If we choose not to sacrifice our lives to God, there's a death syndrome that we share with Cain. Not that we are going to die physically, but that there is an evaporation of the richness and warmth of the life of God within us.

Instead of a cup that runneth over, we have a dry and empty cup that has nothing to pour out as an offering to God.

Questions to ponder:

Am I stuck in Porkfat Religion or Porkfat Tradition?

Am I willing to let God change me?

Do I come to woship on my own terms, or on God's terms?

Does my cup run over, or is it dry?