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Transformation
through Worship
“I saw the
Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his
robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs … and they were
calling: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth
is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts
and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to
me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips … and
my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the
seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand …. With it, he
touched my mouth and said, “… your guilt is taken away and your
sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom
shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I,
send me!”
Why does God,
who has the resources of the entire universe at His disposal, seek
people to worship Him? Does He have need for affirmation and
approval? Hardly! Rather, God’s heart yearns to reveal Himself in
all His glory to those whom He loves and has created in His image.
Worship is much more God’s gift to us, than our gift to Him. In
giving us the opportunity of worship, God gives us the chance to
experience His overwhelming presence at the deepest level of our
inner man. Meaningful worship is actually one of the most crucial
needs of the believer. As the height and breadth and depth of
God’s love become clear to us while He meets us in worship, we are
led to the only adequate response: the giving of ourselves.
Redeeming the ‘Worship Service’
Every believer.
The gathering of the faithful on Sunday morning is generally
called a ‘worship service’. But does worship always get the vital
place it deserves? Reading Isaiah’s vision, we note that all
the seraphs worshiped Him, and the same applies in heaven. The
worship is not ‘performed’ by a professional team, but by all that
are present and realize God’s unequaled greatness. There are also
churches where believers worship in this biblical manner—every
believer praises God aloud, and all do so at the same time. Only
half their worship time consists of organized singing, the rest is
simply the believers praising the Lord in their very own words.
The result is electrifying. The believer is lifted truly before
God’s throne.
Focus.
Another facet of Isaiah’s vision is the unwavering focus on God.
He alone occupies the central place; all eyes are directed at Him.
Of course, God cannot be seen, so a visible focus is not possible
for us. But should we put our musicians on a stage, to become the
natural focus of a worship event? Wouldn’t this place be better
filled by the pastor and elders baring their own souls to God and
thereby pointing us directly to God?
Opportunity.
We know that worship takes place day and night in heaven, yet our
worship in church is often too short to even approach the holy
place. And when we do manage it, the string of songs is
interrupted by announcements, prayers for the sick and collection,
making a gradual assent impossible. Ironically, our songs declare,
“we want to worship You,” “we will,” “we long to,” “we shall,” but
the actual opportunity to worship only seldom arrives. Is this the
worship that God longs for us to experience?
Are we maybe distancing ourselves from God by hiring
professionals, putting them on a stage, and filling up our worship
time with songs that are not followed by an opportunity for true
personal worship? Professional mourners at a funeral would outrage
us, but are we not in danger of doing the same with our Sunday
morning ‘worship service’?
Conviction and Forgiveness
When true
worship takes place, several things happen, and again Isaiah’s
frightful vision can be our guide. As the song of the seraphs
peals through the expanse, the pillars of the door shake to their
foundations and the temple is filled with smoke as a reaction of
God’s nature to the abomination of sin. Isaiah is made vividly
conscious of his own sinfulness. “Woe to me!” he cries, “I am
ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips.” But as his vision intensifies his
consciousness of sin, it also assures him of forgiveness. One of
the seraphs touches his mouth with a live coal and says, “See,
this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin
atoned for.” True worship uniquely opens our eyes to our own
shortcomings before a holy and perfect God. Only when we see sin
as He sees it, can we really value the extent of His forgiveness.
Complete Consecration
Following Isaiah’s cleansing from sin, he hears the voice of God.
His lips having been cleansed, he is now prepared for personal
conversation with God. He hears the question of the Lord, “Whom
shall I send? And who will go for us?” Mingled fear and elation
fill his soul as a response to this invitation comes to his lips:
“Here am I; send me!” Isaiah makes no effort to escape the call.
Nor does he make any excuse or try to stall. His experience of
worship issues in a decision of complete consecration to the will
of God. He truly offers his body as a living sacrifice, in what
Paul calls a “spiritual act of worship” (Ro 12:1). Both conviction
of sin and forgiveness, and complete consecration to God are a
result of true worship.
“The hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the
Father
in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship
Him”
-
Joseph Chavady
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