In the beginning God designed man to be decision-makers, creators, givers and contributors. Work was joy until man rebelled against God, his boss. Redeem work God’s way by cultivating an environment where people can express their unique gifts as a means to glorify God.
Why should we attend church? We all have our reasons. My gleaming Sunday School perfect attendance pin was the pride of my charm bracelet collection. My third-grade year, it was my all-consuming desire to win the pin. Practically perfect, the blue and silver shield had “perfect attendance” emblazoned upon the front like a banner from heaven. In order to receive the coveted award, I not only had to show up every Sunday on time without fail, I had to read the weekly Sunday School lesson and bring my offering envelope.
On the Sunday before Labor Day, Mrs. Brumit marched Randy Phelps to the front of the classroom and announced he had won the coveted prize-the perfect attendance pin. He proudly stuck out his chest and Mrs. Brumit penned his award from Jesus to his freshly washed IZOD polo shirt. Applauding wildly, I had a revelation from the Almighty. When I looked at Randy’s bespectacled face, for one brief shining moment I thought I saw a halo encircling his blonde buzz cut. I determined that morning that the next year I would stand before God, the angels, and the cheering crowd sporting that silver emblem on my gingham dress.
But “perfect attendance” wasn’t an easy feat to perform. Three Sundays in November I hacked and sneezed all over Sandy French because I wasn’t going to let the asian flu keep me from my trophy. In April I puked twice in church after eating too many donut holes before the lesson started-or was I sick? I can’t be sure. After my breakfast preceded me, everyone looked a little green around the gills. Debbie McCoy and Vicky Palmer contracted the virulent strain of intestinal flu I so graciously shared with the class. Undaunted, I came week after week after week after week……
Twice I almost lost the competition because of an errant offering envelope. One windy March Sunday, it fell out of my pocket when I hopped out of the Pontiac and onto the pavement. Sweet Mrs. Bentley saw the little white square under the car and returned it to me in the nick of time. The second envelope fiasco came the Saturday night I decided to hide it in my Bible between Nahum and Habakkuk. I hoped the fiery minor prophets would hold it fast until I arrived at class. When Sunday School started, I frantically thumbed through the Bible pages hoping to locate my nickel for Jesus. Where did it go? I scoured all of the “ah” prophets: Isaiah, Hosea, Ezra, Jeremiah, Jonah, Nehemiah, Zephaniah and Zechariah.. My tithe envelope was nowhere to be found. Suddenly I recalled a Lucky Strike commercial from the night before. The book had something to do with tobacco-no, it was Habakkuk. I found Habakkuk and placed my envelope in the offering plate and breathed a sigh of relief. After twelve months of hard work, I reached my lofty goal and wore my heavenly treasure, my Baptist banner, with pride.
God was not interested in my “goody two-shoes” to-do’s. My obsession with pleasing God through works, receiving accolades from my Bible-toting buddies, was flawed. God first and foremost wants us to worship Him because He is delightful and He delights in us. David’s words in Psalm 122:1: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.” David loved worshipping God. He loved it so much that he danced in the streets in front of the Ark of God. In this verse from Psalm 122, David reminds us that worshipping God is just plain fun. We revel in His presence, remember His goodness, we receive His forgiveness and we connect with His people. Go to church because you love God and He loves you. Forget the brownie points.
“He whose walk is blameless will minister to me” (Psalm 101:6).
God is not just seeing worship. He’s seeking worshipers (John 4). Otherwise, we could just listen to praise music on our iPods, put it on continuous play, and be done with it. God would be appeased and we could do our own thing. But it’s not that simple. God is looking for worshipers – people.
And, of course, He’s more interested in the condition of our hearts than the position of our hands and in the choices of our volition than in the beauty of our voices. Yes, God enjoys our singing, clapping, and kneeling, but it does no good to bend the knee before God if we have not first bent our hearts.
A pastor who serves in the Midwest had a dream. He had been praying about the spiritual worship of his church. He received a very cogent answer which showed the difference between going through the motions of worship and really getting in touch with God.
“I was sitting in my usual place – in the church auditorium, on the platform in the chancel area. The organist was playing the prelude to an empty auditorium. Soon, the back doors of the auditorium swung open and my parishioners began to enter the auditorium. From a distance, everyone looked normal – the ladies were wearing their stylish clothes, and the men were dressed in pin-striped suits, heavy-starched shirts, and designer ties. Everyone looked happy, as usual, and there was the normal exchange of courtesies. When asked ‘How are you doing?’ everyone responses, as usual, ‘Just fine, and how are you?’
“But as they came closer, I noticed that something was wrong. Their skin was emaciated and drawn, their bodies were weak and feeble. It looked like all the vitality and nutrients had been sucked from their bodies. The sanctuary was soon filled with well-dressed, mannerly people with decrepit bodies.
“The worship service began and everyone proceeded to work through the order of worship – singing the hymns and choruses, prating when called upon, giving when the plates were passed, reciting the responsive readings – everything, as usual.
“I asked the Lord the meaning of this peculiar dream. The Lord said, ‘I am letting you see the spiritual condition of the people. Instead of seeing their outward appearance, you are observing the condition of their spirits. On the outside, they are prepared to play church, but on the inside, they are not ready for worship. Those who worship Me must worship Me in spirit and in truth.'”
It is important that we prepare for worship. What we do during corporate worship, regardless of what form our liturgy takes, is irrelevant if we have not adequately and properly prepared for the worship experience. Many cymbals are crashed, hands raised, chords tuned, poems eloquently spoken, and memorized prayers recited in the name of worship, but they are received as dissonance and muddled syllables by the Almighty if our spirits are not right.
“The acceptability of any act of worship is determined by the acceptability of the worshiper.” – Ron Dunn
The ability to work is a gift from God. We should do our work as unto Him, reverently, diligently, loyally and with excellence. God will reward our labors.
For more sermons by Brad Tuttle, go to http:www.theharvestchurchinternational.com