Restoring Worship

RESTORING WORSHIP

“Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.” - Psalm 51:18-19

A. W. Tozer once wrote, “We are saved to worship God. All that Christ has done in the past and all that He is doing now leads to this one end.” As I read about heaven in the Bible, I am convinced that the primary business of heaven is the worship of our Lord.

Don't be confused. Worship is not a boring, stuffy church service. Worship is an act of adoration. Worship is esteeming God as being precious and priceless, great and glorious, majestic and marvelous. Worship occurs when we are captivated with God alone. With a sense of awe and wonder, we concentrate on Him with reverence and piety. When we consider the vast nature of our God, as revealed in the Bible, we are struck with a sense of fear. Yet we also love Him. We prize Him above all things.

While we may express our worship through music, the lifting up of hands, or a response to a sermon, ultimately worship is a matter of the heart. In America, we tend to emphasize the external response of worship to the exclusion of heartfelt worship, which is a mistake.

When David sinned against God, his life of worship wilted away. You cannot worship God and practice idolatry at the same time. David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah had devastated his life. Psalm 51 was his prayer of repentance, as he sought to have his fellowship with God restored. As he concluded the psalm, David realized that God's forgiveness and restoration would lead him to worship once again. This was something he missed greatly.

I believe that sin is keeping many Christians home on Sunday mornings. Instead of worshiping God with other believers, they are spending the Lord's Day away from their spiritual family. Rather than enjoying God's presence, they are drifting further from the place they should be. Perhaps that describes your situation right now. If so, let me encourage you to get back where you belong. Repent of your sins and get back in church. Get back to worshiping God once again. Don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that there is any substitute for worshiping God.

Personal revival leads to acts of worship. A believer should worship privately and publicly. Let's be active in both areas. God deserves our worship regardless of where we are at.

Also, we need to avoid deception. It is one thing to be enamored flashing lights or lively music at church, it is another thing to captivated by the Lord alone. While it is good to hear a strong, Biblical sermon on Sunday morning, the sermon should lead us to worship God with greater intensity.

Mankind was designed to worship. Sin has twisted this design and has led men to worship nearly everything from trees, to money, to success, to celebrities and even themselves. Everyone is worshiping something or someone. Few are truly worshiping the God of the Bible. As followers of Jesus, it should be our daily goal to worship the Lord alone.

It is easy to get distracted. It is easy to be deceived. Yet we need a revival of worship in America. Personal revival leads to repentance and change. Ultimately, such revival leads to renewed worship.

Our perfect God is worthy of worship. Why waste our time on anything less?

What God Is Looking For

 WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR

“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” - Psalm 51:16-17

For many years, I was impressed with a number of things. I thought it was so great to hear someone recite, from memory, passages and chapters of the Bible. I was impressed with the leadership gifts of certain individuals. I thought highly of preachers who were gifted orators. I respected Bible teachers who could explain difficult Biblical passages with simplicity and clarity.

Certainly these are good things. But do they impress God? When we're around gifted and talented people, we can look at our own lives and get discouraged. If you're like me, you're not ultra-talented. Perhaps your gifts and talents seem few and limited. So when we meet someone who possesses great talents, we feel so small and question our effectiveness.

Yet God is the One who provides individuals with gifts and talents. While it is is our job to hone to talents and improve them, He is the giver of them. He gives to people as He sees fit. Furthermore, those with great talents are responsible for what they do with their talents. There have been many who've wasted their gifts and talents.

When David sinned against God, he made a tremendous discovery. In the Old Testament, sacrifices had to be offered when a person sinned. Certainly, David had the means to offer such sacrifices. He was the king. Yet there was a problem. Under the law, he should have been executed for his crimes. Adultery and murder were both crimes that should have brought his death. He was guilty and he knew it. Yet David discovered that God was not interested in a sacrifice. He was interested in something more.

The Jews were expected to follow the letter of the law. Many of the Jews were very knowledgeable of the law. They knew what sacrifices to bring and when to bring them. They could easily worship from their head, reciting the law. They could worship from their hands, offering sacrifices for their sins. Yet God wanted more. He was looking for more. While it is good to worship from your head and your hands, God wants us to worship from the heart.

That was the discovery David made during his confessional prayer in Psalm 51. God was not interested in the sacrifices he could bring as much as He was interested in David himself.

Here in America, we can make the same mistake the Jews made. We can get excited about church budgets, new buildings and paved parking lots. We can emphasize programs and people. We can have event after event. But do we really seek God Himself? Like the Jews, we can worship with our head and our hands, but never worship with our hearts.

Jesus quoted Isaiah's writings about the Jews when He said, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” The Jews were treating man-made rules and regulations as if they were divinely inspired. They created their own standards, to the neglect of the Scriptures. Their worship did not come from the heart. It was just legalism masquerading as worship. The same can happen to us.

David realized that God was looking for a repentant, humble heart. A heart sensitive to the Word of God. A heart longing for the glory of God. A heart that loves righteousness and hates iniquity.

When we attend church weekly, we tend to emphasize our appearance, our diligence and our outward expressions of faith. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with these things, but are our hearts really right before God? We may have prepared for church outwardly, but what about inwardly?

In David's case, the real sacrifice that God was looking for wasn't another animal. It was David himself. God desired David's heart, not his burnt offering. David had been a man after God's own heart. Now, at the bottom of the barrel, David realized that his heart wasn't right with God. David needed his heart to be changed. The sacrifice God wanted was the surrender of David's contrite heart.

No, God isn't as impressed with many of the things that tend to impress us. He is pleased, and at times impressed, with a heart full of faith and love. Church attendance, giving and serving are all important. Yet they need to flow from a heart of faith and love. A heart that is sold out to Jesus. A heart that has been touched by the Master's hand. A heart that is red-hot was a spiritual passion to please the Lord.

That is what God is looking for.

Spiritual Singing

 SPIRITUAL SINGING

“O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” - Psalm 51:15

What has happened to singing in American churches? We've gotten spiritually lazy and want others to do our singing for us. I admit that I like to listen to good Christian music. When I hear a good Southern Gospel artist sing a great song, it blesses me. I have stacks of CD's available to listen to. I still have cassettes and LPs. I have MP3 music files that I have purchased online. If you open my Itunes program, my playlists will make it obvious what I listen to.

While our listening habits are obvious, what about our singing habits? I miss the old days when you could go to a Christian bookstore and look through sheet music and songbooks. I guess those days are forever gone, replaced by music accompaniment recordings. Even with “music tracks” and prerecorded accompaniment, singing has really decreased in the Christian community. We traded congregational singing for performances. While it is good for gifted singers and musicians to utilize their talents in the local church, we shouldn't rob others of the privilege of praising God through congregational singing.

God deserves our praise. Others cannot praise God on our behalf. There is no such thing as proxy praise. Furthermore, praise is not restricted to the church sanctuary each Sunday morning. Each of us should have a desire to praise God throughout the week. We don't need a pianist to accompany our singing. Neither do we need a full orchestra as we praise the Lord. Praise is a personal matter.

Yet I am concerned that praise is missing among the saints these days. Listening to others sing can be very moving. Yet God should hear praise from our own lips.

King David knew about the importance of music. Before he became king, he was a musician and singer. He was actually hired to play music that soothed Saul during his deeply troubling times. David was a songwriter. Many of his songs are preserved in the book of Psalms. In spite of his musical heritage, David came to a point where he had lost his song. Sin had cost David his song.

There are some, like David, who've sinned greatly and found that they no longer had a song. Like Israel, they could say, “How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?” However for most people, a hectic schedule and unrealistic expectations keep us busy and slowly robs us of our song.

We need to get that song back. Often I've quoted Lester Roloff, who said, “It is better to have a song and not be able to sing it than to be able to sing and not have a song.” What would an early spring morning without the song of birds? Yet if you attend most churches, the congregational singing is anemic, at best.

What about your singing? Do you have a song in your heart today? Perhaps you once sang to the top of your lungs as you drove to work. Now, the radio provides your music. Maybe you once sang heartily in church. Now the song is just words on a page. You need to get your song back.

David realized that if he got right with God, he'd get his song back. In the 51^st Psalm he wrote, “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” God is the One who gave us the song and He is the One that can restore it. Somehow, we tend to get in a rut and refuse to leave it. We get accustomed to a life without a song. Yet there is nothing like a heart that is hot for God, demonstrating love and devotion through song.

David asked for his joy to be restored. Along with the joy, he sought to have his song restored. The two go hand in hand. If you are missing your song, you're probably not basking in the joy of the Lord.

The good news is that both joy and singing can be restored. The big question is this: are you willing to live any longer without both of them?

Don't let pride keep you in the rut any longer. God is just a prayer away. He can cause your soul to soar and sing once again.

Why wait any longer?

The Cure For Spiritual Lockjaw

 THE CURE FOR SPIRITUAL LOCKJAW

“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” - Psalm 51:13

Due to medical advances, we don't hear much about lockjaw these days. Tetanus (often called lockjaw) can be prevented with a vaccine. This disease is caused by a bacteria that creates a toxin within the body, resulting in painful muscle contractions. Thankfully, this is not considered a public threat to society today.

However, spiritual lockjaw does exist today. No, it isn't caused by bacteria, but it is a spiritual condition brought on by sin, doubt and the fear of man. Although we have little or no problem talking about politics, sports or the weather, spiritual lockjaw keeps us from boldly speaking the Gospel truth. When spiritual lockjaw sets in, we freeze at the very thought of mentioning the Name of Jesus. We get timid and shy about matters of faith. We keep silent when we should be talking about our Lord.

Spiritual lockjaw is a common problem among professing believers. Outside of a church environment, we tend to be quiet about matters of faith. The very message that others are needing to hear is the same message we won't share. That is spiritual lockjaw.

I must confess that American Christians have been duped into believing that “popularity” and “relevance” are more important than being a witness for the Lord. We even want a stranger to think highly of us, although we may never see him again. Our “reputation” has become an idol, a great sin that hinders us from being obedient followers of Christ.

While we wish to be respectable and even “cool,” we fail to recognize that God is not pleased with us. Although we claim loyalty and allegiance to Jesus, we are easily tempted to compromise and be silent.

Perhaps the sin of silence is our greatest folly. In spite of all the positive advances we've seen in the Church, this one sin has left us spiritually weak and fruitless.

So what is the cure for spiritual lockjaw? The answer is simple. We need to experience personal revival. I've been writing about this subject in previous weeks. Now we see the real need for such a renewal.

First of all, we need to remember. We need to remember how Jesus saved us. We were filthy, unworthy hell-bound sinners when the Gospel changed our lives. We are tempted to forget about this miracle. Whether it happened in your childhood, in your teenage years or adulthood, the memory of conversion should not slowly erode over time. We need to remember how the Lord saved us. Never get over your salvation. Conversion caused us to open our mouths in praise to the Lord. We were eager to share what God had done for us. We need to revisit this glorious event and live in its light.

Secondly, we need to repent. In other words, things need to change. We can't continue to be silent while many around perish. We have GOOD NEWS to share with others. If it is good news, why should we be timid about sharing it? When it comes to happy events in our lives, we are excited to share them with others, whether it be a marriage engagement, the birth of a child or unexpected good news. As recipients of God's grace, we have the best news possible. Don't keep it bottled up within!

Next, we need to relate. We need to speak. Open your mouth and testify to others. Start with a family member or friend. Build upon this experience by speaking to others … even to strangers.

The cure for spiritual lockjaw is simple. Draw closer to Jesus. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you want to talk about Him. Far too many professing believers stay at “a comfortable distance” away from Him. They want to get close enough to enjoy His blessings, but not so close that He changes them. What kind of disciple is that? If you're going to be a disciple of Jesus, walk just as close as you possibly can.

That's the cure for spiritual lockjaw.

Getting Your Joy Back

GETTING YOUR JOY BACK

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” - Psalm 51:12

When God used Phillip to conduct an evangelistic campaign in Samaria, the Bible says, “And there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:8). An entire city experienced “great joy.” It would be difficult to pinpoint a city experiencing “great joy,” today. Crime, social unrest and political division has gripped most cities. Even small communities aren't enjoying great joy.

But what about you as an individual? Do you have great joy? Is it obvious to everyone around you that you have great joy? If your family, neighbors and co-workers described your life, could they honestly say that you have great joy?

Sadly, joy is missing from most professing Christians. At conversion, each one of us experienced great joy. Perhaps the subsequent days, weeks and months were filled with great joy. But what about now?

King David once had a life of great joy. As he penned Psalm 51, this joy was missing from his life. The great joy he once enjoyed was gone. As he prayed, he asked God, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”

David lost his joy when we pursued sin. Sin cannot coexist with divine joy. Sin is a joy robber. Sin promises pleasure but leaves you depleted and defeated. Nehemiah 8:10 states, “... the joy of the LORD is your strength.” We lack such strength today!

Perhaps you can look back at your past and recall the days when you had great joy. Maybe those days are just a faint memory now. Nevertheless when you remember those days, you have an aching desire to return to them.

Can you have your joy restored? Is it possible to get that joy back?

The devil will tell you that you'll never get your joy back again. You need to realize that he is a liar. His lies have led you to the joyless life you are now living. His lies have deceived and defeated you. Why listen to him any more? Why give any attention to his lies? You need the truth. God's Word not only contains truth, it is truth (John 17:17). It is time to listen to the truth. It is time to heed the truth.

The truth is that the same One who gave you joy in the first place is the same One who can restore it. Yes, there are consequences to our actions. That was true for King David and it is true for us. Sometimes we must reap what we've sown. Yet it is possible to get your joy back.

The temptation is to get stuck in the pig pen and refuse to get out. Pride is a terrible substitute for joy. Pride keeps many people stuck in the mire. Rather than admitting their sins and seeking help, proud people go on with their addictions and sinful lifestyles. While they celebrate their independence and freedom of choice, they do so covered with the filth of the pig sty.

Another mistake that people make is to believe that joy comes through their circumstances. They believe that if their circumstances improve, they will have more joy. That simply isn't true. Joy is a gift from God. He provided it freely to us to begin with. We never achieved joy, we simply received it. There are many people who are facing wonderful circumstances, yet they are miserable.

So how does a Christian get his joy back?

REPENT. First, he needs to confess his sins and repent of them. That's what David did. As I mentioned earlier, sin is a joy robber. Perhaps your sins aren't as obvious as David's, yet until you repent, you are an unclean vessel that God refuses to fill with joy.

RETURN. Draw close to God once more. Even if you have no obvious sins in your life, if joy is missing, it is probably due to the fact you aren't as close to God as you once were. Return to Him in childlike faith.

REQUEST. Like David, ask God to restore the joy you once experienced.

REJOICE. Paul told the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4). Quit looking to your circumstances and begin looking at Christ. That is where the joy is. Don't wait for things to get better, simply rejoice in the Lord. Paul told the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, “always,” not just on good days. Rejoice today. Rejoice because your name is written on high. Rejoice that you belong to Him. Rejoice in His love. Rejoice in His presence. Rejoice in His promises. Rejoice in the fact you have heaven for a home. Rejoice in the Lord.

You can get your joy back right now.

Rejoice in the Lord!

The Heart of The Matter

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” - Psalm 51:10

If you listen close to news commentators, talk show hosts or political leaders, you'll be surprised how similar their approaches are to describing and resolving the challenges of our world. While their message and application may be strikingly different, even polar opposites, their overall message remains the same. They believe that the answer to society's woes can be solved by wealth, legislation or education.

They either try to throw money at the problem (wealth), pass new laws to accomplish their mission (legislation) or stress the importance of carefully planned schools (education). At times, their solutions sound impressive. But when you dig deeper into the problem, you find that they aren't addressing the main issue.

You see, the problems plaguing our world are caused by sin. It is a spiritual problem. Spiritual problems cannot be solved by worldly means. Let me give you an example. How do we stop school violence? By banning guns? By helping those with mental or emotional problems? By passing legislation making prison sentences tougher? While each may seem to have merit to their supporters, it doesn't change the problem, does it? If you take away guns, it won't stop violence. Criminals will find ways of finding a weapon that will accomplish their goal. Monitoring potential mental and emotional problems won't stop crime either. Many crimes are created by smart, stable people. Longer prison sentences won't stop violence either. It hasn't up till now.

While there are cases of mentally and emotionally disturbed criminals, the real issue is a matter of the heart. Violence occurs because of wicked men. Sinful, depraved hearts are the cause of violence and other crimes. Sin is the issue. You'll not hear Republicans or Democrats speak of this at a convention. News commentators are clueless about this because they are deceived and have sinful hearts, too.

Although it makes most people cringe to hear it, the problem is sin and the answer is Jesus.

King David committed adultery. When his cover-up attempts failed, he resorted to a deceptive way of disposing of his problem. When he was confronted about his wickedness, David confessed his sins and repented. Psalm 51 is his psalm of repentance. In this prayer, David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” David recognized that changes were needed. He didn't need new advisors. Neither did he need more servants. He didn't even need a better set of circumstances. He needed a new heart.

Most of the time, we seek for changes around us, but few look within. Until a man's heart is changed, he is in deep trouble. David looked within and saw a sinful, dirty heart. He looked within --- but then he looked up. The change he needed wouldn't come through self-reform or self-improvement. He needed a change that only God could provide.

Americans tend to seek immediate solutions. We like quick action. We want things to improve overnight. This often leads to a band-aid approach to our problems. When a person realizes he needs a new heart, it is obvious that a band-aid won't help. Massive change is required.

Thankfully, God is in the business of heart transplants. He has an impeccable record of changing lives. He always does this by changing the heart of the individual.

The Great Physician is a heart specialist. He performs open-heart surgery daily. Desperate, dying people have sought His care and found Him to be more than adequate for their need. He does surgery without anesthesiology or even opening the chest cavity. Many can testify that He changes a person's life by removing a heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. This Surgeon has never lost a case. Furthermore, He never charges for His services. The cost has already been paid at Calvary.

If your heart is not right with God, you don't need superficial solutions. You need a supernatural miracle. The good news is that God specializes in miracles.

The Great Physician's office is open right now. He is taking new patients. Your heart may be filled with anger, lust, jealousy and selfishness. You need more than an improvement. You need a change of heart. Bring your condition to Him. Lay your case bare before Him. Submit to His treatment.

He can create a new heart in you today.

To Tell The Truth

TO TELL THE TRUTH

“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” - Psalm 51:6

In the last couple of years, I've had the joy of watching old episodes of the TV game show, “To Tell The Truth.” I can recall watching the show when I was a little boy. With the aid of Youtube, I am able to watch many of those old episodes again. In fact, the first season of the show is online from 1956. While I remember the show from the 1970's, the very early episodes were in black and white. The show has been revived numerous times through the years and just finished another run a couple of years ago.

The show's overall format has remained the same. A panel of four “celebrities” would question three contestants who all claimed to be the same person. The host of the show would read a brief biography of the person who was appearing before them. Only the real contestant was sworn to tell the truth, the two impostors were not. Each panelist would be given a short period of time to question each of the contestants and at the end of questioning, the panelist would vote for the person they thought was the right contestant. It was a show of deliberate misrepresentation.

The show was interesting because of the different contestants they had. In one program, the panel was searching for the man who invented the game, Monopoly. In another show, the real contestant had been a double-agent in World War II.

The original show was hosted by Bud Collyer. At the end of the show, he would sign off by saying, “This is Bud Collyer reminding you to tell the truth.”

Do we need to be reminded to tell the truth? I think so. Our world is so corrupt that lies, falsehoods and misrepresentations are common and expected. Although most people are offended when they are lied to, they have little or no remorse when lying themselves.

Sadly, we expect politicians to lie to us. We aren't surprised when a salesman uses hyperbole in selling a product. Truth is rare these days.

As Americans, we tend to compartmentalize our lives. It isn't uncommon for a businessman to lie to a customer. When confronted about his lie, he responds, “O, that's just business.” Should truth be confined to only our personal lives? If you aren't honest in business, you aren't honest.

As the old saying goes, “honesty is the best policy.” Although that saying does not come directly from Scripture, the Bible has much to say about honesty.

Whether we like it or not, our sinful, fallen nature is very dishonest. As a result, we must train children to be honest. Honesty is a core principle to teach young people. As adults, we need to be reminded to tell the truth. Whether we are on a witness stand in a trial, responding to criticism or responding to a spouse, we need to be truthful.

Most of all, we need to be honest with God and ourselves. After David's great sin, he prayed, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” God expects us to be transparent before Him. He already knows the truth, but He wants us to be honest before Him.

The reason we aren't seeing revival in America is due, in part, to a lack of honesty among believers. We think that “other people” need to change, but not ourselves. We believe that our neighbors may need a convicting message, but we don't. Repentance is for wicked sinners, not for those of us who attend church regularly. These beliefs reflect the kind of deceit that God wishes to expose. We aren't being honest with God or ourselves.

David refused to own up to his immoral behavior. His actions were probably hidden from most of the people, but God was aware of them. He was given time to be honest and repent. After about a year, God sent the prophet, Nathan, to confront David. When his sin was exposed, David finally got honest with God.

God has a way of getting your attention. The same One who stopped Saul on the road to Damascus is the same One who can stop you in your tracks. The same God that halted Jonah's disobedient journey can bring your life to a halt. The One who brought Nathan to sinful David is the same God that may bring a friend, neighbor or preacher to confront you about your sins.

Confrontation often leads to denial and anger. We'd rather protect our image than come clean with God. We'd prefer to travel a road of deceit and defeat than get right with God and walk in victory. Sad, isn't it?

Yet those who get honest with God find help, hope and healing. Confession leads to cleansing. Surrender leads to victory. Honesty leads to liberty.

There's no greater fool than a man who genuinely believes his own lies.