A Word about Healthy Worship

Today I want to share a word about healthy worship as I comment on Psalm 100, which reads:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! 

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his;  we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! 

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

The last time that I posted, I reviewed the Characteristics of a Heal
thy Church as taught by the International Mission Board to the new churches which they help plant. 

I asserted then, that as our churches in North America begin to rebuild after a year of the ravages of COVID-19, they should also consider these characteristics so that they can rebuild to be even better and stronger than they were pre-Corona virus.

Several decades ago, when imported cars were gaining in both market share and consumer rankings over domestic models, the Ford Motor Company came out with a new slogan, which was: “Quality is Job One.”

Our first task, our “Job One” as God’s people is to worship Almighty God. We have a commission to worship that is basic to all we do and that is what we will look at together today.  

WE WORSHIP BECAUSE GOD IS WORTHY:

Humans, from the beginning of time, have needed heroes. We love to sing others praises: We dance with joy when our political candidate wins. We whistle and clap for our favorite actor or actress. We jump for joy when our ball team wins the big game. We put our favorite race driver’s number on our pick-up.

The sad fact for us is that all of these will fade away: Every politician will eventually retire. Every actor or actress will get old and ugly. Every ball team will eventually lose. Every driver will eventually lose their own personal race.

Only God is truly worthy of our praise! He is powerful and just forever. He is loving & beautiful forever His race never ends.

We will worship; it is our nature as people. The question is this: Is what we worship worthy of our praise?

WE WORSHIP BECAUSE GOD INHABITS OUR PRAISE:   

We need to feel connected with God. Loneliness is an increasing problem in America today. People are more and more isolated from each other and this has never been more true, as more and more people are in work from home jobs after COVID-19.

When we were missionaries in West Africa, we learned a saying from our local friends. “Never stand in sun when you can stand in the shade; never be alone, when you can be with a friend.”

When we are alone, we can feel isolated and that feel ing of isolation is terrible. We feel small and helpless. We feel insignificant and purposeless. We can be full of fear and anxiety. However, God is present with us when we praise and worship Him. Psalm 22:3 tells us:

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

This has also been translated as:

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Also consider Matthew 18:20:

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

God is present with us in our praise. He occupies our worship. If we want to experience the real presence of God in our lives, we must worship!

WE WORSHIP BECAUSE IT IS THE BEST PART:

We have a lot of options about what to do with our time: In church we can worship, study the Bible, fellowship, and do ministry. Outside church we can work, visit family, attend school, enjoy entertainment and sports. We have so much we can do that a 24-hour day isn’t long enough anymore.

Luke 10:38-42 illustrates this dilemma: 

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha chose to do good. She was caring for her family & guests. She wasn’t sinning, she just was busy doing good.

On the other hand, Mary chose the best part. There is nothing like true worship to satisfy our souls. We all need to sit at the feet of Jesus and bask in His glow!

The saying that “The good is the enemy of the best.” applies here. If we are too busy to worship, we’re too busy!

WE WORSHIP BECAUSE IT IS OUR DESTINY: 

Everything God created has a purpose:

• Sun, moon, and stars.

• Earth, land, water, and sky.

• Fish of the sea, beasts of the field, trees and grass of wilderness.

• Humans have the highest purpose of all.

Our purpose for living is revealed by Psalm 100:4: 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Revelation 7:9-12 also tells us will be doing that for eternity we will worship God, we will praise God’s name, we will bless Him, and acclaim Him. Maybe that is why worship mentioned over 380 times in Bible.

This fact illuminates the reason why we do many other things in a healthy church:

• Our purpose for discipleship: To learn about God so we can praise Him better.

• Our purpose for evangelism: So all nations will worship Him.

• Our purpose for ministry: So those who are blessed will praise God.

• Our purpose for stewardship: To honor the God who blessed us with this wonderful world

Since worship is our destiny, why would we not want to get a head start and worship God today in spirit and in truth, with all our hearts, souls, and minds?

CONCLUSION:

When I was a youth our youth choir sang a cantata that had a song entitled “Get All Excited” The main theme stated: “Get all excited, go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is King”

Before we go and tell, we need to get all excited about who God is and what He’s done for us.  If we do that, we’ll come to truly worship Him with the devotion He deserves.

Are we excited about God?  Do we truly worship Him? A healthy church does.

Every blessing, 

Dr. Otis Corbitt