Sunday, June 6, 2010
Let the Worshipers Arise
6th in a Series
Preparation
Here’s a dangerous question: Is it possible that we are more comfortable worshiping God than we ought to be? In her book Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard worries that we have forgotten how dangerous it is to come into the presence of the living God. She writes:
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.3
In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C. S. Lewis, the author has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter.
“Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie,” said Mrs. Beaver. “And make no mistake, if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then isn’t he safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you!”[2]
The message of this passage, then, is readiness for meeting with God and preparation for the worship of God. What exactly is required to approach the God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords?...
Preparing for God’s Presence involved:
1. Consecration (Ex 19:10-11) anything that is “consecrated” has two things happen to it:
a. Separation (make known as different - offerings, Levites, days and even years)
b. Cleansing (this was both ritualistic and behavioral – symbolic and literal – vs. 10)
Just as the temple of Solomon was consecrated from all other structures by these two things according to God’s word, so too are all believers to be consecrated from the world by their calling to be separate and pure: 2 Corinthians 6:14-17
2. Attention (Ex 19:12-15) God used two things to “get their attention” or “get their minds right”
a. Boundaries (I Peter 1:13-16)
b. Abstinence (I Cor. 7:5 – can be a “sexual fast” used to promote prayer.)
3. Patience (Ex 32:1; 33:14-17)
a. Their lack
b. His display
God’s people are called to continually prepare for and continually live in a state of worship.
“The problem with being a living sacrifice is its tendency to get up and crawl off the altar.”
Preparing to worship with God’s people:
1. Set aside time
a. Between Sunday mornings.
b. On and for Sunday mornings.
2. Call your attention to God
a. By removing obvious distractions
b. By listening to Him beforehand.
3. Be patient
a. The Lord moves on His timetable (2 Peter 3:9)
b. With each other
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