My devotion yesterday really made me think about the church and how we
act as members of it. God put this message on my heart and I am sharing it with you.
(The following is taken from the devotional Our Daily Bread and was written by Phillip Yancey)
Psalm 50: 7-15,23 – “Hear O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! 8 – I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. 9 – I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. 10 – for every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 – I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mind. 12 – “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 13 – Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14 – Offer to God thanksgiving. And pay your vows to the Most High. 15 – Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” 23 – Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
I used to view the worship service in church as a time for entertainment. Speaking of folks like me, Soren Kierkegaard said we tend to think of church as a kind of theater: We sit in the audience, attentively watching the actors onstage. If sufficiently entertained, we show our gratitude with applause. Church though, should be the opposite of the theater. GOD is the audience for our worship.
What matters most takes place within the hearts of the congregation-not onstage. We should leave a worship service asking ourselves not “What did I get out of it?” but rather “Was God pleased with what happened?” God took pains to specify details of animal sacrifice for the ancient Israelites in their worship. Yet He said that He didn’t need their animals: “I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Ps. 50:9-10). What He wanted was their praise and obedience (v.23).
By focusing on the externals of worship, we too miss the point: The Lord is interested in a sacrifice of the heart, an internal attitude of submission and thanksgiving. The goal of worship is nothing less than to meet and please our God.
Awesome Awesome blog!!!