I’ve been attending West Hill Baptist Church in Akron, Ohio for the past three weeks where the pastor is presenting a sermon series on worship . It is a fantastic series and the pastor is a solid Biblical teacher. It has been an unexpected blessing for me to have found this church at exactly this time in my life. God is *so* good!
If you are interested in listening to the sermons, you can download them here. Get the Sunday Morning Service from Aaron Varner on 11/1/09 and 11/15/09.
A learning tool that I often employ when I want to learn what something is, is to learn what it isn’t first. I’m not sure if the sermon series will cover this, but I’ve been wondering what the Bible says that Worship isn’t as much as I have been learning what it is.
To properly examine this question, one need look no further into the Bible than the first book and the fourth chapter.
3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Genesis 4:3-8 NASB
Why did God have no regard, or appreciation for Cain’s offering?
Experts differ on the answer to that question, but I think it is either that the offering wasn’t what God had specified (though it isn’t recorded in Genesis prior to this) or that Cain’s heart wasn’t right when offering a sacrifice to the Lord. In Hebrews 11:4 it is written that “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain” and for this gift, he was righteous.
Please note God’s response, He tells Cain to “do well” so his countenance would be lifted up. In other words, He told him to make an offering in the correct manner so he could hold his head up and not be downcast. He wants Cain to do what is right, so He gave him a second chance, but Cain didn’t heed God’s warning and instead killed his brother; after which he was an outcast and a marked man.
In Leviticus 10, we read about Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu:
1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Leviticus 10:1-2 NASB
What was so wrong with the fire in their firepans that God would kill them for offering it?
Again we see a form of worship that displeases God. Clearly, these sons of Aaron went against the teachings of God and worshiped in their own way. God does not offer them a second chance like He did with Cain, He killed them on the spot which is exactly what they deserved. Perfect justice was done to these two.
I think that Nadab and Abihu were excessively proud and believed that they could do something different from what God had instructed. Their hearts were clearly not right with God and the penalty for worshiping with proud hearts was (and still is) death.
King Uzziah’s worship in 2 Chronicles 26 was also unacceptable to the Lord.
16 But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. 18 They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God.” 19 But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged ; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. 20 Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead ; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death ; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 NASB
Even more clearly here, it is shown that coming before the Lord and making an offering or sacrifice with a proud heart results in punishment. In the case of Uzziah, a punishment that was arguably worse than death.
Please note the three things he did in verse 16, he was proud, he acted corruptly and he was unfaithful to the Lord. These three things led to his entering the temple and making his unacceptable offering. Pride, corruption and unfaithfulness. One inevitably leads to the next.
In the New Testament, Jesus relates a parable about a Pharissee and a tax collector:
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt : 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself : ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people : swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week ; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner !’ 14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other ; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14 NASB
These are the words of our Lord, Jesus. He states plainly that a prideful heart cannot worship God in an acceptable manner. We must respond to God with humility and obedience.
Wayne Grudem says, “An attitude of worship comes upon us when we begin to see God as He is and then respond to His presence.”
Pastor Aaron Varner at West Hill Baptist Church in Akron says, “Worship is responding to God’s nature, words and actions by completely giving myself to Him.”
Let us remember that when we give ourselves to him through worship, or respond to His presence in worship, that we sincerely humble our hearts and never bring pride to the altar.
