Private Worship

"But I will sing of thy power; yea I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble." Psalm 59:16

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have every week to join together with other believers to worship the Lord at His house. Each week I get to sing, give, and hear preaching because of and for my great God. When I come to public worship, I come to a gathering of believers whose lives have been changed by Jesus Christ, and I come for the purpose of joining them in pointing every thought to the One who alone is worthy of praise.

But, unfortunately, sometimes I can come to church empty. For one reason or another, when I sing, listen to the preaching, or give to the Lord, if I'm not careful, I do it out of a heart of duty or outward constraint, not from the overflow of a heart that is amazed by the greatness and goodness of my God.

When I do this, sometimes it is because of a lack of personal, private worship. This of course is not the only reason. Sometimes I am just plain distracted. But many times the problem in public worship is the absence of private worship. You or I come to a church service with hearts that are empty and haven't gazed upon our God through private devotions in a long time. We come to perform acts that are merely outward, not motivated by an inward desire to give honor to the One whose character has personally affected us.

Singing about God's greatness without having seen it personally is like me telling someone about how awesome the pyramids are to see in person, when I've never gone to Egypt to see them. I've seen pictures. I know that they are there, but I've never experienced their grandeur in person.

On the other hand, I've been to the grand canyon. I've seen its deep bottom, and driven along its expansive lengths. I've seen it's beautiful color. Let me tell you, pictures don't do it justice! You've never truly experienced the Grand Canyon until you've been there yourself!

That's how it is in the Christian life. Have you personally gazed upon God's holiness, His love, His grace, His justice, or His mercy today, this week, this month, or even this year? Is there a hollowness in your heart because you haven't personally spent time with Him? If we seek to do before men what we haven't done before God, we are like hollow robots trying to do something that doesn't truly flow from our hearts.

Do you hear about God and think it's boring? Do you hear the Word preached and wonder why the preacher is so excited about the truth he's preaching but don't understand how it applies to you? Do you struggle to praise Him? Do you simply endure church? Then the most important question you can ask yourself is, "Have I seen Him personally for myself?" Have you seen His majesty in your quiet time? Have you felt His voice calm your burdened heart with His loving Words? Have you privately stood in awe of this grace that would stoop down to redeem defiant sinners like you and me? Have you gazed at your God privately?

Sincere public worship always follows private worship. If you are struggling with just "doing church," spend some time looking at His character in the Psalms. Stand in awe of who He is. Take a truth that reveals His character and spend time thinking about that truth, and turn the truth into praise from your heart to Him. Allow God's character to change you. It will change your public worship.

Worship that Pleases God

Worship, in a general sense, is bringing attention and honor to someone greater than yourself. In its purest sense or the Christian sense, it is pointing everyone's attention to the only true God.

In actuality, worship can be expressed to God in every aspect of our lives. When we pray, we are bringing attention to the fact that God is able and is the provider of all of our needs. When we work, we can worship God by being diligent, excellent, and ethical. In our finances, we can worship God by giving and being wise stewards of God's resources. Every time that we do something because it reflects God's character, we are worshipping Him.

The question begs to be asked, "Are you and I living every moment for the purpose of reflecting God's great character?" Does every decision go through the filter of this question, "Is this like my God?"

If we want to be effective Christians, we must ask God for this kind of heart. We must have a heart that loves who He is and desires to imitate His character in all that we do.

A Sense of Need

This morning, I read this quote in a book called Working with God through Prayer by D. Edmond Hiebert, speaking of the passage in I Timothy 2 about the importance of prayer, and it encouraged my heart. I thought I would pass it along:

"1. 'Supplications.' This is a general word for prayer and means a request or a petition. As such it is used of petitions directed both to God and to men. Coming from a verb meaning to want or to lack, the word 'signifies a prayer which springs from the feeling of want.' The basic thought thus conveyed by this term is that of prayer prompted by a conscious sense of need. It is prayer arising out of a sense of human inadequacy to meet the demand of life.

"Such a conscious sense of need, either our own or another's, is essential to all effective praying. Without such a sense of need, our prayers lack depth and sincerity. Our prayers become formal, often the mere uttering of words that have lost their meaning and value for us. What believer has not at times found himself saying certain words in prayer, only to realize that his mind was on something far removed from his uttered words? When there is a real prayer burden arising out of a specific sense of need, it is not hard to concentrate on one's prayer. Surely in these eventful days when the pressing needs of mankind come crashing in upon us from every side, it is inexcusable to lack a motive for prayer. Critical world needs, as well as local and personal needs, constitute a standing challenge to pray."

"On Behalf of a Grateful Nation"

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the military graveside funeral for a brother of one of our church members. This dear man had been taken by cancer, and his wife and siblings were grieving his departure. The color guard presented a 21-gun salute, played taps, and presented the American flag to the wife of the deceased soldier. My heart goes out to the family in the loss of their loved one.

It is always particularly moving to witness a military ceremony, as men pay tribute to a comrade who has gone on before them. I could not help but go back in my mind about 15 years to when I attended my Papaw's (as we affectionately called my mom's dad) funeral. He had served in the army during World War II, and he had also been taken by cancer. I can remember clearly, as I sat under the tent that day, the emotion as the soldiers folded the flag, went to my Mamaw, bent over towards her, held out the flag and said, "This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service." What a moving thought! "On Behalf of a Grateful Nation."

The patriot in me swells every time I see or hear a tribute to an American soldier. Tears come to my eyes many times as I sing the National Anthem. Tears are gathering in my eyes even now as I am thinking about it. This nation of ours is a blessing from God. It has truly been paid for by the sacrifice of men and women throughout our brief history.

As our freedoms are slowly taken away, I wonder if we are not considering the men who have given of themselves to secure and protect our freedoms. I wonder if we are counting as nothing their great acts of bravery, their willing separation from family, and their constant encounter with danger. I thank the Lord for our military!

But beyond a gratitude for our military, I have a great gratitude and love for my Savior, Jesus Christ. When we speak of sacrifice and giving one's life, there is no greater example in all the world than Jesus. He came to earth and gave Himself as the sinless sacrifice to pay for my sins. I accepted that gift as a young boy, and I enjoy today the joy of forgiveness of sins and a close walk with my Lord. He offers that free gift to anyone who will simply trust Him for it.

I am grateful for the service our men render for our country. Thank you, soldiers, for your service! Thank you, Lord, for my country!

But most of all, thank you Jesus!

The Neglected Place of Prayer

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3

Prayer, along with God's Word, is the most effective weapon against Satan, but it is the most neglected. It is the most neglected because it is the least tangible. It takes the most faith.

We like to be doing things because we can see the actions and results. There is something within us (the flesh) that resists the stillness of prayer. We can justify being busy with our jobs, cleaning the house, studying for sermons, mowing the lawn, but prayer sets all of that aside, steps aside from the temporal world, and wages the battle in the spiritual realm. It's hard to do because it's hard to see. Many times, the moment we find a quiet place for prayer, everything we have to do that day floods into our minds and distracts us from focusing on our Lord. All of our "obligations" crowd out the priority that prayer should have in our lives.

Paul said, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). The Christian life is a life of faith. When we pray, because we can't always see the results, we are walking in faith. We are being obedient to our Lord. We don't see the results many times, because they are spiritual, and the unseen-spiritual results are eternal. We are actually doing that which will have the most lasting impact!

The truth is that prayer and God's Word are the highest obligation. One's relationship with God is at the core of everything else that he does. Without a proper walk with God, all of life's activities take on an emptiness that only accentuates our problems. We constantly work at getting ahead in our work, yet we only get further behind, because life's work is never done! We were made to live our lives while walking with God.

May we make it a priority to spend time in God's Word and in prayer. Don't neglect prayer. Don't justify skipping it with the "I'm to busy" excuse. Make it a priority today!

Then Jesus Came - by Ron and Shelly Hamilton

I'm so excited about this year's Christmas Musical, Then Jesus Came. This cantata is one of Ron Hamilton's best, in my opinion, and it is full of humorous lines, great music, and touching moments. See what happens in a small-town country church when a new preacher comes to town and starts meddlin' with the way things have always been. God will use this musical to stir your heart. We will present it at Eastside Baptist Church in Greeneville, TN, on December 13, at 6:30 pm.

The Great Need for Prayer

Dr. R.A. Torrey once said:

It was a master stroke of the Devil when he got the church and the ministry so generally to layaside the mighty weapon of prayer. The Devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organizations and its deftly-contrived machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ, if it will only give up praying.... The Devil is not afraid of machinery; he is only afraid of God, and a machinery without prayer is machinery without God. (R. A. Torrey, How to Obtain Fullness of Power in Christian Life and Service)

May God raise up men and women who will be twenty-first century prayer warriors!