www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4

[HT: Ragamuffin Soul]

Did you have a passion or vision for a certain “type” of ministry or outreach when you accepted the call to ministry? Did/has God developed your patience before embarking on that passion? Were you satisfied and passionate about the ministry role God brought your way before your ultimate ministry passion opportunity came along, or were you continually looking for ways to make it happen?

We tend to put the old Heinz ketchup slogan on things of God … or other important/large/involved things.

Good things come to those who wait.

Have you ever had a vision or passion for some kind of ministry position or event or something where you know you couldn’t explain it, but you know you could put it together, and you know that it would have the potential to explode?

Have you been to the place where you try to persue that vision or passion, and nothing ever happens? No one “gets it.” No matter how hard you pray or plan or prepare or pray or plan or prepare or pray (OK, you get it), nothing ever seems to get any further than when you started?

Have you been to the place where [insert length of time here - years would be good] later, once you’ve nearly laid the idea to rest, that God says, “Remember way back when? It’s time.”

from blog.worship.com
1. The origin of careless worship.
Malachi leaves us in no doubt about the origin of careless worship. It is the failure to see and feel the greatness of God. He makes this clear in at least two ways.

2. Now we turn to the question: what is the essence of careless worship?
The essence of careless worship is worthless religious activity. Or to be more precise: it’s religious activity that illustrates how little a person values God. That is the sense of verse 10: “Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire upon my altar in vain!”

3. Finally, we ask, what is the opposite of careless worship?
And this raises the whole question of excellence in worship. For surely one good answer to the question is that excellence is the opposite of carelessness in worship. But what is excellence? I don’t think it’s helpful to talk about excellence in the abstract. First you have to define what the nature of true worship is, and then define excellence in worship as those thoughts and attitudes and words and feelings and forms which most successfully let the true worship happen.

In our first two messages on the book of Malachi we focused on the greatness of God’s electing love (1:1-5) and on the honor of God’s majestic fatherhood (1:6-14). This morning we focus again on 1:6-14, and particularly on the curse of careless worship.

You recall that the priests were despising the name of God by the way they handled the sacrifices in the temple. Notice a few examples.Verse 8: “When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that no evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that no evil?”

Verses 13-14: “What a weariness this is, you say, and you sniff at me, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand says the Lord? Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.”

The priests are offering stolen animals and animals that are lame and sick; and the Lord says this is unacceptable (v. 13). It is in fact a curse according to verse 14. “Cursed be the cheat who . . . sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished!” So you can see clearly why it is that this morning we must deal with the curse of careless worship.

In the time we have let’s ponder the

• origin of careless worship,
• the essence of careless worship and
• the opposite of careless worship.

What then is excellence in worship? What is excellence in the music of worship and the architecture of worship? What is excellent dress for worship and art and posture and prayer and preaching? We could talk for hours.

Read the rest of John Piper’s post on “The Curse of Careless Worship” »

Click ‘PLAY’ Button to Watch.

Part 5 – Dance

The Bible says there is a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Is worship one of them? Give it some thought.

In the Old Testament, David celebrates the return of the ark of the covenant (the physical symbol of God’s presence) to Jerusalem. Here’s what David did:

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
— 2 Samuel 6:14-15

David was so greatful for what God was doing that he couldn’t not move! He had to dance. And he didn’t just sway or shuffle politely. He danced “before the Lord with all his might.” Even when his wife, Michal, scolded him later for embaracing her in public, David was defiant. “I will celebrate before the Lord,” he said. “I will become even more undignified than this” (vv. 21-22).

That’s the heart of a worshipper! Even though David was king, he was ready to humble himself in public to make God gret.

But of course, worshipping through dance isn’t about having smooth moves or a great sense of rhythm. It’s not about how we look at all. Dancing before God is about our heart.

Many days, I long for that kind of freedom in worship. But many times, also, my human desires get in the way of full expression. But being cool and worshipping God aren’t things that go hand in hand. However you sing it, shout it, bow it, or dance it, there’s nothing cool to our world about giving full-on applause and glory to God. You might just be praying for your food at a burger joint, but when you honor God in public, you will risk looking uncool.

Worship calls for a kind of abandonment that leads to the full joy of God’s presence. One of the greatest joys of leading worship, is to look over a crowd of worshippers as I lead. To see all the different responses to the majesty, glory, greatness and joy of God is unbelieveable. Not to see the people who are looking to stand the “right way” to look cool in a crowd, but to see the worshippers with their hands raised, bowed down, being still, shouting for joy and dancing in praise and worship of the Lord God almighty.

Strive to be the person who doesn’t care what the person next to you might think, and simply express to God just how thankful you are to be in His presence … I’ll work on it, too. =)

« Read Part 4: Shout for Joy!
portions of this article taken from “The Way I Was Made” by Chris Tomlin

Part 4 – Shout for Joy!

Now to the opposite response to Be Still Before Him — making a lot of noise!

Psalm 95:1 “Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation!”
Psalm 100:1 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.”

Over and over the Psalms picture all of creation making a lot of noise in praise of God; and, it’s a worship celebration that’s going on all the time!

Like others, I too have a stretch and hard time shouting as an act of worship. That’s not to say that shouting as an act of worship is not an act of worship, it’s just something I have to work on doing. But, have there ever been times when you couldn’t keep something wonderful inside? It’s just something that keeps welling up and up inside of you until you can’t contain it any longer (nor should you contain it) and you can only shout for joy!

Incredible joy can make you feel that way; and, honest worship should sometimes, too.

I sometimes wonder how the early church must have sounded. I just think, how could they not have a hundred times the excitement and joy than we have, having just lived with Jesus Christ? The early church followed Jesus at risk to their safety, reputation, posessions and even their lives. In the midst of so much opposition, God was truly their joy.

A God like that calls for a lot of noise!

“Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation!” — Psalm 95:1
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.” — Psalm 100:1

« Read Part 3: Be Still Before Him
to be continued with Part 5 …
portions of this article taken from “The Way I Was Made” by Chris Tomlin

Part 3 – Be Still Before Him

Ecclesiastes 5:2, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” Verse 7, “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.”

How many times do we flippantly walk in to a worship service and begin singing or praying with little thought beforehand. Wouldn’t the church be much better if people came to bring their offereings, to give thanks, to celebrate God’s faithfulness, to praise Him for His provision … and pretty much forget about everything else? I want to be a part of a church that comes ready to meet with God.

None of this happens without stillness and quietness of soul. Our world is loud. TV, Internet, radio, iPods, traffic, cell phones, Muzak, intercoms, and the list goes on. The constant volume of nothingness pushes us farther and farther from people. The sounds (noise) become a barrier or wall between us and our surroundings.

We don’t really know how to be quiet. But how do we expect to hear anything from God in all the noise? When was the last time you quieted your world and just stood in awe of God?

It’s awkward to lead a group of people in a time of silence. When you’re up front, you can feel the waves of worry come over you – How long should this go? Don’t sneeze. I must look dumb just standing here … I guess sometimes in church we don’t even know how to slow down and listen. Our services and Christian events are always filled with noise. We’re afraid of dead space in the program. We’re afraid of silence.

Our silence before God should be intentional.
“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” — Ecclesiastes 5:2.
Verse 7, “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.”

« Read Part 2: Bow Down
to be continued with Part 4 …
portions of this article taken from “The Way I Was Made” by Chris Tomlin

Part 2 – Bow Down

Psalm 95:6 says, “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”

What a beautiful picture of expressing subordination and respect. We just don’t worship someone we think we’re bigger or more important than. That’s why bowing is the right position for us before almighty God.

In John 4, Jesus is talking to the woman at the well about worship. He tells her, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (v. 21). The translation of that word worship Jesus uses means literally to “bow down and kiss the feet of a king.”

If you’ve lived in the United States all your life (like me), you don’t have much perspective on relating to a king or queen as a ruler. Americans don’t even bow down before our president, so most have never had a good model of this behavior. But consider your position before the Lord. When was the last time you bowed down in adoration of and in reverance for Him?

At times during worship, there’s a sudden realization of who it is we’re singing to, of how great and worthy is our King, and how small and unworthy I and we are, even to make a sound in His presence.

He is the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the God above all gods. To bow down in His presence is only right.
“Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” — Psalm 95:6

« Read Part 1: Lift Your Hands
to be continued with Part 3 …
portions of this article taken from “The Way I Was Made” by Chris Tomlin

Part 1 – Lift Your Hands

The Bible actually implores us to lift up our hands in worship to God. Psalm 134:2 says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” Why? Raising our hands to God communicates so many different and important things.

If you grew up in a church that was fairly conservative, you know that the only times you raised your hands were if you had a question (and that wasn’t “allowed” either, so what we have to do is learn to raise our hands; which is odd when you think about it, since raising your hands have so much meaning.

Watch a football game on Sunday afternoon, or any sport on any day. When an athlete scores a touchdown, what’s the first response? Hands shoot straight up in the air! It’s the natural sign that someone has won and that you’re excited about it. You don’t have to think about it, you just do it.

Or, think about the television show COPS. The police chase down this shirtless drunk, and what’s his instinctive reaction? Hands go up. The raising of hands in this instance is the universal sign of surrender. How much more in worship do we express our joy in surrender to Jesus and His lordship of our lives?

Another example is that of a small child when Mom or Dad come into a room after being away for awhile. They come running with lifted hands wanting to be picked up! My kids do it even if I’ve only gone to the store for five minutes, but it’s the excitment and assurance that Mom or Dad is there to take care of them and protect them and just the joy of being together. How much more is our joy to hold out our arms for our Father to pick us up and hold us in His eternal arms?

You see it at music concerts all the time — people reaching, pleading, waving, hoping with outstretched hands toward the star onstage. These fans would give anything for just a touch from their favorite star; but sadly, the star onstage doesn’t have much to give in return for all that desire. A song and a good time maybe. But our famous God has everything to give (and wants to give it). He holds out life for the taking. How much more should we lift up our hands to Him?

Excitement.
Surrender.
Joy.
Comfort.

“Raise your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” – Psalm 134:2

to be continued with Part 2 …
portions of this article taken from “The Way I Was Made” by Chris Tomlin