Worship: within & without

“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” – 1 Chronicles 16:29

            The practice of God’s people gathering together to worship the Lord is found throughout the scriptures.  The Jews gathered for Passover in Jerusalem, David danced before the Lord, Ezra read the law in sight of all the people.  Fast forward, we have Pentecost, and then the establishing of Christian churches.  Throughout the Bible, God’s people gathered together to worship him. 

The practice of gathering to worship has continued on even until now.  Seldom do you hear Christians question the value in this, perhaps because the value is so evident.  There is strength in numbers, there is value in meeting, singing, and sharing what God has done for you.  However, if the emphasis and validity of worship rest solely on the gathering, and what is done at such gathering; then your worship will be forever shallow.  What worship truly is will be forever lost you.  True worship must be an inward experience before it can be an outward one.  Throughout the world and within America itself we find elements of worship but not the very thing itself.  Not the true worship that Jesus talked about and God intended.  We see men and women gathering to a: sports team, band, or a specific person of fame.  They show reverent love for that person or entity and would gladly devote their time, money, and energy to glimpse their glory.  There are men who worship their women and women who worship their man.  The worship of money, recognition, government officials, ideals, patriotism.  There are elements of worship without the church and within the church.  Perhaps the one that cuts the closest is the worship of the experience of worship: the songs, the crowd, the rising emotion; the notion is such that unless you have these things then you have failed to worship.  We find elements of worship, but only false worship, counterfeit.  Worship is not that which is without, but that which is within.  Worship is not a production or theater; it is the sunflower seeking to bask in the warmth of the Son and the mountains climbing to touch the heavens.  The whole of their existence is to give glory unto the Lord.  Granted, what is within may well produce what is without, i.e. singing, rising of hands, rising emotion, etc.  But that is not the emphasis.  It cannot be, else one day your worship will run dry, and swiftly turn false.  Thankfully, God gives us direction in all things and he calls us to worship “in Spirit and in truth”; he calls us to worship the “Lord in the beauty of holiness”.

God seeks this worship.  Firstly, because he is due it.  He IS worthy of the truest and most fervent worship we can offer.  One must marvel at the extravagance and expense some will go to in an attempt to glorify a star or a team.  What is this on the scale of eternity?  How much more does the God of the universe, the God that sent His only Son to die for you and I; how much more worthy is Christ and God of your worship?  He is due it.  God seeks such to worship, secondly, because true worship brings mankind to its best state.  When you worship God in the beauty of holiness it requires and follows that you must be in His holiness.  Thereby bringing you into the highest possible plain you can achieve.  By our might and power?  No, not hardly, rather by the power of Christ within.  He can banish the sin and elevate man into adoption with His dear Son.  We become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ when we offer ourselves, the first-fruits of our entire being; this we bring to God in reference each and every day.   Why?  Because we love Him and worship him. 

The beauty of holiness within is what the beauty of the earth is without.  The beauty of the earth testifies to the glory of God.  The majesty of it all bending to his will in worship.  The beauty of holiness within testifies to the glory of God and the bending of your will to Him in worship.  This genuine experience of the heart brings about genuine, true worship and it manifest itself.  It manifest itself: at times in singing, or raising your hands, or crying, or in the quite place.  It manifest itself in many different ways.  Thank God for worship!  Collectively, individually, within and without the church.  Thank God for worship.  Let us gather, let us pray, let us seek…..let us everyone: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.