WORSHIP IN OZ

Worship In Oz


Our worship has a lot of the same problems as the Land of Oz.

Like the Scarecrow, some of us really need a brain! Jesus said, "true worshippers must worship in... truth." Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "You worship what you do not know" (John 4:22) He is saying, "You pray, but you don't know who you are praying to. You work, but you don't know who you are working for. You talk about God, but you haven't got a clue who God is." Some people... Some churches - are all spirit, but no truth. They love the hype, the entertainment, the tickling of the ears. Their worship is shallow, artificial, and useless. Hosea 4: 6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." Matthew 22:37, Jesus tells us to love the Lord with all of our... minds! 2 Thessalonians 2:10 warns us that people will perish because they refuse to love the truth. Don't check your brains in at the door when you come to worship.

Like the Tin Man, some churches need a heart. Jesus, talking about the Jews, said, "We worship what we do know" (John 4:22) - and as we all know, knowing is not enough. 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." The Lord said in Isaiah 29:13, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." The Jews had reduced worship to rules and rituals. Many churches do the same! They know the Bible inside and out. They can quote scripture after scripture. They will beat you at Bible Trivia every time - but where's the love? Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God... with all of your heart!

A man once went to church with an angel as his guide. Every seat in the church was filled, but there was something strange about the service. The praise band led the people in a popular chorus without making a sound. During the offering, the organist moved her fingers over the keys, but no music came from the pipes. The choir rose to sing, their lips moved, but it was as the mute button had been pushed on the remote. The pastor stepped to the pulpit to read the Scriptures, but the man observing with the angel could not even hear the rustle of the pages. Then the Lord's Prayer was recited by the entire congregation, but not a single syllable was audible. The pastor went again to the pulpit, and the man could tell he had started his sermon as he gestured here and there to make his various points, but the man again heard nothing. Turning to the angel the man said, I don't understand. What does all this mean? I see the service is being held, but I hear nothing. The angel replied, You hear nothing because there is nothing to be heard, at least not by heaven's ears. Those people are just going through the motions. Nothing they are doing has any meaning for them and worship without the heart is not worship.

Hebrews 10:22 tells us to "...draw near to God with a sincere heart." Without a sincere heart, we are just wasting our time. God is not looking for something brilliant. He is looking for something broken. David writes, "Create in me a pure heart." (Psalm 51:10) "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart." (Psalm 51:17)

Like the Lion, Christians today need courage. Courage to worship in spirit AND in truth. We need courage to do both! To use our right brain AND left brain. To worship intellectually AND emotionally. To worship with our heart AND our mind.

Go Bless,

Pete

"...a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." - John 4:23-24