The physical equivalent is kneeling or lifting our hands. If we are restraining ourselves it might by a nod of the head or a curtsey. When people have the opportunity to meet the Queen you often see a struggle in their minds about whether to bow or curtsey – thus acknowledging someone more important than the and who wasn’t elected. Our individualistic culture doesn’t like the thought of anyone being in any way superior to us.
How does our behaviour reveal our worship? What are the things we do which reveal who or what we worship? How do we give worth to something? -
money, time, energy, words, what we think about.
We become what we worship.
This impulse to worship comes because we were created to be in relationship with God and it is an urge to re-connect with Him.
400 years ago the theologians of the day captured in the first question and answer of the
Westminster Shorter Catechism (1640 Q&A)
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
WHY?
Because He is holy and great, all-powerful and rules over all.
Because He was and is and is to come.
Because of His great love for us.
Because He created us and redeemed us.
Because, though we are deeply aware of our sin and short-comings and weakness and unworthiness, He tore the veil in two so we may approach the throne of grace through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
When you decide to follow Jesus and are redeemed back into a relationship with your creator God it is only natural to turn toward Him. Thus Christians have always sought to worship God.
I grew up in a Christian household at a particular time when the way we worshipped together consisted of:
1. Hymns – Memorable and incredibly helpful. But an outdated musical form – composed at a completely different point in our cultural history.
2. Songs or chorus’s. Simple songs, easy to sing and play with a piano or guitar. Very few recordings or examples outside of church.
3. Prayer and bible study, communion and baptism. Some churches have a more elaborate liturgy.
4. Structured as a hymn sandwich.
I had little understanding of what worship was. What purpose it served. It seemed very natural at one level and completely foreign at another (nothing like my daily experience of music and words and doing things with other people – festivals, football crowds).
And then we encountered the Vineyard.
Back in the 80s – before there were any worship recordings – someone gave me a tape (!) of a conference led by the Vineyard at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. At the beginning and end of the tape were some very poor recordings of the band leading worship. Simply a microphone stuck in front of the stage, and the band weren’t very good. But as I drove up and down the M1 in my Ford Sierra doing business between Leeds and London I listened to the 3 or 4 songs again and again and again.
There was something different about this.
The first time we went to a Vineyard event we all stood up when asked to by the worship leader and sang the first song and then I sat down and quickly bounced up again as they carried on. Two songs in a row, that’s strange. But something was different.
I didn’t understand at the time but what I was experiencing for the first time was the presence of God as we sang songs to Him. We sang songs that gave thanks, that declared his greatness and wonders. We sang songs that told Him how we felt and that invited him to come into our lives and heal and rescue us.
As we sang, we sensed His Presence. And then we eventually learnt that where His presence is there is His power too. Power to forgive, to heal to restore. I didn’t understand all that at the time but I was transfixed and hooked.
This particular expression of worship – singing particular songs in a particular, contemporary way - helps people on their own, in small groups and large to engage with God, to know His presence and experience His power
The Vineyard has made a contribution to the church world-wide out of all proportion to its size. The Vineyard is only a small movement but our gift of worship music is gigantic.
Many of you will have been to Christian festivals this summer where music worship like this has been the dominant experience. You can visit any number of churches around Leeds who worship in a similar way. There are countless Christian song writers out there recording hundreds of songs – some very, very good ones. There are even Grammy awards. Matt Redman won two Grammies for 10,000 Reasons this year.
So we’ve come a long way.
Alison and I joined the Vineyard and have loved to worship like that ever since. The Vineyard will always be a worshipping church. And this will always be the way we worship. Of course we will do things in creative and different ways – partly dictated by resources and skills that God gives us – but we will always use contemporary music to help us approach God and reach intimacy with Him, inviting and expecting His presence and His power.
We are a worshipping church
From October we will be meeting in Headingley, and our theme for this year is Making Headingley Our Home. So I want to invite you to commit to making the Vineyard a worshipping church in Headingley.
1. It will feel different – timings, venue, new people
2. A venue in which Jesus has been worshipped for 168 years
3. Space to grow
4. Community to invite in
5. Community into which His presence and power can go out
Are you a worshipper?
When I look around the room I see people approaching worship in many different ways. It applies in a small group setting too – and indeed if you spend time on your own in worship.
You are all invited to join in with worship. But are you staying in the stands or are you joining in the game? Because you disqualify yourself at the outset?
· I am not in the right frame of mind
· I don’t like this style of music
· The band at Soul Survivor were better than ours
· God won't be listening to me.
· I’m not good enough – if these people only knew what I was really like.
· I come from the wrong part of town.
· I’m not educated enough.
· I’m too educated.
· I’m not sure I can sing these words
· I don’t need to worship God – I’m pretty important already. Curtsey for the queen.
Let's turn to the bible and see what it says about worshippers.
Psalms is a songbook, an ancient hymn book. It captures the essence of some authentic God encounters. Gives us clues as to the different sorts of people who come to worship.
Psalm 25 - the repentant sinner
1. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Worship is much harder when we are behaving badly. Sin takes our eyes off Jesus. Sin focuses our gaze on other idols.
· When we are looking at porn and our mind is full of deplorable images.
· When we are treating people badly and our spirit is full of vindictiveness and anger.
· When we are using money poorly and our identity gets wrapped up in things rather than our relationship with God.
· When we become obsessed with ourselves.
Sin doesn’t mean we are forbidden from worship, on the contrary, we are all sinners and we throw ourselves at the feet of a merciful, forgiving God.
But the effect of sin is to entice us away from Him, making it difficult to look at a holy and pure God. Although he waits, reaches out to us with open arms.
But when we confess, repent and receive forgiveness we can turn and find Him waiting just there. And we give Him thanks and praise for what He has done and who He is.
The repentant sinner is a worshiper.
Psalm 107 - the distressed, the down and out are worshippers
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.20 He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 22 Let them sacrifice thank-offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
It is a formula that is repeated 5 times:
1. Describes the distressed: lost, hungry, thirsty, dying, depressed, in prison, rebellious, in danger, oppressed, sorrowful.
2. They cried to the Lord and he healed and rescued them.
3. They give thanks and praise.
As the old blues song goes, "Nobody knows you when you are down and out."
Except that God knows and he specifically invites the down and outers.
Because they are invited to the banquet they are now ex-down and outers and are worshippers instead. So if you feel down and out, distressed, you are invited too.
The distressed, the down and out, are worshippers.
Psalm 22:27-29 - the rich and powerful are worshippers
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. 29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
All, all, all – a usurping of the current order. Those who currently have power or wealth will worship.
It’s true to say that compared to much of the rest of the world most of us are rich and powerful. But we have learnt that there is One who is greater. Worthy of our worship.
There are those who expect to be worshipped. Those who may be tempted to think they don't need God.
But one day ALL will worship - alongside all the rest of creation.
The rich and powerful are worshippers.
Psalm 25:14 - friends of God are worshippers
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
God does not confide in his slaves but his friends. A friendship relationship is one of trust and intimacy. As we worship God we can hear him saying, "Come as you are, friend, let me help you, let's talk."
The appropriate response to the King of the universe is fear and awe. But, extraordinary as may sound, as we kneel in fear and awe, our worship takes us into His confidence. God reaches out and says, “let’s be friends”.
Friends of God are worshippers.
Psalm 22:22-23 - the family of God are worshippers
22 I will declare your name to my people (my brothers and sisters); in the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honour him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
When we turn to follow Jesus, the bible tells us that we become sons and daughters of God. We have a new set of brothers and sisters. This is a description of the family of God joining together to praise him.
There’s an awful article in Christianity about the gadget church of the future where, although we may be sitting next to other people, we each get to select our own favourite worship experience.
Meeting together in the big group like this and in the smaller setting of a housegroup, with our brothers and sisters, is a critical part of learning to follow Jesus. It is the part in which we share what we believe, our sorrow and our joy with each other. God has placed us in a family; there is no concept in the bible of the solo Christian, the “only child”.
When there is a large group of us together it is not possible for everyone to speak and share their story but we
can all sing songs together which help us put words to what we have been through in the previous week.
The family of God are worshippers.
Psalm 132:8-10 the worship leaders are the lead worshippers
“Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. 9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy.”’
This is about the priests getting ready to encourage the people to worship and love God. The priests were one big worship band.
This is what our worship bands do. They pray and discern what God is doing amongst His people and then they rehearse and prepare and lead us into worship. Sometimes there is room for other contributions and spontaneity, at other times there isn’t.
But my instruction to our worship leaders is to “lead us into the presence of Jesus”. Because they go ahead of us we can call them lead worshippers too.
Worship leaders are the lead worshippers.
We are a worshipping church
On your own, in your housegroup, at weekly worship - you are invited and welcome to worship.
The repentant sinner, the distressed, the rich and powerful, the friend of God, the family of God, the lead worshippers – you are all invited to worship, to use the music and songs and the occasion of being amongst others declaring the same things, to worship.
Psalm 22:27-29 (Message translation)
From the four corners of the earth people are coming to their senses, are running back to God. Long-lost families are falling on their faces before him. God has taken charge; from now on he has the last word.
We seek to make this possible here, in Headingley and one day it will come fully come to pass for the whole earth when Jesus returns and we have a new heaven and a new earth. For now let us worship our God, the one who saves and forgives, the creator who restores us to Himself. And as we worship Him let us share with each other as we worship together.