I''m pretty proud of my garden so I told God I could grow potatoes and tomatoes as well as He could. He asked "Without my help?" "Of course", said I! God said "This, I gotta see! Let''s each plant a garden and we''ll just see who grows the best without the help of the other one." "Fine, You''re on!" said I, and I began to dig in the ground and plant seeds.
"Whoa there fella", said God. "You go make your own dirt, formulate your own water, and create your own seeds. We''re doing this from scratch remember. Show me what you can do without God!"
The Breton Fisherman’s Prayer: “Oh God, Thy sea is so great and my boat is so small…”
Psalm 8:3,4 “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
Did we draw a single breath today that was not ordained by God? Yet we think His work requires us. Did we do a single eternal thing today? Yet we think we can impress God with our works? No, but we can worship.
God did not make us out of a need but out of His excess. God, complete in His own being, creates, I believe, life out of love, simply to see it grow; then gives it glory in His presence.
In the light of all eternity what are we…yet He loves us. In regards to His Kingdom what are we if not worshippers? If, after all we know and experience about God, we are not worshippers, what are we to Him? God is not vain that He needs praise, but He is perfect and perfection deserves worship.
Worship isn’t always dancing in the isles or waving your hands in the air or being moved by the lyrics of a song, worship may be best, in fact, when the music stops and His Word continues playing on your heart. Worship happens in the grip of His sovereign will.
It’s built into us – it’s intrinsic in our nature to worship. We envy or admire everyone who is great at what we love. If we love righteousness we will worship God because He is righteous. If we love justice we will worship God for He is Just. We do this for our celebrities and athletes why not a perfect, Creator God?
A.W. Tozer said “God meant that a convert should learn to be a worshipper, and after that he can learn to be a worker… The work done by a worshipper will have eternity in it.”
Tozer described worship this way, “…to be filled with moral excitement; to be captivated and charmed and entranced with who God is, and struck with astonishing wonder at the inconceivable elevation and magnitude and splendor of Almighty God….To love God with fear and wonder and yearning and awe. At times this will lead to breathless silence.”
“…breathless silence”- Worship music is great but God is best worshipped in deep thought and purpose and decision. The mind numbing effects of repetitive song lyrics, chants, and lightshows create a dangerous atmosphere for other spirits. Emotion may knock you to your knees but true worship begins with understanding and knowledge.
Jesus said He could raise up stones to be children of Abraham. Jesus also said that if the people did not celebrate the stones themselves would cry out. Who are we but a little lower than the angels and a little higher than the stones. I can be replaced by a rock! Or I can bow down and worship the Savior who is worthy of Honor and Glory.
You think you want to go to heaven? That’s what they do in Heaven, worship God.
Isaiah 6:1-3 “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims…And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
God knows worship. C S Lewis once said that if God encountered a being more righteous than Himself He would bow down and worship it. Of course that’s not possible but it relates the message that God’s Holy perfection is worthy of worship. He desires that we share with Him in the Worship of righteousness, but if we don’t do it the rocks will.