Make Straight the Way of the Lord
“Prepare to Celebrate!”
September 8, 2013
(SLIDE) Sermon opens with a skit.
Imagine with me for a moment – perhaps close your eyes and let your imagination run with this narrative. You
sit in a folding beach chair and watch the sunrise over the ocean. Brilliant rays of light color the horizon.
The sound of gentle waves lapping the sand delights you as the cold ocean water washes over your toes.
A breeze caresses your cheek. You inhale the fresh salty air. Moment by moment the scene shifts and
changes. The sun bursts into sight. Seagulls dip and call. Waves crest and roll away. Your heart fills.
Your mouth opens. You feel like singing. You feel like saying, “Thank you.” You feel like worshiping,
celebrating the wonder of the moment. (“Why Church?)
Certainly, we’ve all had moments like that – some may be very fresh from your summer travel experiences it might have been another location – a woodland walk, a hike in the mountains. We just have this inherent
need to worship – to have that transcendent experience that brings you close to God. (SLIDE) Rick Warren in
his book “The Purpose-Driven Life” writes: “Anthropologists have noted that worship is a universal urge,
hard-wired by God into the very fiber of our being – an inbuilt need to connect with God. Worship is as
natural as eating and breathing. If we fail to worship God, we always find a substitute, even if it ends up
being ourselves.”
Worship / celebration(I’m using the words today as synonyms) were very much a part of the biblical story of
faith. Early on, God’s chosen, the Israelites, were directed and moved to celebrate various feasts and festivals.
(SLIDE) When I think of King David, I think of a king who knew what worship and celebration are all about.
In 1 Chronicles 15-17 we hear the detailed story of the big party David hosted when he had the ark of God
brought into Jerusalem. He gathered all the people of Israel, the priests, and even the musicians. 1 Chronicles
15:16 – “David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint brothers as singers to sing joyful songs,
accompanied by musical instruments, lyres, harps and cymbals. This was a big celebration, and David
famously, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the city, danced and celebrated. And you can hear his
words of celebration in his Psalm of Thanks in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (read just 8-13) –
Give praise to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.12 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
13 O descendents of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
(SLIDE) It’s no surprise then that the early Christians felt a compelling need to worship God for what He had
done through Jesus Christ. As reported in Acts 2, they made it a daily discipline to worship in the Temple
courts and share in joyous meals together – all the while praising God.
Worship is no less important today – the motivation to worship and celebrate God hasn’t changed – and though
the way we worship has changed over many centuries, our compelling need to worship has never changed.
There are also many benefits of worship – and those benefits have never changed as well (borrowed from “Why
Church” for National Back to Church Sunday, 2013) (SLIDE):
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Worship reorients the mind, heart, and life. Isaiah found that out when he was worshiping in the
temple, and he heard the voice of God. He was humbled, changed, and given a new direction. True
worship can certainly do that to anyone.
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Worship chases away fear, doubt, worry, and selfishness. King Saul was a tormented man, but
whenever David, who was a true worshiper, played his harp, Saul found relief – and he would feel
better, and scripture says the evil spirit would leave him. When we immerse ourselves in worship, we
take the focus off of us and our troubles - and put it on God. In this regard, corporate worship is
especially important.
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Worship provides an outlet for gratitude. English painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti said that
the worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank! In David’s
Psalm from 1 Chronicles 16, you hear David’s gratitude to God over and over again – worship was his
forum for thanking God, and should be ours as well.
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Worship attunes your heart to the voice of God. You may recall the prophet Samuel was in the house
of the Lord when he first heard God’s voice – he lived and slept there – and with the help of Eli the
priest he was able to hear and obey God’s voice. We may not always hear God speaking to us directly
and clearly – we always have doubts with a little bit of confusion, but one thing for sure, without
worship, you really have no chance to hear His voice – seems to me, if you want to get close to God,
you worship Him.
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Worship opens the door to the supernatural. We see this lived out in the lives of the Israelites – think
about the crossing into the Promised Land – they put the priests and the ark of the covenant at the front,
and the waters of the Jordan parted. To see God at work, God healing and God delivering, worship
Him.
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Worship sows seeds of joy in your life. Psalms tell us “the righteous are glad and rejoice in God’s
presence – they are happy and shout for joy.” I’ve seen it right here in this place – when we all join in
song and prayer and study, there’s often a joy that we can never experience anywhere else but in
worship.
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Worship promotes unity. I can remember the first time I went to a Promise Keepers stadium event in
DC - it was amazing hearing the voices of thousands of men from every sector of life joining together in
worship. It was mind-blowing and powerful in so many ways. Worship can break down a lot of
barriers, cross many lines.
(SLIDE) You often hear the words – “worship is a lifestyle” – and that’s so true. We can not only worship and
celebrate our faith and salvation on a Sunday morning with others, but we can and should worship in private
moments – inspiring moments as well – we are after all called to offer up our bodies as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God – that is our spiritual act of worship. But there’s something special about corporate
worship – something empowering you can never really get by yourself. Think of David, a man after God’s own
heart – he worshiped in the morning, in the night, in caves and palaces, but he also knew the power and
necessity of corporate worship.:
Psalm 5:7
But I, by your great love, can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.
Psalm 22:22, 25
I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you….
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
Psalm 111:1
Praise the LORD.
I will extol the LORD with all my heart
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
It’s clear that David understood the importance in worshiping and celebrating God individually, but also saw
the power and importance of corporate celebration. I’m sure David saw it as making straight the way of the
Lord to the heart of his people – to clear the way into God’s presence. You see that’s what the corporate
worship we do here every week is really all about – those of us who prepare each Sunday’s worship service
have that as our goal – to help disciples experience the presence of God – to make the way clear for God to
enter the human heart – and when we do it successfully, we enhance all those benefits I mentioned.
(SLIDE) I want to get on a very practical level with you. Worship and godly celebration are not about
showcasing talent or entertaining. However, let’s be honest, the line between true worship and celebrity /
entertainment is pretty blurred. I get inspired by talented musicians – I sometimes might even feel like I’m in
the presence of God when I hear a beautiful song done by a talented musician. Many of us do listen to music on
our radios – I like to listen to inspiring music when I write sermons. I am inspired by gifted speakers. I might
call all those experiences worship – and maybe they are in a sense – but it’s pretty passive. There’s also lot of
pressure on church leaders these days to showcase talent and entertain. Everybody wants to be a celebrity
(consider all the reality TV shows these days) – and church has become more of a consumer experience – if
you’ve got comfortable facilities, good music, Billy Graham / Andy Stanley-like preaching – I’ll there. I know
that every Sunday someone is making a comparison – we’re so heavily influenced by the glamour of all the
amazing concerts we attend, the grand stages and all the bells and whistles, that’s what we’ve come to expect on
Sunday morning - and but many church worship services don’t often live up to those expectations.
But I don’t think that’s what God had in mind when it comes to worship – He doesn’t care about all the glitz
and glamour – all those bells and whistles, the grand cathedrals, the fancy buildings and fancy presentations –
those are mankind’s idea of worship – inventions of men. What God is really concerned about is the heart –
you see, true worship is really about being engaged in worship – being involved – developing a heart on fire
for God. It means coming to a worship service prepared to participate – to participate, to actively listen, to
anticipate being in the presence of God. We are so prone to think of Sunday morning as a time to see friends,
sing a few nice songs (or hear others sing those songs), hear a talk that might encourage me, talk to a few
friends afterward, and then leave – box checked – I’m good! But it’s meant to be so much more than that.
Our goal on a Sunday morning is to create a worship experience that will remove the obstacles, clear the way,
and move people into the presence of God. Although some may think at times that we’re trying to showcase
talent or entertain, those are not goals we’re intentionally reaching for – our goal is to engage people in the
worship, to inspire people to participate – that they might experience the presence of God. We want to do that
with excellence so we try to do our best for God with a healthy dose of humility. But all of us up on this stage
on any given Sunday know that it’s not all our responsibility to make all that happen. It requires your
participation. I practice my sermon in an empty auditorium; the praise team rehearses each week with a nearly
empty room – I would say and all our musicians would say it’s just not the same as having a room full of
people. When people are here singing, actively listening, engaged in all that’s going on, true worship and
celebration are happening. That’s often how we judge the success of a worship service – the reaction and
involvement of the people in the audience. You all have a responsibility, a role to play, in being in the presence
of God and bringing others into the presence of God.
All of this is why CELEBRATION is at the heart and soul of what we do and why we do it – it is the
motivation for connecting others to God and contributing to our community.
(SLIDE) I’m close today by going back to Psalm 111 – I quoted the first verse previously – but now hear the
whole Psalm from the New Living Translation:
Praise the LORD!
I will thank the LORD with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
2 How amazing are the deeds of the LORD!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our LORD!
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.
6 He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
7 All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
9 He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
10 Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
Praise him forever!