"Worship Again?"

  I've been doing a lot of reading from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. I came across some interesting things about worship from this and we miss today in our "modern" modes. One thing began to stand out was God's instruction about sacrifice and the priesthood. God makes it clear that worship is something God crafted, shaped and initiated. In other words, worship is really God's idea and once understood it creates within the saved an almost instinctive motivation because of salvation.

  In Christ Jesus, we are all priests according to Peter (I Pet. 2:9-10). Priests are called to proclaim the excellencies of God! Therefore, worship is about God! Not about a performance of man or things orchestrated by man but hearts engaged upward to God that proclaim the greatness of God.

  In reading under the OT and their tabernacle worship, we find several things that might need to be re-visited to get a point, not the practice under that covenant. The first thing you find is that worship was and should always be addressed to God. If more preachers, those leading recognized they were standing before God, not the people, it would shape how things are approached. Under the OT offerings, the slaying of the animals and the cutting and dividing the parts were done for God exclusively. It was all about communing with God

  Worship was the recognition and foundation for the graciousness of God. The priests were called to keep alive the memory of the great events God had done to redeem Israel from slavery. Worship reminded Israel and gave each generation the opportunity to bring themselves under the grace provided by God toward them. We too, under Christ Jesus, have a greater reason to see the graciousness of God toward us who believe.

  Worship was the personal response of gratitude and commitment to Jehovah God who was their Redeemer and Lord. When the worshiper brought their basket of first fruits, they came thanking God out of a heart that was AWARE and grateful. (You can see this in Deut. 26.) They truly saw God as the source of their blessings and brought that offering with that heart and mind-set. Today, what do we see in our giving? From our first fruits? How much thought is really given in regard to gratitude and commitment?

  Worship was an offering of the individual that was given to God that represented the worshiper! When one looks at the sacrifices, an animal died in the place of the worshiper which meant the worshiper was representing himself to God. There stood the worshiper with a spotless sacrifice in their place as a confession before God and was wanting to offer their whole back to God. The confession was giving all that belonged to God from the worshiper. What do we miss today in offering ourselves back as a living and holy sacrifice (Rom. 12:1)?

  Finally, worship was about holiness. The worshiper wasn't just strolling up to the tabernacle or in the temple just to say "Hi" God! There was a seriousness about God's holiness and the worshiper knew the holy difference between God and themselves. It brings about an awe struck sense that a holy God communes with man cleansed through the blood of the sacrifice. How many of us think in terms of holiness and holy living (I Pet. 1:14-16)? Shouldn't holiness be what we strive for in our worship and daily living before God?

  Why do you worship? I mean really, why do you worship? Don't tell yourself 'canned' answers! What's going on in your heart and why do you assemble with the saints to worship?