I love to worship. It is one of my most enjoyable things to do. However, worship was not always something I enjoyed doing. When I say worship I mean child-like worship. Worshiping with complete abandonment. Years ago I would come into worship with my checklists, my agendas, and my do’s and don’t so I would feel comfortable and in control in my times of worship. But with all that going on in my mind I was not really worshiping, I was posturing. “Everyone, Look at how holy I am.” “Look God, I have my hands raised and I’m even rocking back and forth.”
”Look Pastor, there’s a tear.“
There was no glory, no honor, no humility, no sincerity, and no sacrifice in my worship. As a result, there was barrenness in my spirit. It was all about me, my image, my title, what I thought I knew, and what I felt comfortable doing in worship.
In 2003 I attended a conference where the presence of God fell and the place just went wild. When I say wild I mean 5,500 people came unglued in the presence of the Lord. People were dancing, spinning, jumping, shouting, screaming, whaling, sobbing, and laid out on the floor faces buried in the carpet. I stood there doing my worship posturing while I criticized it in my heart “This is all emotionalism. I do not need to do any of this to worship God. I worship God in my own way. This is only bringing attention to themselves. God is a God of order not chaos like this nonsense” I was so outraged I almost left. After worship, Juanita Bynum spoke a message regarding the worship we had just experienced that changed my whole perspective and attitude I worship with. She read from the following 2 passages of scripture and Her words cut me so deeply that It was like a bomb was placed in the middle of the worship house I had built and blew it to smithereens.
She read from Matthew 18: 1-5 and 2 Samuel 6: 12-23
In Matthew, the disciples came to Jesus with their checklists and posturing before Jesus asking Him, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
Have you ever sat back and watched 4, 5, and 6-year-olds play after church? They don’t care about anything but playing. Their hair is a mess, their church clothes are covered in dirt and dust, and they are sweaty, sticky, and a little smelly. They climb on furniture, under chairs, on the platform, running around and around screaming and laughing the entire time. They have no clue as to who is around them or what is going on nor do they care. The only thing on their mind is I MUST PLAY! There are no checklists, agendas, or do’s and don’ts. It’s playing at full throttle, they go as hard and as fast as their little legs can take them.
In 2 Samuel 6: 12-23 we see a perfect example of this child-like worship with David. For many years the Ark of God, which at that time was the dwelling place of the presence of God, was residing outside of Isreal and was placed in the house of Obed-Edom. There is a whole story about why the Ark of God was in Obed-Edom's house, but David and a whole host of people went to get the Ark because David longed for and missed the presence of the Lord. See one thing I failed to realize until this message was preached was that while David was an adult and had many adult responsibilities including ruling an entire Kingdom, He continuously cultivated his child like heart when it came to the presence of God.
While bringing back the Ark to Israel David worshiped God like a child, he worshiped God like you see the children playing after church. In verse 16 it says “and David worshiped with all his might before the Lord.” David craved and was so passionate about the presence of the Lord that He offered his body, stature, and dignity as a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. David worshiped with such abandonment and was so undignified as he worshiped that His wife Michal was filled with contempt and was ashamed of the passion and childish abandonment with which David worshiped. Davids’ response to his wife basically told her that His worship was not about her, her title, her position, or even about himself but instead it was all unto God. He did not care about what he looked like, and that next time he would become even more foolish and humiliating than what she had just witnessed.
2 Samuel 6: 21-22 (KJV) 22“David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. 22Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!” 23So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.
Have you ever watched someone worship with all their might? At times they look completely idiotic. Arms flailing all over, jumping, spinning, twirling, laughing, smiling with no care in the world or regard for who is around them. For so many years I was like “It does not require all that. I can worship in whatever way I am comfortable”. However, there is no place in the Word of God where it talks about us worshiping in a way that is comfortable for us. In Matthew 18:3 (KJV) Jesus says “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Our uninhibited childlike worship of Him must be a sacrifice of praise to Him and with any sacrifice, it has to cost us something. In worship, our sacrifice will cost us our dignity, comfort, and a surrender of our will to lay everything we are on the altar before God. The "sacrifice of praise" comes from a childlike heart that has been purified by fire. It rises from the altar that has chosen to honor God in spite of how we feel or what we think it should look like.
So the next time you are in worship white-knuckling the chair in front of you or doing the arms lifted comfortable sway ask yourself, “Am I truly offering Him a sacrifice?” “Is my worship costing me anything, or am I just posturing?“ “Am I worshiping with childlike abandonment and giving my all to Him?
Like children at play, the only thing on our minds should be I MUST WORSHIP HIM. If you find that you are posturing or have become comfortable your in worship, it’s time to look to the children running around the sanctuary for advice. Those children at play have the foundation of worship God wants us to start with, build on, and never ever lose.
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