Do You See Below the Surface?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the nature, context and actions we call worship to discover that we can be doing worship type things, like singing hymns and listening to sermons and giving at the offering, and even taking communion, but still not enter into the place of worshipping God. We can be feeding our need for Jesus with something that looks good on the surface but does not have the Spirit of Holy worship deeper down at its core. Friends, worship is not to be primarily directed at sinners who need to be converted or people in the pews that expect to be entertained. If we really want to gather together in worship to be met by the God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, the One who sustains and redeems our lives, we must move into a powerful inner experience. Do You See
Below the Surface?
Scripture: One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him–that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 7:36-50 (NRSV)
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:6-15 (NRSV)
Message: I am in what we call “worship” just about every Sunday morning. But what I am discovering is that the place of worship and the acts and order of worship, are not as important as our response to them. The essence of worship is ultimately a response of the heart…our heart crying out after the heart of God. Worship is not only knowing about God but hungering for God’s inspiration…pouring out our spirit in truth. In today’s scripture from the Gospel of Luke we see an example of worship that is a manifestation of God’s glory, for in it we see the presence, price and prize of worship that must be uncovered. When we look a little deeper we begin to understand that seeing it in scripture and having it manifested in our lives can be two separate events. It is here I think we are to discover that worship is not confined to a place with particular actions ordered in a way to make them pleasing to God but the process of revealed truth in the presence of love, humility, repentance and reverence below the surface. Friends, in Christ is the focal point of the meaning of life and that extends beyond worship on Sundays into the very roots of our existence. And then here out in the world, as Christians, we wonder if our roots in Christ go deep enough, for we sense we should do more and be more. But the reality is that millions upon millions of believers live their lives in complete obscurity. Hardly anyone knows them and few know their names. They live quite lives out of the limelight. And so this morning I was wondering what the Apostle Paul would have to say and the interesting thing is that in the letter to the Colossians he addresses this issue about not needing to be some kind of a superstar but instead finding our roots in Christ and gradually growing. Friends, the deal is that we have Jesus and the encouraging words from Paul is that Jesus is enough because Jesus births in us the Christian mind and the Christian life and a Christian power that works in us below the surface and in our communities often unseen like salt in a stew. Friends, Christians make all the difference in the world even though the world hardly see us.
Pray we worship in spirit and truth. Pray we have the right attitude. Pray we have a broken and contrite heart that longs for God’s presence. Pray we understand the price and the prize. Pray we are more interested in the debtor than the debt. Pray we are not only interested in outward appearances but inward ones as well. Pray we honor God by worshipping at the feet of Jesus washing his and others feet. Pray that we are more interested in the giver than the gift. Pray that in our worship we are a blessing to Jesus. Pray we worship in the faith, joy and power of knowing that Christ, our Redeemer, lives. Pray that the more forgiveness we experience the more we want to love Jesus and all His sheep. Pray that we look beyond the outward appearance of both place and people to discover the purpose of worship in growing our love for Christ and others. Pray we not just scratch the surface of the Christian faith but experience a deeper faith that quietly and patiently shifts the balance of power. Pray we encourage others because below the surface we are always worshipping God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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