03

Jump Start # 3419

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3419

Psalms 119:97 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

The other day we were in Nashville, Tennessee at the old Ryman Theater to catch a show. It was Ringo’s Allstar band. We had great seats and the show was incredible. Ringo is one of only two remaining Beatles. The Ryman Theater is an old church building built in the late 1890s. Gospel preacher, N.B. Hardeman held a series of lectures at the Ryman, starting in 1922 with an audience numbering in the thousands. Little has changed to the seating of the Ryman. The original pews are wood and old. There are no pads on the seats. They sit hard. They are not the most comfortable seats. Yet, the other night, for more than two hours, the people sat and enjoyed Ringo and his friends.

I was thinking later on, had we had two hours of preaching instead of two hours of Ringo, many would have complained. There would have been a cry to pad the pews and to make the seating more comfortable. And, why is it that two hours of a movie, a ballgame or a concert, even in hard seats isn’t so bad, but a thirty minute sermon, while sitting in an air conditioned room, with soft seats pushes our limits. Maybe it’s not the nature of the pew, but the nature of us.

When I first started preaching I was told, “The mind can only endure what the seat can.” But put that seat in the hot sun at a ballgame, and we’re ok. Put that seat in an old wood pew at the Ryman and put Ringo on stage and we’re ok. Maybe the mind shouldn’t be governed by the seat, but rather, the other way around. Maybe if our minds enjoyed the moment more, the seat wouldn’t bother us.

In our verse today, the Psalmist is praising God’s word. “O how I love Your law.” We read that and think of Philippians, or the Psalms, or especially the Gospels. Those mighty miracles. That compassionate Savior. But that’s not the law that the writer had in mind. The law of Psalms 119 would have included Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—those dreaded books that we struggle to finish reading. That was his law. And that is what he loved.

Some thoughts for us

First, the Psalmist loved the law because it came from God. The Bible is God talking to us. It is His heart revealed. It is His love displayed for us. The God of the universe reaches out to us. How amazing. How wonderful that is.

Second, he loved it because God was revealing a way to walk with Him and know Him. God cared. God wanted His people to be righteous and holy. His law was a way to get there. Rather than leaving His people in the dark, God came. God revealed. God spoke. That law could be understood and it could be followed.

Third, he loved it because this is the greatest thing he could ever put his hands on and ever read. More important than textbooks from school. More important than ways to invest and save money. God’s word touched the heart, the character and the soul of man. Nothing will do more for us than God’s word.

So, in our short attention spanned culture, what can be done to help us get the most out of worship? We can only make the pews so comfortable. What can we do to make the seat endure more?

First, focus upon not yourself, the atmosphere, or the setting, but upon the Lord. I have been in church buildings that reeked of mold. I’ve been in places that you could write your name in the dust. I’ve been in fancy places and new places. The settings isn’t it. It’s the Lord that we thnk about. Remember, in Nehemiah, as the word of the Lord was being read, the people stood. They stood most of the day.

Second, open your heart to the goodness of the Lord. Prayers answered. Blessings sent. Forgiveness offered. God has been so good to us. How can a little inconvenience get in the way when one has his mind upon the Lord.

Third, worship is much more than watching someone entertain you. Worship involves you. You participate. It involves your heart, your mind and your soul. And, the more you pour into worship, the more exhausting it is, but the more connected and wonderful it is. One doesn’t mind hard pews. One doesn’t notice mold. One doesn’t worry about dim lighting. It’s the Lord and that’s what pulls one in.

Ringo was good, but the Lord is the BEST.

Roger

02

Jump Start # 3418

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3418

Exodus 32:6 “So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

Our passage today comes from the time when Israel, led by Aaron, worshipped a golden calf, an idol. Moses was on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments and the people were in the valley violating the Ten Commandments. The gold for the idol was donated by the people. They seemed to be willing and happy to do this. And, as our verse begins, the next day, the nation rose early. There seems to be a sense of anticipation, excitement and joy. However, they were not worshipping as the Lord wanted. The Lord was angry. He says the people have corrupted themselves. The Lord was ready to wipe the people out. He was done with them.

Such a strong reminder about honoring the Lord the way He desires. I saw a quote recently in which a person said that he would rather worship incorrectly with passion than to worship correctly without passion. In essence what was said that it is better to worship in error with an atmosphere of joy and passion than to worship correctly in a lifeless service.

That statement ought to bother us. It bothers me. It seems that some are saying that spirit is more important than truth.

Here are a few thoughts for us:

First, why does it have to be one or the other? Why can’t God be worshipped accurately in a spirit of passion and joy? Settling for second place or the consolation prize is not a good offer. We ought to strive for excellence in worship. The size of the congregation doesn’t matter. I’ve been in some very small crowds, but the heart felt prayers, passionate peaching and enthusiastic singing was amazing.

Second, why do we allow others to determine the temperature of our worship? So someone is not singing. You sing. So someone says the same words in every prayer he leads. You pray from your heart. So the preaching is dry and dull, you work with those thoughts and make a good lesson on paper. The problem with things such as instrumental music, aside from it is not part of the N.T. worship, is that it pulls everyone in together and if someone doesn’t agree, there aren’t many other options. Selling out of truth for passion is never a good deal. When you are worshipping from the heart, you don’t have to have others determine the temperature of your heart.

Third, wrong can never be right. What if Cain’s offering was more passionate than Abel’s? Would that make it better? Would that make it right? Here in our passage, the people are donating gold, rising early, playing and it has the sense that everyone was excited about these things. I don’t see someone say, “Do we have to go to worship.” Error appeals to many people because it is dressed up as fun. It introduces itself as exciting and new, unique and different. But what is not part of God’s word cannot be painted up in such a way that it becomes attractive to God. Wrong is always wrong. Wrong can never be right. Here in our passage, the Lord was finished with these people. God was commanding and they were violating. Just destroy them, wipe them out is what the Lord thought.

We need to stop trying to figure out a way to make something wrong right. If it is not according to God’s will, it will never be right. Compromising, going half way, is not the direction to travel, not if you are wanting to walk with the Lord.

Fourth, when our emotions get behind the wheel, we often leave what God says. What we like. How we feel. How exciting it is. How new it is. How refreshing it is. All those expressions are enough for many to run off and dance with the devil. The pied piper plays his tune  and clueless folks join in the song, seeing nothing wrong. Our hearts must be governed by our heads. God’s word must set the tone for all of our worship. Buy truth and don’t sell it, is what we find in the Bible.

Eating…drinking…dancing—great times. Fun times. But they weren’t Biblical times. Worshipping incorrectly with passion is not an option. It shouldn’t be a choice. We must work on giving God our best as we follow Him.

Truth and spirit—those are not choices. It’s not one or the other. It’s time to step things up and realize that we are coming before the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

Roger