Jump Start # 3716

Psalms 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”

We are just about to wrap up a year. We are down to just a few weeks left. Here we are busy working on all kinds of plans for next year. A new theme. New faces coming to preach to us. Planning summer activities, even though we are in the chilly days of December. At home, we preachers are busy pushing our current theme through to the end. Bringing the Best, has been looked about every way possible. Classes have talked about this. Sermons have hammered away at this. Guest speakers have talked about. And, as we get ready to turn the page to a new year and new theme, we are once more heavily talking about Bringing the Best.

In Leviticus 10, after the abrupt death of Nadab and Abihu for bringing strange fire before the Lord, God reminds Moses, “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy and before all the people I will be honored.” Later, when the nation was thirsty, Moses did more than speak to the rock to bring water, he struck the rock with Aaron’s rod and declared, “Shall we bring forth water for you.” God was angry with Moses because he had not treated the Lord as holy before the people.

And, to be honest, there are times when we have not given our best to the Lord. Haven’t we found our minds drifting off to la-la land during some sermons? We’d never want to admit that, but hasn’t that happened? We can point fingers to the preacher and declare that he was just boring that day, but it’s not all his fault. Especially here at the holiday time, when there is so much to do and so many things racing through our minds, it’s easy to mouth the words of a hymn and not really praise the Lord. It’s easy to toss the bread and juice in our mouths and give little thought to the amazing sacrifice our Lord gave for us. Bored, we check our email and texts during worship. Some have nodded off to sleep. Indeed, are we treating the Lord as holy when we fail to bring our best before Him?

Our verse today states, “I was glad when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” But, what about the times when I’m not so glad about that? Tired. Busy. Just feel like staying home, especially on those dark winter nights. They may have been times that we assembled out of guilt and not desire and passion. Assembling can become habit and lose the purpose and reason behind it.

So, what happens when we haven’t given our best? That was the topic of my sermon yesterday evening. God deserves the best. Bring the best, we have said. And, when I failed to do that???

Here are some thoughts for us:

First, unlike corrupt Judah in the book of Malachi, our intentions and motives are not evil and selfish, as they were. The nation had a serious faith problem. God was weary of their self righteous worship that accomplished nothing. Some go to church for every reason and any reason except for God. That’s a heart issue that needs to be fixed. Sitting in a pew doesn’t score you gold stars from Heaven, especially when your thoughts and heart are far from the Lord.

Especially on a Wednesday evening, when folks have worked all day and they are tired and beat up from the world, it’s easy to check out and not pay attention. Some are on their feet and on the go all day long. Sitting for any time puts them asleep. This is true at home, the movie theatre or the church building.

There are times when we have gone to church, as they say, but we haven’t worshipped. Not giving God our best ought to make us feel bad. It ought to bother us when our minds wander and we are bored during worship. If those experiences do not bother us, then we need to spend more time in God’s word. We need to understand the Lord and the nature of worship.

Two immediate things we ought to understand about worship. First, worship is something you give to the Lord. Our English word comes via the Latin, “worth-ship.” We are appraising value. If you want to know what your house is worth, you have it appraised. If you want to know what a diamond ring is worth, you get it appraised. In worship, we are saying, “What does God mean to me?” Worship is something you do. You are bringing a gift from your heart to the Lord. Worship is not like watching a movie on TV. You are not a spectator, but rather a participant. Second, our worship must not be defined or determined by someone else. This is a major problem for many of us. If the songs are sung slow. If the prayers drag. If the preaching is boring. We conclude, ‘What a waste of time this has been.’ But that spirit is saying I can only bring my best if others are doing their best. Your worship is not contingent upon how others conduct themselves in leading the congregation. You came for God. You came with a heart full of thankfulness.

Second, we need to ask God to forgive us when we have not treated God as holy. The solution is not finding a better song leader. That’s an external element. What you need to do is to change the way you approach God.

Third, make adjustments that will allow you to bring your best to the Lord. Preparation is the key. Psalms 100 was sung as people gathered to Jerusalem to worship. It was their “pre-game,” or “tailgate” routine of singing to ready themselves to come before the Lord.

If you have little ones in the home, get things ready Saturday evening so you don’t have to rush about on Sunday morning looking for shoes, Bibles and bookbags. Get to bed at a decent hour on Saturday evening. You are coming before the Lord in the morning. Tired. Stressed. Bothered. Worried. All those things will impact the way you worship. Begin Sunday by reading some verses. Sing some hymns as you head to the church building.

Don’t compare yourself with others. You can only do your best. But work hard at this. Don’t be satisfied with substandard hearts and spirits. And, the more you work at this, the more times you will leave worship, uplifted, encouraged and satisfied that on that day you gave the Lord your best.

These are things we all can chew on for a moment. Reflect. Consider. Do better.

Roger