"Knowing Jesus" (Philippians 3:7-14)

Testimonies

Last week we talked about the necessity of NOT excluding Jesus from our lives, especially our life together in the church. We have to guard against being “lukewarm”, which would in effect keep Jesus outside the door. One thing we have to say about Jesus, is that he was fully and completely committed to his mission on earth. So we know that Jesus will draw close to anyone and any church … which is sincerely open to however Jesus wants to lead us.

From welcoming Jesus into our presence, where we begin the process of salvation, we need to get to “know” Jesus. We need Jesus not only to be our Saviour and inspiration (which can happen somewhat remotely), but also our friend and companion. When Jesus, in his earthly ministry, called his disciples, he then insisted that they spent time with him and learnt from him. When he would send them out on mission, they would need to return to him to report how they went (and receive further insight and encouragement).

These disciples, if they were to follow Jesus effectively, would need to leave behind everything that would potentially get in the way. We have many incidents recorded in the Gospels, where people disqualified themselves from service, because they just had to do other things first (e.g. Luke 9:57-62), or just could NOT put aside something they were giving undue priority to (i.e. the rich young ruler). This would have been so disappointing to Jesus, as these people had no doubt much potential for the Kingdom.

I spent many years welcoming Jesus, often with enthusiasm, but also with occasional periods of ‘lukewarmness’. I was happy to somewhat remotely accept what Jesus had done for me. I was even baptised. I was a youth leader. And, because of words of trusted people into my life, there was this strong sense of calling upon me. But my foundation was still pretty shaky. A bit of a dilemma. Where do you go with that?

We need to come to the realisation that the atoning work of Jesus AND THE PERSON OF JESUS go together (inseparably joined)! It was when I met the person of Jesus, especially as presented in the Gospels, NOT just the idea of Jesus, that I started to get solidly on the right track. We will have to “know” Jesus, if we are going to complete the course!

Joe Stowell wrote this in Our Daily Bread: I had the privilege of sitting next to Billy Graham at a dinner. I asked him what he loved most about his ministry – was it knowing presidents, kings and queens, or preaching the gospel to millions of people around the world? Before I had finished offering suggestions, Rev Graham stopped me. Without hesitation he said, “It has been my fellowship with Jesus; to sense His presence, to glean His wisdom, to have Him guide and direct me – that has been my greatest joy”.

Scripture

We have to come to “know” Jesus! There are, I think, two ways of achieving this – and they go hand-in-hand. The first is … to study the life of Jesus, and let his life and teaching go deep within us. At the same time, because of our various resistances, experiences of life and fears, we need to be open to the Holy Spirit weaving through our life … to defeat negativities and open places for Jesus to dwell. We need to prayerfully embrace the life of Jesus – what he stood for, and where his priorities lay – and allow all this to touch our lives deeply.

The apostle Paul, whose words we have read from Philippians chapter 3, did NOT lack for much, or so it would have appeared. Paul (or Saul, as he was previously known) was a respected and influential religious leader who had a definite mission to destroy the new Jesus movement. When he was confronted and called that day … by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he welcomed Jesus – accepting the truth of who Jesus was. Paul then abandoned his former agendas and associations. But, he would still have had to go through a further process of learning about who Jesus was (from the traditions spoken about him), at the same time as allowing the Holy Spirit to bring exceptional levels of understanding to him in a relatively short time.

Paul would also come to abandon his reliance on human performance (that would never actually gain him righteousness), and become fully open to God’s equipping and enablement. By the time Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi, he had come to understand (vs 7-9) that all of what he had gained in his former life, all his heritage and fame, paled into complete insignificance, when compared to simply “knowing” Jesus. And, anything else life could bring him now or in the future, also paled into complete insignificance, when weighed against the possibilities that came out of “knowing” Jesus.

Paul uses the phrase, “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”. This is like the insignificant stuff standing still, while the good things of Jesus speed forward! “Knowing” Jesus just plainly outstrips everything else – this is in a ‘class apart’ (R P Martin). Paul has studied hard and learned well: those others things have NO value and will NOT be missed! This includes all attempts to save ourselves, vindicate ourselves, defend ourselves, promote ourselves – because in the end, all that counts for us, in our broken state, is the mercy and forgiveness of God, which leads to an experience of the “righteousness” that only God can give.

This is the “righteousness” that cannot be achieved by ourselves, but only placed within us as we open ourselves to God’s grace. We can only be made “right” with God, by saying ‘yes’ to Jesus. Even decent religious practice can be regarded as “rubbish”, if this ignores “knowing” Jesus! If we continue to rely on our own strength, such that it is, we will continue to block (and leave no space for) how God wants to bless us. There can be NO rival to putting total trust in Jesus!

God works best through our admitted weakness. Paul says, in verse 10, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection”. Do we want to know the power of Christ’s resurrection? I do! And, I know, that I have experienced some of that, but there is certainly more to experience yet! We notice that Paul goes on to talk about pressing forward in this (v 12-14). Surely, to know the “power of Christ’s resurrection” is the epitome and the crowning glory of “knowing” Jesus! We need to consider what the “power of Christ’s resurrection” means, and then … how we get there.

Power

For me, the “power” of Christ’s resurrection, is the greatest “power” imaginable. This is the “power” that brought the dead back to life! One could imagine that this was level of “power” through which a universe was created out of nothing. This is the “power” that changes everything – e.g. those who are spiritually dead are made spiritually alive. One could do immensely useful things through this sort of “power”! So impacting is this “power”, that people should sense in us … the access that we have had to such “power” as this!

Yet, ironically, this “power” comes from drawing down into suffering (v 10b-11). This bit doesn’t fill me with so much excitement! Yet, as Paul well and truly discovered, there was a cost to following Jesus. And many persecuted Jesus-followers around the world could testify to the truth of this. Jesus only experienced the “power of resurrection” himself, because he was obedient unto death on a cross. Jesus sacrificed everything in the cause of people being able to find freedom in a relationship with God. The cross was the ultimate act of self-giving love.

To be raised up, we need to lower ourselves in humility. To experience the “power of Christ’s resurrection”, we need to embrace the suffering servant nature of Jesus’ life and ministry. Paul already expressed this beautifully (in this letter) in chapter 2:5-11. In this sense, Jesus came NOT to be served but to serve, and that is his call to us (Mark 10:45). Lest this “power” ever build pride, or any sort of excessive triumphalism, we are reminded that its source is found in torturous death. So, experiencing the “power of Christ’s resurrection” happens as we follow Jesus WHEREVER that takes us!

Progress

This is all a process … we don’t usually get there overnight. All the contradictions that could be noted in our lives, will take some time and effort to sort out. Coming to “know’ Jesus is an ongoing and progressive endeavour. It will likely take all our lives. Searching out and finding all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and applying them, is surely an ongoing process. Yet, we should still be able to say … that we “know” Jesus better today than yesterday. Also, this doesn’t, of course, happen in our own strength, but through allowing the Holy Spirit’s witness to Jesus … to work its way within us.

This is all a deeply prayerful and reflective endeavour. And, this DOES involve a determination NOT to get bogged down (v 13b). When we fail or backtrack momentarily, we should resolve to accept forgiveness, and remedy anything that has gone astray … especially in our relationships – rather than dally in negativity. Past ‘sins’, now forgiven, should NOT be allowed to impede our progress. Past mistakes are now there for us to learn the lessons necessary to go forward.

Also, we can sometimes feel regret for things left behind that were once alluring, and be tempted back; but we need to constantly remind ourselves of the “surpassing [riches] of knowing Jesus”. After all, we are heading toward that “prize” of the “heavenly call of God” (v 14), where the “conquerors” in life will share in the “throne” of Jesus (Rev 3:21) – so, it may be a good idea to get to “know” Jesus now! This is why Paul shares this phrase (in v 13b) … “straining forward to what lies ahead”. There is a real sense of effort conveyed here, yet effort that is more fuelled by God’s Spirit than ourselves.

God has a great future for each of us, especially in spiritual terms – we just need a relentless centring of our energies on the course ahead (H A Kent Jr). On the road trip of life, we need to let Jesus set the itinerary, guide the course, keep us looking forward through the windscreen, see us past the pot-holes, and help us avoid the dead-end streets – all toward the ultimate destination. We then can experience an ever-increasing conformity to the image of Jesus. Along the way, we get to pick up a few passengers, who become our guests, before launching their own road-trip accompanied by Jesus.

Application

What can we “know” about Jesus? A whole lot!! We know … that it is all about that practical application of loving God i.e. loving our neighbour. Everything Jesus did was out of a heart of love, and a mission of re-introducing the lost and the broken to God. This love was seen in deep and abiding compassion for the hurting and those that had been excluded. The “power of the resurrection” was already on show, as Jesus healed the blind and the lame, and as he cast out the demons of oppression. Jesus forbade judgement of others, and instead promoted merciful attitudes. As we are loved by God, we must love others.

We know that Jesus never held back, and when sacrifice was required … sacrifice he gave. Yes, we need to delve into Jesus’ life! Have we trawled through the pages of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) enough … to really soak up who Jesus is? Yet, as we have said, this is NOT just an intellectual search – this needs to be deeply personal! Have we imagined, as we read, what Jesus is saying to us in these biblical passages?? We need to see the world through Jesus’ eyes, so that we can best weave our way through life’s complexity.

We also need to be able to “know” Jesus as our Saviour, brother, friend and leader – all of these. Who Jesus is to us, makes a difference to who we (ourselves) are becoming! As we come to “know” Jesus, how we speak and act can come into alignment with his example, and thus we live out his life in all of our daily interactions. No one, including Paul, says that this is easy. Yet, we should never be defeatist nor give up. Because, in the end, “knowing” Jesus, is the work of God’s Spirit in us – our part being … openness, readiness, patience and courage. 

"I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection". Amen.

"Welcoming Jesus" (Revelation 3:13-22)

Dedication

This message is dedicated to Pastor George Spence, a significant mentor of mine, who passed away this week. 

Prelude 

I wonder if we ever leave Jesus out, either because we forget him, or because we find him inconvenient and prefer our own way? This could be subconscious or deliberate. I wonder if Jesus' presence is always evident in our church? 

Introduction

Clearly God is unimpressed with this church in Laodicea. This is probably the severest assessment of the seven churches specifically addressed in Revelation chapters 2 & 3. Look at verse 16. This "lukewarmness" was informed by the tepid sickly lime-ridden water springs of the day - NOT a happy picture - not something you would want to drink … or be compared with! To be referred to as “lukewarm” implies: indifference, complacency and being ineffective. To be neither “cold nor hot” implies: ‘sitting on the fence’ and being indecisive. Churches like this do NOT advance the Kingdom of God!

Such was the Divine assessment of the church of Laodicea. This is Jesus Himself speaking – and He had the right to speak like this – He died for the Church. Jesus is referred to as the “Amen” – the One who puts an exclamation mark on God’s great work in the world. Jesus is called the “Amen” as He perfectly and obediently fulfils God’s promises to all humanity. Paul (in 2 Corinthians 1:20) puts it this way, “For in [Jesus] every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’”. [And, as we shall see in verse 21, as Jesus emulates or says ‘Yes’ to God … we, in the church, are to be a little ‘Amen!’ to the life of Jesus (A F Johnson).]

So, if any church was to receive such an assessment from Jesus as this church in Laodicea did, you would surely want to do something about it! The prospect of being spat (or, vomited) out of Jesus' mouth … is NOT something we would ever want to experience! One spits out “lukewarm” water, because it is not hot enough to warm your insides on a cold day, nor cold enough to refresh anyone when overheated. It’s useless!!

I want to say, that this is NOT us; I don’t think it’s us – but if there is any element where this thinking could be directed at us, then we need to pay attention. We are being challenged here … to take nothing for granted. To profess Christianity while missing any of its major themes does NOT have credibility. And in this day, we, the church, certainly need to build credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of the general public. And so we must be (and remain) attentive to our mission and purpose, and to what the Spirit is saying to the church (v 13, 22).

The Key Problem Area

We'll come back to some of the specifics in this challenging text; but what was the root of the problem here??? We see it clearly portrayed in verse 20. Jesus was on the outside!! If Jesus was on the outside knocking on the door of the church in Laodicea … wanting to be allowed in – this indicates that Jesus had been left out – just like what might happen to a naughty dog ... put outside!

Clearly, it is possible, for a church (by name) still to exist in outward form, while it has excluded Jesus from its life. And, for various reasons, it could still feel satisfied with itself. There could be plenty of people and programs, and the appearance of (kingdom) life. But without Jesus, this would be more like a comfortable private club, which would inevitably resist intrusion. This is what is addressed in verse 17 – which brings further negative assessment. {I’ll come back to this verse.}

For now, G Campbell Morgan comments, “Can anything be so ghastly – a church organised and busy, but Christless”?! If Jesus is left outside, then this would explain any deficiencies in any church community! We need to be sure to welcome Jesus into the life of the church, for, after all, He is the founder, and He did give His life for the church, and … it is all about Him!

The Centrality of Jesus

Why is Jesus important - no, vital - to the church??

1. Salvation – Jesus is the centre of God's gift of grace. Jesus affords us mercy, forgiveness and new life. Without this, we are completely stuck and going nowhere. Totally opposed to that sickly tepid toxic water, Jesus brings living water - pure water – just like Jesus said to the woman in Samaria … if we drink this living water, we will never be thirsty again (John 4). Jesus sets us on the path of freedom and discipleship through which we enter eternal life.

2. Purpose – Jesus' earthly life and teaching guides us into knowing what to do. Without Jesus, we lack our example – our model for life. As we reflect on Jesus' life and teaching, we discover that loving our neighbour and reaching out to all those who are struggling – leading to making new disciples for Jesus ... this is our collective purpose! When we are fully confronted by Jesus, we soon come to the conclusion that it's NOT simply about us. The well-being of the world depends on us being prepared to respond to God in the correct way. Our spiritual status does NOT ever allow us to be removed from human need or human responsibility. And if we want to truly express compassion, we need to welcome Jesus into our midst.

3. Worldview – Jesus makes sense of the whole progress of life. Jesus was there at creation (as part of the love-filled dynamic that brought all creation into being), came to earth himself to deal with all depravity and lostness, died on a cross to defeat sin, rose again to open a passage to new life, gave the gift of the Holy Spirit so that the church would NOT lack for anything, intercedes for us as we deal with the challenges of life, and sits on the throne of heaven waiting for us to wholly be his people. For me, this totally makes sense of our existence.

4. Headship – Jesus is the only one fit to be our leader. As Paul teaches us, we might be all vital participants in a very varied body, where diversity meets together with harmonious functioning, but none of us will ever be qualified enough to be the 'head' ... except Jesus! So without Jesus, we could be described like a ‘headless chook’ (running around pointlessly).

In summary, Colossians 1:15-20 reads …

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

The Good News

The good news is - the very good news - that Jesus still knocks on the door of the church seeking entry. Jesus never gives up. He warns, he weeps – but Jesus never walks away! This reminds me of the story I read this week of a guy in Frankfurt Germany in 1997 who forgot where he left his car in a parking lot near an industrial building – he just couldn’t find it. Having first reported the car missing to the police, he then counted it as lost. 20 years later, when the industrial site was being demolished, the car was found exactly where he must have left it!

Jesus continues to knock at the unopened door (where sometimes he has been left)! The only reason anyone would care enough to keep knocking at the door, and seek to set a church like the one at Laodicea straight, was because they were so greatly loved (v 19a). Jesus never gives up on the possibility of taking up the central place (or, the "throne") in the church. Jesus stands waiting, offering each church the hospitality of his love.

However, Jesus is a gracious guest, who waits for a sincere invitation. There is NO point crashing in where uninvited or unwanted, because eventually the visitor's presence will wear thin. Yet where there is real humility and true integrity in the church, Jesus will take up residence to stay.

What Does the Spirit Say?

Even though these words refer initially to 1^st Century churches located in particular places, they also transcend that time, and speak to all churches in every generation. So, what does the Spirit say to the churches?? Open the door, and let Jesus in. Verse 20a.

How do we welcome Jesus?? The first answer to this goes back to verse 19b – being “earnest” and repenting. These two go well together – because it is the enthusiastic and committed person, who is sincere and loyal, that is willing to change whatever stands in the way of going forward. It is in response to God’s unconditional love of us, that we align ourselves with His will.

Then, secondly, we are prepared to "eat" with him (v.20b). And, this is NOT fast food! This is a leisurely meal … with many courses of the best food imaginable. This is about being unhurried; and being most concerned, above all other endeavours, about spending quality time with Jesus. This is about the restoration and development of relationship. This is also about the depth of our worship. Sometimes we just want worship gatherings to be over, so that we can get on to the next thing. This would be unfortunate – if Jesus still had some things to say, and more time to spend with us.

The ultimate symbol of eating with Jesus is the Lord’s Supper which we celebrate each week. This provides the opportunity for such a close identification with Jesus – all that he has done for us, and all that he wants to achieve in the world … identifying with his sacrifice, and involving ourselves with God’s new covenant of grace. While 'reclining' with Jesus, he will show us how to bring together all our diversity ... into a church full of harmonious interaction and mission to the community … under His leadership.

The Church of Laodicea

This all sounds so good – almost too good to be true; yet it CAN BE! But, we can so easily be distracted (and compromised). Laodicea was a prime example of this - distracted by its own success. Laodicea was an affluent place. It lay on the intersection of existing trade routes. It had good industries - famous for clothing, banking, and the latest in medical treatments (especially a particularly good eye ointment). Perhaps it was just too easy and comfortable there. If material prosperity is necessarily seen as God’s blessing, then this can lead to self-deception about a church’s true spiritual condition.

It seems the church in Laodicea had completely bought into the city’s material success and lost their spiritual compass. The people acted in ways that suggested they were reliant on their material wealth, rather than their spiritual wealth. The church in Laodicea had failed to see that Jesus would be the source of their real wealth. Oh the actual poverty of the church from which Jesus is excluded. We might call this ‘spiritual paralysis’! Better material poverty, and spiritual wealth!

Look at verse 17. To have ever said that they lacked nothing would have been the height of self-delusion, pride and arrogance. If that material wealth was stripped away ... there would be nothing left. Interesting that the centre of banking, medicine, and clothing manufacture ... would be exposed in their spiritual poverty, blindness and nakedness, i.e. NO spiritual assets, NO spiritual vision, NO spiritual clothing. What God wanted was less attention on the things of the world, and more attention on the things of the Spirit.

We, like the church in Laodicea, can lose our spiritual freedom by losing our focus on Jesus. Who are we primarily committed to? The only cure for this "lukewarmness" ... is the re-admission of the excluded Jesus (Campbell Morgan, Walvoord, Wilcock). Look at verse 18. The spiritual goods we need in the face of spiritual poverty, nakedness and blindness, is the gold refined by fire (representing a life of sacrificial service), white robes (representing a cleansed life), and eye salve (representing new sight) … all things that God gives to allow us to follow Jesus.

Conclusion

We, together, as a church community, need to be led into a living encounter with Jesus. We need to experience Jesus' mercy; we need to encounter the nature and quality of Jesus' life; we need to experience Jesus as Creator, Saviour and Sustainer ... the Alpha & Omega (the beginning and the end); and we need to ensure that Jesus is the head of the 'body'. In short, we need to welcome Jesus! And then, then, we can conquer in life!

We can then follow Jesus into His pattern of sacrificial service toward humankind. Then, we have the potential of being so aligned with Jesus, and involved in such a rich and harmonious partnership, that we are seen as co-reigning with Jesus on his throne (refer verse 21). What a mighty verse (of encouragement) this is!

Our Prayer

This is our challenge … this is our prayer! Are we welcoming Jesus? We better know! We welcome you, Lord Jesus. Jesus, be our cornerstone. Jesus, be the centre - be our light, be our guide, be our path, be our hope, be our song; Jesus, be the fire in our hearts, be the wind in our sails, be the reason that we live; Jesus - be our salvation, be our purpose, be our worldview, be our leader. We welcome you, Jesus. Amen!

"True Worship" (Amos 5:18-27)

Introduction

Amos was a prophet in Israel during the 8^th century BCE. Amos had an acute eye toward hypocrisy and injustice. Amos, as a prophet, tried to prick the nation’s conscience, condemning those in positions of power or influence, for their ill-treatment of those who could NOT defend themselves (J Barton). At the same time, Amos would ask … how it was … that those who claimed to be God’s people, and who worshipped in the designated places of assembly, could live in ways that were contrary to God’s ways, including the neglect of the most vulnerable?! This would certainly break God’s covenant with the people, as they ignored the major commandment concerning loving their neighbour.

Those who have the ‘light’, are more responsible for living in the ‘light’, than those who are unenlightened! This all speaks to our integrity, being wholistic, and to whether our worship is ‘true’ or ‘false’!! Amos, in effect, argued, that only ‘true’ worship would be acceptable to God, and anything other … would be deemed worthless, and thereby land the people in (unnecessary) danger. Something surely to be avoided! So, how can we ensure that our worship can be described as ‘true’? How can we, as a church, make sure we are within God’s blessing??

Text of Amos 5

Even 28 centuries ago, the people of God had their mind on a particular point in time – a point in time that they considered would be better for them – “the day of the Lord” (v 18); this, rather than concentrating on the day that they were in. God wants us living in the now! When humans get ahead of themselves, they tend to lose the deeper meaning of the present. We desire a different future, without recognising our current responsibilities. The “day of the Lord” was likely the day that God would ultimately intervene in history to vindicate these people against those who were against them – God taking up his own direct sovereign rule in the world. But the assumption being made, which Amos here challenges, was that this “day of the Lord” was, necessarily, going to be good news for these people.

They assumed so, but maybe not! Why not? The credibility of their worship!! Look at verse 18 (again). You are assuming that this will be a “day” of “light” for you … a good experience, when it may well be “darkness”. Why would you want that?! You thought you had escaped one danger, only to encounter another (v 19)! That’s what happens in the dark. This can only be because, having once encountered God, you have now in some way ignored God. It may be subtle – it is probably often subtle … because the people of Israel often missed what God wanted of them, and ended up, surprisingly to them, in exile … defeated by a foreign power (as referred to in verse 27) … in this case the powerful Northern neighbour Assyria.

All this disrupts the true essence of worship – for individuals, AND for the community of believers. Ignoring God in some way, disrupts ‘true’ worship. To deliberately ignore this, once aware of such a deficiency, turns us toward ‘false’ worship. ‘False’ worship, where it is deliberate, is probably worse than ‘no’ worship, because it sends out exactly the wrong message. ‘True’ worship is focussed on engagement with our Creator and Redeemer God, responding to God’s great faithfulness and goodness, with an eye to the change that is necessary in our various lives. ‘False’ worship, on the other hand, seeks to manipulate God (and others) toward our way of thinking, to meet our own goals, to facilitate our comfort. And, ‘false’ worship ignores our (horizontal) social relationships. And so we hear, “I hate your festivals, and take NO delight in your solemn assemblies (v 21) … etc”! Whack!!

For us today, ‘true’ worship centres around Jesus; while ‘false’ worship likely centres around ourselves. When we don’t like or agree with God’s way of going about running His Kingdom, we set up other ‘gods’ to worship, and pretend these are compatible with ‘true’ worship. In Israel’s case, they disobeyed God through neglect (lack of “sacrifice” – v 25) and, in so doing, turned to idolatry (v 26). Any lack of ‘true’ worship leads to new ‘idols’ of many origins and descriptions. We can easily put other things on a pedestal, and build a shrine around them!

This can still happen, even after making a good start in worshipping God. There are forces which would prefer us to fail, and would even provide forms of congratulation so that we might be fooled into complacency. Amos, in those verses 21 to 23, reflects how God reacts to unthinking and hypocritical worship. As Christopher J H Wright puts it, “There was no shortage of religion and ritual in Amos’ day, but the rampant social injustice made a blasphemous mockery of it”. God cannot abide this, can’t watch it, even turns a deaf ear to it; God cannot accept it, indeed rejects it! Indeed, ‘no’ worship would be better than ‘false’ worship!

The Good News

The good news is, ‘true’ worship is NOT difficult – that is the true scandal within Amos’ preaching. It just didn’t need to be this way. God is NOT a strict judge, far from it; God is wholly benevolent. But it is just so counter-productive, and also downright ungrateful, to choose to ignore God. ‘True’ worship is so available, so accessible. We just need to build in two foundational principles: humility and social integrity. Humility will avoid putting our agenda before God’s agenda. And, social integrity will mean that we will treat others as God would have them treated. Clearly NOT rocket science – love God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; and love your neighbour as yourself – the clearest and most basic biblical principle. This is path to ‘true’ worship – humility and social integrity.

Humility

There is only one path to joy. There is only one way to experience God’s glory coming upon us. As the New Testament book of James puts it, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (4:10). It is only the ‘humble’ that can be lifted up, everybody else is heading for a fall! We can only be lifted up, if we first lay ourselves down. Amazingly and awesomely, this is how Jesus did life; and I think that should be the example we follow (Philippians 2:1-11). As Jesus laid his life down in service, God lifted it up in glory! The one who is open to learn, open to be led, open to change, open to serve others, can be exalted (and truly experience joy).

Humility (or becoming humble) means that we decide that we are NOT self-sufficient – that we WILL seek out the One we were created to have a relationship with (the One … we will be ultimately bereft without a relationship with). Humility means that we accept that we will NEVER be complete without Jesus in our lives (because of the guilt and shame that we often carry). Humility means that we admit that we have fallen well short of best and need grace and forgiveness. Humility means that we have come to know that life is way too complex for us to survive it, without the guiding and comforting presence of the Holy Spirit.

Humility means that we make the determination that we are NO more important than anyone else. Humility means that we won’t seek to dominate or control. Humility means deciding that serving is more important than being served. Where we continue to struggle, humility means allowing God space to work in. Humility then means that we are prepared to be seen as we are, which is an okay work-in-progress, rather than pretend to be what we are not.

Social Integrity

Verse 24 gives us a big clue as to why the people copped such a barrage as we see in verses 21-23, as well as the regrettable outcome in verse 27. Amos’ passions have been aroused. This could all been seen as a particularly brutal half-time spray. Not getting in after the ball, not picking up your opponent, creating too many turnovers – heading for a bad defeat – sorry, football talk … but there was high level passion here! And verse 24 tells us why. Verse 24 reveals a (prevalent) lack of social justice and right living.

Where God is being truly honoured, “justice” and “righteousness” should flow freely. [This might sound a little idealistic, but at least it is biblical!] On the other side, where justice and right living are ignored within community relationships, that shalom, that desirable peace and well-being, will be missing. Nations cannot expect, nor receive, God’s blessing, while they ignore justice and righteousness, and anyone is being oppressed or ignored. And there was no excuse in Amos’ time, as this was a time of economic prosperity in Israel.

However, this was also a time when power was being misappropriated! Loans were being offered to the struggling, with interest charged; leading to debilitating debts for some, and huge profits for others. The poor lost their land and were sold into slavery, while the rich felt good about themselves. Now, when it comes to responsibility for this level of oppression – whether this was deliberate behaviour, or whether people were just allowing it to go on without due critique, makes little difference! Either way, this neglects God’s covenant relationship with His people. People should be treated … the way they were designed to be treated! All people should be afforded the opportunity to participate in society with dignity.

It is the ‘fruit’ (or, the output) of our lives that indicate the seriousness of our devotion to God! Without love, our worship is just clanging symbols and noisy gongs (1 Corinthians 13:1). Why should we ever expect a blessing … if we ignore the basics of being in a relationship with God?! The lack of response to those in need is a consistent biblical theme. This might not be us … there is a whole load of caring people in worship today; but we still need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through His Word – to say anything that needs to be heard.

From the various prophets’ call to look after the foreigner, orphan, widow and poor person, and to give hospitality to strangers … just like Boaz did in his ministry to Ruth (Ruth 2), to Jesus’ teaching about our responsibility of welcoming children (Matthew 19:14) and caring for the ‘least of these’, right through to Jesus identifying himself in the face of the hungry and thirsty – that what would we do for them and him are synonymous and inseparable (Matthew 25:40) – the Word of the Lord needs to be heard. I think the words in Deuteronomy chapter 10 (v 17-21) capture the intertwined and indivisible connection between ethics and worship:

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, ¹⁸ who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. ¹⁹ You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. ²¹ He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen.

In the New Testament, along similar lines, James 1:27 reads:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Repentance

God dwells wherever there is love – neighbourly love, shown especially through courageous and compassionate care for the poor. Our worship will never be ‘true’ while we act in ways inconsistent with God’s will and ways. Yet there is a remedy close at hand. We are never stuck for an answer … change is very possible. Our confession and God’s forgiveness leads to different outcomes.

Whenever the people of Israel heeded God’s words, and changed their hearts, they were brought back into a place of intimate relationship. They would again worship … with God present to bless them. This process is called ‘repentance’. And, ‘repentance’ comes from a place of humility, and leads to lives of integrity. It is a heart attuned to ongoing ‘repentance’ … that will mean a life is being transformed toward ‘true’ worship.

Conclusion

 

So, this is where, today, we need to wholly focus on Jesus – because it is Jesus who ‘fuels’ our ‘repentance’, our cleansing, our transformation – and prepares us for true worship. Jesus does this in his teaching, through the life that he lived, in his sacrifice, and through his gift to us of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, that if our worship is really to be ‘true’ – we will need to worship in ‘spirit’ and in ‘truth’. As we read in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth”. This means that God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, coheres with our ‘spirit’, so that we CAN worship in a way that is consistent with Jesus – our whole life then properly reflects the ‘truth’ about who God is.

And, it is Jesus, in his very life, who is the ‘truth’, for Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This means, that if we ‘insiders’ … want to truly worship God, we will need to allow for the change … that will see our lives wholly aligned with Jesus’ life. So it is, that ‘true’ worship centres around the sort of humility and social integrity that Jesus models, made possible on the cross, and brought to His church through the work of Holy Spirit. Let us NOT resist; let us NOT wander, let us be true instruments of worship!! It’s all about you … Jesus!! Amen!

"Embracing Worship" (1 Chronicles 16:7-18)

The ‘Why’ of Worship

1. To maintain and grow our spiritual health
2. To draw on each other’s strength, be encouraged, serve one another, and develop in our gifts
3. To keep focussed, build our faith, and appreciate how the Holy Spirit is moving
4. To be fully centred on God, and know how best to follow Jesus
5. It is through sincere, authentic, enthusiastic and life-changing worship, that the world will change and the Kingdom of God will grow
6. “What shall I return to the Lord, for all his goodness to me?” (Psalm 116:12)
7. Rather than attempting to live in isolation, God actually desires that people gather in worship
8. To keep committed to God’s cause of mission and provide convincing evidence that God is real and active
9. Worship helps us be an effective ‘Body of Christ’ that others will notice
10. True worship is at the heart of our faith

Introduction – the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of worship

When David brought the ‘ark of the covenant’ into the tent of meeting, he instituted worship there, and appointed Asaph and his family to lead that worship. The words given to guide that worship came from various psalms … that had likely been previously written and generally utilised in the worship life of the people of Israel. These words were given to the ‘chief musician’ Asaph … for him to form worship around. This is like our system here, where the worship leader selects songs based around the main text that the preacher is working from.

In reading our verses from 1 Chronicles 16, we have also read the words that appear in Psalm 105:1-11. It is clear then, that these particular words give us much insight into the content of worship among the people of God in Israel back then, and also offer some guidance into important facets of worship today. These words are NOT abstract, for they represent a real people’s experience of God. And, these words are NOT just aspirational – something that sounds like a good idea to strive towards, but rather they are ideas that we can totally engage with and embody together.

When David wanted to describe how worship was to take place (on this particular occasion), these are the words he called upon. These words largely reflect upon God’s faithfulness. It seems to me that worship should basically respond to God’s faithfulness, and interact with each human being’s need to know that faithfulness. This does seem right for us today! To put it another way – it is our need for God, combined with the truth of God’s faithfulness and goodness, that draws us into worship, and also forms the backdrop for how we will worship.

Content

As we look at these verses we notice the inclusion of the following:

• A good place to start is to … give thanks specifically to the Lord – calling directly out to God – and expressing our gratitude (v 8a). This immediately takes us out of ourselves and focuses us on a far bigger picture; where we capture the need of those who do NOT know God and, somewhat, feel their loss … leading to a desire to …

• Proclaim God’s gracious activity broadly to others (v 8b) – worship is NOT just for within the four walls, but is meant to escape outwards … to provide a public witness to God’s reality and availability and provision. There seems here to be an implied responsibility, that if we have benefitted in any way through God’s activity, if we feel we have been blessed in any way, then we must respond to this and mention this – “make known [God’s] deeds among the peoples … which also means that we …

• Sing praise … we lift up the name of God, particularly telling of God’s “wonderful works” (v 9a), which would include the beautiful creation (in which we live), God’s long-standing promises and ongoing answers to prayer, everything that Jesus has done, and everything that is happening through the Holy Spirit. As we consider all God has done, and sing out in praise, and renew our devotion, this better prepares us to know who God is … leading to …

• An Experience of Joy – we can (v 10) “Glory in his holy name”, or “Glory in who God is” – how good does that sound! We move from seeing the beauty of creation … to knowing the majesty of the Creator, we move from understanding the gift of mercy … to feeling the presence of the Redeemer. When we “seek” the Lord and ‘find’ the Lord and sense the Lord’s close presence, it’s like God’s glory shifts over onto us – as God is set apart we are set apart … we enter a special realm … where we can fully appreciate the way God loves us and accepts us and values us … we begin to realise how much this means to us … how this changes everything … how this potentially brings so much healing to our spirit … and we start to think how God thinks and feel how God feels. We “glory” in knowing Jesus – this means everything … now we can only “rejoice” … and we “rejoice” in our living relationship with God; and we can become ecstatic like at no other time.

• Worship is also about … discovery (v 11 – “Seeking the Lord”) – if we are continually in God’s presence and focussed on Jesus in an ongoing way, we will be more likely and more ready and more equipped to know and carry out God’s will, God’s ways and God’s mission. There needs to be a space within our worship through which to learn and grow, and to discover how to do things better than we did the last time. We learn by discovering new things we hadn’t seen before, and we deepen our faith by rehearsing those central truths that are so significant … which is what the rest of these verses point to …

• Remembering (v 12-18) – committing to memory (through repetition) all of what God has done for those He loves … all that has been beneficial for humanity and the whole earth. We have given thanks for them, and sung our praise – but we also need to cement our knowledge of God’s gracious acts as the foundation of our lives … thus building our confidence, our trust, and our courage.

[In the wording given in the NRSV for verse 15 in the Psalm 105 version (verse 8) we read “[God] is mindful of his covenant forever” – meaning that it would be almost impossible for Him to forget – and so our level of remembering needs to attain to this sort permanency – we should be thinking of God’s covenant of love often.]

Apart from God’s “wonderful works”, two main things are mentioned here:

(i) God’s “judgments” (v 12b & v 14b) or, ‘how God sees things’ – which is certainly reflected in God’s teaching through the scriptures and the prophets, also through Jesus and the apostles [and how this teaching is seen to apply in everyday life]; and then the big one … with huge emphasis here …

(ii) God’s “covenant” (v 15-18) – which in a nutshell refers to God’s age-old commitment to love the people of Israel (and provide for them), and through Abraham’s fatherhood on earth – to love (and provide for) the people of all nations – ‘I will be your God, if you will be my people and keep my commandments’. This was the central invitation to a relationship that the whole Bible explores, which eventually culminated in the ‘new covenant’ brought in through Jesus, where we are no longer measured by ‘law’, but rather through grace, thereby experiencing liberating forgiveness … so that we CAN in reality be God’s people (as we follow the resurrected Jesus). God’s “covenant” represents God’s unrelenting heart of love toward all people. This is what we have to remember and be constantly mindful of!

If would also be fair to say, that as people have so often failed to keep God’s commandments, ‘repentance’ would also fit well into our worship. This is why words of lament and prayers of confession … seeking mercy, are often part of worship services – probably an essential part. We NOT only remember God’s wonder, but also how far short we often come – and certainly how far short the world as a whole comes. Then we humbly accept responsibility, while also receiving assurances of forgiveness … through which we can move forward (hopefully better prepared for the next challenge).

God’s “covenant” represents God’s unrelenting heart of love toward all people. This is a “covenant” that was not only a good idea, but an idea that God put into action on our behalf. God remembered this “covenant” when the people of Israel were oppressed in Egypt … and brought them freedom, and then preserved them as they wandered in the desert. God brought them into a land in which they could thrive, and each time, through disobedience, they lost their way and were defeated, God was close-by available for the prodigal nation to return to Him (and be restored to their land).

We read in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people … humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. Ultimately, God remembered this “covenant” by sending His own Son Jesus as the Messiah, to seek to redeem all people of all nations to His presence. A review of recorded biblical history, always becomes a revelation of the persistent faithfulness of God to His covenants with us; and, it could be, that a similar review of our lives, looking back, could also be a revelation of God’s persistent faithfulness to us (G Campbell Morgan).

Yet we need to also understand that this “covenant” is aimed primarily at serving the broad interests of the Kingdom of God (Derek Kidner), which is why the ancient people of Israel didn’t always get what they thought they should, and why we don’t always get what we think we should (when we are only thinking about ourselves). God’s faithfulness always has a ‘collective’ note, which, necessarily, draws us to worship together. This is because God’s faithfulness to you … is an element of God’s faithfulness to me, and God's faithfulness to me … is an element of God's faithfulness to you!

Application

So, as we come into worship together, we …

1. Give thanks – in word, in song, in prayer; this is connected to …

2. Proclaim God’s gracious activity – in word, in song (loud and bold), in communion {1 Cor 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes}. I say in word, because it may be good worship if we are able to engage these questions:

• Did anyone have anything good happen this week (that they can attribute at least in part to God)?
• Is anyone facing a particular challenge (that can be brought to God)??

3. Sing praise to God

Singing is good for us, yet some people find it hard, or aren’t into it (irrespective of issues of voice quality). So, in this or any season where singing is hard, it’s about engaging with the music and focussing on the words, and loosening your body, and allowing God to move you inside and out. The outcome of this will differ from person to person, each of us being unique creations, but we certainly need to engage in some way in the corporate worship.

Singing praise is NOT about singing a song like at karaoke, NOR just fulfilling a (traditional) ritual, because worship is about allowing for change – allowing God to do something within us. So, it’s NOT the singing itself that’s the key … it’s the heart behind it … it’s worship that comes naturally out of the integrity of our lives – lives that have been conformed to the Jesus pattern. 

God may not even hear our fantastic melodies and beautiful harmonies and occasional wrong notes, but only hear the rhythms of our inner being. Having said all this, singing does open us up to our emotions and expressing ourselves, so that we can better get in touch with God, and is therefore good for us. Singing can be very therapeutic and alter our mood in a good way. And in reading Revelation, we can see the prevalence of singing in heaven (e.g. 4:1-11, 19:5-8). And the idea, because of where our real citizenship lies, is to engage with some of the life of heaven now.

4. Experience Joy – i.e. glorying in the Lord – this can happen throughout all of our worship time, as we know that we are in the presence of God, sharing something significant and remarkable together. We sense how the Holy Spirit is moving, speaking to us, speaking to others; we will never be the same again. We sense that we are ultimately on the victory side – where our burdens are being lifted, and our wounds are being healed!

5. Discover – in listening to someone else pray, or when praying ourselves, we are likely to be confronted with new ways of thinking about things, and by possible new ways of responding to people or events. Prayer is always about having one ear open for God’s answer as we pray the question. Our prayers should also be considering how we can be part of that answer. And, worship is a learning environment, as we open the Scriptures, and are ready to be confronted by the text – what this teaching means in the grand scheme of the world, what it means for the church of today, and how personally I am challenged by it. What do I need to be reassured about, and what needs to change??

6. Remember – we remember God’s covenant of love and grace to all people … and God’s great faithfulness … every week through communion {1 Cor 11:24 & 25 – when taking the bread, then the cup, Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me”}; and at this time have the opportunity of confession and forgiveness. And, we remember God’s judgments (or the way God sees things) through our preaching and teaching.

This seems to me to highlight that the key factors in our worship would (generally speaking) be:

• singing,
• prayer,
• communion,
• teaching;

and … testimony (or sharing). This testimony (or sharing) can come from the front through preparation, but should also be able to come from the congregation almost spontaneously. This is because worship is NOT just about what we have planned, but more so about what the Holy Spirit wants to bring. Remember … if this is to be worship, rather than just conversation, we have to consider where Jesus has been (or will be) involved!!

Conclusion

Spiritual worship today, between Pentecost and Eternity, is about our public response to God’s faithfulness, ultimately now understood through the gift of Jesus, and also allowing the Holy Spirit to confront us with God’s will for our lives. Worship also asks questions of us: Do we love Jesus? Can we proclaim his greatness and his servanthood? Are we open to change? How is Jesus transforming us? Are we being his disciple? What is God saying to the church today? How are we experiencing grace?

What is the starting point … especially if you have a struggle engaging with worship? If you truly desire God in your life, then, as we have discovered this week and last, you need to worship God, and worship God in the company of true believers! Where does this start? That is the topic for next week … this starts with humility.

Footnote

With worship, there is the issue of relevance … to our times. I think that the broad relevance of our worship will work itself out … if this worship is done with faith, sincerity and integrity. We never have to ‘dumb-it-down’ or ‘seeker-sensitise’ it, because most people are coming … looking for a true experience of God (which is missing in their world) and/or a true experience of community (which may also be missing in their world). We do have to be sensitive and properly welcoming to those we invite, understanding the wide backgrounds they come from, and some of the hurts and reservations they carry, but I think … what will respond to their needs best … will be an honest presentation of how we have found God to be faithful ourselves. This is what worship is about! Amen.

"Gathering Together For Worship" (Zechariah 8:20-23)

Introduction

How much do we value our worship?

Worshipping together is a key component in being an effective and Spirit-led Church. We are dispersed most of the time, both in everyday life, and in various expressions of mission within the community, so we need the worship gathering – to maintain and grow our spiritual health. We also need our corporate worship gathering so we can draw on each other’s strength, be encouraged, and develop in our gifts.

Gathering together for worship keeps us focussed, builds our faith, and helps us appreciate how the Holy Spirit is moving in and around us. This is so that we can be fully centred in God and know best how to follow Jesus ... rather than being easily diverted. Our grounding for life is found in our worship – through praise, prayer and communion ... all best done in the company of each other … participating together with enthusiasm.

And the benefit of this goes way beyond our current number, toward all those among the “nations” that God wants to bless and form a relationship with. It is through sincere, authentic, enthusiastic and life-changing worship, that the world will change and the Kingdom will grow.

‘Worship’ is a contraction of the old English word ‘worth-ship’. It’s about recognising what is worth most. The worshipper’s key question (from Psalm 116:12) is, What shall I return to the Lord, for all his goodness to me? Worship is THE appropriate response to our loving Creator and Redeemer. And, besides, God actually desires that his people gather in worship!

Worship is not just something we do, but rather something we experience – as God is present … and seeking to lead us and bless us and change us. Thus, we don’t just praise God … the way we praise human achievement, and we don’t just thank God … the way we would thank someone for a birthday gift – we are engaging with something vital and dynamic, and thereby committing ourselves to a very particular cause!

Worship in Israel

As we study the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), we see there how God’s people of ancient times were centred around their worship. We see this in the psalms. We also see this in their deep sense of loss, when they felt unable to worship. This happened when, in times of exile, these people were away from their spiritual heartland. Whenever the people of Israel found themselves physically and spiritually detached from their temple worship, they felt particularly bereft. This in itself shows the importance of worship to the human spirit!

When they found themselves in exile in foreign nations, far from their spiritual home, these people would fondly remember those days past when they attended the temple in Jerusalem; and they longed to be able to return to such times of worship. We know that, sometimes, people don't fully value what they've got, until they don’t have it anymore. For some in ancient Israel, there was also a sense of awakening for them in this – that the reason they found themselves in exile under the control of a foreign conqueror, was because of how much they had taken their relationship with God and their worship … for granted. Their worship, though given some priority, may actually have only been skin deep.

Sometimes we know that something like worship is important, but find ways of allowing it to slip to the back-burner, or don’t fully engage with it (with the depths of our whole being). People can allow their worship to become sterile, rigid and thin … rather than active and meaningful. Sometimes worship becomes a pretence, while the rest of people’s lives tend to ignore God’s ways and the needs of other people. This all means that they would naturally drift in the practice of their faith, be easily diverted in other directions, and ultimately be defeated.

So it is, that true worship, is, necessarily, at the heart of our faith!!

Returning to Worship

We can go back and consider what was happening in Zechariah’s time (26 centuries ago). Having conquered the Babylonian empire, King Cyrus of Persia allowed the Hebrew people to return home from their time of exile. Having been destroyed decades earlier, the temple in Jerusalem would need to be re-built, a project that was progressively attempted. Upon completion there would be a re-dedication ceremony.

Fortunately, for God's people in Israel, and despite deserving their times of exile, God never forgot them or stopped loving them, and still had designs on how they would bless the other nations. They should have learnt from their times in foreign lands, and God’s call upon them to live with integrity wherever they found themselves. Having repented from whatever had disrupted their relationship with God, and then grown in their faith, they should be ready to engage in true worship again.

Zechariah, a Hebrew prophet (during this sixth century BCE) was involved in the re-building of the temple in Jerusalem, and was clearly excited about the possibilities of collective worship (when this was complete). These words (contained in chapter 8 verses 20 to 23) form the climax of part one of this book, and I was gripped by them. The authenticity of the people's faith in God would soon be seen in their gathering together in worship. The fact that a lost opportunity had been regained, should bring forth great excitement and momentum. The fact that God still loved them, and still called them His people, was most comforting and encouraging! One could imagine one person asking another … about whether they would see them there!!

Zechariah foresees people broadly across communities, saying to one another, "Come, let us go to entreat the favour of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts" (v 21). This represents a desire to appreciate, pray and grow in knowledge of their God. And for Zechariah, this was NOT in any sense theoretical – for his next comment was, "I myself am going"! We need to be both personally and publicly excited about going to meet with God. It should be important to us. If we can have a positive attitude, we will no doubt get a lot out of it; and if we are serious about our corporate worship, other people will take notice!! [And they have!!!] Of course, the reverse more negative attitude … also brings an outcome – just NOT a good one!

We can meet with God at other times and in other places, to be sure, indeed in all times and all places, and we should, and this is great – but we cannot escape the biblical call to be God's collective 'Body of Christ' in front of the world! This is where the power to change the world comes from – the collective witness to Jesus (in life and action) with the effectiveness enabled by the Holy Spirit. As John said during communion last week, we have to think of the 'we' more than the 'me'. And where there is integrity and momentum, that ‘we’ can become a larger number.

A Larger Vision

Verse 22 reads like a pleasant surprise, though one we really should have expected. We should be ready for any revival of interest in worshipping God, and if we are not expectant like this, why should it happen! This would often require a big change of mind and heart in people, yet we know this CAN happen. As well, this would require an open (non-judgmental) welcome to newcomers into the spiritual community. We should NOT be like the older brother of the ‘prodigal son’ ... who was unable to accept that people (who are encountered by the radical love of the Father) can change remarkably (refer Luke chapter 15).

Would it be right to say, that any general disinterest in our society, about such a gracious and powerful Gospel message, could be laid at the feet of those who are supposed to be 'salt'? After all, there’s absolutely nothing lacking in the Gospel! Do we ever categorise people as impediments to mission, rather than seeing them … as the mission? This verse gives us a magnificent picture of people coming from everywhere, even some people who we may never have actually considered (represented in this verse 22 … by “strong nations” … who may have been seen to be too self-satisfied to ever be interested). Yet, they are all coming to "entreat" the Lord! And this seems to be as a result of a positive active credible witness to the effectiveness of worship (covered in verse 21).

Verse 23 gives a picture of the Jewish person of old ... who is wholly 'sold out' in their love and service for God, that even people from many different cultures and backgrounds, perhaps even prior enemies, would attach themselves, and respond positively to any invitation – "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you". We could easily sense the ongoing application of this text. There is a “grasping” at this person’s garment, so intent is this other person on going where this worshipper is clearly gaining so much blessing, help and healing. There is something good happening here! Deep within each human is built this need for God, and here God is recognised as present! Of course … people would “grasp” at that!!

Worship now

How great it is for there to be such convincing evidence that God is with someone, with us, and that God is for real … up and around and alive and working – ‘just look at these people’, they say! In all this, Zechariah captures God's eternal mission to connect with all people across the nations. This was Zechariah’s hopeful vision for his own time, focussed on the new temple being built in Jerusalem – seeking to inspire how worship must be central in the lives of God’s people in the generations to come. Yet, this was a vision ultimately activated through the coming of THE ‘Messiah’, and through the cross and resurrection of Jesus; together with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. This is when all the cultural barriers were broken down, and the Gospel was heard in all languages – bringing a witness to Jesus right across the world.

Zechariah also here captures a picture of the culmination of history and how worship will look then; and how worship in the eternal kingdom of heaven will look and feel – diverse, inclusive, engaging, spectacular. Everyone together with a singular focus on the great and gracious Creator. So, between Pentecost and Eternity, each generation of the church has the opportunity (and responsibility) of being this type of people. Indeed, Zechariah has provided a vision of worship for us today. This is worship that changes us; and worship that draws others, because it changes us. This is worship that answers the questions that people are asking – why am I here, and what am I supposed to be doing??

Conclusion

Zechariah foresees great and diverse worship gatherings – where people “seek” the Lord, and ‘find’ the Lord, and receive many blessings. As people gather, others join them. Exciting stuff! Are we as excited about the possibilities of worship as Zechariah was?

What we want to get out of our worship will likely depend upon what we put into it. If we invest our time, gifts and energy into our worship gatherings, we will likely grow in faith, find much encouragement and hope for the future, never doubt the forgiveness and salvation we are receiving, and … experience the Kingdom of God grow right before our very eyes!

We are Jesus people, and we need to worship as Jesus people. This will and should happen 24/7 wherever we travel. Yet, we should claim the power of worshipping together, and see this as our apprenticeship for when the mission is over, and this is all we will have to do, and Jesus is there with us. And thus, together, we revel in the name of Jesus … the beautiful wonderful powerful name of Jesus!