{"id":4473,"date":"2019-02-28T08:30:31","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4473"},"modified":"2019-02-28T08:31:03","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:31:03","slug":"gods-mandate-for-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/gods-mandate-for-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"God’s Mandate for Worship"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Vernon M. Whaley<\/strong><\/p>\n

The disciples were probably\u00a0less than enthusiastic about\u00a0the meeting. It certainly wasn’t\u00a0their first time to attend one of\u00a0His called business sessions.\u00a0Previously, they had meetings about\u00a0feeding the poor, taking care of one\u00a0another, and the proper and improper\u00a0use of the Temple for selling merchandise.<\/p>\n

Once they met with 5,000 people\u00a0and served lunch. On another occasion\u00a0they met at the home of two sisters\u00a0and watched Jesus raise their\u00a0brother from the dead. Now, Jesus\u00a0wanted another meeting.<\/p>\n

Didn’t He know they were much\u00a0too busy in ministry, much too overbooked,\u00a0much too interested in establishing\u00a0the Kingdom, to take out\u00a0time for a gathering of the boys? Not\u00a0one of the disciples in Matthew\u00a028:16-20 had volunteered for such a convocation.<\/p>\n

Think about it: Jesus returned from\u00a0the tomb as victor over death, and\u00a0now, He wanted a staff meeting.\u00a0 This\u00a0meeting with Jesus was different than\u00a0those called just a few weeks earlier,\u00a0because this was a different Jesus.<\/p>\n

This time He called a meeting as\u00a0Jesus, the risen Lord. This meeting\u00a0was not to lay plans for an upper\u00a0room dinner. Here, Jesus called His\u00a0chosen aside for the specific purpose\u00a0of giving the Great Commission.<\/p>\n

Before declaring His power, His\u00a0purpose, His plan or His person, Jesus\u00a0engaged the disciples in an incredible\u00a0lesson on worship. He taught them\u00a0four essentials for worship that would\u00a0prepare them for service:<\/p>\n

Place of Worship <\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew 28:16 indicates that the\u00a0disciples went away to an appointed\u00a0place. The first principle is that we\u00a0need to meet God in a special place.\u00a0Apparently Jesus asked for a meeting.\u00a0In response, His disciples went\u00a0to . . . “a mountain at the place where\u00a0[He] had appointed them.”<\/p>\n

Notice that the disciples went away<\/em>. They were immediately obedient.\u00a0They were prepared to meet\u00a0alone with Jesus. It is difficult to focus on being with God if life’s distractions\u00a0clamor for our attention.<\/p>\n

We need to speak to God; He\u00a0wants to speak to us. We need a place\u00a0where we can meet with God and listen.\u00a0This place needs to be away from\u00a0the crowd, designated for the purpose\u00a0of meeting God, and appropriated\u00a0for time alone with the Creator.<\/p>\n

The appointed meeting place may\u00a0be on a mountain (like Matt. 28:16),\u00a0by the seashore, in a gym room, by an\u00a0office desk, the quiet of a kitchen or\u00a0in a small prayer chapel. The location\u00a0is not as important as the meeting.\u00a0What is important is that we have a\u00a0special place to meet God away from\u00a0the distractions of this world.<\/p>\n

Maltbie Babcock was a tall, broad shouldered,\u00a0handsome man with\u00a0muscles of iron. He was a Presbyterian\u00a0minister who arose early in the\u00a0morning, took a walk across the upper\u00a0New York countryside, and\u00a0there\u2014among the wonders of God’s\u00a0creation\u2014he would spend hours\u00a0alone with God.<\/p>\n

The story is told of Babcock arising\u00a0on one particularly beautiful\u00a0morning, taking his walk, returning\u00a0to his study and writing:<\/p>\n

This is my Father’s world,
\n<\/em>And to my listening ears,
\n<\/em>All nature sings,
\n<\/em>And round me rings
\n<\/em>The music of the spheres,
\n<\/em>This is my Father’s world,
\n<\/em>I rest me in the thought
\n<\/em>Of rocks and trees,
\n<\/em>Of skies and seas\u2014
\n<\/em>His hand the wonders wrought.<\/em><\/p>\n

Maltbie Babcock, 1901.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After worshiping alone with God\u00a0and writing this wondrous worship\u00a0and praise hymn, Babcock laid his\u00a0head down on his desk and died.\u00a0What Babcock saw in faith was at\u00a0last made sight through grace.<\/p>\n

Person of Worship <\/strong><\/p>\n

The second principle is that we\u00a0need to recognize the person of our\u00a0worship. Matthew 28:17 says, “And\u00a0when they saw him, they worshiped\u00a0him.”<\/p>\n

Two important relationship ideals\u00a0are involved here: (1) They saw Him\u00a0and, (2) They worshiped. These disciples\u00a0believed in Jesus as their Redeemer,\u00a0their Savior, their Atonement,\u00a0their Righteousness and their\u00a0Lord. Seeing Jesus and recognizing\u00a0who He is always leads to worship.<\/p>\n

The Samaritan woman worshiped\u00a0when she recognized Jesus as Lord.\u00a0Peter saw and believed. The women\u00a0in Matthew 28 fell on their faces and\u00a0took hold of Jesus’ feet when they saw\u00a0Him. Worship is engaged when we\u00a0see and acknowledge Jesus as Lord.<\/p>\n

Our priorities change, our focus\u00a0on ministry intensifies, and our relationships\u00a0with others take on a new\u00a0dimension as we give ourselves to\u00a0the worship of God. God’s blessings\u00a0are upon us when we worship Him.\u00a0When we see and worship Jesus\u00a0Christ as Lord, we are compelled to\u00a0tell others about His wonders.<\/p>\n

This time, the disciples saw Jesus\u00a0as the risen Lord, their Messiah and\u00a0they worshiped. Notice, Jesus did not\u00a0speak to them until they worshiped.<\/p>\n

Problems of Worship <\/strong><\/p>\n

It is most curious that some doubted. In the very presence of the living,\u00a0risen, victorious Savior, some chose\u00a0not to believe. I’m convinced there\u00a0will be doubters present whenever\u00a0there is true worship.<\/p>\n

It is a sad commentary of Christianity\u00a0that negative criticism of God’s\u00a0work often comes from God’s people.\u00a0It is an historical fact that whenever\u00a0God works, Satan works. You\u00a0can count on it. Some well meaning\u00a0saint will almost always complain\u00a0when God is at work.<\/p>\n

Satan tries to keep people from\u00a0worshiping God through doubt, distrust,\u00a0fear of change and unbelief.\u00a0Strangely enough, Satan first plants\u00a0doubt in the hearts of God’s own\u00a0people. Then Satan deceives people\u00a0into discounting the validity of the\u00a0worship experience altogether.<\/p>\n

If that is not successful, Satan attempts\u00a0to get God’s children sidetracked\u00a0and at odds with one another.\u00a0Satan was thrown out of Heaven\u00a0because of his own jealousy of worship\u00a0given to God. He intends to defeat\u00a0worship of God by God’s people\u00a0today. The exciting truth is that Satan\u00a0stands powerless when God’s people\u00a0worship.<\/p>\n

Jack Taylor in his book, The Hallelujah\u00a0Factor<\/em>, says that worship and\u00a0praise by God’s people is the only\u00a0weapon in the Christian’s arsenal for\u00a0which Satan has no counterpart. Satan\u00a0is silenced when we worship\u00a0God.<\/p>\n

Someone doubted in the very\u00a0presence of Jesus. Jesus’ reaction? He\u00a0ministered to them all. Jesus did not\u00a0rebuke the doubter. He did not force\u00a0change. He did not ask the doubters\u00a0to go home. Instead, He ministered\u00a0the Word to doubter and believer\u00a0alike.<\/p>\n

Power from Worship <\/strong><\/p>\n

It was after the disciples worshiped\u00a0Jesus that they received power for\u00a0service. Jesus reminded them of His\u00a0own credentials. He told them that\u00a0“all power in heaven and earth” was\u00a0His. He promised His presence as\u00a0they baptized and taught . . . and along\u00a0with His presence came His power.<\/p>\n

How was this meeting with the\u00a0Master different than all the rest? In\u00a0business, we would ask, “What kind\u00a0of P & L (Profit and Loss) did they experience?”\u00a0What was the result of\u00a0this worship?<\/p>\n

The result of their worship was the\u00a0Great Commission. Would Jesus\u00a0have given power from Heaven if\u00a0these men had not fallen on their\u00a0faces in worship of Him? God honored\u00a0their worship and empowered\u00a0them to fulfill unbelievable teaching\u00a0and preaching responsibilities.<\/p>\n

God met with these men as they\u00a0worshiped in a special, holy place.\u00a0He allowed them to draw upon divine\u00a0resources, revealed Himself as\u00a0they continued to believe, worked\u00a0through their lives as they exalted\u00a0Christ, and performed miracles as\u00a0they trusted in His grace.<\/p>\n

This was no ordinary staff meeting.\u00a0This encounter with Jesus changed\u00a0their lives forever. A few doubted.\u00a0Most believed. Jesus was glorified.\u00a0The Kingdom of God was advanced\u00a0as men translated their worship experience\u00a0into daily obedience.<\/p>\n

Next Sunday, let’s meet for worship,\u00a0glorify the Savior, hear the Word\u00a0and leave filled with His power. It can\u00a0happen in your church. Meet Him\u00a0there!<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact\u00a0<\/em>magazine, April 1996.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Vernon M. Whaley The disciples were probably\u00a0less than enthusiastic about\u00a0the meeting. It certainly wasn’t\u00a0their first time to attend one of\u00a0His called business sessions.\u00a0Previously, they had meetings about\u00a0feeding the poor, taking care of one\u00a0another, and the proper and improper\u00a0use of the Temple for selling merchandise. Once they met with 5,000 people\u00a0and served lunch. On another occasion\u00a0they met at the home of two sisters\u00a0and watched Jesus raise their\u00a0brother from the dead. Now, Jesus\u00a0wanted another meeting. Didn’t He know they were much\u00a0too busy in ministry, much too overbooked,\u00a0much too interested in establishing\u00a0the Kingdom, to take out\u00a0time for a gathering of the boys? Not\u00a0one of the disciples in Matthew\u00a028:16-20 had volunteered for such a convocation. Think about it: Jesus returned from\u00a0the tomb as victor over death, and\u00a0now, He wanted a staff meeting.\u00a0 This\u00a0meeting with Jesus was different than\u00a0those called just a few weeks earlier,\u00a0because this was a different Jesus. This time He called a meeting as\u00a0Jesus, the risen Lord. This meeting\u00a0was not to lay plans for an upper\u00a0room dinner. Here, Jesus called His\u00a0chosen aside for the specific purpose\u00a0of giving the Great Commission. Before declaring His power, His\u00a0purpose, His plan or His person, Jesus\u00a0engaged the disciples in an incredible\u00a0lesson on worship. He taught them\u00a0four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4473"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4475,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4473\/revisions\/4475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}