True worship happens here.
It's one of those 'in between' weeks.
Thanksgiving Sunday is next week. Veterans Sunday was last week.
Once in awhile we are dealt one of these kind of days where the calendar gives us a 'bye' week, like in football. Only we don't get the week off. There is some freedom here in what I can preach on.
And that is some of what I want to speak about today. Freedom in our worship.
I'll approach this message from three distinct points that will come together from the heart of worship. Freedom. Order. Understanding.
But, first, we need that all important scriptural direction.
Our subject matter comes from Paul's1st Letter to the Corinthians in the 14th chapter.
We'll read the first 5 verses to get set up.
It's one of those 'in between' weeks.
Thanksgiving Sunday is next week. Veterans Sunday was last week.
Once in awhile we are dealt one of these kind of days where the calendar gives us a 'bye' week, like in football. Only we don't get the week off. There is some freedom here in what I can preach on.
And that is some of what I want to speak about today. Freedom in our worship.
I'll approach this message from three distinct points that will come together from the heart of worship. Freedom. Order. Understanding.
But, first, we need that all important scriptural direction.
Our subject matter comes from Paul's1st Letter to the Corinthians in the 14th chapter.
We'll read the first 5 verses to get set up.
1 Corinthians 14
New International Version (NIV)
Intelligibility in Worship
14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,[b] but I would rather have you prophesy.The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,[c] unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.
Ok, let me state the obvious right off. Nobody in either of our congregations is speaking in tongues.
(Unless somebody has the gift out there and they aren't sharing that news with me.)
Since no one here actually has the gift of tongues I want to rule that out of what we will be covering here and move on to the deeper issue. Understanding.
Yes, I listed understanding as the last thing, but if you know me I like to move from back to front sometimes. Freedom is where we will wind up and you'll see why.
We are also going to look at things from the extremes. The way the Corinthians were worshiping here is vastly different from the way we tend to worship in our American style of Protestant worship.
When we worship God, the most important part of what we do is in making sure people understand what it is we are saying. The things we do in this room on a Sunday morning need to make sense. We are not here to just do whatever we want to do how ever we want to do it and just expect people to walk away feeling fulfilled. There's a point to what we do.
It is not about us on Sunday morning. It is about God. It's about Jesus.
We have to realize where the Corinthians are at in their culture.
Many of them are coming out of pagan temples, places where the worship would have been wild and crazy. Historians talk of crazed sacrifices and shouting, wild moments of frenzy. Whatever they were used to doing in those settings is the kind of familiarity they would bring with them into this new Christian setting where they worship, now.
Paul would visit them. He would witness what they would do and practice and worship.
He now has a very peculiar place to speak from. Not just as a leader, an apostle, of the church, but also as an outsider and a visitor. That idea is central to this passage.
Paul makes a grand point in these first 5 verses that we need to make sure we do not miss.
He is talking to the people who are speaking in tongues, yes, but the point is much broader than that.
What we and do in the midst of the congregation and others need to make sense in order for their to be edification. Paul says it in three words in verse 3 - strengthening, encouraging and comfort. If we are truly speaking from the Spirit, if we are truly speaking from what we feel the Lord has given us to say and do, then the evidence of that will be - a strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
Understanding is essential to being edified. If we don't understand what the other person is saying then we get nothing out of the conversation and we leave dissatisfied, unfulfilled. From a comic note, most people are familiar with Abbott and Costello, "Who's On First?" This classic routine shows that even when you are listening you can be missing the vitals of a conversation. Who? What? I don't know! Many a human conversation is missing these all important moments of context and people can leave, even a church service, wondering what in the world they just experienced.
I would ask you in the Thornville & Pleasantville churches...do you feel strengthened? Do you feel encouraged? Is there a sense of comfort? Do you understand what it is where are doing here? If you feel better about your churches since I got here last July, there's your evidence that the Lord is in what we are doing. It is not about us. It is about God. It's about Jesus.
You may not see everything going on that you, personally, want to see going on and we may not be where you, personally want the church to be. But, it's not about you. It's about Jesus.And, it's about others and what we do in their presence.
Now, our worship on Sunday morning in rural Perry & Fairfield counties may not be at all like that of the Corinthians. In fact we could compare their style of worship to what we might see in some of those Pentecostal, Apostolic, or Charismatic churches.It's a bit wild and crazy. People are outspoken. People seem to do what they want, the way they want to do it.
The issue I have witnessed in those settings is... no one seems to be concerned about anybody else around them. Paul would call the Corinthians out for that very things as he continues on through this 14th chapter.
Look at the context of that day of Pentecost. You have 12 Hebrew, Jewish guys up on a balcony overlooking 3000 folks from all different languages and cultures. Yet they are all hearing the message in their own language. John, Peter, Andrew and the rest are all speaking Hebrew. Yet, the crowd is hearing their own native tongues. That's truly how the gift is to be used. To communicate the message of Christ to someone who doesn't speak the same language as yourself.
The communication, more correctly, the understanding is what's most important.
Paul would even use this point to speak about the subject of music, not just tongues.
You see, that's selfish. It's just about me. I felt like singing a song. I wanted to do it. I didn't explain to any of you why I got up and sang the song or what it meant to me. Context and understanding are key to having an orderly worship service.And, that is where we will go next: order.
Paul begins to touch on the matter of freedom as he talks about order. He wants his Corinthian readers to see the importance of having the gifts. He even starts off with that line at the beginning of this chapter. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. Desire gifts, seek them, but understanding how to use them...that is where order comes about.
Listen to what Paul says...
The Corinthians might have had some wild and crazy worship style. Many of the Charismatic types do also. We might be on the other extreme. It's quiet. It's reserved. In either case, what would visitors say about our service once they have been here and experienced it? In the case of the wild and crazy, the response, as Paul suggests, would be...those people are out of their minds! What might they say in our reserved, calm and quiet context? Would it be something like... it's just dead in there! They aren't doing anything...nothing. Looked like a funeral service in there.
The first part of order is what we do with the gifts we have. If, we realized we have gifts at all.
The next part is actually using our gifts in an orderly manner. In fact, the next section from verse 26 on in entitled...
29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
(Unless somebody has the gift out there and they aren't sharing that news with me.)
Since no one here actually has the gift of tongues I want to rule that out of what we will be covering here and move on to the deeper issue. Understanding.
Yes, I listed understanding as the last thing, but if you know me I like to move from back to front sometimes. Freedom is where we will wind up and you'll see why.
We are also going to look at things from the extremes. The way the Corinthians were worshiping here is vastly different from the way we tend to worship in our American style of Protestant worship.
When we worship God, the most important part of what we do is in making sure people understand what it is we are saying. The things we do in this room on a Sunday morning need to make sense. We are not here to just do whatever we want to do how ever we want to do it and just expect people to walk away feeling fulfilled. There's a point to what we do.
It is not about us on Sunday morning. It is about God. It's about Jesus.
We have to realize where the Corinthians are at in their culture.
Many of them are coming out of pagan temples, places where the worship would have been wild and crazy. Historians talk of crazed sacrifices and shouting, wild moments of frenzy. Whatever they were used to doing in those settings is the kind of familiarity they would bring with them into this new Christian setting where they worship, now.
Paul would visit them. He would witness what they would do and practice and worship.
He now has a very peculiar place to speak from. Not just as a leader, an apostle, of the church, but also as an outsider and a visitor. That idea is central to this passage.
Paul makes a grand point in these first 5 verses that we need to make sure we do not miss.
He is talking to the people who are speaking in tongues, yes, but the point is much broader than that.
What we and do in the midst of the congregation and others need to make sense in order for their to be edification. Paul says it in three words in verse 3 - strengthening, encouraging and comfort. If we are truly speaking from the Spirit, if we are truly speaking from what we feel the Lord has given us to say and do, then the evidence of that will be - a strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
Understanding is essential to being edified. If we don't understand what the other person is saying then we get nothing out of the conversation and we leave dissatisfied, unfulfilled. From a comic note, most people are familiar with Abbott and Costello, "Who's On First?" This classic routine shows that even when you are listening you can be missing the vitals of a conversation. Who? What? I don't know! Many a human conversation is missing these all important moments of context and people can leave, even a church service, wondering what in the world they just experienced.
I would ask you in the Thornville & Pleasantville churches...do you feel strengthened? Do you feel encouraged? Is there a sense of comfort? Do you understand what it is where are doing here? If you feel better about your churches since I got here last July, there's your evidence that the Lord is in what we are doing. It is not about us. It is about God. It's about Jesus.
You may not see everything going on that you, personally, want to see going on and we may not be where you, personally want the church to be. But, it's not about you. It's about Jesus.And, it's about others and what we do in their presence.
Now, our worship on Sunday morning in rural Perry & Fairfield counties may not be at all like that of the Corinthians. In fact we could compare their style of worship to what we might see in some of those Pentecostal, Apostolic, or Charismatic churches.It's a bit wild and crazy. People are outspoken. People seem to do what they want, the way they want to do it.
The issue I have witnessed in those settings is... no one seems to be concerned about anybody else around them. Paul would call the Corinthians out for that very things as he continues on through this 14th chapter.
6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?Paul is making it clear to his Corinthians readers that they are not there to simply speak about whatever they want to speak and talk about. If we were truly dealing with the gift of tongues in our congregational context, I'd say to someone who has that gift...what are you actually doing with the gift other than bringing attention to yourself? If there was someone I knew who had the gift of tongues, one of the first things I would ask them is... Where does Jesus want you to go serve in the mission field? Paul is saying to his readers here that the gift of tongues doesn't make much sense for use around people who all speak the same language.
Look at the context of that day of Pentecost. You have 12 Hebrew, Jewish guys up on a balcony overlooking 3000 folks from all different languages and cultures. Yet they are all hearing the message in their own language. John, Peter, Andrew and the rest are all speaking Hebrew. Yet, the crowd is hearing their own native tongues. That's truly how the gift is to be used. To communicate the message of Christ to someone who doesn't speak the same language as yourself.
The communication, more correctly, the understanding is what's most important.
Paul would even use this point to speak about the subject of music, not just tongues.
7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.What Paul says in this chapter about tongues and the the interpretation of tongues can be applied across the board to all areas of our worship. If I just get up and start singing a song without giving you some sort of context or understanding before I just start singing...you might say to yourself, "Well...that was a nice song...not sure why he just got up and started singing that..but...ok, then..."
You see, that's selfish. It's just about me. I felt like singing a song. I wanted to do it. I didn't explain to any of you why I got up and sang the song or what it meant to me. Context and understanding are key to having an orderly worship service.And, that is where we will go next: order.
Paul begins to touch on the matter of freedom as he talks about order. He wants his Corinthian readers to see the importance of having the gifts. He even starts off with that line at the beginning of this chapter. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. Desire gifts, seek them, but understanding how to use them...that is where order comes about.
Listen to what Paul says...
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”What we put into this worship service on Sunday morning everything about who we are. Here is where I will stretch out and grab the extremes.
The Corinthians might have had some wild and crazy worship style. Many of the Charismatic types do also. We might be on the other extreme. It's quiet. It's reserved. In either case, what would visitors say about our service once they have been here and experienced it? In the case of the wild and crazy, the response, as Paul suggests, would be...those people are out of their minds! What might they say in our reserved, calm and quiet context? Would it be something like... it's just dead in there! They aren't doing anything...nothing. Looked like a funeral service in there.
The first part of order is what we do with the gifts we have. If, we realized we have gifts at all.
The next part is actually using our gifts in an orderly manner. In fact, the next section from verse 26 on in entitled...
Good Order in Worship
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
Note the orderliness in which everything happens and yet everyone gets to use their gifts to worship the Lord. Maybe I shouldn't go here or open this can of worms, but....you know me... Do you think they had a bulletin to tell them what to do? (Hiding under my rock here...) I seriously don't think they had anything like that. They came together. They knew somebody was going to sing or pick a song. They knew some folks would share things on their hearts, based upon they had read from the scripture that week or an issue they had been praying about. An area that has been mentioned profusely in this passage is prophecy. Do you understand the role of a prophet? "God says we should go this way. If we follow God this will happen. If we do not follow God, this will happen!" I think some of the people in our pews really have that gift and don't realize it. I think out there who really have something important they could share in a service that might be of benefit to others.
People need to be encouraged, strengthened, comforted. For all the talk I have heard over the years about 'making people uncomfortable' in church..."We don't want people to feel too comfortable in church, then we won't get anything done." I don't think that is the proper word. Based upon what I understand from scripture, God wants to comfort people. You've read and heard much from that stand point in my blogs and sermons since I got here to your churches. The only people Jesus made uncomfortable were the real religious folks who thought they had their religion and God all figured out. Their worlds got turned upside down. The common folk in their earthly plight needed comfort. So, maybe we need to decide where we stand. Do we have it all figured out? Or, are we the common man in need of understanding and help? (Another sermon for another time...)
Listen to this last verse and we will wrap it up...
Freedom to worship the Lord from the heart. Knowing that the reason we are coming together and who it is that we are coming together for, that's makes all the difference. You don't even need a bulletin (as a duck behind my rock). We need heart and an understanding of why we are doing what we do. An orderly manner of sharing what we have on our hearts. The freedom to know that things are being done in the presence of the Lord and He oversees what we do and how we do it.
We are not here to just do whatever we want to do. We are here to do it for Him.
The gifts. The freedom. The heart of worship. The Lord is where it all comes from.
Listen to this last verse and we will wrap it up...
33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.Where there is peace, there is freedom.
Freedom to worship the Lord from the heart. Knowing that the reason we are coming together and who it is that we are coming together for, that's makes all the difference. You don't even need a bulletin (as a duck behind my rock). We need heart and an understanding of why we are doing what we do. An orderly manner of sharing what we have on our hearts. The freedom to know that things are being done in the presence of the Lord and He oversees what we do and how we do it.
We are not here to just do whatever we want to do. We are here to do it for Him.
The gifts. The freedom. The heart of worship. The Lord is where it all comes from.
Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word that you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
From John Wesley's Select Hymns, 1761
