IS THERE SELF-CENTEREDNESS OR GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS?

“Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, ‘Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?”’” (Zechariah‬ ‭7:4-7‬‬)

What they were doing was worthless.  It wasn’t worship, for it was not directed to God.  They were trying to earn points with Him.  That isn’t love.

The attitude in marriage would be, “I’ll scratch your back, if you scratch mine.”  We expect a quid pro quo. That’s a contractual partnership, not a covenant relationship!

With the Lord, it may be expressed this way, “Well God, I went to church today!  How many points do I get for that?”

God’s answer is, “Zero!”  Worship isn’t about us; it’s about God!  Yet, so much of our worship is about our preferences, our style of music, and how many spiritual goose bumps we get.

A man was leaving the church, complaining about the music.  “I didn’t like the hymns you chose today.”  The pastor simply said, “That’s okay; we weren’t singing them for you.”

The late William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, said, “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.”  Let us seek to offer that kind of worship!

THERE’S HOPE FOR THE CHURCH THAT EVANGELIZES THE SINNER: The Manner of Our Witness

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Colossians 4:6 NKJV)

The fact that God has mandated Christians to witness to the lost, does not mean that the manner of our witness doesn’t matter.  It does!

We can’t be like a bull in the china shop.  Nor are we to be obnoxious.  Some come across as hired gun-slingers looking to put another notch in their belt.  Some like this sanctimoniously boast, “I shared the Gospel and five people were saved!”  The reality is that you can’t know that.  You might say, “They were hopefully converted,” or “they professed faith,” but as to whether they were saved has yet to be determined.  We can’t see in a heart.  The attitude conveyed by such statements is the problem.

The significance of the manner of witness is conveyed in this phrase: “how you ought to answer each one.”  Paul has already said that we ought to do it—that’s our mandate.  He next says to understand how we ought to share—that’s our manner.

Our manner is to “always be with grace.”  We don’t take a “holier-than-thou” attitude.  We realize that only grace has made us acceptable to God, and that same grace is available to others.  We are called to be witnesses, not prosecuting attorneys and certainly not judges! 

Our manner of speech is to be, “seasoned with salt.”  Salt enhances the flavor of food.  We need to convince people to taste what we are offering. 

Our manner of speech lets us, “know how you ought to answer.”  Peter said, “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.”  People ought to see the hope in our disposition and hear the hope in our discussion.  This ought to cause them to wonder and then seek an answer for how we can have such hope in a hopeless age.  Then we are ready to tell them the difference Jesus makes!

The manner of our speech takes into account, “each one.”  A cookie-cutter approach won’t work.  People are different.  Having a memorized outline, an array of verses committed to memory—some learned methodology may be helpful.  But, a “canned” speech that we are intent on reciting, rather than a compassionate heart willing to listen, will often be counterproductive.

But, there is one way in which everybody is identical.  People need the Lord.  God’s solution is likewise the same for everyone—Jesus!

The Lord’s method for reaching the lost is unchanging: God expects us to tell them!  Give them hope!  Give them Jesus!  When a church does this—any church, anywhere—there is no distinction—there is hope for that church.

THERE’S HOPE FOR THE CHURCH THAT EXALTS THE SAVIOR: Our Preparation for Worship

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  ‎But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  ‎And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15 NKJV)

This is what we need to put on as we go to church.  These are attitudes of the heart that prepare us to meet with God corporately. 

“Therefore…” based on who we are in Christ (v.1-11): risen with Him, dead to the old life—a brand new creation, we are to be transformed in our entire being—the clearest evidence being our attitudes toward others.  This is befitting a child of God, chosen out of the world by the Father’s love, “as the elect of God, holy and beloved.”

Before you come to the worship service make sure you, “put on tender mercies.”  Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” We need to cut each other some slack.  I desperately need mercy from God, and appreciate it from others, so I can only have it if I share it!

“Put on…kindness.”  More important than putting on hairspray or cosmetics, put on a kind face.  Charles Stanley, Pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta has had a global outreach through In Touch Ministries.  But do you know what greatly influenced his life?  More than anything that he was taught, he had a Sunday School teacher he recalls was so kind to a group of boys.  Sometimes a little means a lot!

“Put on…humility.”  The proud church member wants the spotlight on them, but the humble want it on God.  Do you come to worship seeking pats on the back instead of offering praises to God?

“Put on…meekness.”  The meek are not demanding, insisting on his or her way.  They are eager to compromise preferences where no principle is involved.  Wouldn’t that stop a lot of church fights?

“Put on…longsuffering; bearing with one another.”  The longsuffering are patient with people and not bitter toward God.  The reality is that some folks in the church are rather easy to love—and some you just have to put up with…but God does so with us, and we must bear with others.

Those ready for worship are forgiving (v.13).  You can’t offer acceptable worship otherwise—Jesus said to leave your gift at the altar and be reconciled to your brother.  It is hard to sit on a pew and worship God with someone with whom you are mad. 

“Love” is the belt that holds your ensemble together (v.14).  Don’t leave home without it!

Then there will be peace inside us that leads to unity in the Body.  Hearts in harmony with God’s commands lead to a congregation in harmony with each other. 

We’ll have a thankful spirit.  That’s a well-dressed Christian!  If you want to come to church to critique what goes on instead of looking to express worship and extend love, you certainly are going to be able to find fault for even at our best there will be some at their worst.

It’s really a choice.  Did you hear about the grumpy looking fellow who with gruff voice came into the seafood restaurant and asked the waitress, “Do you serve crabs?”   Her answer was, “Oh yes sir, we’ll serve anybody!”  And we will do so at the church…we’ve been doing in for 2,000 years.

Make sure you are preparing your heart for worship and that when you come to church this Sunday morning—be a well-dressed Christian!  Then we’ll all be thankful.