CHURCH WORSHIP: SACRIFICE OR PLEASURE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written:
Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”
(Matthew 4:10)

MEDITATION:
What are some things you would do if you did not attend church on
Sundays? Sleep late? Watch TV? Fish? Go to the lake? Play golf?
Do you feel like you are sacrificing anything to attend church? Do
you attend church because you feel it is the right thing to do as a
Christian?

What is the main reason you attend church worship? Is it just habit,
or do you attend to get re-energized and learn more about God? If
someone asked you do define worship, what would you say? Would
you say it is spending time with God, and praising Him for who He
is and what He has done?

We worship God through prayer, singing praises to Him, and reading
His Word. However, we also worship Him because we have a desire to
obey His commands (included in the following scriptures):
    And let us consider how we may spur one another
    on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting
    together, as some are in the habit of doing,
    but encouraging one another —and all the
    more as you see the Day approaching.
    (Hebrews 10:24-25)

God established worship as a time to be enjoyed with Him
and with other believers. He did not want us to feel like it
is something we HAVE to do, but something we WANT to do.

Let’s assume you are planning on attending some sporting event,
or a concert of some kind. Do you look forward to attending it, or
do you feel like you are sacrificing something to attend? Most of
us are excited about going and the only thing we might consider a
sacrifice, is the cost of the tickets (that could be spent on something
else). This is how believers should feel about attending worship with
other believers. It shouldn’t be considered a sacrifice, but a pleasure.

When Satan was offering everything to Jesus if He would worship him,
Jesus first commanded him to leave and then quoted scripture. The
scripture He quoted had two important commands:
    “worship the Lord your God” and “serve Him only”.

We are given commands for our benefit and not our detriment.
When God gives us instructions, it is to enhance our lives as
believers. The order of the two commands seems to imply that
in order to “serve Him only”, we need to be busy about
“worshipping the Lord your God”.

Does ‘serving Him’ sound like work? It shouldn’t. Ask anyone
who is actively serving the Lord if they consider it ‘work’ or
‘pleasure’. It is refreshing when others explain how serving
the Lord has given them a new challenge and purpose for living.

ACTION:
How do you view worship and attending church? Do you consider it
a sacrifice, or something you look forward to attending? Throughout
scripture we can see that God desires to fellowship with us. What better
friend could we have than Him? Pray and ask the Lord to show you your
spiritual gift (received when you were saved), and for Him to guide you in
using His gift to you for obeying His command to serve.

Remember what Jesus said to Satan: we worship AND we serve.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us opportunities to
prove our faith in You through worship and praise. I know
that I can do these things on my own, but I also know that
Your word tells me to worship with others as well. Forgive
me if I have been ignoring Your command to ‘not give up
meeting together’ with other believers. Create in me a new
excitement and anticipation of going to Your house for the
joy and pleasure of worshipping You. You know how Satan
wants to distract and discourage me from obeying You, so I
ask You to give be a deaf ear to his influences on my life.
Show me the spiritual gift You gave me when I received Your
salvation, and teach me how to use it in serving You. I know
that when I obey Your command to serve, I will experience a
new joy and purpose for living. Thank You for Your love, Your
forgiveness, and Your promises for those who belong to You!”

BLOG: utvolwoody.com