8/31/2008 8:18 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Seeing God’s glory
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Lev. 9:23-24
Message of the verses: “23 ¶
Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and
blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24
Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering
and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they
shouted and fell on their faces.”
There are
two things in these verses that I want to write about: First the glory of God and second the worship
of the people.
I have gone
over the glory of God in this respect when I studied the book of Exodus and
traced God’s glory from the time that His glory entered the tabernacle until we
see it in the book of Revelations 21:22-23.
God’s glory entered the tabernacle when it was built which is recorded
in Exodus 40:34-35, and now after the ordination of Aaron and his sons it comes
again. His glory will leave during the
time when the people had sinned greatly, especially the priests, and this is
recorded in 1 Samuel 4:21. God’s glory
will return when Solomon dedicates the temple to God, and this is found in 2
Chronicles 7:1-3. Ezekiel sees the glory
leave the temple while he is a captive in Babylonian, Eze. 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18;
11:23-24. The next time the glory of the
Lord is revealed when God’s Son is born:
“8 ¶ In the same region there
were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their
flock by night. 9 And an angel of the
Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them;
and they were terribly frightened.” (Luke 2:8-9) God’s glory was in His Son: “14
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory
as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John
1:14) Sinful people nailed Jesus Christ
to the cross and now His glory dwells in His blood bought children. “19 Or
do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,
whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For
you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20) The glory of God dwells in each local
assembly of His people (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and in His church collectively (Eph.
2:19-22) In the future God’s glory will
be present in the New Jerusalem and will remain there forever. “22 I
saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 And the city has
no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has
illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
(Revelations 21:22-23)
Now I want
to look at worship, for verse twenty-four describes worship. There was both joy and fear in there worship,
which is the paradoxical response of the people, and this helps explain what
worship truly is. Dr. Wiersbe writes
“There was joy in their hearts that the true and living God had deigned to
dwell among them and receive their worship, but there was also fear as the people
fell on their faces in awe. The two
attitudes balance each other. ‘Serve the
Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.’
(Psalm 2:11) Paul saw this as a
desirable and normal experience in the local assembly ‘23 Therefore if the whole church assembles
together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will
they not say that you are mad? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an
ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by
all; 25
the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face
and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.’ (1 Cor. 14:23-25) If our ministry doesn’t glorify God, then God
can’t bless it and use it to help others and win the lost.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have always said that the Bible is a book
of balance and I have learned today that the worship of God has to have balance
too. It has to have both joy and awe in
order to have the proper balance. God is
all powerful and therefore I am to fear Him, yet God loves me and has provided
for me the free gift of salvation at the cost of His only Son, and that should
give me great job in my heart so with these two elements I will be able to
worship God in a way that is pleasing to Him.
My Steps of Faith for
Today:
- Worship the Lord with joy and fear. (Ps. 2:11)
- Trust the Lord will guide my path today. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
- Trust the Lord will teach me contentment. (Phil. 4:11)
- Give myself to the Lord for service and worship. (Romans 12:1-2)
- Put on the spiritual armor. (Ephesians 6:10-19)
Memory verses for the week: Exodus
20:4-8
- You shall not make for yourself and idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
- You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons on the third and forth generation of those who hate me,
- but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
8/31/2008 9:26 AM
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