Friday: Further Thought – Worship That Never Ends
Daily Lesson for Friday 22nd of March 2024
Read Ellen G. White, “How to Pray,” pp. 39–42, in A Call to Stand Apart.
Central to worship is the need for repentance, true repentance: “Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“There are many who fail to understand the true nature of repentance. Multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense. They lament the suffering rather than the sin. Such was the grief of Esau when he saw that the birthright was lost to him forever. Balaam, terrified by the angel standing in his pathway with drawn sword, acknowledged his guilt lest he should lose his life; but there was no genuine repentance for sin, no conversion of purpose, no abhorrence of evil. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, exclaimed, ‘I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.’ Matthew 27:4.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 22, 23.
“Although God dwells not in temples made with hands, yet He honors with His presence the assemblies of His people. He has promised that when they come together to seek Him, to acknowledge their sins, and to pray for one another, He will meet with them by His Spirit. But those who assemble to worship Him should put away every evil thing. Unless they worship Him in spirit and truth and in the beauty of holiness, their coming together will be of no avail. Of such the Lord declares, ‘This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.’ Matthew 15:8-9. Those who worship God must worship Him ‘in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.’ John 4:23.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 50.
Discussion Questions
- What is the worshiper’s greatest offering to God (Psalms 40:6-10; Romans 12:1-2)?
- How are individual and communal worship related? Why do we really need both? How does each one enhance the other?
- Many people understand worship to pertain only to prayer, singing of hymns, and study of the Bible and spiritual literature. While these activities are essential for worship, is worship limited to them? Give some examples of other forms of worship.
- Ellen G. White wrote: “His service should not be looked upon as a heart-saddening, distressing exercise. It should be a pleasure to worship the Lord and to take part in His work.”—_Steps to Christ_, p. 103. How can worship of the Lord become a pleasure?
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There is a gospel song, "When the Music Fades" that was popular in the nineties and even today I still hear it sung occasionally. I remember it particularly because in those days I was contributing to our church services by presenting the words with my nature photographic backgrounds. I will quote the lyrics here and then tell the back story:
The background to this song is pertinent. Matt Redman, the author of this song was involved in the music in a church in Watford, England where they were making a significant contribution to worship. Their minister at the time thought that something was missing and for a time banned all amplification and musical instruments. This of course was met with shock for the musicians and quite considerable soul-searching. It was in this atmosphere that Matt Redman wrote the words for this song.
The words were meaningful to me at the time because as the visuals director of our church, I was trying to contribute to our worship scene, It was very easy to get carried away with praise for doing a good job and it made me think about whether I was showing off or bring people back to the heart of worship: Jesus.
Read Matt's words again. If we want our worship to extend beyond the liturgy we must discover the heart of worship.
A farmer grew a carrot that was so big, it was about 4 feet long! He was so excited and happy about this huge carrot. In his delight, he thought, "I really want to bring this carrot to the king as a present. It is too special to eat myself or sell. This is fit for the king only, and I want him to have it." So he headed to the palace.
Once he gained an audience with the king, he presented his gift. He told the king how shocked he was when he pulled up this carrot and how it seemed fitting only that the king should have it. As he turned to leave the king called for him and said, "Kind sir, you have touched my heart with your generous present. You are clearly gifted at growing and so I would like to do something for you. I own a very large parcel of land that abuts yours and I would like you to have it."
A courtier was standing off in the shadows of the room as this scene unfolded and was aghast. The simple farmer had just procured for himself a very valuable piece of property all because of a carrot! He thought to himself, "I have some very fine horses. I will gift one to the king and see what happens."
The next day the courtier came before the king and bowing low said, "Dear King, I would like to give you my best, shiniest, strongest horse because it is only fit you should have it." Turning to go, he waited for the king to stop him. The wise king did. The king said, "Dear sir, yesterday you witnessed an interaction between a farmer and myself. Today you bring me one of your stallions. The farmer gave the carrot to me, but I believe you are giving this stallion to yourself."
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I just heard this parable and I think it is a powerful lesson. The farmer worshiped his king, the courtier worshiped himself. Reminds me of Jesus saying that at the end of time there will be people who claim to have done so much in His name but Jesus will say, "I never knew you." (Matt. 7:21-23) Worship is about our relationship with Jesus. May God give us hearts that forever worship Him in His Spirit and in Truth. Hearts that are forever with Him (Matt.15:8-9).
Amen🙏🏿 Thanks for sharing this beautiful illustration. That was a wise king; our King is the author of wisdom. He's able to see straight through our acts of piety that might impress ourselves and others.
Now.
What if we bring ourselves to our King and lay all on the alter of sacrifice. I am sure you know the answer. We don't give up our life and family, but we lay our hearts on the alter for cleansing of heart. Psalms 51:10.
We are not just gifted some property, or mansions if you prefer, we are also gifted eternal life. Amazing thing is that we don't just receive eternal life, we also are given an eternal Friend in Jesus. When it is done and said, and and we are enjoying eternal life, we will say it was worth it. Worth what? Being faithful to our Lord, with a repentive, humble, and contrite spirit.
beautiful story about the carrot.and the song, when the music fades.thank you for sharing..such a beautiful morning.
I always appreciate Ellen White’s comment as part of ‘Further Thoughts’. Reading her book “Steps to Christ" has reassured me that others think like I do, perceiving God’s Word as I perceive it. Seeing that I am not alone with my thoughts, impressions and understanding about God’s great work of the salvation of man, I rejoice greatly in the fellowship of likeminded believers.
This week’s study lessons about ‘Worship that never ends’ brought about many insights for me about what true ‘worship’ means and why true ‘worship never ends’. It means to me that, as I am in Christ I am a living testimony to the Glory of God when walking by and in His Light - a perpetual worship! When worshiping Him in Spirit and Truth I bring Glory to His Name – 1 John 4:12-14.
I also learned that by choosing not to do that which is considered by God to be evil, we choose that which was declared by God to be good - Eph.2:10. By the Holy Spirit, God's presence resides in the redeemed believer. Those loving Him with all their heart, trusting Him to provide their 'bread' from the heavenly store house and not having received a 'stone' when being hungry, are the ones abiding in His Tabernacle – Matt.7:8-10; Luke 11:1-13.
I can only see the spot on my clothes if I look at them in a bright place. The recognition of the presence of God in my life can give me a real sense of who I am. Here, the worship starts! The loving presence of God can transform any misinterpretation of beauty, and through the spotless character of Jesus, I can reflect perfection. My true nature is rotten, but Christ's sacrifice covers my shame.