Description
GOD ON-LINE
Wrapping It Up
Ed Young
December 19, 1999
Over the next several days, it will reach a fever pitch level. Some will call it an all out frenzy. Millions will make mad dashes to the malls or go on-line to purchase that ultimate gift. After you’ve bought and bagged it, presentation of this present is a huge part, sort of the final aspect of this process. Wouldn’t you agree? A lot of us will spend hours perusing different types of wrapping paper. But the thing that sets a gift apart, that sets it off, has to be the ribbons and the bows. Talk to some veteran gift wrappers or talk to a professional packager like I did this past week, and you will learn it is all about the ribbons and the bows.
Today, I am concluding this series of talks on worship. As you just saw on the side screens, it is called “www.godonline.com.” The www stands for the wonderful world of worship. It is a series on connecting with the Lord. I truly believe worship is a gift for us all. It is a gift that literally keeps on giving. The stuff we exchange over the next couple of weeks will go out of style, rust, and maybe cease working. But this gift is something that plays out in this life and the next. Now you might be saying, “Present? Gift? Worship can be talked about in those terms, Ed?” The answer is a resounding “Yes.” God has given us all the opportunity to know Him personally through Christ, and once we make that decision, once that cosmic transaction takes place, everything in our lives should be about worship. So today as we wrap up this whole process, I want us to think about utilizing the gift of worship.
Now if this is your first time here, you could be wondering what that means. “You are saying that everything that I do should be an act of worship, everything I think? You are telling me that worship should transcend every facet of my life?” Yes. That is what the scripture tells us. If you make the choice to know Christ personally, to mirror the majesty of your relationship with Him in everything you do and say and touch, it will transform and revolutionize your life. In a real way, our lives are kind of like this replica cubbyhole unit which I have had made for you to see.
Let me ask you a personal question. How many of you remember back in kindergarten and elementary school, when you had those little cubbyholes? It is where you had your stuff. It was your compartment. Well, I have designed some cubbyholes. Most of us, without even realizing it, compartmentalize or cubbyhole our lives. We look at our existence like this setup. We say our activities are here, our finances are here, our career is in this section, our relationships are over there. We love cubbyholes. And God is confined and defined in this little cubbyhole. I go to church and bow the knee and worship Him and when I jump in my automobile and leave, I leave God at church in this little compartment, in His cubbyhole.
Worship, though—and I am talking about biblical worship—says that while God is active, real, and alive at church, He also should transcend every part of our lives. Worship is becoming intensely passionate about the person of Jesus Christ. It is mirroring the majesty of the maker in everything. So if we just do the cubbyhole thing, we are missing out on the transformation and the power of worship.
You see worship is constructive. Worship is also destructive. This, my friends, is a chainsaw. Worship is not always pleasant. And if you make the call to truly mirror the majesty of your maker, everything you do and say is going to be constructive but also destructive. Let’s just for a second have this chainsaw represent worship. Here is what worship does when we are serious about it. [Takes chainsaw and saws through all the dividing walls in the cubbyhole unit.] Worship goes and it flows and it takes out all of the compartments. It transcends everything we do and everything we say. So I have got my activities, my financial world, my career, my relationships all free from their cubbyholes.
Maybe as you look at this demonstration you are saying, “Whoa, that really pinpoints my life, Ed. That is really what I am about. I have done the clearing in my relationships and career, but in the finances and activity area, I still have some walls up. I need to go ahead and take them out. I need to truly unwrap the gift of worship and clear all of the clutter away.”
Did I just describe your life? Or, are you trying to cubbyhole God? You will never be what you are wired up to be until you understand that you are wired for worship and allow worship to transcend every aspect of your life. Let’s go back to the package because today we are going to unwrap the gift of worship. I want to show you several things that worship will do. Yes, it is destructive but it is also constructive; and once we make the decision to chainsaw our lives, let me tell you what will happen. It is right here in this big package on stage by me. Oh, look who is inside. Celine Dion. Kidding. If you don’t know what in the world I am talking about, you need to pick up a tape from last weekend. Rumor has it that Celine Dion was here. That is all I will say.
Anyway, we unwrap the gift of worship, and here is what takes place in my life and your life. Worship deepens our discernment. It deepens our discernment. Talk to people who have allowed worship to do the chainsaw thing, and they are people who have a deep level of discernment. When I refer to discernment, I am talking about several things. First, I am talking about the hygiene thing. Here is what the scripture says about our hygiene. Let me set it up.
Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, had an intense conversation with God. Let’s pick up on this running conversation because Isaiah has just seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5, “’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘ I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty.’” Did you notice the recurring term “unclean?” Unclean. We have horrible spiritual hygiene in the brilliant blaze of God’s glory, don’t we? We are all dirty. And Isaiah—check this out—he was unclean and aware of his condition. He knew he had horrible hygiene. But something scary, bone chilling can take place in a Christ follower’s life when they are unclean and unaware, when their spiritual hygiene is horrible, but they don’t really realize it.
I played basketball with a guy who had horrible hygiene. We nicknamed him Booger. Booger smelled so bad that if you guarded him you would smell like Booger for a couple of days. One day after a scrimmage, his teammates figured out the problem. We were all emerging from the shower. Booger had opted not to take a shower. And he had some Speed Stick deodorant, you know, the kind you crank the handle and the deodorant stick goes up. His deodorant was about four inches below the plastic. Booger was just rubbing plastic under his arms. He was unclean and unaware.
And here is what trips us up. We think we have to do something to mess up our fellowship with God. When I do something against God, I do mess up my fellowship, but—stay with me now—we can also mess up our fellowship with God, have a hygiene problem, when we think wrong. God wants to dwell in our thoughts, but how can He dwell in polluted thoughts, toxic thoughts, materialistic thoughts, selfish thoughts, lustful thoughts, greed-driven thoughts? How?
Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins…” And that is kind of laughable. God has read our mail. We can’t conceal our sins. “…does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” We have to constantly deal with this hygiene situation. It is a constant.
If you do any research on Old Testament worship patterns, you will discover that the last thing the high priest had to walk past before he went into the holy place was something called the brazen altar. This area, was a place where the priest would cleanse himself. Cleansing always comes before worship. It was true in the Old Testament. It is true in the New Testament. It is a continual thing, as we deal with our horrible hygiene within the brilliant blaze of God’s glory.
Now Psalm 103:1 presupposes cleansing. And my words today are reserved for the most part for those here who are Christ followers. If you are outside the family of God, listen very carefully, but this is for those who know Christ personally, who want to ratchet up their worship, who really are serious about opening this gift. “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.” Well, I can’t praise the Lord, O my soul and all my inmost being unless I have been cleansed. It is a hygiene thing. Are you dealing regularly with your spiritual hygiene?
Discernment, also, is a priority thing. It affects our priorities. You show me someone who has a great priority situation going on, and I will show you someone who is a person of worship. People are always saying, “Well, I am just so busy. I am going here. I am going there. I am going yonder.” It is so laughable when you ask people these days how they are doing and their response is that they are busy. In other words, that means they are important.
People who are worshippers understand how to simplify their lives. They understand where church fits in. They understand that they should orbit their lives around the local church. They understand the relational aspect of priorities—God first, then spouse, and finally family. They understand that career comes in about fourth. They have a grasp on the fact that God has included us in His economic plan, and they give generously to the local church. They save at least 10% of what they are making. In activities, they only do things that mirror the majesty of their Maker.
Priorities. Discernment is a hygiene thing. It is also a priority thing. It is also a perception thing. It amazes me. You talk to people who have a deep perception. They are people who worship. They have a deeper perception of spiritual truth. During daily devotional time, words leap off the pages of scripture. When people come to church they perceive how God is working and moving.
Last Saturday night, Lisa and I had dinner with some friends of ours. They have been a part of The Fellowship for about six years. Over a Javanese meal, the husband said he wanted to tell me something that I might find interesting. “Prior to joining Fellowship, we were a part of two different churches, both famous and both good churches. We enjoyed going to those churches, but now and then we just wanted to sleep in, to skip church.” Then he smiled and said, “Tell your staff this. We have never wanted to sleep in since coming to Fellowship. We don’t want to miss something.” Like some of you missed Celine Dion last weekend.
Also, those who really ratchet up their worship will experience an increase of spiritual warfare. In other words, when we really get serious about worship, the evil one will take steps to get after us. You know why? Every time we worship, every time we do the chainsaw thing, it reminds the evil one of his former job. Lucifer used to lead worship in heaven. One day, though, he made the decision to blow God out of the way and have every bit of worship come to himself. Due to his rebellion, God tossed Lucifer out of heaven along with a third of the angelic beings who now make up the demonic realm in our world today.
Have you ever talked to someone who has just been fired from his job? They are kind of angry, upset. And if they are around anything that reminds them of their former employer or area of employment, they just go off. The evil one is the same way. When I begin to chainsaw areas in my life, to consistently clean them out, whoa, the spiritual warfare intensifies. So when you unwrap the gift of worship, it will deepen your discernment.
Also, something else will occur. It will assist us in having a new take on our trials. Trials will happen, big trials, medium-size trials, and small trials. And this flies right in the face of people of faith. This is a tough one. This is where it really gets interesting. This is the test of true biblical leadership. Hebrews 13:15, “Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.” Continually. Wow. That flies in my face. I have no problem worshipping God and mirroring the majesty of my Maker when my life is a steady stream of superlatives, when it is a bull market, when I have just received a bonus, when the family is healthy, wealthy, and wise. No problem, 24/7, I love You, Lord.
Hold that thought. Let’s jump to the Old Testament, Psalm 34:1. Again we have this worship thing being a constant. David said, “I will extol the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips.” How in the world do we do this? Am I telling you just to feel worship, to feel thankful no matter what comes down the pike? Is that the deal, to have a phony, fake “Praise The Lord? Alleluia, I am facing another trial.” No, not that phony mumbo jumbo junk. The Bible tells us that we are to choose, to make a decision of obedience, to give thanks in everything—small trials, medium trials, and major league trials. We are to worship God, to mirror the majesty of our Maker in everything. We are not talking about feelings. The Bible never tells us to feel feelings of thanksgiving when we are facing trials. It never tells us to feel worshipful when we are facing adverse circumstances or situations.
Feelings are freaky. They are affected by a poor round at the golf course. They are affected by an argument with a loved one. They are affected by PMS. Feelings go up. Feelings go down. Feelings go up. Feelings go down. But the Bible tells me, Ed, to make a choice and say, “God I don’t understand it, but I thank you for it. I want to mirror You.” Christ follower, if you haven’t noticed, you are in an aquarium and people in the world around you have their faces pressed up against the glass. They want to see how you are doing life deeply with God. There you are, like a fish, and these people are just sitting back saying, “Now she is OK. Look at who she is dating. Look at the money she is making. But you wait until the wrecking ball crashes the aquarium, then we will see if she really loves the Lord.” People are doing that in your life and in mine. They are around your neighborhood and mine, your health club and mine. They are there just watching.
We have an opportunity to have a new take on trials. Acts 16, Paul and Silas hit this Roman province. They were teaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. They were teaching the whole worship thing, the chainsaw thing. There was a girl on the outskirts of the crowd, and she followed them day in and day out. She was a fortune teller. The scripture says she was oppressed by a demon. But this girl kept pointing out Paul and Silas. She kept saying that they served God, the Lord. She kept saying that over and over and over. Finally, the Apostle Paul had had enough. He turned to her and cast out the demon. Well, a problem occurred. This girl was making a lot of coin for some men in the city. They didn’t like losing all of the jack. So they brought Paul and Silas to the magistrate and the magistrate had Paul and Silas flogged.
Let me tell you what it meant to be flogged. You were spread-eagled, and a leather whip with stones or iron tied into the thongs was lashed across your body ripping skin and tendons. They were each struck 39 times. Then Paul and Silas were thrown into a dungeon. The leaders of the community looked at the pitiful Philippian jailer and said, “Doc, if these people escape you are history. We are going to rub you out.” The Philippian jailer really watched them.
The text records that about midnight, Paul and Silas began to worship. Were they feeling like it? I doubt it. They prayed and then they began to sing songs. And oh, how I would love to hear the songs they were singing. The worship was so intense, an earthquake hit. Their chains fell off, and when the Philippian jailer saw this he wanted to kill himself. Paul said, “Don’t do it.” Then the jailer hit his knees and said, “What must I do to be saved?” What was happening here? This Philippian jailer and ultimately his entire household was tattooed by the love of God. The love of God was tattooed all over them because they saw the attitude and the obedience of Christ followers during the midst of a trial.
I have seen that happen so many times. I am not even insinuating that when you handle a trial after the wrecking ball has hit your life, that people are going to rush up to you and hit their knees and say, “What must I do to be saved?” That could happen. But I will tell you what will happen. You can and will be used as an instrument of the Lord to tattoo God’s love on them. You can prepare their hearts for someone else who may deposit the seed of truth into their lives and they can become Christ followers. I have seen it happen time and time again how unbelievers will look at believers going through trials, even being tyrannized by them and because of their obedience and attitude and worship, they ultimately take a step of faith and come into the family of God.
I want you to make a T if you would. Use the index finger from each hand. Take the T and put it very, very close to your eyes. Now when you get it close, all you see is the T, right? And that is the way the majority of us handle trials. Whoa, I can only see this trial in my relationship, in my career, in my finances, in my activities. You just see the trial. Now move the T about two feet out. The T becomes smaller and you have a different perspective. I can see you and you can see me.
Think about going to the eye doctor. He puts that big machine in front of you. It has different lenses on it. “What looks better? One or two? Three or four? A or B?” It is almost sensory overload. I think, “A, or was it three?” When you face a trial, look at it through the lens of the Lord because He will give you true perspective and true meaning and true power.
I am going to tell you about a small trial that our family went through recently. This is how God is helping me with His chainsaw aspect of worship. The flu has assaulted us. In fact, right now I don’t feel that great. So if I leave the stage in a hurry, don’t worry. Just know I am sick with the flu. Several nights ago, our five-year-old twins had the flu. I am talking about the bad flu. I had been sleeping but woke up. It was about two or three in the morning and I noticed that the lights were on. I looked over and Lisa was out of the bed. Normally I would just fall back to sleep. “Oh, thank you Lord for a wife like Lisa, a mother like Lisa.” But this night was different. I felt the Lord prompting me, not audibly, to try some worship. I had been saying for six or seven weeks that worship should transcend every area of one’s life. So, I got up, walked out of the bedroom into the den. I saw the trail of sickness, I won’t be too descriptive, down the steps, into the playroom. It was horrible. I got a towel and some cleaning solution and spent 30 or 45 minutes cleaning up most of it. Not all of it, most of it. Wives, do not elbow your husbands, please, because I fail at this more than I succeed. But this time I did succeed here.
After I cleaned it up, I went back to bed. About an hour later Lisa joined me. Next morning I woke up feeling tired, exhausted. But then Lisa, with a cup of coffee in her hand, said to me, “Ed, I cannot tell you what that meant to me last night, your helping.” What happened? Due to my worship, cleaning up the mess, the love of God was tattooed on her life. That is what I am talking about. This whole thing will give us a new take on our trials.
But there is one more thing that we have got to talk about. The first two have kind of been downers. We have talked about chainsaw stuff, discernment stuff. We have talked about trials. Tough stuff. Well, now let’s talk about something else that worship will do. Worship will heighten our hospitality. And also it will heighten God’s hospitality. It will heighten my hospitality and God’s hospitality. Isn’t that something?
One of my favorite shows growing up was The Beverly Hillbillies. I loved The Beverly Hillbillies—Granny, Jethro Bodine, Elly May, Jed. At the end of the show the credits would roll and they would stand outside their palatial mansion and begin to wave. Little Granny would hold up her hand waving. I want us to sing as a church the last part of this song. You know I am feeling kind of low today, not that good, but this song I think will put a spring in all of our steps. Let’s go ahead and put the words on the screen and I will lead us as we sing this song.
One and a two and a three…“Well now it’s time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin. And they would like to thank you folks for kindly dropping in. You’re all invited back again to this locality to have a heaping helping of their hospitality. Hillbilly, that is. Sit a spell. Take your shoes off. Ya’ll come back now. Ya hear?” Give yourself a round of applause. That was incredible. The best choir I have heard in a long time. Have a heapin’ helpin’ of possum stew. Take your shoes off. Sit a spell.
Just think about that against the backdrop of one of the most potent verses in scripture. I am going to be reading out of the King James Version. Psalm 22:3, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” In other words, worship is where God lives. It is His address. So I guess if I want God to sit a spell, to have a heapin’ helpin’, to take His shoes off, I had better be involved in worship.
Let me do a Q&A with you. Question. Why do things happen when we worship? Why do things happen in your life and mine in private worship, and why do things happen in corporate worship? Why do feelings get prioritized? Why do relationships with barriers get reconciled? Why do people sometimes get healed? Why do things happen in worship? Here is the answer: While God is everywhere—call that the omnipresence of God—He is not everywhere equally manifested. God is manifested to a greater degree when those of us who love him, worship him. When God feels at home, He acts at home.
Over the last twelve months, I have traveled some and stayed in some interesting places. I have stayed in one of the most remote parts of the Yucatan jungle in a cinder block hut on a beach. Spiders and insects and snakes were all over the place, even in our room. You know what? I was comfortable. You know why? ‘Cause the fishing was incredible. I also had the privilege of staying in a magnificent resort overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. 114 of us were staying in that place. You know what? I was comfortable.
This past summer, I camped out with our kids in triple-degree Texas heat. You know what? I was comfortable—until we built the fire and started roasting marshmallows. Then it became pretty intense, as far as the heat went. But I will tell you where you can find me the most comfortable. I will tell you where you will see me taking my shoes off and acting most at home. In my house, where I live. That is my address. I am home and I act at home.
You see, ladies and gentlemen, when we open the gift of worship, the gift of discernment, the gift which gives us a new take on trials, and the gift of a heightened hospitality then, and only then, will we understand what it means to unwrap and utilize the ultimate gift.