Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
"Who is at the Heart of Worship"
Isaiah 6:1-8 June 7, 2009
I was flipping through the channels on television not too long ago and I came across this scene
where a minister is standing up in front of his congregation. It was a vast sanctuary -- but it was
almost empty. The minister looked out upon all of the empty seats and saw only 4 people in the
congregation -- one young man, and three elderly women.
Undaunted by that, The minister begins to speak. "I give thanks to God that there are at least a
handful of us who have made the effort to come to worship, who have come to feed on the Word
of God, and who don’t believe that God is less important than the football game on television."
Suddenly, the young man in the back pew jumps up. "Oh no, I forgot about the football game."
And with that he runs out of the sanctuary.
Thankfully this is not football season. But the truth is that every one of us had a choice to make
this morning. Should we get up and come to worship or… was there something else calling us that
could meet some need we had. You see, after all, most of the choices we make are based upon
getting our needs filled.
Last Tuesday night I went grocery shopping. Why? I was tired but we didn’t have a thing in the
house and I wanted to have some cereal for breakfast on Wednesday morning. So I went.
We get up and go to work so that we will have income to support our family. We take our children
to dance or art or little league so that they will be well rounded or engaged in life. You name it and if
you look at the reason why we do so much of what we do, it will all boil down to having some
need met.
This morning for example some people chose not to come to church. They went somewhere else
out of devotion for family, the need to sleep after a late night of celebration, the desire to take
advantage of the nice weather and to do some yard work…
The truth is that some of us are here today, not for some noble reason, but because we have the
habit of doing so. Sunday mornings mean Church. It’s what we do. I don’t want to insinuate that
this is a bad habit. Even this fills a need. Some of us like a routine. It grounds us and brings stability
and a sense of peace into our lives.
The truth is that worship meets the needs that many of us have and that’s why people still come to
church. Maybe you are struggling with some issue today; there was a loss in the family, your job is
on the line, you worry about your kids, you and your spouse are not getting along, your finances
are out of control. You come to worship seeking an answer to your questions. You come seeking
to know if God still cares. You come to be buoyed up by your friends and fellow Christians. I
would suspect that a lot of us come for that same reason. A few years ago I went to the Billy
Graham School of Evangelism and the key note speaker said that on any given Sunday, 40 % of the
people sitting in our pews are there with a broken heart that needs mending by the love of God.
The truth is that many of us see worship as a place where we can get our needs met. As long as
that works for us we keep coming. But today I want to ask you if this is what worship is all about.
Are we coming to worship for us, or is there another reason that we should be coming to worship?
Who is the heart of worship?
That’s why I want to look at our text today. For the past 3 thousand years, worship has found its
basis in this chapter. The order of our worship for many denominations is based in part on this 6th
chapter of Isaiah.
Right at the outset we learn that God sees worship as something that happens in the midst of life.
Isaiah begins this passage with an interesting statement. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw
the Lord.”
It’s like saying, “In the year the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, I worshipped God. In the year that
Kennedy was assassinated, I worshipped God. In the year the riots happened in Detroit, I
worshipped God. In the year the Twin Trade Towers came down, I worshipped God. In the year
that I was married, in the year that my daughter was born, in the year my friend died, in the middle
of life, in the midst of experiences good and bad, I was worshipping the Lord.
Worship in the Sanctuary is never be oblivious to what is happening out there. It is not to escape
life out there, it is to deal with life out there. If you want your worship inside the Sanctuary to be
true worship, then you bring in with you all of the baggage of what is happening out in the world.
In the Old Testament Psalms, one writer said (Ps 86:6-7), “Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my
cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.” Why do we
worship God? Because our lives are so full of concerns and issues that we have to have someplace
to take them.
Having said this though, true worship focuses on God. This is where many of us make a mistake.
We assume that worship focuses on us. I’ve heard many times people talk about how they are
struggling in their worship life because they aren’t being fed. Have you ever heard anyone say that?
“I’m not being fed. I’m not getting anything out of worship. I’m not being nurtured by worship. I
don’t get a blessing out of worship.” They leave one church and go to another. After a time it
happens again and again.
Well, although this is a legitimate concern because some worship is dead and not very fruitful, I
don’t hear people asking whether God is getting anything out of our worship. I don’t hear people
saying I let God down today because I just wasn’t into it. I didn’t come prepared. I had too much
on my mind.
You see true worship isn’t really about us. Worship is supposed to be about God. It is our
opportunity to enter into communion with him and thank him, praise him, glorify him and honor
him. If we aren’t really singing the hymns, if we aren’t thinking about the scriptures, if our hearts
are not into prayer and our minds aren’t engaged in the message, then maybe God isn’t getting
anything out of it.
Have you ever talked to somebody and you knew they weren’t really paying attention? They were
distracted. They didn’t really want to be there. How fun is that? Well how do you think God feels if
you are so concerned about what is happening after worship that you keep looking at your watch?
How do you think God feels if the whole time you are in worship your mind keeps drifting back to
last night, or last week? How do you think God feels when he is trying to talk to you and that
grudge you have with a neighbor is all you can think about? The truth is that until God gets
something out of our worship, we never will. Until God is blessed by our worship, we won’t be
blessed.
All too often, we treat worship as something that is supposed to entertain us. But it isn’t. What is
most important is that God enjoy the worship experience. We are here to worship HIM. We are
here to bless HIM. In Isaiah, the prophet goes to the Temple, and he says “I saw the Lord seated
on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” It is the presence of God
that fills the worship. True worship always focuses on God.I think we’ve lost something in our
worship services.
There was a time when people were so aware of this aspect of worship that the very churches
themselves were being constructed in ways that emphasized the awesomeness of God. It is difficult
to walk into one of the cathedrals of Europe built centuries ago without feeling awe and wonder.
The quiet, the slight aroma of incense or candles, the artistry of stained glass windows and classical
music moves one to acknowledge awe and wonder.
In recent years, theology and worship have emphasized the personal nature of God to such a
degree that for some reason we’ve forgotten that our God is also an awesome God. We have
forgotten that God is such an awesome and holy God that to be in His presence is to be filled with
wonder.
When Moses was aware of God’s presence in the burning bush, Moses was afraid. When Jacob
had a dream of a staircase or ladder to heaven, he woke up and was afraid, because he said,
“Surely the Lord is present and I didn’t know it.” And the Bible says he was filled with awe. Time
and again, when people are aware of the presence of God, the Bible describes the experience as one
filled with awe and even fear. Why do we worship God? Because He is holy, and His holiness
demands our attention.
True worship also helps us understand ourselves and our shortcomings. In Isaiah, the heavenly
beings sing, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." And
immediately, the prophet cries out, “Woe to me!” And he speaks of his own sinfulness. You cannot
come into the presence of God without becoming aware of our own ungodliness.
Why do we worship? One reason is to be able to experience that forgiveness. We need to hear the
same message the Prophet Isaiah heard. “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Another reason we come to worship is so that our lives will be different. And the difference should
be in terms of service. Worship at its best, always motivates the worshipper to roll up the sleeves
and to get to work.
“Enter to worship, depart to serve.” That phrase is a common phrase that is frequently found on
bulletins. In the language of the Bible, the word for worship and the word for service is the same
word. Worship and service go hand in hand. In the Christian life, one cannot have worship without
service to follow.
In our Scripture lesson, the Prophet Isaiah is in the Temple worshipping God. He hears the call to
worship, with angels singing “Holy, Holy, Holy.” He hears the word of God proclaimed, hearing the
voice of God saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And what follows then is the service. The work. The rolling up of sleeves and the reaching out to
others. The Prophet said, "Here am I. Send me!" True worship will always result in service. We
cannot enter the sanctuary to worship, without departing into the world to serve.
So, why are we here? Why did we come to worship today? We came in here, in part, to be
challenged to do something out there. By who? By the holy and awesome God.
The goal of worship is not to send you and me out feeling satisfied. The goal of worship is to send
us out with the power of the one we worshipped. If God is at the heart of our worship, if we have
opened ourselves to him and invited him into our hearts, we will leave empowered to change the
world and our lives will be blessed.
Isaiah 6:1-8 June 7, 2009
I was flipping through the channels on television not too long ago and I came across this scene
where a minister is standing up in front of his congregation. It was a vast sanctuary -- but it was
almost empty. The minister looked out upon all of the empty seats and saw only 4 people in the
congregation -- one young man, and three elderly women.
Undaunted by that, The minister begins to speak. "I give thanks to God that there are at least a
handful of us who have made the effort to come to worship, who have come to feed on the Word
of God, and who don’t believe that God is less important than the football game on television."
Suddenly, the young man in the back pew jumps up. "Oh no, I forgot about the football game."
And with that he runs out of the sanctuary.
Thankfully this is not football season. But the truth is that every one of us had a choice to make
this morning. Should we get up and come to worship or… was there something else calling us that
could meet some need we had. You see, after all, most of the choices we make are based upon
getting our needs filled.
Last Tuesday night I went grocery shopping. Why? I was tired but we didn’t have a thing in the
house and I wanted to have some cereal for breakfast on Wednesday morning. So I went.
We get up and go to work so that we will have income to support our family. We take our children
to dance or art or little league so that they will be well rounded or engaged in life. You name it and if
you look at the reason why we do so much of what we do, it will all boil down to having some
need met.
This morning for example some people chose not to come to church. They went somewhere else
out of devotion for family, the need to sleep after a late night of celebration, the desire to take
advantage of the nice weather and to do some yard work…
The truth is that some of us are here today, not for some noble reason, but because we have the
habit of doing so. Sunday mornings mean Church. It’s what we do. I don’t want to insinuate that
this is a bad habit. Even this fills a need. Some of us like a routine. It grounds us and brings stability
and a sense of peace into our lives.
The truth is that worship meets the needs that many of us have and that’s why people still come to
church. Maybe you are struggling with some issue today; there was a loss in the family, your job is
on the line, you worry about your kids, you and your spouse are not getting along, your finances
are out of control. You come to worship seeking an answer to your questions. You come seeking
to know if God still cares. You come to be buoyed up by your friends and fellow Christians. I
would suspect that a lot of us come for that same reason. A few years ago I went to the Billy
Graham School of Evangelism and the key note speaker said that on any given Sunday, 40 % of the
people sitting in our pews are there with a broken heart that needs mending by the love of God.
The truth is that many of us see worship as a place where we can get our needs met. As long as
that works for us we keep coming. But today I want to ask you if this is what worship is all about.
Are we coming to worship for us, or is there another reason that we should be coming to worship?
Who is the heart of worship?
That’s why I want to look at our text today. For the past 3 thousand years, worship has found its
basis in this chapter. The order of our worship for many denominations is based in part on this 6th
chapter of Isaiah.
Right at the outset we learn that God sees worship as something that happens in the midst of life.
Isaiah begins this passage with an interesting statement. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw
the Lord.”
It’s like saying, “In the year the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, I worshipped God. In the year that
Kennedy was assassinated, I worshipped God. In the year the riots happened in Detroit, I
worshipped God. In the year the Twin Trade Towers came down, I worshipped God. In the year
that I was married, in the year that my daughter was born, in the year my friend died, in the middle
of life, in the midst of experiences good and bad, I was worshipping the Lord.
Worship in the Sanctuary is never be oblivious to what is happening out there. It is not to escape
life out there, it is to deal with life out there. If you want your worship inside the Sanctuary to be
true worship, then you bring in with you all of the baggage of what is happening out in the world.
In the Old Testament Psalms, one writer said (Ps 86:6-7), “Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my
cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.” Why do we
worship God? Because our lives are so full of concerns and issues that we have to have someplace
to take them.
Having said this though, true worship focuses on God. This is where many of us make a mistake.
We assume that worship focuses on us. I’ve heard many times people talk about how they are
struggling in their worship life because they aren’t being fed. Have you ever heard anyone say that?
“I’m not being fed. I’m not getting anything out of worship. I’m not being nurtured by worship. I
don’t get a blessing out of worship.” They leave one church and go to another. After a time it
happens again and again.
Well, although this is a legitimate concern because some worship is dead and not very fruitful, I
don’t hear people asking whether God is getting anything out of our worship. I don’t hear people
saying I let God down today because I just wasn’t into it. I didn’t come prepared. I had too much
on my mind.
You see true worship isn’t really about us. Worship is supposed to be about God. It is our
opportunity to enter into communion with him and thank him, praise him, glorify him and honor
him. If we aren’t really singing the hymns, if we aren’t thinking about the scriptures, if our hearts
are not into prayer and our minds aren’t engaged in the message, then maybe God isn’t getting
anything out of it.
Have you ever talked to somebody and you knew they weren’t really paying attention? They were
distracted. They didn’t really want to be there. How fun is that? Well how do you think God feels if
you are so concerned about what is happening after worship that you keep looking at your watch?
How do you think God feels if the whole time you are in worship your mind keeps drifting back to
last night, or last week? How do you think God feels when he is trying to talk to you and that
grudge you have with a neighbor is all you can think about? The truth is that until God gets
something out of our worship, we never will. Until God is blessed by our worship, we won’t be
blessed.
All too often, we treat worship as something that is supposed to entertain us. But it isn’t. What is
most important is that God enjoy the worship experience. We are here to worship HIM. We are
here to bless HIM. In Isaiah, the prophet goes to the Temple, and he says “I saw the Lord seated
on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” It is the presence of God
that fills the worship. True worship always focuses on God.I think we’ve lost something in our
worship services.
There was a time when people were so aware of this aspect of worship that the very churches
themselves were being constructed in ways that emphasized the awesomeness of God. It is difficult
to walk into one of the cathedrals of Europe built centuries ago without feeling awe and wonder.
The quiet, the slight aroma of incense or candles, the artistry of stained glass windows and classical
music moves one to acknowledge awe and wonder.
In recent years, theology and worship have emphasized the personal nature of God to such a
degree that for some reason we’ve forgotten that our God is also an awesome God. We have
forgotten that God is such an awesome and holy God that to be in His presence is to be filled with
wonder.
When Moses was aware of God’s presence in the burning bush, Moses was afraid. When Jacob
had a dream of a staircase or ladder to heaven, he woke up and was afraid, because he said,
“Surely the Lord is present and I didn’t know it.” And the Bible says he was filled with awe. Time
and again, when people are aware of the presence of God, the Bible describes the experience as one
filled with awe and even fear. Why do we worship God? Because He is holy, and His holiness
demands our attention.
True worship also helps us understand ourselves and our shortcomings. In Isaiah, the heavenly
beings sing, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." And
immediately, the prophet cries out, “Woe to me!” And he speaks of his own sinfulness. You cannot
come into the presence of God without becoming aware of our own ungodliness.
Why do we worship? One reason is to be able to experience that forgiveness. We need to hear the
same message the Prophet Isaiah heard. “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Another reason we come to worship is so that our lives will be different. And the difference should
be in terms of service. Worship at its best, always motivates the worshipper to roll up the sleeves
and to get to work.
“Enter to worship, depart to serve.” That phrase is a common phrase that is frequently found on
bulletins. In the language of the Bible, the word for worship and the word for service is the same
word. Worship and service go hand in hand. In the Christian life, one cannot have worship without
service to follow.
In our Scripture lesson, the Prophet Isaiah is in the Temple worshipping God. He hears the call to
worship, with angels singing “Holy, Holy, Holy.” He hears the word of God proclaimed, hearing the
voice of God saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And what follows then is the service. The work. The rolling up of sleeves and the reaching out to
others. The Prophet said, "Here am I. Send me!" True worship will always result in service. We
cannot enter the sanctuary to worship, without departing into the world to serve.
So, why are we here? Why did we come to worship today? We came in here, in part, to be
challenged to do something out there. By who? By the holy and awesome God.
The goal of worship is not to send you and me out feeling satisfied. The goal of worship is to send
us out with the power of the one we worshipped. If God is at the heart of our worship, if we have
opened ourselves to him and invited him into our hearts, we will leave empowered to change the
world and our lives will be blessed.
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