HOW COULD I EVER BECOME COMPLACENT?

READ PSALM 84

I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF WORSHIPING GOD!

Psalm 84:1-2

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD of hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

The children of Israel, singing on their way, were anticipating with great joy their time in the Lord’s temple.

How they recognized their need to be strengthened by their worship of God. It was YAHWEH whom they were worshiping: the all-powerful, self-sustaining God. He was the creator of the universe, He was alive, and they had the privilege of knowing and worshiping Him.

We do not worship God in a set place anymore, for we have the privilege to worship Him wherever we are. Has this reality become too familiar? Have we lost a sense of awe about this privilege?

But wherever we are worshiping God, we must worship Him in spirit and truth.

John 4:24

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Do we have the same kind of longing that the children of Israel had, approaching their times of worship? Is it a necessity?

What causes us not to have their same attitude?

                

Since God, being spirit, can only be met on a spiritual basis, it is likely that one deterrent is our human absorption by the material. We allow our lives to be driven by their everyday concerns. Our earthly plans are motivating our thoughts, our times, and our hearts. Problems, perceived needs overwhelm us and captivate our attention. Our responsibilities and choices have crowded out our time for God.

Lies are also distracting us from worshiping our God. We can feel self-sufficient, or we can become so overwhelmed by our problems that our view of God becomes obscured by those earthly matters. The privilege we have to worship loses its majesty, in our clouded vision.

Dear friends, we must stop and ask God to revive in us a deep longing for Him and an awed awareness of the privilege that we have to worship Him!

·         We have the privilege to worship the Creator of the universe, the King of kings, the sustainer of all things.

·         We have the privilege to call Him ‘Father’.

·         He cares for us with tenderness and righteousness. He always has our best in mind.

·         He has loved us from eternity past. He provided our salvation when we had no interest in Him.

·         He forgave our sins by sending His Son to die for us and resurrecting Him.

·         He made us heirs with Christ.

·         He is preparing a place for us in heaven with Him.

·         He is active in transforming us into the image of His beloved Son.

·         He constantly shows grace and mercy to us, as He forgives us.

·         He is our Good Shepherd; He protects and provides for us.

·         He gave us His Word so we would be able to know the truth.

·         He is faithful when we are not.

·         He loves us with an everlasting love, and will never forsake us.

·         He gave us the local church as a place for worship and service.

·         He has prepared good works for us to do.

Dear friends, the children of Israel would come to the temple, driven by their need for the presence of God and by their desire to praise Him.

May we be driven to Him in those same ways. May we never think we are self-sufficient! May we never take for granted God’s great glory and our undeserved privilege of worshiping Him.