Worship Jesus
| As the deer pants for streams of water, So my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Ps 42:1-2). God created us to worship him, and we are most at peace when drinking from the fount of holy God. In worship Jesus, our high priest, ushers us into the Presence of God the Father and Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. He blesses us and we reverently bow our hearts, minds, and entire being before holy God. In worship we draw near to the One who is real, lasting, and true. God’s holiness exposes sin and Satan for what they are—evil lies and rebellion against holy God. We repent. God’s revelation of himself strengthens us to resist sin and Satan, the enemy of God and his children. Isaiah saw God seated high on a throne, and his glory filed the Temple. A chorus of fiery seraphim each with three sets of wings sang, “Holy, holy, holy to Lord Almighty.” Isaiah beheld God’s glory—his revelation of himself—and said, “Woe to me . . . 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.” A seraph retrieved burning coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips. His guilt was taken away and sin atoned for. Then God spoke, “Who shall I send?” Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me.” (Isa 6:1–8) Jesus, Our High Priest How is it possible for sinners to stand in the Presence of Holy God? Sinless Jesus Christ offered himself as the sacrifice for human sin. On the cross God poured out his wrath on Jesus who suffered and died. He rose from the dead! The cross, the treasured symbol of Christianity, is both a horrifying display of divine justice and of God’s unfathomable love for his people. Justified sinners, those who put faith in Jesus, can worship God in Spirit and truth (Jn 4:24). We bow before holy God in reverent awe. With the seraph, we cry, “Holy, holy, holy. Send me.” What’s more life-changing than God himself opening our hearts and minds as we hear God’s Word? What moves us as deeply as when we sing songs of various kinds to Jesus? What is more fulfilling than gathering with the body of Christ on the Lord’s Day to worship King Jesus? Nothing! Jesus Saves God revealed his existence while demons dominated my inner life. One afternoon he pierced their torturous control and said, “I exist.” I had no faith in Jesus, but I knew God spoke. I collapsed on the step and sobbed. How did I know it was God? I don’t know, I just did. I wanted to be with him. When God revealed himself to people in the Bible, they too collapsed to the ground. After Jesus’s transfiguration on the mountain, a luminous cloud descended and God spoke, “. . . This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Mt 17:6). Terrified, the disciples fell face down on the ground. Human beings recognize the Voice of their Creator. After Christ saved me, I attended three worship services on Sunday, and one during the week. Why? As I worshipped God, the demons fled, my mind quieted and heart swelled. I felt safe. In his Presence, I repented of sin and praised him as Lord and Savior. He opened Scriptures and revealed his faithfulness and holiness. I trusted him. I worshipped God with other believers. I belonged. Today, when people seek help for spiritual attacks, among other things, I say, “Let’s go to church. Let’s worship Jesus with the body of Christ gathered in a place made sacred by God.” Some think I am naïve. Perhaps I don’t quite understand the strength of the demon attacking them and their brokenness. Yes, I do. They don’t yet know the divine majesty, sovereignty, love, justice, and mercy of holy God who will rescue them. They are like a lamb stuck in a snake infested swamp and desperate for water. They would die of thirst if not for Jesus. God meets us in worship. Are you under spiritual attack? Worship God. Are you ensnared in sin? Worship God. God inhabits the praise of his people. God meets us and reveals himself through Word and Spirit. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care (Ps 95:6–7). D |