True Worship

Today begins week two of consecration. This week I am focusing on practicing truth, knowing the Word of God, and acting on it. When I went to share this with my Sunday school class today, something totally different came to me. The whole thing with "practicing truth" is the verb: practicing. All week we read the scripture, we pray, we fast... but for what? Everyday consecration means nothing if we're not building up to something. The whole purpose of my doing this, personally, was to see revival in my own life. I wanted my Sunday school class to do it because I want them to see revival in their lives. I want us all to do it together because I want to see revival in the church.

So I thought this morning about Moses. The book of Exodus is all about Moses leading the children of Israel out of the hands of Pharaoh and slavery in Egypt. He does that in chapter twelve of Exodus, but the book has forty chapters! What's going on? All 28 chapters following the delivery of the Israelis are what get to me every time I try to read through the Bible. Its all about preparation; its all about getting the tent of meeting, the tabernacle just right. I mean even the little headings above each section tell us: the table, the lampstand, the altar, the candles. There is so much detail, so much that had to be done... for what? The last few verses of Exodus tell us that after all of that preparing, after every little measurement, every nit-picky detail, the glory of God was so thick in the tabernacle that Moses could not even enter in.

That's the whole point! Why do we pray, fast, read our Bibles? Because that's what God rewards, that's what he wants for us. Because after we spend so much time preparing, we should be so encompassed by the glory of God that we cannot stand it! And its not just about the church. Yeah, it would be really cool if the presence of God was so thick in the church building that people couldn't even walk in the door, but his presence, his glory should be that intense in our lives, in our bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We should constantly feel his presence, people should feel Jesus when they talk to us, when they walk by us. Good grief, after Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost his shadow healed people! How awesome! And we have that potential!

Something my grandad said this morning in church that really struck me is this: there are different types of people in the world. There are people who are active. They are involved, they have energy, they constantly do things. And there are people who are spiritual. They are mindful of the presence of God, they seek his face, they worship him. But what we should strive to be is a third type of person: someone who is spiritual, but active as well. In John 4:24, Jesus said there would come a time when true worshipers would arise. People who would worship in Spirit and in truth. If the Word is God-breathed, then it is Spirit and obedience to the Word would be worship. And the word tells us that today is the day of salvation, today is the day of God's favor. So rise up and bless the Lord!