Words or Worship?

When asked, “What is your purpose for going to church?” you most likely will respond with, “To worship God.” But do you truly worship? If someone raises their hands or stands up in heartfelt worship do you follow suit because they did it? Do you criticize the praise team or the pastor’s sermon? Or do you sit quietly with few words, in eager anticipation of hearing God speak to you with a heart willing to obey?

If your purpose is anything less than worship, then it’s nothing more than church attendance that is unreal, empty and fruitless – or for Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, it is “vanity.” In Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, Solomon writes about religious behavior and warns us against trying to impress God. God wants genuine worshipers who are ready to hear from Him. Not fakers who are more worried about what man thinks of them than what God does. He’s not interested in our words, unless they are words of praise or repentance as an act of worship.

Religious Behavior that God Accepts

In these two verses we can see the kind of religious behavior that God accepts and expects when we come to church to worship. First, we find that worship begins before we ever get to church. Verse 1 starts out “Guard your steps when you go to the house of the Lord.” We should be preparing ourselves for worship deliberately, thoughtfully and prayerfully so that we are poised and ready to draw near and be obedient to what the Holy Spirit is communicating to us.

If all we are interested in when we get to church is comparing dresses or shoes or the newest gossip, the headlines in the news, or the latest political fiasco, are we honestly ready to worship? Are we ready to hear God speak to us? Are we more concerned with the words of our friends at church than we are the words God wants to speak to us?

Preparing to come into God’s Presence

In Exodus 19, God calls the people of Israel to prepare and get ready to come into His presence. In verses 10-11, it says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “God to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” God wanted His chosen people to get ready to come near to Him and to prepare their hearts for an encounter with Him. 

Although it would be Moses that would go on the mountain and receive God’s words, the people were to only come near, but they still stood in the presence of God and witnessed the thundering and lightning, the thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet that was so loud they all trembled. In Verse 17, it says, “And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.”

How would you prepare to meet God if you knew He would be physically present at church this Sunday?

How different would we approach going to church if we knew that God would physically be there to meet with us? Most of us would have quite a bit of confessing to do before meeting with God. The emotions we would feel would be everything from the greatest excitement to the greatest fear. We probably wouldn’t sleep at all. There would be a million questions, like “Why would God want to me with me? What did I do that He is physically coming here?” But each one of us would do everything we could to prepare ourselves for meeting the Almighty God.

While God may not physically show up at out church this Sunday, He is there. He hears the conversations, knows our innermost thoughts and motivations and I wonder if He is disappointed week after week as He examines our hearts only to see that we were more interested in the mistakes the soloist made, whether we sang the old hymns or contemporary music, if the pastor preached from a Bible or his ipad, or if the honored pulpit was removed in favor of a smaller stand or no pulpit at all.

Why We don’t hear from God

God stands in His own house to hear His children squabble over the color of the carpet, to hear them complain and mock the pastor who He called to shepherd His children, and to hear them talk about the latest sports game more excitedly than they are to hear from God. Then we as Christians wonder why we never hear from God. Could it be that we need to take time before coming to church to guard our steps and prepare our hearts so that we can truly worship our Heavenly Father? If we do not come with hearts that are prepared that we are no better off than the “fool” that through their own ignorance offers sacrifices wrongly. If we are going to truly offer sacrifices of praise and worship and come into the presence of God, we must prepare and consecrate ourselves before coming into His presence.

Appropriate worship involves few words and a lot of listening

The second behavior of appropriate worship involves our communication with God – our payers. In verse two we find, “Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God.” Communication involves two people who are taking turns at talking and listening. Without listening there is no communication – just a lot of noise.

If when we approach God in prayer our words are the only ones being said and we do not listen for His voice we will miss what He has to say to us. Instead, we need to take time to invite God to speak as we quietly listen. Our words need to be few.

If He calls us to serve Him, we do not need to impulsively make excuses for why we can’t, but be ready with an obedient, “Yes, Lord.” If He calls out sin in our life, we do not need to impulsively offer a defense. Instead, we need to kneel before Him with a repentant heart and seek His forgiveness. If He prompts us to forgive someone who has wronged us, we don’t need to impulsively give Him the “But God….” speech. Instead we need to remember that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and He stands ready to forgive us every time we sin against Him so we ought to always be ready forgive others.

If we are constantly talking when we bring our petitions to Him, we will miss out on hearing God’s answer and direction. So be slow to speak. Listen more than you talk because the Creator of the universe has something He wants to say to You and when you have taken the time to prepare your hearts and come to Him with a heart ready for worship, you’ll be in a position to hear what He has to say.

#worship #preparingtoworship #listenwhenyoupray

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What are your motives when you give?

Think about your emotions and motives this past Sunday as the offering plate was passed at church. How did you feel about placing your tithing envelope in the plate? Or maybe you passed it on to the next person without giving anything. What about when your pastor preaches a series on stewardship? Do you stay home on those Sundays? What about when the church leadership team wants to start a building campaign or they ask for additional funds to send to missionaries?

Giving to the church

It is not uncommon for people to get very “touchy” when the subject of money comes up. It can be easier to give when there is plenty of income left after expenses, but for some it doesn’t matter how much is in the bank, they really don’t want to give it to the church. They might give it, but its for the wrong reason. Instead of being a cheerful giver, giving becomes obligatory. What about when you’re living paycheck to paycheck? Sometimes we want to give, but the money just isn’t there and if we do give it, there isn’t enough for groceries or the light bill. Instead of being a cheerful giver, giving is more of a burden.

God tells us to tithe

For some people, they have never really been taught the principal of tithing and don’t understand that God tells us to tithe. Or maybe they know it, but choose not to. If you fall in this category, then I’d like to point you to Malachi 3:8-10. In these verses, God accuses the Israelites of robbing Him. But they didn’t see how they were guilty and asked, “How do we rob You?” God’s reply was, “By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.” So choosing not to tithe is not only a sin, but it is also robbing God. (click to tweet)

Maybe you want to tithe, but you just don’t have 10% available to give, but you give what you can. Maybe it’s only $5 or even just $1 – but if the giving flows from a heart of love for God and His Church, then our giving becomes an act of worship – and that is why God loves a cheerful giver. (Click to tweet)

The Widow Who Gave All, Gave Most

If you find yourself struggling with the ability to tithe, remember the story found in Mark 12:41-44:

“Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.”

God knows your motive

It really doesn’t matter how much you give. It can be all you have or 1% of what you have. God knows the motive behind your giving. You can be the biggest tither in the church, but if your motive isn’t right, you’re tithe does not please God. You can tithe out of duty and grumble about it and your tithe would be about as accepted by God as Cain’s was in the book of Genesis. If you attempt to hold your tithe “hostage” to get the church leadership to do things the way you want, God doesn’t honor your tithe either.

Giving means releasing ownership

As soon as the money is placed in the offering plate, we need to release any feelings of ownership and realize that it was God’s in the first place. We need to not have a mindset that we gave to the church — but that we gave back to God out of the provisions He has blessed us with.

Rather than tithing out of a sense of duty or obligation we need to envision how every dollar we give goes to the ministry that God has called the church to fulfill, which includes saving the lost, ministering to those who are hurting, sending the good news of the gospel around the world, feeding the hungry, and so much more. The mission of the church is huge so as we give we should ask God to take the money we give and multiply it just like the five loaves and two fish. The boy who gave his lunch didn’t give money, but he gave everything he had and Jesus blessed it and fed more than 5000 people. He can do the same with the tithe that we give. 

Does tithing bring you joy?

If tithing does not bring you joy, you need a different point of view of what the tithe is. It is basically giving God 10% of your earnings through your local church. However, it is also more than that. God, who is entirely self-sufficient, does not require our money to sustain Him in any way. Acts 17:25, Psalm 50:10-12, and Romans 11:35 tell us that He is not “served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything.” God does not need out money. Instead, it is about trusting God to meet our needs and worshiping Him as we joyfully give back to Him out of what He has provided.

Cheerful givers

We can be cheerful givers when we trust God and believe that he will supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). Tithing should be an expression of a heart that trusts Him with providing for our finances and needs – even when the numbers don’t add up. All of us experience ups and downs with our finances, but we can trust God to provide for our every need. Because we trust Him, we give to Him first – before we pay the bills, buy the groceries and give the kids an allowance.

When can be cheerful givers when our giving becomes an act of worship. When we reflect on what Christ has done for us on the cross, our giving should be a natural response to His gracious gift of salvation and be an expression of our love and devotion for Him as we willingly and joyful give back to Him from what He has blessed us with as we give him praise and thanksgiving for what He has provided. When we see tithing from this point of view we can all be cheerful givers.

#money #tithing #cheerfulgiver

New in the shop this week:

Our Fall Designs

Here are some of our favorite designs:

God, Love, and Marshmallow Wars

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on
• Conversation Starters
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages
• Romance Builders
• Relationship Builders
• Personal reflections
• Date ideas
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

Bible Studies, Bibles, Books & More

Looking for a Bible Study, Bible, book or Christian gift? We are an affiliate with Christianbook Distributors and receive an 8% commission on any item purchased through one of our links. However, the commission never increases your cost of any item. View some of our favorite items by clicking on the logo and thank you for supporting our ministry.

Christianbook Distributors Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

904.239.8937
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