Hi Phil,
I love it. Right on.
Vinny
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 12:24 PM
Subject: Worship


> Learning To Worship
>
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>
>
>      Many find it difficult to worship God because they don't know
> how.  They don't know how because they've never been taught.  Some
> believe, based upon many church services I have attended,
> worshipping the Lord is accomplished by raising your hands,
> praising the name of the Lord loudly, running up and down the
> aisles, shouting amen until the rafters vibrate, waving flags and
> banners, pounding on objects which generate a lot of noise,
> leaping into the air, dancing, hand clapping, laying on the floor,
> foot stomping, yelling hallelujah over and over again until their
> tongue snaps off its roller, and generally creating as much
> racket as humanly possible.  None of which, by the way, am I
> against.  If you study Old Testament worship, you will find many
> such things practiced by the Jews so I am in no way belittling
> such forms of worship.  Moreover, I've done a great deal of what I
> just described.  It is why we do it which causes me to consider
> the motives.
>
>      Is the purpose of worship to generate a lot of enthusiasm so
> the preacher's sermon sounds better or a lot of hyped emotions so
> we can feel God?  Does worship make us a better Christian?  What
> if we don't worship like everybody around us or like the person
> who is instructing us up at the pulpit?  Are we sinning if we
> don't raise our hands?  Is speaking in tongues worship?  If so,
> why do some believe it isn't a gift for today even if the Apostle
> Peter in Acts Chapter 2 said it was?  With all this in mind,  let
> me tell you a true story about how to worship God which likely is
> rarely considered to be worship.
>
>      My 75 year old friend, of whom many of you have heard me
> speak before, picked me up one night for our traditional, waist
> of time, Wednesday night bible study.  I say, waist of time,
> because we, in that church, rarely studied the bible.  Oh, the
> Bible was preached but it got to a point where it was no longer
> taught by the pastor.  This I never understood because the pastor
> was a great preacher and he was as good of Bible teacher as I have
> ever known.  However, our Wednesday and Sunday night meetings had
> decayed into book reading sessions.  He would read to us from some
> famous book that was currently popular among mega churches across
> the country.  Why we couldn't read these books on our own was a
> mystery to me but then, I wasn't the pastor.
>
>      This particular Wednesday evening was starting out just like
> all the other boring Wednesday night bible studies, so called.  We
> had six to eight people who showed up and we met in the basement
> and sat at a long table.  I was dreading the Standard Operating
> Procedure I knew was about to begin.  I also knew that the man who
> brought me, and with whom I normally rode with Wednesday and
> Sunday nights, was discouraged.
>
>      That very week, a friend of the family's son had been run
> down by a hit and run driver and killed.  This man, and his wife,
> my friends, had lost two sons to similar accidents.  One was
> changing the tire on his car along side the highway when he was
> struck and killed.  The other son, and his fiance where likewise
> struck and killed as they simply crossed the street as they were
> on an evening walk together.  So, my friend was feeling the grief
> of the death of his own two boys based upon what had just happened
> to someone they knew.
>
>      Wishing we didn't have to sit and listen to a book being read
> to us, other than the Bible that is, someone made a comment about
> an animal.  I can't remember what it was, I think it was about a
> pet, but within moments, as the Holy Spirit took over the meeting,
> everyone at the table began telling stories, some very miraculous,
> about animals.  Some stories were very serious while others were
> very funny to hear.  Soon, a general discussion about God's
> creation came up and how marvelous God's handiwork was.  These two
> basic themes of discussion continued to expand at such a rapid
> pace, the pastor never had a chance to crack his most popular book
> he had been reading.  Before long, it was 9 o'clock, the time we
> normally stopped, and the pastor closed in prayer.  Big deal!
>
>      Walking out of the building, I easily noticed the emotional
> change in the elderly man with whom I was riding.  Walking down
> the stairs to the sidewalk, he chuckled and said, "Boy, I feel
> good.  That was wonderful."  Keep in mind, we hadn't prayed
> collectively as we often did, we hadn't read the bible, which we
> normally didn't do anyhow, and the pastor didn't even read his
> book which we always did.  Yet, this man was refreshed in the Lord
> but didn't know why.  I waited till we got into the car to tell
> him.
>
>      As I clicked my seat belt in place and my Brother in the Lord
> started the engine, he said, "You know Brother Phil?  I wasn't
> feeling too well when we came tonight but I sure feel good now."
>
>      I said, "I knew you were feeling poorly due to the death of
> your family friend and how you could identify with those feelings
> but do you know why you feel good now?"
>
>      "No," he replied as he did a U turn on the side street the
> church was on and drove up to the corner and waited for the
> traffic before turning left.  "Tell me why?" he asked.
>
>      "Because," I said, "tonight, we worshipped the Lord."
>
>      "We did?" he said; puzzled.
>
>      When I pointed out that all we did tonight was talk about
> God's creation, I said, "we were magnifying the Lord.  Soon the
> Lord became bigger than our personal problems and that always
> makes a person feel better to know that he has such a big God that
> can do anything."
>
>      He said, "Well, what do you know.  That's exactly right.  We
> did worship the Lord tonight, didn't we?"
>
>      I laughed and said, "We sure did, Brother, and you are right;
> it was good."
>
>      If you read the Psalms carefully, and much of the book of
> Proverbs, you will notice the focus the authors placed on God by
> circling the wagons, sort of speak, around God's creation.  King
> David was especially notorious for this.  Read it for yourself if
> you doubt the validity of my statement.  How did King David
> magnify God in his life?  Just read the 23rd Psalm.
>
>      One reason why I enjoy our African Gray parrot so much is
> because he always reminds me of God's creation.  Sure, we have
> dogs.  We even have a cat and rabbits and guinea pigs, a couple of
> turtles, a frog, and a rat;  a pet rat, I mean.  Most, if not all,
> of these pets are domesticated.  Well, as domesticated as a frog
> or turtle can be, I mean.  The parrot is, too, of course, but he
> still possessed with the wild nature God gave him.  Yes, he bites
> hard when I stick my fingers in his cage.  When we let him out to
> play on his cage or his fake tree perch, he loves to nibble and
> bite my fingers.  He loves walking up my arm, if I lay it down
> flat, and crawling up the front of my shirt to stand on my
> shoulder.  He likes pulling my hair, what's left of it, nibbling
> on my ear, trying to jam his beak down my ear canal, biting my
> nose, and picking at anything he thinks looks interesting.  Then I
> bend down closer to his cage or perch and he jumps off my
> shoulder.  He is still a wild bird and that alone always makes me
> think of God and how He is the creator of all things.  So what am
> I doing, you may ask, when I am thinking this way?  Yes, that's
> right.  I am worshipping my Creator.  No, I am not worshipping the
> bird; I'm worshipping the bird's Creator who just so happens to be
> my Creator as well.
>
>      I'm even weirder than just that.  I talk to the parrot, his
> name is Chester, and I tell him about God and that He, God,
> created him and made his nice feathers and his beak so hard that
> he is able to crack nuts opened to feed himself.  Now, I know some
> are thinking that this bird doesn't know any such thing.  I
> believe he does.  I believe he is in touch with the Creator more
> than I am so I talk to Chester about it all.  I said I was weird.
>
>      How do you learn to worship God?  The best way is to pray.
> How do you pray?  You sit in a chair quietly, or kneel in front of
> the couch, the settee if you live in England, and you wait before
> the Lord silently.  You push away all the thoughts of the world
> when they try to come regardless of what they are.  No, I didn't
> say you attempt to empty your mind; that's a form of meditation
> which isn't wise for anyone to practice for any reason.  Why?  It
> leaves you exposed and unguarded.  Just pushing away worldly
> concerns, however, isn't meditation; it is active concentration.
> It is mental adjustment which allows for your mind to focus on
> more important things.  This takes practice.  The worldly problems
> love to crowd our minds with worry and doubt and unbelief and fear
> and guilt and shame and frustration and stress, and a lot of other
> such things.  No, you don't need to picture the cross in your
> mind, or what Jesus may have looked like, or Heaven, or focus on a
> burning candle, or anything.  You simply exercise discipline over
> the thoughts that are trying to commandeer your mind and emotions.
> Then, as the things of the world begin to fade and drift out of
> focus, you do one thing and one thing only.  You listen.  For
> what?  You listen for God.  If you are born again, I guarantee you
> will eventually hear Him.  Oh, maybe not at first because we carry
> around a large amount of doubt and unbelief in our thinking and we
> feel its effect deep within our emotions.  If you continue doing
> what the Bible calls, "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalm
> 46:10), you will soon begin to, not only worship the Lord in your
> mind, but in your spirit where the Holy Spirit dwells.  You will
> also begin to hear God.  Maybe not in words or pictures but you
> will sense His presence in a way you likely have never experienced
> before.  Then what happens?  You will begin to worship Him for who
> He is.  Who is He?  He is God; your Creator.
>
>      When I do this, I wait until the things of the world grow dim
> in my thoughts.  Based upon circumstances, this might take a
> little longer than what feels comfortable.  The more we pray this
> way, on the other hand, the quicker the worldly things begin to
> drift away from the forefront of our minds.
>
>      At this point, I often begin to just randomly think of God's
> creation.  Think about His eternality and how He has always been
> and always will be.  Consider the creation of the universe which
> is without end or containment.  He created the universe as a
> reflection of His nature.  Eventually, as you attempt to get your
> thoughts around these humanly impossible things, you will settle
> on Jesus and who He is and why He wants to be in your life.  Why
> will you defer to Jesus instead of God?  Because, you, nor anyone,
> can comprehend God.  Jesus, who is God, became a man for 33 years
> so He could identify Himself with us as His creation.  Now we can
> identify with Him because He became like us to make that possible.
> Now do you understand why Jesus came to earth?  He came for you
> because He wants to get to know you in a very personally intimate
> way which words cannot describe.
>
>      I still find Christians uncomfortable with this type of
> prayer and worship.  In my life, I have read dozens of books on
> meditation.  What I am describing as prayer is nothing like
> eastern meditation techniques.  I know I am repeating myself but
> that isn't prayer and it isn't worship so don't do it.  If you
> have trouble with this, go back and read the Psalms, especially
> those of King David, and you'll see exactly how David focused on
> God, His nature, and his creation.
>
>      There is one other way of achieving this form of intimacy in
> prayer.  It is called, singing.  It is quite simple and the New
> Testament is in no way silent on this subject of worship through
> singing hymns and songs and spiritual songs.  Singing, by its very
> nature, causes the world to fade and our minds and emotions to
> focus on the Lord.  Instant worship!
>
>      I want to tell you about one of the bravest men in the Bible.
> His name is Elijah.  I say, his name is, because, Elijah never
> physically died.  He was miraculously and spectacularly carried
> into Heaven by God and there was an eye witness to confirm it.
>
>      Long before this miraculous home going, Elijah experienced
> some amazing things through the power of God.  But, since he was
> only human, he also became fearful and scared and frustrated from
> the stressful activities of the ministry.  It gets worse when the
> wife of the King puts out a contract on you to have you killed.
> So, Elijah did the only thing he could think to do.  He ran for
> his life.
>
>      during his flight, he ended up in a cave.  God did something
> quite humorous.  He asked Elijah a question.  "What are you doing
> here, Elijah," God wanted to know.  Well, Elijah hawked up this
> bilge, which is another way of saying he coughed up this
> theological garbage, about how he was the only person left serving
> the Lord (he didn't know about the other 7,000 people the Lord
> already had working for Him at the time) and that, dad gum it, the
> queen was trying to have him killed.  God told him to go out and
> stand on the mountain.
>
>      Something mighty unusual happened as Elijah made his way out
> of the cave.  God passed by, the Bible says, and the wind that was
> generated was so powerful bolders split in half.  Now, I've been
> through Wyoming many times but I have never witnessed a wind so
> powerful and so strong that it could split big rocks in half.
> Yet, the Bible says, God was not in the wind.  Odd, you might say.
>
>      After this big God generated wind storm, there was a massive
> earthquake that rattled Elijah false teeth.  Again, the Bible
> says, God was not in the earthquake.
>
>      Finally, there was a fire.  Now, stop and think about this.
> Elijah is hiding out high up in the mountains where not much is
> growing.  Yet, we are told there was a fire.  Were the rocks on
> fire or what?  It kind of makes you think that way.  Still, the
> Bible says, God was not in the fire.
>
>      Then, the Bible does say, God spoke to Elijah in that same
> small still voice and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
> You can read about this in First Kings chapter 19 if you doubt my
> interpretation.
>
>      So what do you suppose Elijah learned about worshipping God.
> Being on the mountain isn't what's important.  Hearing God's voice
> is.  In fact, it is all that is important.
>
>
> Phil C Sharp
> The Coil Of The snake
> A Free Online E-Novel
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com