April 27, 2009
Worship
I've been blessed to worship with believers in different cities and states here
in North America and also in Asia.
I've preached where translators needed to be used because the people listening
did not speak English. I've listened to songs praising God whose words I did not
understand. I've heard the gospel proclaimed in various languages.
I've stood in huge cathedrals and watched people worship under the shelter of a
tree in the middle of nowhere. I've seen worship take place on stages with high
tech light shows and others where the only technology was a candle and a single
Bible.
I've been to churches where the people were so wealthy that it seemed as if
everyone who came had their own automobile. Some wore suits that cost as much as
I spend on a car. I've been at other gatherings where no one in the entire
congregation owned a car. Some of these people only owned the clothes on their
backs.
Some gatherings numbered in the thousands while others had two or three present.
I've worshipped in churches that used no musical instruments and others that
seemed to almost have a symphony. Some used hymns only and other used
contemporary praise choruses.
There are highly stylized and ritualistic churches and gatherings that seem to
have no discernable form to an outsider. There are groups that sit in silence
and others that dance in joy and still others occupy the middle ground.
Each place had a different flavor from all the rest. Some people have definite
preferences and ideas about the “right” way to “do” church”, but the truth is
that God appreciates them all.
God likely doesn't care whether we own a cathedral or meet in a coffee shop. He
doesn't care whether we own the land or rent our facilities. He probably doesn't
care about whether we dress up or down (after all He looks at the heart not the
outward appearance).
He has ordained praise from every tribe and tongue. I believe that when we get
to heaven there will be more different styles of worship than we can ever
imagine, all of them united in the praise of God.
There is no doubt that your personal favorite will be there but so will
thousands of other formats that you've never experience before. What a blessing
it will be worshipping with people from around the world and across the barriers
of time and language.
Revelation 7:9-10 NIV
After this
I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from
every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in
front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches
in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our
God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
He saw “A great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe,
people and language, standing before the throne”. Wow! What a sight and sound
that will be. The best of every culture in the world applied to worshipping the
one true God.
Let us all be flexible and remember it really is all about God!
Right?
Be blessed,
Darrel Mason