Well, here we are on another Sunday morning. Why are we here? I mean, what is the purpose of getting up on Sunday mornings and coming into this building? And not only do we do this, but millions of people around the world are doing this exact thing right now, just as we are. People go to church for many different reasons. But scripture tells us that the main purpose of coming together for church is to worship God! I think, unfortunately, we forget that from time to time. Not only that, but I think that we sometimes forget how to worship God. Different denominations within Christ’s Church worship in various ways, and we sometimes fall into a mode of nit-picking the diverse styles and types of worship in which our brothers and sisters in Christ choose to participate.
In our Old Testament lesson this morning, we see an example of worship shown to us by none other than King David himself. Now, it is not some prim and (some would say) proper style of worship that King David is engaged in. Rather, we find King David, “wearing only a linen ephod” (a small ceremonial apron), dancing before God with all of his might. What a sight that must have been! The great King David, dancing wildly about, practically naked. I am sure he raised a few eyebrows that day. As a matter of fact, verse 16 tells us that David’s wife, Mical, “watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart!” There you have it. King David’s own wife was unable to see the joy that filled David’s heart as he danced in worship before God in total freedom and with total enthusiasm.
Not everyone will accept the message of salvation that we preach. Not everyone will accept Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord. And those unsaved people in this world often look upon Christians, as we dance and sing before the Lord, and despise us in their hearts. Why?
Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all!” He goes on to say, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
The question is, whose approval are we trying to win? Far too often in the church today, the Gospel of Christ is not being preached. Instead, people are being told what they like to hear. Pastors forsake the Gospel to preach what they think others want to hear to make them feel good. Yet, Paul says, “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Strong words, indeed! Pastors and all Christians are called to be stewards of God’s Word, of God’s Truth. We must declare God’s Truth no matter what others may think about or say about us.
What a different world this would be if everyone born of God would do what God has called us to do! Imagine if all Christians everywhere would dance before God with all our might, being so fully engaged in our worship that we would leave ourselves fully exposed to the world. For sure we, in our foolishness for Christ, would be laughed at and persecuted by many who are the real fools. But many, many others would see the Truth and come to accept Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. And that friends is the only cure for this sick, sick world. Without Jesus Christ, this world is going to Hell in a hand basket. Just look at what is going on right now in Israel and the surrounding area, compare that to what is written in Daniel and Revelation, and you will see definite signs of the prophesied events leading to the End Times. Do we Christians care enough to forget about ourselves and become real servants of Christ and please God by doing what He has called us to do – that being to spread the Word of God to all people?
In the next passage after our reading this morning, we find that, “David returned home and Mical came out to meet him and said, ‘How the King of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!’” Man, she was ticked! But David responded, “It was before the Lord…I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” Are we that brave? Are we that committed to God, that we could not care less about what others think of us?
Our worship must be directed heavenward. It must be directed toward the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Our worship is not to be addressed to one another, but toward God!
If we leave worship service and have not changed, then we have not truly worshiped. The Word of God is alive and active and we must never dare to approach the Word of God by sitting back and taking it easy. Scripture says that the Word of God is active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It was written for you and me today as well as for those people who lived thousands of years ago, and for those people yet to be born. We come to church to expose ourselves to the Living Word of the Living God and to worship that God.
We should always worship the Living God as King David worshiped Him – with all our being, pouring out the passionate love that we have for God. Heed this. True worship does not stop when we leave these four walls this morning. True worship cannot be contained and is a daily dance before God. We should wake up worshiping God and continue at work, school, the grocery store, the doctor’s office and all times. True worship is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
For Christians, the word “life” should always be written with a capital “L”. Jesus Christ is Life and in His resurrection we see all the force and power of life breaking through the grave cloths, bursting forth from the tomb, rolling the two-ton stone away and exploding all of the bindings and being set free to truly worship the One True, Triune God, in all of His glory! Through Jesus Christ we have been given that same power to break through our bindings and truly experience Life Everlasting also.
In conclusion, I want to tell you a story about a young man who had received a birthday gift from his grandfather in the mail. He couldn’t wait to open the package because his grandfather always came through with cash enough to buy a wonderful gift. When the boy opened the package, instead of cash, he unwrapped a Bible. Being disappointed and resentful at not receiving the expected cash, the boy hatefully tossed the Bible aside. Years passed and the boy’s grandfather passed away.
One day the boy picked up the Bible and started to thumb through the pages. Suddenly a check for a very large sum of money (enough to buy a new car) fell from the crisp, never read pages of the Bible. The bank account from which the check had been written had been closed for some time, since his grandfather had died. Tears stung the young man’s eyes as he realized how foolish and ugly his behavior had been. He had missed out on many blessings and opportunities – not only the car, but also the loving relationship he could have had with his grandfather who loved him so.
How many of us are like that boy in the story? God blesses us with all we could ever really need. Yet we stumble around complacent or self- centered, searching for instant and fleeting self-gratification. We miss out on a great inheritance. Jesus has promised us that if we will but die to this life, take up our cross and follow Him, we will have more than we could ever hope for. We will have eternal life in heaven with Him. If we will worship God as David worshiped God, with all our being, then our lives will be seen by others, as we dance for the Lord.