Extravagant Worship

It' good for us to study, pray, and share our reflections of what God shows us about desiring Him and ravishing His heart, not only through corporate worship, but in a life of worship. One section of scripture, I Chronicles 25 is a prelude to 1 Chronicles 29:1-22, which is an amazing description of the extravagant worship of David and the people of God. It's such a great example of just how extravagant we can be in our worship of God...in our response to God. I think it reveals how much David wanted to exalt God before his son, Solomon, who is going to take His place as king of Israel, and the people of Israel. There are a couple of observations I think are worth noting.

The first is that not just anyone was allowed to sing or play for God, in terms of leading worship. I think it's neat that David looked for those who would bring excellence to worship. They were chosen because they had musical skill. Their skill was a result of being trained and surrounded by others with the same attitude toward worship. Some families were particularly skilled in "prophesying with their lyres (guitars :)), harps, and cymbals...in giving thanks and praise to the Lord....under the direction of their father (vs. 1 Chron. 25:1-3). There was also another larger group who were trained as singers. But their training was centered on giving thanks and praise to God, to the point they were set apart for the service of worship. I think they were trained in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. but also were those who had a heart for God. They supported each other in their desire for passionate worship. But what is worship, simply put?

Worship to me means responding to God with all that we are. It should be WELCOMING the Spirit of God and a RESPONDING to what we discover about God. He reveals Himself in many different ways, and these revelations should not just be academic facts, but life changing truth that causes us to have even greater love and devotion for Christ. This is the attitude I ask God to help me bring to personal worship and as I lead or participate in corporate worship. David's response to God's hand in His life, especially as you read the Psalms, is at times brokeness and confusion, but even within that, a recognition of who God is, leading to gratitude and devotion. We see him shout for joy, dance before Him, clap, bow or kneel, cry out in brokeness, bring praise and songs of joy and gratitude, and prayer (including confession, awe of God, and offerings). He felt the freedom to worship in many different circumstances...in his poverty of spirit and need to the point of desperation and in times of success and blessing. We're talking about the journey toward whole-hearted devotion to God. David, great in his failures, but also great as a leader for Israel, kept coming back to God.

It is interesting that if you look throughout Scripture, you'll see that worship has a powerful, transforming effect on those who approach God in those ways. I see more and more of that kind of worship taking place in our church, and I'm experiencing that in my own life. Psalm 100 is instructive of the heart God wishes us to have as we approach worship, and you don't get the sense at all in the Psalm that the primary goal is enjoyment or self-fulfillment, but rejoicing, giving thanks, and being extravagant in our praise of God for who He is and what He has done. May God help give us the courage to express ourselves in worship freely, and leave behind the fear of man as we worship together.

I Chronicles 29 also reveals many different things that were part of worship as they
celebrated. Some of these elements included: David speaking to the people (vs. 1), the people giving (vs. 6-8), the rejoicing of the people and David over the generosity of their leaders (vs. 9), David's prayer (vs. 10-25), David's call to the people to "Praise the Lord your God," (vs. 10). That was just day 1! The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord (thousands of bulls & lambs). Wow! I have always wondered what it all looked like. One thing I gleaned from this is that there is certainly a diversity in what we can do in our worship of God. Another thing is the key element was not what was done, but HOW it was done. It is done with the wholehearted devotion of David, the leaders, priests, worship leaders, and the people, and that's what makes this passage of scripture such an exciting read! The focus for me turns toward how we can glorify God and experience Him in a transforming way. Easier said than done :) I feel like I'm just beginning the process of learning how to lead others in worship and how to be creative in the process and maintaining wholehearted devotion. May God lead us to extravagant worship.

Psalm 100

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.

1Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.