The right way in approaching God in worship

The right way in approaching God in worship

There is a right way to draw nigh to God.  R C Sproul says that ‘worship’ should be marked with a sense of gravity, a gravity that resounds with the weight of the God whom we worship. He calls it a solemnity born of reverence and adoration; an awareness of the augustness of God’s majesty. Not one that brings with it a weight of sadness or sorrow, but a weightiness from recognition of a position of honour, a recognition which causes us to realise who God is and who we are. In reflecting upon these words from Dr Sproul, we are reminded that in Exodus 20, God gives to Moses the 10 commandments. But before that, in Exodus 19, part of which we read about in Hebrews 12, God sets the stage/scene in which those commandments were to be received. 

• The mountain was fenced off; there was no trespassing on pain of death.
• They were commanded to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations.
• There was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud.
• There was the sound of a trumpet, calling forth the nation to meet with God.
• There was more smoke, like a furnace, and earthquakes.
• Then the trumpet sounded long – until Moses spoke, and God Himself answered.
• God spoke to Israel from Sinai, but warned them in every way possible to stay away.

This was because in that exchange Moses was about to enter into the presence of God. God would come down on the mountain and speak with Moses face to face. 

Now as mentioned previously, the writer to Hebrews is not suggesting that it is this same style or manner of worship, to God, that is practised today. For, as we all know, we no longer come into the presence of God with fear and trembling. Because Christ died on the cross for our sins, we don’t come to Mount Zion as if we were going to Mount Sinai. Therefore, as Children of God and true worshippers, scripture encourages us we come to God boldly. Thus, as heirs of the new covenant, we can put away our hesitation, be encouraged, and get bold in coming to God. However, it’s also necessary to remind ourselves that the invitation to come boldly is not an excuse to come arrogantly. (Sproul) Thus, when we enter into the presence of God, a place even holier than the Holy of holies in the Old Testament (if such a place was even remotely possible) we need to remind ourselves that conduct, activity, dress and attitude should be at a premium in this place. Especially when we consider that God, the worshiping angels, The son of man, a large number of heavenly hosts and distinguished worshippers are also there.    

In listening to Dr Sproul’s concerns about coming to God irreverently, I realise that he warns of what may be regarded as irreverence surfacing in much modern worship: An irreverence for the majesty and splendor of God Almighty and what that means. An irreverence likely been born of ignorance, arrogance; pride, or a misguided familiarity that breeds contempt by devaluing the inherent worth of the Almighty. Thus, lacking a clear understanding as to God really is and who or what we really are, we err in our worship of him. This is all the more reason why the intended worshipper would do well to familiarise themselves with a definition of worship as comprehensive as that of William Temple's definition. Without doubt, pondering such dimensions of worship, as Temple advocated, would greatly enhance our perspective of the Christian life, especially in such things as worship.  

In the book of Hebrews, along with being told the blessings of the new covenant, the writer also sounds a warning. In verses 25-26 he says: ‘See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.’  These verses remind us that we need to watch or be careful, because with great privilege come great responsibility. Hence the warning. 

The warning was that the modern worshipper must not ignore God when He speaks. The passage warns believers not to refuse God's voice. Drawing a comparison between those who rejected Moses's message on Earth and the consequences of rejecting Christ's message from heaven. It highlights that the voice of God previously shook the earth at Sinai, and promises a future shaking of both earth and heaven. Therefore, if our forerunners did not escape the dire consequences for disobeying, neither shall we. 

As described in the previous verses, God holds the goodness and glory of Mount Zion before us – the perfect and finished work of Jesus and the New Covenant through Him. If we choose to refuse this from God, we can’t ignore the consequences. We are reminded that those who were disobedient and rebellious at Mount Sinai did not escape God’s punishment and that there are and should be even greater consequences for resisting God’s greater work at Mount Zion. 

As one commentator puts it, “it is easy and dangerous to think that God was severe and mean in the Old Testament and somehow became nice in the New Testament. This is so simplistic that it is deceiving. There is more mercy in the Old Testament than many imagine, and there is more judgment in the New Testament than many imagine.” (Enduring Word Commentary) 

The truth is that God, then and now, is a consuming fire. And while this is a comfort to the true believer, it should be sobering to the unsaved and wayward believer.  

Hence, for this final section, I want us to look to the Bible using references from the Old and New Testaments outlining ‘the right way in approaching God in worship’. We begin by peering into the account of the death of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu in the book of Leviticus:

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.  And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.  Then Moses said unto Aaron, this is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.  And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.  So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.  And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.  And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. (Leviticus 10:1-7) 

This passage tells us that Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, God’s priests at the altar, took their censers and put fire in them and incense which the Lord commanded them not. They came before the altar to worship and minister to the Lord. And, the Lord slew them. But what is most shocking, is that in the midst of the grief, God instructs Moses to have the remaining sons of Aaron to get the bodies of their dead brothers out of the sanctuary. They were told to drag them outside the tent. They were not allowed to bury them. Neither could the living sons mourn for Nadab and Abihu, lest God kill them also. 

Let’s us be very clear on what we have just read. Please don’t think for one minute that Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were bad men. In fact, they were anointed men of God. Exodus 24:5-8 tells us that of the three times the Sprinkling of the blood was done in the OT, signifying cleansing, that Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were present. 

A question that therefore probably springs to mind is, why is God being so harsh? Why do His actions seem so cruel? 

The answer is found in Leviticus 10: 3: ‘Then Moses said unto Aaron, this is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace’. 

Note the words: ‘I will be sanctified in them that draw nigh me’. In other words, God is saying, let my glory be seen in all those that come near to me. Otherwise, you risk incurring my wrath and displeasure. 

Nadab and Abihu died because they offered strange fire. The fire on the altar had been lit by God, and they were commanded never to let it go out. Somehow, when they came to worship, they brought unauthorised-, profane fire not commanded by God, and they died instantly.  

This tells us plainly, that you cannot come to worship God by offering worship or anything to God not ordained by God, or prescribed by God himself. 

To offer to God fire He did not create is to shift the glory from God to us. This was unacceptable, and so Nadab and Abihu died. We can expect the same result today, even if it doesn’t happen to us physically as instantaneously as it did to Aaron’s sons. 

Taking a deeper look at the phrase in Leviticus 10.3: ‘before all the people I will be glorified’. We instantly realise that God is saying, bluntly, that He will be sanctified in us in one way or another. So, either we demean ourselves and allow God’s glory to be seen in our worship of Him and in all we say and do, or God will demean us and magnify Himself through us, so that the heathen will see His Glory. 

Note that it was on these words spoken by Moses to Aaron that Aaron held his peace.  Aaron got the message. He went quiet. He immediately understood that worship was all about God and not about man. He had no response. God was emphatic. The assembly was quiet. You cannot worship God on your own terms. 

The challenge I am seeing today is that much modern worship seeks to worship God on its own terms. But a close reading and thorough understanding of Haggai 1:1-11 and Isaiah 58:1-5 underscores the folly of trying to worship or honour God on our own terms. Ad should serve as a cautionary note to worshippers today.  

In Haggai 1, the captives had returned from captivity. But they were devoted to their own progress at the expense of God’s temple. The place where He would receive worship. God in anger mocks them, and tells them, that their efforts at progressing were being wasted because they were putting their self-interest ahead of His worship. That is how scripture describes it both in Haggai and Isaiah: 

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?  Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.  Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.  Thus, saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.  Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.  Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore, the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.  And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. (Haggai 1:1-11)

Don’t ever disregard the things God holds sacred. We cannot fight against God and win. 

In Isaiah 58, God exposed the shallow worship of His people by highlighting the kind of worship He was demanding in contrast to what they were offering:

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.  Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? (Isaiah 58: 1-5)

In rebuking them, God asks the piercing question: ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen?’ vs. 6. God then rebukes them for their arrogance, folly and hypocrisy while outlining His terms for acceptable worship. Terms which they were compelled to follow before He would accept their sacrifices, entertain their petitions, or heal their condition.

‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.  Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:  And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Isaiah 58:6-14)

In both accounts of ‘ungodly unsatisfactory worship’ referenced in Haggai and Isaiah, failure to approach the things of God correctly resulted in the frustration and impoverishment of the people. 

It’s a similar case as in Chronicles 13:1-14. In this heart-wrenching account, David sought to bring back the Ark of the Covenant to Israel using a manner and method not approved by God. The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a sacred chest in ancient Israel. It is described as a wooden storage chest adorned with gold and topped by an ornamental lid called the Mercy Seat. In Jewish traditions, the ark was to be carried only by Levites, using wooden poles inserted through rings on its sides. Touching the Ark itself was forbidden and considered a death sentence. David adopted and sought to use the method he had seen the heathen use, and for this, a faithful servant named Uzza, lost his life. 

And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the Lord our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren everywhere, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:  And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul. And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So, David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim.  And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the Lord, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.  And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart.  And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets. And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.  And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.  And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perezuzza to this day.  And David was afraid of God that day, saying, how shall I bring the ark of God home to me? So, David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.  And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had. (1 Chronicles 13) 

In this his first attempt to bring back the ark of the covenant to Israel, David copied the method used by the Philistines. However, that attempt ended in failure and defeat. A lesson we learn from that story is that the ‘Philistines’ may get away with putting the Ark of the Covenant on an ox cart or horse cart, but in this case, David and the people of God didn’t. They paid the price. 

Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 reminds us that because judgement is not speedily executed upon evil doers, men remain set in their hearts to do evil continually. Because God doesn’t always send thunder from heaven with lightning and dark smoke, some people persist in doing things their way. They become emboldened in doing unscriptural things. It would be wise to remember, however, that delay isn’t denial and God hasn’t relented on His demand of holiness, rightness and obedience. Let’s take it as a warning that regardless of how long injustice appears to prosper, evil action eventually begets an evil end. 

For over 369 years the Ark of God had stayed in Shiloah, and before that, it was 7 months by the Philistines and after that a further 20 years in Kiriath-jearim. Where it had been left or neglected after the Philistines returned it. But during all that time, God never relented in His command as to how the Ark should be handled and how it was to be transported. Thus, when David and his counsellors approached the Ark of God to bring it back without first inquiring from the scriptures how it ought to be done, their actions were callous, undignified, unscriptural, unholy, and unworthy. And God was angry about it. But in His mercy, God fired a warning shot and only took out one man: one innocent, well-meaning, slavishly devoted church man named Uzza.

I see here a lesson for the zealous Uzzah in church. Before you jump to do what your leaders or influencers want you to do, make sure it is what God is asking you to do. Make sure your well-intentioned efforts are lining up with scripture. Don’t sacrifice yourself for anyone’s folly. If what the leader is doing is contrary to God’s Word, don’t do it. Respectfully decline. Uzza should have allowed the ark to fall into the dirt or the mud, but he thought he could save it. In his zeal, he forgot that human hands shouldn’t touch it. God will be sanctified in us one way or another. To the Uzzahs of this world, I say, stop and check what you’re supporting. 

The ark of God had ended up with the Philistines in the first place, because they had been able to capture the ark of God during the days of Eli and his corrupt sons. Both of whom God also slew. The account is in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 4. 

The tragedy took place during a battle when the Israelites were fighting poorly against the Philistines. In seeking to turn their fortunes around the sought to invoke divine assistance. To this end, the leaders sent and brought the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh to the battlefield, hoping it would ensure victory. They mistakenly believed that merely having the Ark of the Covenant in their possession in the midst of the battle would automatically secure their victory.  It was like Samson thinking that I spite of his disobedience, when disaster struct that all he needed to do was to shake himself and that he would have supernatural strength as like before.  But the verse in the book of judges said: ‘And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him’, (Judges 16:20). Thus, Sampson failed not realising that he had fooled around once to many times. 

This scenario is also reflective of the believer who naively thinks he can serve God any old way he chooses, and all he needs to do in times of difficulty is to shout a few praises and the enemy will flee. That person needs to re-read Deuteronomy 32:30. This verse says: ‘How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?’ 

Note that it does not simply say that one chases a thousand and two ten thousand. This is the way people simply like to recite it. It states specifically that one only chased a thousand and two chased ten thousand; WHEN their Rock sold them. It is when God shuts them up. Then and only then, when God is at the centre of the situation, does one chase a thousand. The hyperbole in the verse is a literary device to emphasize that any military success by enemies against God's people is not due to their strength, but to God withdrawing his protection and handing them over as a consequence of their disobedience. The "Rock" is a metaphor for God, representing his strength and faithfulness. Similarly, any success Christians achieve is only by Gods divine intervention at His choosing.

Thus, the hocus pocus in which today’s church is engaging in thinking that you can worship and serve God anyway you want and still get good results, that is not Christianity, my friend. That is what you call magic. The Israelites saw the Ark as a sort of talisman or charm, or a magic object that would grant them favour in God's eyes. But it didn’t work like that because God is not like that. They were defeated, and the unthinkable happened. The Ark of the Covenant was captured. The news of the Ark's capture brought grief to the Israelites. When the news reached Eli, the high priest, who had failed to chastise his evil sons who were running a racket in the temple, he died of shock. And his daughter-in-law, who was giving birth at the time, named her son ‘Ichabod’, Meaning ‘Glory has departed.’ The story of the Ark's capture is a reminder that God's power and guidance are not to be manipulated or forced. God works according to His own will, not according to human desires. Stop saying we are worshipping when God says we are not. 

Thus, when David was first attempting to bring the Ark back into the nation of Israel, he needed to understand that one couldn’t carry around that which represented God’s glory on the back of a cart. That which bore God’s glory was to be carried on the backs of the priest and only those from the tribe of Levi. Thus, despite David’s pure heart and good intentions, he was not correctly approaching God, and for that, a man would pay with his life. 

Our God is a jealous God.  He must not be trifled with. God will be glorified in us one way or another. To reflect back on the account of Pharaoh we studied earlier, Exodus 7:3 tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to show the world who was boss. Pharaoh messed with God. When God told Pharaoh to let His people go so that they might go and worship Him, Pharaoh asked, “Who is this God?” Because of that, God told Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart until the nations around see who this God is.” In his stubbornness and stupidity, Pharaoh could not perceive that he was fighting a losing battle. His actions conjure up the old Latin phrase by Reverend William Anderson Scott's which says, “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad”, meaning those whom God wishes to destroy, He first deprives of reason.  Pharaoh was made mad, so mad that he could not see that his actions were destroying his life, his family and his kingdom. With every stubborn refusal to let the people of God go, God delivered another deadly blow to Pharaoh and his kingdom and to Egypt and their gods. Yet he was blind to the destruction of his land. By the time the children of Israel left Egypt after the demise of the kingdom, it had reached a point where all the heathen nations around, whose territory Israel passed through, knew full well not to mess with this awesome, terrible God. These heathen nations trembled at Israel passing through their land because of what God did to Pharaoh. 

God is a Holy God. He must not be trifled with. You can’t do the work of the Holy Spirit. You can’t carry God’s glory on the back of a cart. You can’t kindle what God has not ordained to worship Him. You cannot embrace what God has not embraced. You can’t approach God any old how and think that it is ok.

Four 4 steps in drawing nigh to God 

1. In drawing nigh to God, whether in worship or in sacrifice, nothing must be tendered to God which He has not commanded. Matthew 5:24. God doesn’t ever want your gifts if you are at odds with your brother. 
2. We must be willing worshippers. We need to come to God and worship God freely. God is seeking such to worship Him, not because we are commanded or feel guilty. Worship must spring from the heart. Sunday morning worship leaders must not be begging people in corporate worship to open up and sing. If that is what it takes to get you going, then something is wrong. If you can’t get going without the music, there’s something wrong. Our approaching God and worshipping God should spring from our understanding of God by the Holy Spirit, not because we are either commanded or the music sways us. 
3. Approach God reverently and with fear. God is no respecter of persons. Nadad and Abihu were not bad men. They were men of renown. Author Jeremiah Burrowers, in his text ‘Gospel Worship’, points out that in Exodus 24, Nadad and Abihu were mentioned as men of repute in Israel. They were among the 70 Elders God called to work with Moses. They were God’s High Priests. But God struck them down because they violated His sanctuary. Don’t forget that God is no respecter of persons. Their good name, good intentions, blessings and privileges could not save them when they dared to approach God the wrong way.  Remember, as Hebrews reminds us, our God is a consuming fire. He doesn’t mess around.  
4. Have no confidence in the flesh. The more confident we are in the flesh, the more likely we are to be on the wrong side of what God is doing and saying. Matthew 7:21 is a stark reminder that some people’s sins go before them, and they are punished, and for some others, their sin only shows up at the end. For the ones whose sins were exposed, they may be able to recover, but with the others, God allows them to continue in their sin, secret or otherwise, without warning, because they have confidence in the flesh, and they never realise until it is too late that they are lost. I am finding more and more that in the body of Christ, as we come to worship God, there is misplaced confidence which seems more like arrogance. This is evident when today’s church tells the sinner that God is like a beggar waiting hat in hand on them when in fact the church needs to be telling them that God is an awesome God who needs to be worshipped. They need to know that God is terrible and fearsome and that His love is matched by His wrath. Thus, all the opportunities to repent must not be wasted. It is like Jonathan Edwards pointed out in his famous sermon, ‘Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God,’ that the unregenerate hang suspended by a thread over a deep, eternal abyss, and without the intervention of a loving, merciful God, they are doomed. Thus, those who are not yet saved should be crying out desperately to God to save them, rather than being led to believe that life is theirs to do as they choose and that they can just be careless and come to God when they like. 

Conclusion: In worshipping God, nothing must be tendered to God which He has not commanded. The things we use, the methods and practices we employ, should be explicitly stated in God’s Word. Perish the thought that we can include things in our worship of God just because it’s in our mind to do so, or because it is not expressly forbidden in the Word, and therefore, you think there can’t be any harm in doing it. Let’s take heed in approaching God and be sure to sanctify His name. Amen!

Thanks for listening.