Never Take Worship For Granted

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.” –Psalm 122: 1, 9

Amelia Cotton sounded the magnificent strains of “Jubilate” from our mighty organ. I sat there engrossed by the music, praising God for a house of worship where we can gather without fear of persecution. I prayed that I and the larger-than-usual congregation would be renewed in spirit and godly purpose. I prayed for our pastor and for my own son a pastor in another place. I prayed that they would be endued with the Spirit of God to preach His message with power and clarity. I prayed for my husband, sick in his bed at GWVH. I remembered and thanked God for the many years God had privileged us to work in His kingdom, leading in worship and worshipping together ourselves.

It came time for the sermon. Rev. Jerry Bradley is an expository preacher, and his method is taking a book of the Bible and preaching through it. This method is a wonderful way to teach the congregation great Bible truths, and if the one who hears in the congregation can be present for each sermon in the series, he or she will have a good grasp of the book in the Bible in his purview of sermons. We are now in The Revelation. Knowing the difficulties in interpretation of this apocalyptic book, I told my pastor I would be praying earnestly for him as he seeks to break this book of the bread of life to us. And God is answering my prayers! I learn something new every Sunday.

The sermon today is from Revelation 2: 8-11, or the Second Letter to the Churches—the Church at Smyrna. Persecuted severely both by the Jews in Smyrna and by the Romans who ruled them, the church at Smyrna had undergone severe tribulation, poverty, suffering, imprisonment, trials. “The First and the Last,” Jesus Christ the risen Lord, was with them, and He it was who was addressing them (and us). Polycarp, a saint of Smyrna, would not bow down and worship the emperor and at age 86 he was burned at the stake. For faithful ones at Smyrna, like Polycarp, better known to us as an early church father, The First and the Last has a crown of life. Neither will the faithful be hurt of the Second Death, but will escape it!

The thought came to me in a new and powerful way: “Never, ever take worship for granted.” Our pastor says we may be facing grave persecution, trials, hardships. As a church, just having purchased land and considering a move, we have to seriously search for what God wants us to do as a church. What must we be mindful to do in our present location? What is God’s way and will in the future expansion? Economic times are not good and they could get worse. As we go out into the community, to live, to work, to mix and mingle with non-Christians, how will we represent “The First and the Last”—the Lord Christ? Will our worship make us strong enough to be salt, light, yeast—and witnesses—as we are going about anyway? And will we deliberately and intentionally go telling, propelled by the Spirit?

I looked at the accoutrements of our worship center: The cross over the baptistery. The pulpit from which the Word is proclaimed. The choir and instruments that lift our hearts in praise. The architecture and lighting that provide an environment conducive to worship. Even now, in America, when some churches are hosts to certain groups they are asked to cover the cross. Persecution and denial of our Lord may be much closer than we think. Beware! Learn from the faithful church at Smyrna how to live and how to face persecution!

May we never, ever take for granted our privilege to worship.
And, from worship, to go forth as light in a dark and adverse world.
“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord!”
Amen and Amen!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, January 24, 2010