Diagnosis Worship

Ever feel like you should have gotten more out of a worship service?

While we certainly can’t reduce the impact of a worship service down to our subjective feelings, it is reasonable to expect that if something is wrong with worship we would sense it in our spirit. If we get that sense, it is natural to ask why. Is God just distant right now? Is something in the congregation quenching the Spirit? Is it me?

Today I was re-reading a quote from Ravi Zacharias in Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Faith. Here’s what Zacharias said:

“The pattern in Exodus is threefold: God brought the people out of Egypt, he gave them the moral law, and then he gave them the tabernacle. In other words, redemption, righteousness, worship. You can never violate that sequence. Unless you are redeemed, you cannot be righteous. Unless you are redeemed and righteous, you cannot worship, ‘for who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord,’ says the Bible, ‘but he who has clean hands and a pure heart?’” _[1]

Certainly, there are a lot of things that can cause a “worship letdown,” but Ravi gives us an important simple diagnostic tool.

I believe many in church gatherings get at best nothing more than a fleeting emotional high because they are, in fact, not redeemed. Certainly some realize it, but I fear many in our worship gatherings believe they are Christians but are not actually trusting in Christ alone for eternal life. They cannot worship in spirit and truth because they do not believe and possess the truth, nor the Spirit of Christ.

Others are truly born-again believers, but are approaching the holy presence of God filthy with sin. If we are carrying unconfessed sin we will not be able to draw near to God, and we will likely sense frustration. (We will also tend to easily list any number of things that are “wrong” with the worship service.)

But if we are truly redeemed, and if we are confessing our sins – the Apostle John would say “walking in the light” and “abiding in Christ” – then we will draw near and honor God with our worship. And more likely than not, we will find that time fulfilling and refreshing.

So, it seems wise to me that we ask this question before we head to the church gathering:

Am I ready to worship?

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[1]Strobel, Lee; Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity (p. 157). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.