Letting Go

It may sound presumptuous to suggest we know how to do church right—but we're not making any claims about having it all together. Rather, it's simply our goal to learn how to worship God better than we have before—to improve our own connection with the Almighty. We want to worship God in a way that will honor him appropriately. And we still have much to learn about doing church right, about doing worship right.

But the question also presumes there is one right way to do church. Actually, there are many. Though there is only one way to the Father—Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)—there are many worship styles and customs, many of them "right."

Worship can be affected by our culture, our heritage, our personal preferences, our likes and dislikes, our current styles, our space limitations, and so on. What's "right" for one culture may be meaningless (or worse, distracting) in another culture.

Do you know worship traditions can help or hinder?

When Otto von Bismarck was Prussian ambassador at the court of Alexander II in the 1860s, one day he looked out of a window at the Peterhof palace and was puzzled to see a sentry on duty in the middle of a lawn. He inquired from the Russian Czar why the man was posted there. The Czar didn't know, so he asked his aide-de-camp, but he didn't know either.
   The aide-de-camp asked the soldier's commanding officer, but he didn't know either. So they summoned the general commanding all the palace troops. He said the guard was posted there in accordance with ancient custom.
   "What custom was that?" Bismarck asked.
   "I don't recall," answered the general.
   So Czar Alexander called for an investigation to find out where this custom had begun. It took three days, but they finally found the answer.
   The order was put on the books in 1776, nearly 90 years before. It turns out that Catherine the Great had walked one morning through her palace grounds, enjoying the sunshine and the melting snow of a long winter. Suddenly, to her delight, she came across a flower, just poking its way up through the soil. She was so happy to see this first sign of spring that she ordered a sentry be posted to prevent anyone from picking or trampling the flower.
   Catherine died a few years later, but her order remained in force. The flower lasted only a summer, but for nearly 90 years a sentry was posted on the spot—though no one could remember why.
   Traditions can continue on as meaningless exercises—dry, dead, routine—even when their purpose no longer exists. When we don't understand our religious traditions any longer, when we can't remember the meaning or the purpose behind them, we should let them go.

Danger: overuse (too much familiarity diminishes the awe); boredom and complacency (Isa 29:3); missing the point (emphasis on object rather than God).

If there are so many problems with religious traditions, why do we have them? Value: to remind us (e.g. communion); to simplify (put abstract concept into concrete terms—to bring heaven to earth; e.g. baptism); to make special (set apart or dedicate things to God; Ezek 42:20 - 500-cubit wall in temple "to divide between the holy and the profane" [NASB]).

We know there are many worthwhile, legitimate customs for worship because...

Everything we do or say should bring honor to God. (Col 3:17 - ...whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.)

We can (and should) worship God in whatever we do. (1 Cor 10:31 - ...whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.)

There are, however, wrong ways to worship—things we can do that dishonor God. Moses warned the people of God to not worship God the way other people worshiped their gods.

Deut 12:3-4 (NIV) - ...You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.

Deut 12:30-31 (NIV) - ...You must not worship the LORD your God in their way...

This week: "Letting Go"—letting go of the world and its ways so we can worship God as we ought, without distraction and with a whole heart.

The Bible tells a story—you've probably seen Charlton Heston play the role of Moses in Cecille B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that he let the Israelite slaves go so they could hold a feast or festival to the Lord in the wilderness... plagues...

Exod 7:16 (NIV) - "Let my people go, so that they may worship me."

Six times we read that the people had to be set free in order to worship.Exod 8:1,20; 9:1,13; 10:3

They had to get out of Egypt to worship the Lord! They could not worship appropriately or adequately as long as they remained in Egypt. They had to leave Egypt so they could build the Tabernacle and offer sacrifices. As long as they remained in Egypt, as long as they were slaves, they could not worship the Lord as they were supposed to.

In the same way, we need to be set free from "Egypt"—from the things of this world—in order to worship God as we should.
• As long as we remain slaves to the world's ways,
• As long as we are in bondage to sin,
• As long as we are ruled by worldly desires,
• As long as we are tied up by worry and anxiety
• As long as we swallow the news and biases of the news media and are unable to think for ourselves
then we will not unable to worship adequately. God would still say to the Pharaohs of this world: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me."

We cannot worship God appropriately or adequately if there are other things or desires or concerns that hold us captive. We cannot worship God as we ought as long as we remain a slave in Egypt! We must be released and walk in God's freedom. We must be able to let go of the things of Egypt.

We need to get out of Egypt in order to worship God right. But we also need to get Egypt out of us!

The children of Israel escaped from Egypt so they could worship God. They had come out of Egypt, but Egypt was still in them! That's why they continued to have problems in serving the Lord. They could not follow him and worship him with a whole heart because Egypt was still in them.

They wanted to go back to Egypt—the place they had escaped from.
• Instead of serving the Lord, they grumbled and complained. "This is hard. There are battles here. We're in danger here," they said. "Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" (Num 14:3)
• Instead of enjoying the food God gave them—the manna supplied miraculously—they craved for the food of Egypt. "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic." (Num 11:5)
• Instead of waiting for God's revelation by Moses returning from the mountain with God's commands ("As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him"), they turned back to the false gods of Egypt—Aaron fashioned their gold rings into an idol in the shape of a calf. (Exod 32:1-4)

When we want to enjoy the things of Egypt, we disrespect God, who wants to set us free from Egypt.

It's like saying, "We don't care what you think is best for us. We'll do what we want to do."

When we set our hearts on Egypt, our hearts are divided. Part of us looks back to Egypt—and we cannot be wholehearted for God.

One of the trumpet players in the community band is also a member of the Christian motorcycle club. Both the band and the motorcycle club were in the 4^th of July parade, but he had to make a decision. He couldn't play his trumpet and drive his bike.

A divided heart tries to go two directions at the same time. It's like being invited to two parties at the same time... You can't be completely in one if you're going to another. Five grad parties in a single afternoon...eat a little at each one. You cannot go to Egypt's party without affecting your appetite at God's party.

When we dabble in the things of Egypt, we contaminate our worship.

God invites us to a spiritual feast—to a banquet! So why would we want to bring two-week-old leftovers to the banquet? Why would we pull the Tupperware out of the back of the frig and bring our own stuff to God's banquet? When we keep eating the old stuff, we contaminate God's good banquet. We contaminate our worship.

When we indulge ourselves in worldly values, worldly views, and worldly attitudes, we cannot worship God in the way we should. When our minds are focused on Egypt, we cannot worship God.

Rom 12:1-2 (NIV)
Rom 12:1-2 (Phillips) - Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within...

This is not a comment on different methods in worship.
• Some people think you contaminate worship if you use drums or guitars...
• Others believe ANY instrument corrupts our worship—even an organ or violin is wrong to them.
• Some think you have to have candles, or stained glass windows, or lofty domes, or gilded altars, or inspiring architecture, or incense, or fancy robes.
• Some think if you replace hard benches with comfortable chairs you've become soft—you're using the methods of the world.

But I'm not talking about these things. These are merely personal preferences. Some people are inspired and drawn to God by liturgy or classical organ music. Others have different preferences—and that's okay!

I'm not talking about pictures or music or architecture. This is not a question of art; it's a question of heart. Do we have a heart for God? Or do we have a heart for Egypt—a heart for the world?

We need to be out of Egypt in order to worship God properly. But we also need to get Egypt out of our hearts!