Fear begat Worship, which begat Confession…

Confession is a far under utilized practice in the church today.  Aside from Catholics who confess regularly, very little confession ever goes on amongst Christians.  Typically, when a person finally arrives at the point at which they are willing to confess their sins one to another (James 5:16), their sins have already been found out and what the individual is doing is validating all the rampant gossip surrounding whatever recent incident that needed confessing.  The problem with this is that it is not confession, nor is it all that constructive.  Confession is for the sake of healing and growth.  As is evident in the passage concerning confession found in James 5 as well as Isaiah 6.  

Please Read:

Isaiah 6: 5-7

James 5: 13-16

When we have contact with the Lord through worship, as well as the regular going-on of our gathering together, confession is a natural step.  If we were to use this element of our Christian lives more regularly, there would be far less timidity concerning our own need for confession. 

However, the most important step to making the act of confession valuable to the growth of the believer is that it must be met with an attitude of redemption instead of condemnation. Redemption is the immediate response from the Almighty when Isaiah confesses his sin, and is the immediately following the act of confession in James’ letter.  We must begin to be a people of reconciliation, and redemption if we are to ever achieve the example set before us by Jesus Christ.   

For it is He who has reconciled us to good work and to eternity, and though he did not sin, we have laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. 

Let us take great care to show confessors compassion rather than heaping upon them guilt and shame. 

Fear of the LORD is the Root of Worship

Please read Isaiah 6:1-5

This passage describes a tremendous scene that depicts worship of the Most High God in its most primal stage.  The seraphim of verse 2 exist for no reason but to give glory to the LORD and do this without the veil of sin but remain fearful of the awesome power of the Almighty! We see this in their demonstration of the unnecessary veil, as well as in the words they use to describe the King of Kings who sits on the throne!

Each of these beings covers their face, and feet with a set of wings.  Though they are without sin, they are overcome by a fear of the LORD that requires that they cover themselves in order to keep from offending their King.

They cover their feet, I believe, because even without sin, their existence is an affront to the Holiness of the LORD of Hosts.  The difference between the Creator and His creation is infinite.  There is no way to quantify the difference between God and everything else, except to say that there is God…and everything else.  

This statement helps to expose the reason why these seraphim also cover their face.  Not that their face makes a mockery of God, but that the act of viewing God proposes the idea of equality.  Even without sin, these seraphim, who exist to worship the Father, are yet unworthy to look upon His face.  

After seeing this glorious display of worship, we are able to view Isaiah’s actions in a far more informed light.

Isaiah’s immediate reaction to the scene is to admit the truth about what should happen to him.  He indicates that the proper actions concerning him being able to see the throne room is fear.  He fears the Holiness of God, the Power of God, and the Sovereignty of God.  Isaiah knows that because of his sin, he should be destroyed because he entered the presence of the Lord of Hosts.  Isaiah does the only thing that his fear will allow him to do; he bows, and waits on the word of the Lord.

Fear of the LORD culminates into the physical and spiritual posture of worship…

Ministry in Concert with Ministry

Speaking with a group of friends about the effects of attempting to balance the work of one area of the church with another, we discovered another analogy to describe the proper proportion and transfer of emphasis from one are of ministry to another throughout the church year.  

Rather than looking at ministry as a balancing act where pastors, staff, and lay leaders perpetuate a stunning display of spinning plates atop tiny poles, the church should be more like an actively monitored concert of sea-saw movements focused upon the overall development of people in the church.  Instead of trying to perpetuate every possible activity that the church can think of throughout the calendar year, try and assume programs that will influence the stages of life and growth.  Let musical specials give way to children’s events and mission trips lead into senior adult ministries.  See the church’s ministries as a flowing river of life for each to enjoy and participate rather than a tepid pool of muddy water that, if we were to stand inside too long, might consume us like quicksand!

If your area of ministry is tired, take a break.

If your area of ministry is long overdue, schedule an event or two.

Make time for each season of ministry in your church, and know that each season has a definite beginning along with a definite end.  

Remember, there’s always next year...