July 5, 2011

“The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident"  Psalms 27:1-3

Since many of the Psalms are written by men who knew how to worship well and how to lead others in worship, it is no surprise that there is much to be learned about what worship is and how it happens. Psalm 27 is one of those Psalms that could serve as a textbook for worshippers.

Sunday I will be preaching on it and commenting on it in this blog all week. If you follow me through this week you will see worship is so much more than four hymns, prayers, Scriptures, an offering and a sermon.

Verses 1 through 3 show a very important but often overlooked aspect of worship. There is a discipline required to worship well. You don't worship in a vacuum. To worship well you have to seek God through the distractions and diversions that life can bring.

David wasn't always a worship-leader or a king but was always a worshipper. He was determined to never allow anything come between him and his God. His single-minded passion to worship his God was the driving force of his life.

We first see the evidence of that discipline when he confronted the giant Philistine, Goliath. While the battle-tested warriors of Saul's army (including King Saul) were quaking in fear over the taunts and threats by the not-so-gentle giant, David was zealous for God. This obscure shepherd boy who came to the camp on a mission from his father, Jesse, but soon took on a mission for his Heavenly Father. When he arrived to deliver the goodies from home to his older brothers, he was grieved to hear the blasphemy from Goliath. Even more troubling to him was the lack of response from God's army. All the others saw a giant threat, David saw a giant target.

In David's world, anything that came between him and his God had to go. Goliath did and Goliath fell. Worship was a big deal to David. For David worship was a way of life. I wasn't something he did, it was something he was. He was not content to live outside the presence of God.

Worship requires discipline because worship requires God's presence. Coming into God's presence demands a determination to fight through the daily diversions and distractions. Sometimes you may feel your way into God's presence but most days you must fight your way there.

For you, your lack of discipline may be that giant! What are you willing to do to win that battle?