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I think if we live long as a believers, there will be a danger for us to worship habitually. Thus, we learnt last night, that a worship is to thank Jesus, the mighty God, for He saved such a wretch like me, and thank for creating the Heaven and the earth, even me, and working always for us all. We offer a worship, then what does He give us? It is a love, or a redemption, or we may say a blessing. So, there's a relationship that He gives us a blessing, and for replay we offer a worship. At first, let's read an opening of Genesis, Genesis, 1:1
After that, He created a lot of things. He must have been so busy. For the first thing, Genesis, 1:3
He not only created a light, but also He inspected if it was done as His will. Genesis, 1:4
He checked not only a light, but anything He created. Let's see, Genesis, 1:9-10
Then He created plants and trees, Genesis, 1:12
and He checked, Genesis, 1:12
Then He created a enormously huge thing, Genesis, 1:16-18
then He checked again, Genesis, 1:18
On the next day, Genesis, 1:21
here, He checked, and certified their quality. Then, Genesis, 1:25
It is written that on the sixth day He created man. Genesis, 1:27-28
and this time, Genesis, 1:28
The word, "bless" is used when He created fish and birds. Genesis, 1:22
As a whole, He did as we stamp OK when we certified a quality of products in factories(this is a Japanese way of certification). When He created man, He blessed him. I think it means He saw that it was good. Summarizing His creation, He created all, including man, according His plan, and certified them good. Especially for man, another aspect of His creation is described in Chapter 2, Genesis, 2:7
It holds a major significance for man that He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. On Verse 28 in Chapter 1, it is written, the God blessed the man. The word, "bless" is used on Verse 3 in Chapter 2, the God blessed the seventh day, and also used in Chapter 12, a story about Abraham. Genesis, 12:1
after this, "bless" is used many times. Genesis, 12:2-3
By the way, I hear the word "bless" often after I was saved and changed to believe Him. But in our daily life, we seldom use it. For example, in a business, if we have a meeting with an important customer and win a big contract, we will seldom say, "This is really a blessing!" If a student, who was always worst in the exam, gains the highest remarks, we won't say, "This is blessing!" We don't use it in a relationship between people. Then when do we use the word? One occasion is at a wedding reception party(especially in Japanese style parties). If a master of ceremony says, "Celebration this ceremony, we would like to hear blessing words from some of guests.", we won't feel of strangeness. But, if we ask the master about its meaning, he may not know it. The word is seemed to be used to express a feeling of celebration. One more occasion is when the Pope blesses a lot of believers from the high balcony. Anyway, we don't know the detailed meaning of the word. Thus I searched the meaning by Bible dictionary. I found several meanings, celebrating something, praying for God's grace, ... The most interesting one was the origin of the word. It is "consecrate", which is frequently used in the Old Testament. Again, I searched the meaning of it, and found that it means a deed by the God to make it clear which of His creatures belong Him. When I thought up that blessing means "He's saying it's Mine.", I could understand concretely. He who blesses is the God, not men. So, we may say the God appears in the Old Testament is "blessing God". Let's read very famous words, you may remember them, Isaiah, 43:1
Saying "You are Mine." is His consecration and blessing. As written at the beginning of the Genesis, we were breathed the breath of life, blessed, and certified as belongings of Him. In addition, I once lived in Italy, and bought the Holy Bible written in Italian. I'm not an expert in Italian, so, this may be wrong... The expression frequently found in the beginning of the Genesis, "God saw that it was good." was translated into Italian as "God said it was good.;" Here, an Italian word which means blessing is "benedisse", which is a combination of "say" and "good" When the God created a lot of things, He saw those were good. Its meaning is so close to that He blessed them. Go back to the subject. When we were first formed, we were blessed, that is, we were certified. But for a while, Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent, and they sinned. We were formed as accepted products, but what we did first was to make ourselves rejected products. After this, the story became complicated, we are required to offer sacrifice for being forgiven sins. Thus, men chose the best sheep, killed it and offered to the God. Here we can find that men started consecration once done only by the God. In the period of the Old Testament, a main body of consecration moved from the God to men. Then, in the period of the New Testament, Jesus redemption all of us so completely, that there's no need for consecration anymore. Now then, let's see experiences of two men, to learn how the Lord bless sinful men. A story about Cain and Abel. Genesis, 4:4
Abel consecrated the best sheep among his large flock, and brought it to Him by himself. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering. He saw that it was good. How about another brother, Cain?, Genesis, 4:3
How did He reply? It was miserable, Genesis, 4:5
It is said Cain lacked an attitude to offer the very best of his products, but I don't know the reason. Anyway He didn't see that it was good. This lead to the difference whether he was blessed or not. Abel was blessed. How about we? For Jesus Himself has already been a sacrifice, we have nothing to offer anymore. But if we lived in the age of Cain and Abel, what had we offer to the Lord as sacrifice? Unfortunately, almost none of us feed sheep these days. Hint is in the Psalm 51. David sang Psalm 51 just after his sin was declared by the prophet Nathan, and trembled by his own sin. Psalms, 51:17
We now know what we should offer when we stand before Him is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. And, Isaiah, 66:2
Through Psalms and Isaiah, it is written the only thing pleases the Lord is a broken and contrite heart. Go back to the Chapter 2 of Genesis, it says, "God blessed the seventh day." If we take "blessing" as "consecration", it means He declared the seventh day is Mine. Thus, the seventh day, Sunday belongs to the Lord. Looking back my life, before I was saved, I thought Sundays are mine, not my wife's, not my children's days. So, even after salvation, I attended Sunday worship thinking in 50% it's my day today, and it's up to me whether I attend a worship or not. (Side A -> Side B) It was because I thought Sundays are my days. But it isn't true. The God who formed me declared the seventh day is My day, not yours. Thus, now I think a worship is to attend regardless whether we are tired or not, to offer what will please Him most, a broken and contrite heart, and to present a gratitude for His blessing, and to praise the Lord. I would like to quote words describing how a worship should be, the Chapter 22 of Genesis, a story Abraham sacrifices his son Isaac as a burnt offering. There, the word, "test" is used. Genesis, 22:1
Genesis, 22:1-2
As you know, when he laid Isaac on top of the wood, took the knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord stopped it. What he did was the essence of a worship. He thought to sacrifice his loving son according His order. The angel said, Genesis, 22:12
The important point is that to fear the God is one of the element of a worship. To fear Him is to trust anything on Him, and follow Him obediently. The God told to Abraham again through the angel Genesis, 22:15-17
Here, "bless" is used. So, I think our worship and His blessing are tied each other. A worship is to fear the God, and offer our gratitude. But if I'm ordered to sacrifice my child, I may skip a worship. Fleshly thinking, I can't think Abraham went to the mountain for a worship with REJOICE. Because he had to kill his own son, who was given as a long term prayer. But we have an experience when we attend a worship against our will to be absent from it, we accepted a large blessing. I think it is a worship. At a worship we offer a prayer for gratitude to the God. A prayer is categorized into 2 parts. One is a prayer at a worship. A worship to praise Him, the other is a prayer for ourselves, or a prayer to intercedes for family who isn't yet saved, or a prayer for repentance. Just after I was saved, I didn't know the difference and what we should pray for. I couldn't pray at a worship. I was afraid of how they see me, and it had no relation with a faith. For some time later, I was relieved from it, and started to pray at a worship. Then, there came out another new problem, my prayer became habitual as if it was recorded onto a tape. I think the Lord won't be pleased these habitual prayers. I caution myself that in tens of years faith, there will be a danger to become so. I remember a fact there was a REJOICE comes up from bottom of my heart when I was saved. In days, we forget the details. So, when I see a man just saved prayes for first time in faltering words, I remember the REJOICE. Thus, I think it is necessary for a fellowship to gain new Spirits, and to be revived. As a model, or a textbook for a prayer at a worship, let's read Psalms 150. Psalms, 150:1-6
A lot of instruments appear in this Psalm. I think It recommends everyone who gathers a worship to praise the Lord by his own words. On the Verse 6, it is written, "everything that has breath", this is the most important thing. Here's another recommendation, Hebrews, 13:15
We can say it is a prayer to praise the God that we sacrifice the fruit of lips that confess His name through Jesus. Let's offer the prayer to the God continually. I think these words recommends us to attend a worship with true REJOICE. |