No one is ever saved 'as a result' of an altar call. We are saved only as a result of the gospel… We don't want them to think that in order to be saved they must walk an aisle. No! We want them to know that if they look to Christ even while they are seated they will be saved. And so we must tell them that. We must make the message very plain that they must go to Christ, and to go to Him requires no physical movement whatever only a look of the soul… This is too important a matter to erect needless obstacles or distractions. They must be directed not to a geographical location in a building. They must be directed to Christ.
Fred Zaspel

THE FOCUS OF OUR WORSHIP

THE FOCUS OF OUR WORSHIP

It is clear that I need to continue this series on worship a little longer, today addressing the “Focus Of Our Worship”. For those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, our heads clearly tell us that God is to be the Object of our worship, and Jesus is the One who brings Focus to that worship. Knowing this should hopefully save us the disappointment, dullness, and disillusionment of experiencing unfulfilled worship.

However, sometimes our hearts don’t comprehend that truth, and our actions certainly give no hint that we understand either its reality or its vitality. Even at seasons of the year such as Easter or Christmas which is now upon us, we still struggle with bringing our minds, hearts, and wills into a divine alignment that will enable us to fully enter into such intimate depths.

It is not coincidental that the Holy Spirit brings you and me today to this challenge . . . . to make the focus of our worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Yesterday as Jo Ann and I traveled with our oldest daughter and her family to a church in their denomination about 60 miles from where we live, I had some time to think about the Christmas season and all it offers us. Immediately I was reminded that, whatever else it may offer us, it certainly gives us a chance to express unbridled worship to our Savior . . . . except for one thing.

We can’t seem to get Him out of the manger. It’s as if, for many believers, He’s in a time warp that keeps Him stuck in “sweet baby Jesus” mode, and subsequently irrelevant to the challenges of life. During the mid 1960’s while I was serving on church staff, my pastor, Jim Hylton, wrote a penetrating article about the Jesus of Christmas. His point was simple . . . . it’s easy to worship a baby Jesus in the manger, because He makes no demands. He’s cute and cuddly and innocent. We can “ooh!” and “ahh!” over Him without being threatened in our lifestyle. Basically, it’s a no-brainer. It requires no spiritual soul searching, it demands no sacrifice on our part, and it doesn’t challenge us regarding the sinfulness of man that caused Him to come in the first place.

To be sure, we know all of this intellectually, but, caught up in the emotions of the moment, those dark realities are lost in the tinsel and sounds of contemporary Christmas celebrations which are basically void of any reference to Him outside the use of His Name in identifying the holiday itself. Our focus is on the holiday, and not the Holy One.

How sad.

How sinful.

So, yesterday, as we drove along the highway already beginning to fill with Christmas travelers, I thought about how worship and Christmas might relate . . . . how they might be connected together. Obviously they are clearly linked, no matter the level of one’s spiritual perceptions. Even the most calloused and worldly-minded person has connected the two —- Christmas is the supreme worship occasion of the year for just about everyone. It’s just a matter of the focus of that worship . . . . Traditions, . . . presents, . . . family, . . . Bowl games, . . .

. . . . or Jesus Christ.

And . . . . Which Jesus Christ.

We can gain some valuable insight from the accounts of Christmas and how the shepherds, angels, wise men, Anna, Simeon, and others responded to this unique little baby. They clearly knew something that most of us have tragically forgotten. In every Biblical situation, even before He was born, the characters of the Bible worshipped the Christ.

The prophets predicted worship as the outcome, the Gospels recorded it, the Apostles proclaimed it, and the epistles teach it. The Revelation portrays the splendor and glory of that day in the future when the whole world will worship Him . . . . either by enforcement or with enthrallment.

Recently the Lord helped me understand the connection between certain passages that pertain to the coming of Christ. The traditional records in the Gospels give us a “blow by blow” account of how this all happened and how people then related to it. However, unless I delve into some of the epistles, I will never understand the awesome application and impact that event has on human kind. So, after reading Matthew and Luke, I love to go to John chapter one where “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” Then I like to review Paul’s great commentary about “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a virgin . . .”

However, the real clincher for me is Paul’s great apologetic in Philippians. Listen to this: “Have this attitude in which yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or held on to, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the Name which is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:6-11

COMPREHENDING THE FOCUS:

So, yesterday as we accompanied our daughter and her family to that church service, I was profoundly blessed through the ministry of pastor John Lindell when he opened to that passage and began to talk about the attitude of Jesus when He voluntarily chose to abandon heaven and come to earth in the form of a newborn baby over whom people would giggle and coo. I wonder what must have been going through that divine mind embodied in a tiny head.

Rev. Lindell pointed out four profound truths that blessed me and drew me to a deeper and more grateful expression of humble worship. The price Jesus paid was much more than His suffering and death. It began long before that historical eternity splitting event. It began prior to His birth. Back somewhere in the halls of eternity past, He made a conscious decision based on His willingness to do the will of the Father. The key to the redemptive work of Christ is wrapped up in one word . . . . Willingness.

First, . . .

1. Jesus was willing to Relinquish His Place. Phil 2:6 reminds us that “. . . He existed in the form of God”. II Cor 4:4 says that Jesus “. . . is the image of God”. The writer of Hebrews paints an incredible portrait of Jesus as being “. . . the exact representation of [God’s] nature” (1:3). John 1:14 to which I referred earlier says, “. . . the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father . . .”

Perhaps one of the most powerful passages is found in Colossians 1:15-20. “He is the [visible] image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —- all things have been created through Him AND For Him. He is before all things [were], and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the Church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

We should be speechless, my friend, when we finally realize that Jesus was willing to relinquish His own rightful place of Deity, with all the regal worship, the royal honor, and the revered authority that it held. And yet, He was willing to move from the rights of Deity to the absolute helplessness of infancy. Surely He deserves more than singing Christmas carols, exchanging presents, and attending Christmas programs, no matter how religious and inspiring they may be.

Second, . . .

2. He was willing to Refuse His Privileges. Phil 2:6-7 says, “. . . [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, . . .” As the Son of God, Jesus had privileges that no created being has ever enjoyed . . . or endured. According to scripture, He was equal with God because He was God. He openly confessed that during His trial prior to His execution.

The Greek word for equality is “Isos”. From it we have words like “Isometric” . . . equal force. And “Isomagnetic” . . . . equal drawing and repelling power. And “Isomeric” . . . the same chemical elements in the same proportion and weight. Or “Isonomic” . . . . having equal rights and law.

In other words, Jesus was the Exact Equal with the Father in every respect. Why? Because He was and is God.

And yet, He was willing to Refuse the privileges of that Divine Equality.

What are some of the privileges He chose to abandon during His stay here on this earth? From the very moment He was conceived in the womb of Mary, He turned His back on . . .

  1. His Heavenly Glory. John 17:5 says, that after Jesus had served His purpose of some thirty-three years on earth and just prior to His death, He prays to His Father in saying, . . . glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” It is clear that when Jesus came to earth in the form of that baby, He willingly refused His privilege of heavenly glory.
  2. His Independent Authority. Hebrews 5:8 tells us, “Although He was a son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” He didn’t have to do that. He had all the authority He needed and, yet, from His earliest days as a child, He chose not to use it. That choice is epitomized both at the beginning and at the end of His earthly ministry. When tempted by the devil in the wilderness He never seriously considered bowing down in subjection. In the crucifixion, He was never tempted to call on the ten thousand angels which the devil had suggested to Him some three years earlier.

    Instead, He chose the role of bond-servant . . . . slave . . . . as the means of drawing mankind to the Father.

  3. His Divine Nature. In verses 7-9 of Philippians 2, Paul declares that Jesus was “. . . made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” As God, that was certainly not necessary.

    And, yet it was. Especially if He loved us as much as John 3:16 indicates.

    With those privileges He enjoyed as God came certain prerogatives . . . things He had the right and authority to have and to do. He didn’t have to ask for our permission. He could have chosen to reject the assignment to be born, to live out a life demonstrating Lordship, to suffer and die. He made it clear that “no man takes My life from Me, for I lay it down of My own accord.”

    And yet, Jesus turned His back on all his rights and privileges of Deity.

    We usually don’t think much about what all Jesus willingly forfeited before He gave up His own right to live. However, when you search the Gospels you realize that He never owned one single thing all His life. He was born in a borrowed stable. He lived for a period in another land that was not His own. He borrowed a boat from which to preach. He used someone else’s bread and fish to feed the multitude. He ate and slept in the homes of others. He, by His own testimony, “. . . had no place to lay His head. . .”, so He often retreated to the Mount of Olives where He found secluded places to sleep. He rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. He died on a cross belonging to another. And, He was buried in a borrowed tomb.

    Why all of this inconvenience and sacrifice? Because of the love of a Father’s heart.

    Then, . . .

    3. He was willing to Renounce His Position. Again Phil 2:8-9 reminds us that He chose to renounce heavenly citizenship and even royal rule in order to come as the baby born to die. Luke 22:27 says, “. . . I am among you as the One who serves.” Matt 20:28 clearly states, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

    In some strange and mysterious way, Jesus renounced His position of ruler and king, and became, as Isaiah prophesied, the “Suffering Servant”. Not just a servant, but The One and Only Suffering servant. When Paul says, “. . . taking the form of a bond-servant . . .”, the word for “Form” is critical to our understanding. It simply means “Essential Component and Character”. In other words, Jesus not only Acted like a servant, but He Became a servant . . . . a bond-servant.

    How could He do that? Why would He do that? Because He chose to do that.

    Finally, . . .

    4. He was willing to Realize His Purpose. Verse eight shows us He came to die. That was His purpose. He was born to die. It wasn’t that someday He would automatically die because everyone dies. He said, “No man takes my life from me; I give it up of My own free will.” He didn’t have to die; He chose to die.

    You see, the whole purpose of Jesus was not to be born in a stable, lie in a manger and have shepherds marvel and animals keep Him company. He didn’t come to gain the honor and respect of distant magi. He didn’t come to astound the priests in the temple. He didn’t come to lead a political insurrection against a foreign dominating army. He didn’t come to amaze people with miracles.

    Plain and simple, . . . He came to Die . . . and be raised again victorious over sin, death, hell, and Satan. He came to give life in abundance . . . . Eternal life. He came to quench the thirsty soul, to calm the troubled mind, to heal the broken body, to set captives free, to declare the Year of Restoration.

    And if it meant being born as a baby, living in a sinful world, limiting Himself to the restraints of humanity, and dying a death He didn’t deserves for sins He didn’t commit, . . . . then He was willing.

    IN CONCLUSION:

    So, what does that have to do with Christmas? With worship? With you and me?

    EVERYTHING! That’s what it’s all about, friend. And if we forget that about Christmas, . . . if we forget that about worship, . . . we’ve forgotten the one essential ingredient that makes Christmas what it really is.

    And, if we ever get that settled in our hearts, then we’ll understand that Jesus is truly the Focus of our worship because it is what He did, and still does, that directs our worship toward the Father. And, when that happens, we’ll join the shepherds running to bow before Him. We’ll join the angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace and good will on earth to all men.” We’ll even sweep out the cattle stalls just so we can be in His presence. And if we’re not willing to sweep out the cattle stalls, we have no right to stand in the pulpits of churches.

    God is giving us a chance, dear friend, to learn what it means to worship Him with pure hearts, clean hands, and humble spirits. Life’s struggles are designed for that purpose. Don’t miss the opportunity to be well prepared for the great worship celebration when people from all tribes, nations, and tongues gather around His throne and declare, “Worthy Is The Lamb! Worthy Is The Lamb! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

    Always be sure there is ample time for uninterrupted and unobstructed worship of the Lamb.

    In His Bond and For His Glory,

    Bob Tolliver — Rom 1:11-12
    Copyright December, 2002
    Life Unlimited Ministries
    lifeunlimited@pobox.com