Tag Archives: Worship

Day 103: Two Very Important Jobs

Jeremiah 23:7-12

“Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that they will no more say, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;’ but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up and who led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will dwell in their own land.”

Concerning the prophets:
My heart within me is broken.
All my bones shake.
I am like a drunken man,
and like a man whom wine has overcome,
because of Yahweh,
and because of his holy words.
For the land is full of adulterers;
for because of the curse the land mourns.
The pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course is evil,
and their might is not right;
for both prophet and priest are profane.
Yes, in my house I have found their wickedness,” says Yahweh.
Therefore their way will be to them as slippery places in the darkness.
They will be driven on,
and fall therein;
for I will bring evil on them,
even the year of their visitation,” says Yahweh.

We have learned from the Bible that there were two very important positions that God set up in Israel in order for the people to properly to relate to God. Priests were required so that man would be able to communicate with God and prophets were raised up in order to be the voice of God to the people. It isn’t a surprise, then, that when priests and prophets become profane, that the people fail to have a proper way to communicate with God. When spiritual leadership goes bad, it doesn’t just pervert the communication between God and man, it also makes God very angry and results in wrath. That’s what we learn about here in Jeremiah. God had every intent to make Israel His nation, but first, He would have to deal with the leadership that had decided to pervert both the worship of the people to God and the voice of God to the people.

Do you remember that God calls Christians priests as well as prophets? We have the responsibility of both worshiping God and bringing concerns of others before God in prayer, and also to tell others what God’s word says and lead them to repentance so that they will become followers of Jesus. We all have these special jobs and as far as I can tell from the Bible, these jobs are more important than any earthly job. It is very important for us to not avoid our priestly jobs of worship and prayer for others. It’s also important for us to keep speaking God’s word to others in order to encourage them and help them continue to live their lives according to the truth. I don’t believe that a true believer will profane these positions, but we can certainly avoid performing our duties. Let’s remember that these spiritual activities are real jobs that God has given us to do, and remember how important those jobs are in our world today.

Day 102
Contents
Day 104

Day 35: The Rules are Changing

John 4:20-26 : “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah comes,” (he who is called Christ). “When he has come, he will declare to us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who speaks to you.”

Jews and the Samaritans had been arguing over the appropriate place to worship God. The Jews said at the temple and the Samaritans were saying at the mountain. Jesus brought a new perspective.

He said that now neither place is appropriate. He first explained that the real difference is knowledge. The Jews know God’s words so they knew what they worshiped and the Samarians didn’t. Jesus stated that the Jews are right and that salvation would come from them. Then He explained that, as to where and how to worship, things are to be different.

Jesus said that in order to worship God we must do it in “spirit and truth.” This spiritual change keeps coming up in John. Things were of the earth, now they are of spirit. Now we learn a new thing: that God is spirit. In order to worship him the worship must be in spirit and truth.

Back in chapter three, Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again of the Spirit in order to enter God’s kingdom (John 3:3-8). Jesus may be saying here again that in order to truly worship God from now on, you must be born again of the Spirit.

Also, as we read earlier, we now get to believe in Jesus, not just do what He says. In order to believe, you need to hear the truth. You can’t just go through the motions of worship by going to a place of worship. Even saying “Lord, Lord” will not work:

Matthew 7:21-23 : Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

So, the worship that God now looks for is not an act but real worship from your heart.

Finally, Jesus tells her that He is the messiah that they have been waiting for. Jesus was an effective evangelist as we see in the next section.

Day 34
Day 36