We serve a good God. He is full of grace, mercy, love and goodness to all. He created the world, gave us life, gave us His Son and bought us with a high price. Through the giving of His Son He offers us an eternal home in Heaven with Him. A Heaven He created just for us where there are no more tears, no more pain and death is gone. So far you can see that God has done all the giving.
So, what do we have to give God? Can you keep His laws and commandments perfectly? Nope, no one can live a perfect life before God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Roman 3:13. We are all infected with sin. Lying, cheating, pride, sexual immorality, arrogance and rebellion towards God are the results of a sin nature inherited from Adam and Eve as they first laid covetous eyes upon that fruit. Can we do good things to impress God? Nope, the things that you do can never be good enough to convince God to allow you into His presence. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6. Only through the precious blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for all mankind upon the Cross can we have a hope of seeing Heaven. So, is there anything that we can give to God?
Yes….our loving Worship and Praise.
This morning in Exodus chapter 37 we see the making of four specific pieces of furniture that will reside within the tabernacle or “dwelling place” of God. You see God desires to dwell and live among us. We do not serve a distant faraway God, we serve a God that wants to walk among us and be with us. God gave careful instructions for each and every piece so that it would be a place where mankind could come and worship Him. God doesn’t want our money or deeds laid before Him as a means to try to buy or earn His love, He wants us laid before Him, our faces bowed before our maker, worshiping our King. God wants our love and we love Him through our worship and praise of Him.
It seems about once or twice a week I encounter someone that informs me that they just don’t need church. The whole experience is just “not for them.” Let me spin an analogy for our purpose. Say that as you are at work today a random man walks up to your desk, lays an envelope on it and then quietly sits in the chair opposite your desk. You cautiously open the envelope and it says that He has decided to bestow $100,000 a month to you and your family for the rest of your life. Think carefully about this. The man that you were about to call security on has now changed quite radically in your eyes. Why? Before he had given you nothing, but now he has given you a great treasure. Will you thank the man? A preposterous thought. Not only will you thank the man but more than likely your emotions will cause you to drop to a knee, shed a tear, take his hand and not only thank him but heap tremendous praises on Him. It’s also highly likely that you will not just simply forget the man. As those monthly checks keep rolling in you will constantly be reminded of his undeserved love, care and provision. As a result, I would also like to think that you would create a pattern of thanking him and praising him for his kindness and goodness towards you. In fact, I would also venture to say that over time and as a result of your continued praise that you become very good friends. Maybe even build a very strong relationship. And it was all built upon what? Two things. 1) He first gave to you. 2) As a result, you showed an overflowing of appreciation, thankfulness and love for what he had first done for you.
Folks, God is no different. He gave first. He loved you first. “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. And He gave you so much more than just silly printed paper. He gave you the very life that you are experiencing today. He gave you the breath in your lungs, the people in your life, the family that you love. Even more importantly, He gives you joy, peace and freedom from the bondage of your sin that can only come from the work of His Son Jesus Christ. How can you not want to thank God continually for all that He has done for you?
As you think about church, think about it as the place where you can simply thank Him with all of your heart. You can sing to Him at the top of your lungs as the music plays. You can kneel during prayer time and you can thank Him for the limitless blessings He has poured out upon your life. You can revel in the power, truth and life of His Holy Word as it is taught openly to all. You can enjoy the beaming faces of other believers as they too have come to simply thank God for His countless blessings upon their lives. Like minds, like hearts and like spirits all in one place to simply do one thing…Praise God for His Glory upon their lives.
Yes, you’re right if you say that you can just sit at home and talk to God. But if you’re telling yourself that this is somehow a substitute for genuinely worshiping and praising Him as He has designed, you’re off the mark. In Exodus 37 we see He has gone to great lengths to create a temple where He can be worshiped and praised. God created it, God gave the dimensions and God gave the materials. God raised up the people to build it and God ordained the priests to operate it. God never intended for His people to merely acknowledge Him passively as they sat at home. God’s plan is for His people to worship and praise him as a local body of Christ and that’s exactly what a church is. A local place where a body of Christ followers come together to praise, worship and serve Almighty God. A place where you can sing to your God that loves you. A place where you can pray to your God that gives you life each and every day. A place where you can meet with your brothers and sisters in Christ and share the highs and lows of walking with Christ. A place where you can be strengthened for the arduous journey of walking as a Child of God in a dark, sinful and evil world.
I challenge you to find this place. No matter the cost, no matter the inconvenience, find this place. Find a place to worship. And when you get there, call out to God and simply thank Him. Simply tell Him how much you love Him.
It’s all He wants and it’s all you’ve got to give.
Dan, My heart is overflowing today with worship and praise to God that in His goodness He brought you and Margie into my life. May His goodness and mercy overtake both of you.