CGC FAMILY CAMP – SEP 9   – 12, 2010

Each course runs from Monday to Friday. Lectures commence each day at 8.30 am and end at 1.00 pm .   Tea and lunch are provided.   Cost: RM50.00 per course.

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REVERENCE IN THE LOCAL ASSEMBLY

By David Dunlap

 

Holiness and reverence are the life-blood of worship. Worship that is marked by a fresh vision of God's holiness is never casual, flippant, and superficial. True worshippers do not rush into His holy presence unprepared to bow in reverence. Sincere worshippers of God possess deep convictions about the holiness and glory of God. However, just as in Isaiah's day there was great spiritual apathy, so also is there much spiritual indifference and casualness in the church today.

 

The Need for Reverent Worship

Many are concerned that today there is too much shallowness in our worship of God. Irreverence in worship is now becoming all too common in modern churches. Unfortunately, New Testament assemblies are not immune to this affliction. Increasingly, believers are sauntering into worship meetings 10 to 15 minutes late, without the slightest hint of embarrassment. The retelling of personal anecdotes, the singing of favourite hymns, and nonchalance have replaced holy and reverent worship. Psalm 111:9 exhorts, “Holy and reverent is His Name.” Hearts full of Christ have now given way to hearts full of competing interests. Many still attend times of worship, but have lost their first love. The stirring hymns of the faith are still sung, but rarely with passion and conviction. Gripping passages of Scripture about Christ and the cross are still read, but with little apparent devotion or heart-felt affection. Eloquent prayers of praise and worship ring hollow.

 

True Reverence

It was not always this way. In earlier days, the assemblies were known for men of God whose passion to worship the son of God was unrivaled. The believers in the Lord Jesus Christ might have gathered in a grange hall or a refurbished building, but the gathering place was not as important as the gathering Centre, the Lord Jesus Christ. The hymns were sung heartily. Worship was mingled with tenderness and devotion by men of God who knew the Word of God. There was a beauty of holiness that attracted all true saints of God. The holiness and reverence that characterized the meeting was evident to all. Concerning the character of those meetings, one writes,

 

I sometimes smile when I hear ministers state the assumption that a new type of building will create a worship atmosphere. In my late adolescence I occasionally worshipped with those known as “ Plymouth Brethren.” Meeting in the barest halls, adorned only with signs carrying Scripture verses, they had the most worshipful services that I have ever attended. No organist in whispering conferences, pushing or pulling stops. Greetings, giggling, whispering, and coughing were all hushed by the miracle drug: reverence. Children were quieted. People tiptoed to their places in the circle to sit with bowed heads or read their Bibles. The keen anticipation of the movement of the Spirit of God in leading one of the assembled men to announce a hymn, read the Scripture, or to offer prayer was sensed in these moments of deep reverence, which sharply contrasts with the hubbub of many protestant services. .. John W. Drakeford

 

Reverence is not something we can bring to God or create in ourselves; but rather, it is a spiritual grace we receive when we begin to see God as He truly is. Reverence acknowledges in our hearts the glory of God as presented in the Scriptures, and then yields to God His rightful place in our lives. Reverent worshippers acknowledge their unworthiness and, in godly fear, bow before and awesome and holy God.

Just a sudden glimpse of the holiness of God will change us forever. As Isaiah is thrust into the presence of God and the seraphim cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” the prophet confesses, “Woe is me! For I am undone.” Isaiah, the righteous prophet, in one brief moment, is exposed and broken under the gaze of the Almighty. In an instant, he is measured by the ultimate standard of holiness; he is weighed in the balance and is found wanting. The holiness of God has seized his heart, soul, and mind. He cannot forget what he has seen. Boredom, casualness, and lukewarmness about the things of God are gone forever. “Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts” (Isa. 6:5).

 

The Biblical Standard For Reverent Worship

The Psalmist writes, “He is to be feared above all gods.....splendour and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary....O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him all the earth” (Ps. 96:4,6,9). Godly fear, majesty, the beauty of holiness, and splendour were ready themes of the worshippers of old. Where are the churches today whose primary focus is to “worship God in spirit and truth”?. May our reverence worship to Christ once again shine brightly as the hallmark of our devetion to Christ.