GYC SE 2008: One

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GYC Southeast

Bruce Ashton - My Way or God's Way: Defining Christian Worship

J. Bruce Ashton

This Mystery Called Music

Sacred and Secular in Church and Culture

Selling Worship or Selling-out Worship?

I'd like to start with number 73, which is familiar, I think, to most of you.

But it's a privilege for us to be able to sing the same thing the angels sing.

You read in Isaiah, in the Old Testament, you read it in the Revelation in the New Testament, what the angels sing is, holy, holy, holy.

Early in the morning, our song shall rise to thee.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in 3 persons, blessed Trinity.

Now, Everybody got along fine with the punctuation that time, whether you thought of it or not, because it sort of fits with where the notes go.

But there's some punctuation in the next stanza that doesn't go exactly where you think it's going to go.

Paul says we sing with the understanding as well as with spirit.

So let's see if we can get all the meaning that is here by taking the breaths where they're called for.

Casting down their bright crowns around the glassy sea.

Thousands And 10 thousands worship low before thee, Which words and art and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy, though darkness hide thee, though the eye of man thy great glory And thy great glory may not see.

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sea, I am seen.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in 3 Persons, blessed Trinity.

Father in heaven, we are grateful that you extend to us the privilege of bringing praise back to you.

We pray that as we talk about worship and talk about praise that you will enlighten us that you will strengthen us that you will accept what we bring to you because we bring it to you in response, our love response to your great love for us in Jesus name, Amen I would like to introduce our subject by what I think is a rather interesting quotation from Marva Dawn's book, the second book she wrote on the subject of worship, and the title of the book is, a royal waste of time.

To worship the Lord is in the world's eyes a waste of time.

It is indeed a royal waste of time, but a waste nonetheless.

By engaging in it we do not accomplish anything useful in our society's terms.

Worship ought not to be construed in any utilitarian way.

Its purpose is not to gain numbers nor for our churches to be seen as successful.

Rather the entire reason for our worship is that God deserves it.

Moreover it isn't even useful for earning points with God.

For what we do in worship will not change 1 whit how God feels about us.

We will still be helpless sinners, caught in our endless inability to be what we should be or to make ourselves any better.

And God will always still be merciful, compassionate and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and ready to forgive us as we come to Him.

But it is indeed royal, for it immerses us in the regal splendor of the cosmos.

Do you go to church every week to be immersed in the regal splendor of the King of the cosmos?

The church's worship provides opportunities for us to enjoy God's presence in corporate ways that take us out of time and into the eternal purposes of God's kingdom.

As a result, we shall be changed, but not because of anything we do.

God, on whom we are centered and to whom we submit, will transform us by the His revelation of himself.

To understand worship as a royal waste of time is good for us because it frees us to enter into the poverty of Christ.

We worship a triune God who chose to rescue the world he created by means of the way of humility.

God sent his Son into the world to empty himself in the obedience of a slave, humbling himself to suffer throughout his entire life and to die the worst of deaths on our behalf.

He did not come to be solving the world's problems in any sense that the world could understand.

Worship of such a God immerses us in such a way of life empowered by a spirit who does not equip us with means of power or control, accomplishment or success, but with the ability and the humility to waste time in love of the neighbor.

It is actually a contraction of the phrase worth-ship.

Worth-ship, an acknowledgement of the rank or the status of another being.

Is it ever right to attribute worthiness to other people?

Are there people who are worthy of your respect?

I'm interested in Luke 10 verse 7, the Lord says, the laborer is worthy of his hire.

Apparently there is some sense at least in which worthiness can be attributed to human beings.

That really should be a caution to those of us who like to think the world owes us a living.

If the laborer is worthy of his hire, he sort of ought to be sure he's under obligation to give back that which he is being paid for.

Just because Southern has promised to X many dollars on your account if you work at grounds or service or the CAF, you have a responsibility to see that SAU gets a fair benefit for the worth they are attributing to your time.

There are some in our community who have money, a fair bit.

A good friend of mine who gave a million and a half dollars to help build a wellness center over here.

I haven't got a million and a half dollars.

We kind of think so, but if his money was honestly come by and is used morally and responsibly, I think yes.

Scholarship, Are there people who are worthy because of their scholarship?

If they can use it in areas of study which will make mankind's condition better, or his understanding of himself better, or his understanding of his God better.

That's a bad question to ask in 2008, isn't it?

I think yes, provided they know how to use political office intelligently and responsibly and morally.

There are people who are spiritually alive, spiritually vital, who have much to offer.

And yes, it is worth recognizing their accomplishments and their contributions.

And I'm interested also in the centurion who built the Jews a synagogue in Capernaum he was in need 1 time because his trusted slave was sick about to die and the elders of the Jews came to Jesus they said what help this man he is worthy he's worthy because he loves our nation he's worthy because he built as a synagogue what did the centurion say when Jesus started off to his house Lord I am NOT worthy that you should come under my roof there are different views of worthiness who else in 1 of Jesus parables said he was unworthy the prodigal son the prodigal son had broken his father's heart he had deprived his father of years of good service, he had wasted buku bucks in degenerate living.

He knew that was not the way his father's son ought to live.

He knew that was not the way any father's son ought to live.

And in his honest moments of self-examination, he recognized that he had given up any right, any claim to honor, or responsibility, or worth.

But what intrigues me always about that story is, that boy never was worthy to be called his father's son, because worthiness has nothing to do with it when you are your father's son.

No matter what I do, I am my father's son.

No matter what my sons do, they are my sons.

Yes, he was right to feel guilt, he was right to feel shame for what he had done, but worthiness is not a factor in sonship.

None of us are worthy to be God's children, but he claims us all, and for that we are grateful.

I like it in Psalm 18 verse 3 where you says very straightforwardly the Lord is worthy to be praised.

If we had any questions there's a settlement there.

On what basis is God worthy of our praise?

Revelation 4 verse 11, thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power, why?

For thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

He is the sovereign over everything and in his sovereign greatness he has chosen to create, to create you because he wanted to spend time with you, because he wanted to get to know you because he wanted you to be on His short list of friends.

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Bruce Ashton - My Way or God's Way: Defining Christian Worship

This Mystery Called Music

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Bruce Ashton - My Way or God's Way: Defining Christian Worship

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