A Bad Day

In Acts 16, we are told the story about Paul and Silas in a prison cell in Philippi. Let me set up the story for you. Paul cast a demon out of a young lady who was a fortune-teller. Her handler doesn’t like it because when she lost the ability to tell the future, she also lost the ability to make money for him. So he has Paul and Silas arrested.

Acts 16:22-24 (NLT) says, “A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.” 

For most of us, it is difficult to identify with this situation. We have all had bad days before, but nothing like what Paul and Silas are experiencing. They were probably emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted.

Their backs were bleeding from the beating they received. They are bruised from head to toe So physically, they are spent. They had a mob rise up against them. I'm sure that emotionally drained them. And to top it off, they are now in the dungeon of a prison with their feet in stocks.

It doesn’t get much worse than that. That’s what makes the next verse so amazing. Acts 16:25 says,  “Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” 


How could they do it? How can they sing in such a difficult situation? They were worshipers! You can be a worshiper or you can be a complainer. Paul and Silas chose to be a worshiper. They made a pre-decision that regardless of the situation, they would worship God!

We can make that same decision as well! Paul and Silas knew a secret that we often forget...worship is based on the worthiness of God not the comfortableness of our situations.

Let's Zoom Out!

Vicki Medvec, a professor at Northwestern University, did a fascinating research study concerning bronze and silver medalists at the Olympics. She was trying to determine who was the happiest of the two groups and why. She discovered that Bronze medalists were happier than Silver medalists because the silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold and didn't...so they weren't satisfied or happy with the silver. Bronze medalists focused on how close they came to not winning a medal at all so they were just happy to have one a metal.

What she really discovered is what students of human nature have known for years: your focus determines your reality. As illogical as it may seem, happiness is not measured by an objective set of circumstances in our lives but by our subjective focus.

A great truth that will radically transform our lives is this: Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. Think about the original humans in the Garden of Eden. They had paradise given to them. They had access to everything the world could offer, but one thing. Their attention became laser-focused on that one thing and they were discontent about everything else. Think about Daniel and the three Hebrew young men in Babylon. They were in captivity. Babylon is the Biblical representative of everything wrong in the world. Yet they maintained their integrity. What was the difference? Their focus!

All of us know people who can find something good to focus on even when they are experiencing bad circumstances. We also all probably know someone who can find something bad to focus on in spite of all the good their lives..

You see, we tend to see what we’re looking for. Spiritually speaking, there are two basic types of people in the church world: complainers and worshippers. Complainers can always find something to complain about. Worshippers can always find something for which they can give God glory.

A worshipper makes a decision to always praise and worship regardless of their circumstances. This week we are going to be looking at a familiar story in the Bible that illustrates this principle in the lives of two Bible heroes.

Civilized

There is a great scene in Rocky III, where Rocky is confused about Mick's refusal to sign a fight between the World Champion, Rocky Balboa, and a mouthy challenger, Clubber Lang (the role that brought Mr. T to our attention). Clubber is a tough street fighter, who is just destroying everyone he fights. Rocky has been fighting cream-puffs and even "fights" wrestling star Hulk Hogan (again a role that made him famous). Rocky is angry at Mick for refusing to fight Lang and keeps questioning why he refuses the bout. Mick gives a great line, “...the worst thing happened that could happen to any fighter. You got civilized!”


That is not only true about fighters, that is true about worship! In the gospels, the only civilized people that are mentioned are the Pharisees, and Jesus was never very impressed with them. In fact, He is consistently lambasting the Pharisees. Yet He praises a prostitute who doesn’t know any better than to crash a dinner party, wash His feet with her tears and her hair, and break open an Alabaster jar of perfume an anoint His feetas an act of worship.

You kind of get the idea that God cares about outward appearance. As Mark Batterson says, God is looking for is people who are desperate enough to climb sycamore trees, desperate enough to cut holes in ceilings, desperate enough to push through crowds and yell at the top of their voices, and desperate enough to jump out of boats to get to him!

David says, “I will become even more undignified than this....” (2 Samuel 6:22)

One of the words for worship in Hebrew is hallal. It has a lot of meanings, but one means clamorously foolish. What that means is, if you aren’t willing to look foolish you can’t worship!

I mean worship, in a strictly human sense, is foolish isn’t it? We are singing to someone we can’t see! We are raising your hands to someone we can’t touch.

Have you ever seen someone singing, or even better, dancing in their car? You see their mouth moving, their hands tapping the steering column, or their body swaying. They look sort of foolish don’t they? Why? Because you can’t hear the music! There is an old proverb: “Those who hear not the music think the dancer is mad.” 

That’s what is happening in 2 Samuel 6.  David hears the music. Michal doesn’t. If we set our spiritual ears on heaven’s frequency and hear the music, it would cause us to sing and dance. We might even dance like David danced in 2 Samuel 6.

Foolish

I think 2 Samuel 6 provides for us one of the keys as to why God used David in miraculous ways. To set the backdrop, David has just attended his own coronation as the King of Israel. He led Israel into an arousing victory over the Philistines. And now he is leading them into one of the greatest spiritual revivals of their history...bringing the Ark of Covenant back to Jerusalem.

This is on the greatest days of his life! However, 2 Samuel 6:16 (NLT) says, “But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.” 

Let me give you an insight that I have gained in over thirty years of ministry and watching people grow excited about their relationship with the Lord. When you get excited about God don’t expect everyone else to be as enthusiastic about your excitement as you are! When you experience a personal revival, some people will be encouraged by your experience. But others will be convicted. And their conviction will often display itself with criticism. They will criticize you, your experience, and your enthusiasm.

Michal is a perfect example. 2 Samuel 6:20 says, “When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”

Here's what is amazing to me about David. Even though he was the King, he was not afraid to look foolish. He disrobed (shed his royal robes) and danced before the Lord.

The royal robes represented David’s identity and security. But David recognized that identity and security can be found whether you wear kingly robes or servant clothes. And because of that, he wasn’t afraid of looking foolish! Verses 21-22 continue, “David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

Don't miss the phrase, “I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” The New Living Translation says, “Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!” David recognized one of the most important principles about worship...Worship is not about our personal comfort; it is about God's worthiness.

I Feel Foolish

Most of us have a fear of looking foolish. In poll after poll, the number one fear of Americans is the fear of public speaking. It ranks higher than the fear of death and the fear of spiders. You know what that means? We would rather die of a spider bite than have to speak publicly!!! Why? I think it is the fear of looking foolish, of being embarrassed. It has been called the curse of self-consciousness.

We are going to be exploring that this week. It is the fear of looking foolish that kept us from raising our hand in elementary school to answer a question by the teacher. What if we are wrong? It is the fear of looking foolish that kept us from asking a girl out on a date as a teenager. What if she said "no", or worse yet laughed at or made of us? It is the fear of looking foolish that keeps us from praying for amazing miracles. What if it doesn't happen? We will look foolish.

And I think it is the fear of looking foolish that keeps us from worshiping God the way we could or even should. I love the way that Mark Batterson talks about it in his book, The Circle Maker. The whole acceptance of faith involves the willingness to look foolish.  Noah looked foolish building an ark in the dessert. Sarah looked foolish buying maternity clothes at ninety. The Israelites looked foolish marching around Jericho blowing trumpets. David looked foolish attacking Goliath with a slingshot. The Wise Men looked foolish following yonder star. Peter looked foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night. And Jesus looked foolish hanging half-naked on the cross.

But that’s faith. Faith is the willingness to look foolish.

And the results speak for themselves don’t they? Noah was saved from the flood. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. The walls of Jericho came tumbling down. David defeated Goliath. The Wise Men found the Messiah. Peter walked on water. And Jesus rose from the dead.

Most of us will never kill a giant or walk on water because we are not willing to look foolish. We’re not willing to attach with a slingshot or get out of the boat in the middle of the lake. This week, we are going to be looking at a time in King David's life when he looked foolish in the eyes of his wife...and even in his own eyes. But he realized that the worship that God deserved at the time was not for His personal comfort but for God's glory. I hope you will join me each day as we explore 2 Samuel 6.

Praise or Pride?

If you don't remember anything else from these posts this week, I hope you will remember this take-away: Every blessing becomes the source of one of two things: a source of praise or a source of pride.


There are no alternatives. Either praise or price. Like the Israelites with their golden earrings, if we aren’t careful, the blessings of God can become a source of personal pride. And if that happens, it would better that we never received them!

The Israelites had been in slavery for over 400 years. The very definition of slavery means they had nothing. They didn't even have their own freedom. Then, in one day, as God is setting them free from the bondage, He causes the Egyptians to show favor to the Israelites. They give them gold earrings, flocks and herds...more than you can count! For this current generation of Israelites, they had never owned gold, flocks, or herds. Everything they saw belonged to the Egyptians.

They must have overwhelmed but the blessing! But what happened? Instead of these blessings being a source of praise, they turned them into a source of pride...and idolatry.

We have the same choice every time we experience a blessing. We can either take credit or give credit. Worship is giving credit where credit is due.

We sing a song that, to be honest, sometimes confused me...until now. The words say, “Every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise.” I always thought, "Of course, I will turn it back to praise. What else could it become?" Now, I realize that if I fail to turn the blessings of God into praise they will become a source of pride.

So, "Blessed be the name of the Lord! Blessed be His glorious name!"

En Theos

Aaron made a golden calf and the people became very excited. They build an altar in front of it. And began to celebrate. The celebration was so loud, that when Moses and Joshua came down the mountain, Joshua though they were being attacked by an enemy. But Moses said, “No, it’s neither a cry of victory nor a cry of defeat. It is the sound of a celebration.” (Exodus 32:18)

The problem was, they were getting excited about the wrong thing. Enthusiasm is not a bad thing, as long as we are enthusiastic about the right thing. The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words: en Theos, which literally means in God. Don't miss the irony of the word-play. The more we get into God the more enthusiastic we become about God.

Too often we, as Christians, focus on what is wrong with mankind in general, and with ourselves in particular. But I'm not sure the problem is that we don't feel bad enough about what's wrong with us. I think a bigger issue is that we tend to not feel good enough about what is right about God. You see, you can't feel good about what is right with God unless you are into God! And when we are in God we will be enthusiastic about God. It is a perpetually growing chain...the more we are into God the more we will be enthusiastic about God, which will drive us to be more into God.

One of Satan's greatest tools is to keep us focused on what is wrong with us, and in doing so, we fail to see what is right about God! Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right about God. Don't let what is wrong with your church keep you from worshiping what is right about God. Don't let what is wrong with our nation keep you from worshiping what is right about God.

Filling The Vacuum

Exodus 32 is written as an epilogue to Moses having spent forty days on Mount Sinai communing with God and receiving the Commandments from the Lord. Exodus 32:1 says, “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

Aristotle reportedly said, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” While that may or may not be true in physics (sorry, I really am not up on a natural physics), It is definitely true spiritually. The Israelites had been led by Moses in their worship of God. He has been gone for forty days and they couldn't go that long without worshiping something! Since they were not worshiping God, they filled the vacuum with a god they created.

They asked Aaron to build them a god or idol, so he had them bring their golden earrings. These earrings were a gift from God. Let's go back to go back to Exodus 12:36,  “The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!”

Don't miss this...the Israelites turned a gift from God into an idol. If we aren’t careful, we can easily do the same thing.. In fact, the greatest blessings pose the greatest danger for idolatry.

The people said in Exodus 32:4: “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt.”

Think about all the miracles the Israelites had seen God perform in the days preceding this catastrophe. God had sent the ten plagues to gain their release from Pharaoh. They had watched the parting of the Red Sea. They were eating manna and quail miraculously provided for them. Water had come out of a rock. And now they are giving a golden calf the credit for delivering them from Egypt? Are you kidding me?

In it's essence, worship is giving credit where credit is due. Sin is giving credit to anyone besides God for any blessing you have enjoyed...including giving credit to your own abilities, talent, or intellect.

God has rescued the Israelites. He has shown them miracles and given them gifts. And what do they do? They take the gift God had given them and use it make an idol.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ.”

Allow me to make a closing observation today. There is a part of us that reads this story in Exodus 32 and we think, "Those silly ancient people! How could they worship a golden calf? They were so primitive." But don't we worship little green pieces of paper with numbers on them? Is that really any different? If we’re worshipping anything other than God, we are bowing down to a golden calf.

Wired For Worship

Computers are designed to compute. Bicycles are designed to bike. Mowers are designed to mow. Strollers are designed to stroll. So what are humans designed to do...hum? Be thankful...I could have asked, "What are people designed to do?"

Actually the Bible is very clear that we are designed to worship. I love this quote from Louie Giglio's book, The Air I Breath: “You my friend are a worshiper! Everyday, all day long, in every place you worship. It’s what you do. It’s who you are. You cannot help but worship something. It’s what you were made to do. Should you for some reason choose not to give God what He desires, you’ll worship anyway - simply exchanging the Creator for something He has created. Worship happens everywhere all day long. We all worship something all the time.”

As I discussed in our last sermon series, The Physics of Faith, everyone has faith in something. You either have faith in an Intelligent Designer or your have faith in random chance. It is not a question of whether you have faith. The question is, "What do you have faith in?"

The same is true about worship. The question is not "Are you a worshiper?" The question is, "What do you worship?" From a Biblical perspective, we may not worship the right thing, we may not worship the right way, but make no mistake about it, we all worship something!

This week, as we begin our study entitled Wired to Worship, we are going to dig into the experiences of the people of Israel while on the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land. As we look specifically at Exodus 32, we will be exploring the vacuum that occurs when we fail to worship God, the enthusiasm that should be involved in our worship, and the only two results that can occur when we receive a blessing from God. I hope you will join me everyday for this fascinating story.