Worship - Cultivated out of a Fear of God

So we are back to the subject of worship.

We need to be reminded that we are called in the Old Testament to worship God in fear; to truly worship God in fear. When we worship God at all times in all places, because God is always available to the true worshiper, wherever that true worshiper is, we also need to understand that when we come to God, there is a foundational reality about Him that is to be understood. And here it comes from Psalm 96:9, “Worship the Lord in holy array, tremble before Him, all the earth.” Listen to those words: Worship the Lord in holy array. Tremble before Him, all the earth.

I was sharing this Scripture the other day with my leadership team. To whom does the Lord look? To whom does He look? “To this one I will look.” Isaiah 66:2, “To him who is humble, contrite of spirit, who trembles at My Word.”

Where does this fear come from you ask? This fear comes from the fact that God is holy. Take a look again at the way in which Isaiah responds to God in His presence in Isaiah 6. This chapter takes us, in a sense, to the essential attribute of God that relates to us worshiping in holy array, worshiping with fear. And that is God’s holiness.

It’s one thing to say God is spirit. It’s something else to say God is spirit but God is holy, holy, holy (like the angels sing). The true worshiper goes to worship in holy attire out of sense of fear. How many times in the Old Testament are we instructed to fear the Lord? Holiness inspires fear because we realize our sinfulness. It results in brokenness. It results in trembling at the Word of God, as we saw in Isaiah 66. True worship rises out of that context. It is essential if you’re going to be a true worshiper to have a vision of the true God, the God who is spirit but the God who is spirit who is holy, holy, holy. And I believe the true worshiper starts with an awareness of the awesome holiness of God and his own utter unholiness.

I really think what Christians need is a vision of the holiness of God. It was Habakkuk, you remember in Habakkuk 3:16, that trembled at the voice of the Holy One. The restored remnant feared the Lord when they heard His holy Word spoken by Haggai, the prophet in chapter 1, verse 12.

You say well that is just the Old Testament. Well even when you come in to the New Testament, God incarnate in Jesus Christ was a frightening, frightening person...truly. When on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus pulled His flesh aside and revealed His manifest divine blazing glory, Peter, James and John who were there were literally scared into a coma. They fell over like dead people, like Ezekiel did when he had a vision of God, like Isaiah did in the sheer fear of being a sinner exposed to holy God.

Do you remember when the disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee, a storm came up and it says they were afraid. Jesus stilled the storm, and then the Bible says they were exceedingly afraid. It is more frightening to have God in the boat than a storm outside the boat. They knew who was in their boat, they were exposed. They knew they were in the presence of the Creator who controls the wind and the waves and they were terrified. And they should have been terrified. It’s a terrifying thing to be in the presence of absolute holiness when you are a wretched sinner.

Peter was fishing, Luke 5, couldn’t catch anything. “The Lord said to him, ‘Put out into the deep water, let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon said, ‘Look, Master, we worked all night, caught nothing. Do You think we did that on one side of the boat? What do You mean put out your nets for a catch, You think we missed something out there?’ But they obeyed.” And you remember what happened. They had so many fish they filled both boats and both boats started to sink. “And then Simon Peter fell at Jesus feet.” This is what he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Why did he say that? Next verse, “For amazement had seized him.” (McArthur)

Trauma had seized him. He was panicked because he was in the presence of the One who controlled fish. And Jesus did this in His miracles to traumatize people. His authority was so apparent, it says, the people were astonished at His teaching.

A burning heart of worship is cultivated in the fear and holiness of God. Have you seen Him for who He is?

Let's ask for a spirit of revelation together (Ephesians 1:17)!

pcraig