Pride Ends In Humiliation

In this world, people have made many men and women, past and present, their heroes and idols. Nevertheless, Jesus is the only true hero; He is the only One worthy of our worship and praise. Yet, how often do people today give tribute to Jesus on the news, in magazines, on talk shows, in movies, and on television? Instead, people applaud and give shouts of joy and approval to phantom gods, producing in them great pride and arrogance, and in the worshipping people disappointments in their delusions.

God tells us in His Word that His eyes watch the proud, and He promises us that He will humiliate them. This is what we are seeing today. The end is near, and God wants people to look only to Him for their rescue and salvation, not to any man or woman.

"You rescue the humble,

but your eyes watch the proud

and humiliate them."

2 Samuel 22:28 (NIV)

It is in humility and submission to God that He will rescue us and bring honour.

"Pride ends in humiliation,

while humility brings honour."

Proverbs 29:23 (NIV)

When We Worship God, We Must See Only Him

The moment we give our hearts to Jesus, our bodies become the residing place of God's presence and glory. Therefore, we can worship God any time and any place, as long as such worship comes from our hearts — hearts immersed with an avalanche of love and reverence for Him.

Many times people refer to the music and singing before a Sunday morning message as "the worship service," and the person who leads this worship service as "the worship leader." However, worshipping God in a church setting is often very difficult because of the atmosphere and distractions that, ironically, people donate a great amount of time and money to create.

First, the stage, located in front of and elevated above the people, fashions an image, whether intentional or unintentional, of a select person or group of people who are revealing their talents and glamour for all to see and hear. I wonder at times where Jesus is located in the building. Is He on stage, or is He is at the back, standing against a wall or in a corner unnoticed? Or is He there at all?

Second, the voices and instruments on stage, amplified to clear volume, make it hard not to notice when a musician goes off-timing or plays a wrong note, or when a singer sings off-key or sings the wrong words. Although we may try to focus on God, the emphasis on sound encourages our critical natures to get in the way.

Third, the artistry and attractiveness of the church's interior, enhanced by large artificial flower arrangements, artificial plants and trees, colourful lights, swag curtains, and royal-coloured banners with bold words, distracts us from entering true worship. It's hard to close our eyes and envision Jesus when there is so much to see. And if we do close our eyes, it's hard to forget the wealth and beauty around us, and the nagging, undiscerning feelings inside.

Fourth, the large screen in the centre, brightly displaying the words of the songs we sing, most recently with beautiful motion photography in the background, allures us to keep our eyes open and fixed on the words and video ahead. Could it be that the songs we sing have become too complicated so that now we are in need of these screens?

Fifth, the modern-style pews, thickly padded and soft, beckon us to sit down and make ourselves comfortable. Thus we stand eagerly waiting for the song service to end so that we can sit. If we didn't have such furnishings, would God's people be more likely to kneel or lay prostrate before Him?

We must remind ourselves that when Jesus came to earth as a baby, born in a manger and wrapped in strips of cloths, the first setting God created for His people to worship Him in person was that of simplicity, humility, and nothingness. Today, our worship in most churches have become anything but that. It has become complicated, elaborated, and prideful.

"This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths

and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:12a (NIV)

After seeing baby Jesus and being in God's presence, the Shepherds exuberantly glorified and praised God, not anyone, themselves, or anything else, because it was God they were there to see!

"The shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things had heard and seen,

which were just as they had been told."

Luke 2:20 (NIV)

Go And Preach, Not Sit And Be Etertained

Many of our modern churches are so beautiful and comfortable (and also expensive to maintain)

that they have become nothing more than places of social gathering, entertainment, pride, and inwardness. All the while, God's heart breaks and His tears fall as He looks outside the churches and sees all the souls who do not know Him, but whom He loves so deeply and so fervently.

We are commanded by God to go into the world and preach the Good News, not to sit in our padded pews and expect the unsaved to walk off the streets, enter our buildings, be noticed, respond to altar calls when there are none, and pay money to come to the church's dinners, concerts, camps, and retreats.

"And then He told them,

'Go into all the world

and preach the Good News to everyone.'"

Mark 16:15 (NLT)

God calls us to go and preach, not sit and be entertained.

Do You Not Realize?

In the Old Testament era, God's presence on earth dwelt in a man-made structure, first in the tabernacle, a portable tent made by the Israelites during the time of Moses, and then in the temple, a stationary building constructed by King Solomon.

On the other hand, in the New Testament era, God's presence on earth dwells in people, first in His Son, Jesus, and then, after Jesus ascended into heaven and God gave us His Holy Spirit, in everyone who gives his/her heart and life to Him.

And yet today, Christians tend to believe that God's presence stills resides in a building, and we call these buildings churches. Why else would Christians spend millions of dollars on constructing and furnishing these churches while the real temples of God are neglected, defiled by the lusts of the world, and ruined? (Such neglect quenches God's presence, dims His glory, and causes us to be ineffective for Him.)

If we want others to experience God's presence and see His glory, we need to focus on honouring and restoring the true temples of God, not extravagantly building or updating the man-made false ones that feed arrogance and pride, and rob the poor, the hungry, the needy, and the desperate, Christ-less souls in the world.

"Don't you realize that your body

is the temple of the Holy Spirit,

who lives in you

and was given to you by God?

You do not belong to yourself."

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT)

As Christians, our bodies, which are given to us by God, are the temples of God's Holy Spirit. Therefore, we do not belong to ourselves. Instead, our bodies belong to God. These temples, which are our bodies, are what we need to continually clean, restore, care for, protect, strengthen, and cherish. If we do these things, then God's glory will shine and His power and might will be revealed.

Humour Does Not Justify Criticism

Numerous times on Sunday mornings, women, particularly wives and mother-in-laws, are the brunt of jokes spoken by male pastors, and these jokes are increasing in number. Such jokes are not acceptable in the eyes of God. They aren't even acceptable in a secular environment. (Politically speaking, men are not permitted to dishonour and discriminate against women in this way.) Why then are they acceptable in a church? Why haven't godly men spoken up against this? Think of what type of image the pastors are portraying of marriage to the single males in the church. Why do the women sit there and say nothing? Are they afraid? And if so, what kind of church environment are we creating, where women are too intimidated to speak up against this type of prejudice?

The Bible says that husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave up His life for her. Is a husband loving his wife when he tells jokes that dishonour wives and wives' mothers. Are husbands loving their wives when they laugh at these jokes?

"For husbands,

this means love your wives,

just as Christ loved the church.

He gave up His life for her."

Ephesians 5:25 (NLT)

The Bible also says that husbands must give honour to their wives. It isn't an option. Not only that, but husbands are to treat their wives with understanding. Women may be weaker than men, but in God's eyes, women are equal; therefore, a man should consider his wife as his partner, not someone to mock. God continues on to say that if a man does not treat his wife with respect, his prayers will be hindered.

"In the same way,

you husbands must give honour to your wives.

Treat your wife with understanding

as you live together.

She may be weaker than you are,

but she is your equal partner

in God's gift of new life.

Treat her as you should

so your prayers will not be hindered."

1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)

When men tell jokes about women, they are criticizing them. Men may think the humour in the criticism makes the criticism acceptable, but in God's eyes, it doesn't. You can't fool God. Criticizing women in public, especially in church, is an abomination, and a poor testimony of God's love for all people. If a non-Christian woman came into a church service for the first time, and heard one of these female-discriminatory jokes, do you think she would come back? Are pastors really geared for reaching the lost? Or are they just entertaining themselves, using women for humour and negative examples in sermons?

Showing God We Love Him In Our Actions Is Worship To God In Sincere Words

Worship is much more than saying praises, singing praises, shouting praises, raising our hands, clapping our hands, dancing, or playing musical instruments to God. Worship is obedience to God's commands.

"If you love Me,

you will obey what I command."

John 14:15 (NIV)

"Whoever has My commands

and obeys them,

He is the one who loves Me."

John 14:21 (NIV)

"This is love for God:

to obey His commands.

And His commands are not burdensome."

1 John 5:3 (NIV)

"And this is love:

that we walk in obedience to His commands."

2 John 1:6 (NIV)

Every time we obey God by helping a neighbour, speaking the truth, forgiving others, repenting of sin, befriending a stranger, keeping sexually pure, giving to the needy, sharing God's Word, working diligently, caring for the sick, volunteering our services, comforting the grieving, or even returning our grocery carts in arctic temperatures to the storage area while grabbing other abandoned carts on the way, we are worshipping God. Worshipping God is not just in our words, but also (and more importantly) in our actions.

If we are going to worship God, we must precede our worship with obedience to His Word and commands. Otherwise our words and songs of praise to God mean nothing. We can be in church Sunday all day long, singing beautiful songs of praises to God with an orchestra and a four-part harmony choir, but if we live in disobedience to God during the week, our worship is cacophonous to God's ears.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,

but have not love,

I am only a resounding gong
or a clanging cymbal."

1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV)

The Bible states that obedience shows God we love Him, and showing God we love Him in our actions is worship to God in sincere words.

And They Both Walked On Together

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, Abraham is credited for his righteousness and faith. He feared God so much so that he wasn't afraid or even hesitant to obey God at all costs. (And because he feared God out of reverence and trust, he did not fear Him out of trepidation.)

Abraham's sacrificial obedience to God is portrayed through the Biblical account of his willingness to offer his cherished and beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God. Such an act would have required Abraham to kill his son with his own hands, set his son's innocent body ablaze, and then stand by to watch his son's body burn. But God spoke to Abraham and commanded him to do it, so Abraham obeyed without question. (It is evident that, as Abraham grew older, he also grew in his knowledge of and relationship with God. And the more Abraham knew God, the more he trusted Him.) Just as Abraham was about to lower the knife in his hands, an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven to stop him from going through with what God had commanded him to do.

By commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son, God was testing Abraham to see if he would withhold his only son from Him; God was testing to see how much faith Abraham had in the character and promises of God. Did Abraham love his son more that God? No he did not! Did Abraham trust God completely? Yes he did! Otherwise Abraham wouldn't have obeyed God.

However, as I read this story again, I perceive another person's righteousness and faith — one that is often overlooked because it is overshadowed by his father's faith. You see, this story is really about three people: God, Abraham, and Isaac. Many times people praise Abraham for his faith, but fail to notice Isaac. Abraham was faced with the horror of killing his own son, but Isaac was faced with the horror of being killed by his own father. And yet there is no indication anywhere in the Bible that Isaac argued with or fought his father to prevent himself from being bound up, laid on top of the wood on the altar, and sacrificed to God. Let's be honest, most of us would have put up a tremendous fight or run for the hills, declaring our father insane! But that is not how Isaac is portrayed. In fact, when Isaac questions his father as to why they had no sheep for the burnt offering, Isaac accepts his father's explanation without further question, even though, where they were going, it would be next to impossible for them to find a stray sheep, let alone a perfect sheep, for them to sacrifice. But after this perplexing and awkward conversation between father and son, the Bible says the two of them "walked on together."

"Isaac turned to Abraham and said, 'Father?'

'Yes, my son?' Abraham replied.

'We have the fire and the wood,' the boy said,

'but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?'

'God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering,

my son,' Abraham answered.

And they both walked on together."

Genesis 22:7-8 (NLT)

Isaac was indeed a remarkable young man, because he too feared God, even at his tender age. (It wasn't until Abraham was very old that he was able to have complete and unwavering faith in God.) It is interesting to note that God blessed Isaac with 180 years of life — he was the longest living of the three patriarchs in the Old Testament. Why? Because Isaac showed great respect to both his earthly father and his Heavenly One. Remember God's promise?

"Honour your father and mother.

Then you will live a long, full life

in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

Exodus 20:12 (NLT)

Fear God. Trust Him and you will not be disappointed — your reward will be great!