Ministering to God

God is nudging me along an old road - one that goes back to the beginning of creation: Worship.

I am learning that I am called - as all believers are - to worship God.  That's why I'm here on earth and that's what I will do when I see the Lord in eternity.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about John Piper's comments in his book Let the Nations Be Glad that worshiping God comes before missions.

He said that worship is the goal of missions - to bring more people into the kingdom of God where they will worship him.  And it is the fuel of missions - only as we are deeply in love with God and worshiping him will we be effective in reaching others.

Now, I'd like to touch on another aspect of worship highlighted by Bill Johnson, author and pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California.

He says in his book Strengthen Yourself in the Lord that we are to "minister" to God in worship.

That idea delights me.

"Ministering" makes me think of acts of kindness and love.  A lover will minister to the beloved by doing something that pleases him or her.  Maybe it is just a drink of water.

Worshiping God shows that I love him and care about him.

Johnson writes: "My father (a pastor) trained our family and his congregation that our identity as believers is first as worshipers."

It's an interesting thought.  In effect, Johnson is saying that the Christian life is not all about me and what I'm doing for God - it's about God.

Sure, I'm to love and serve others.  And I am to reach out to others with the gospel.

But, Johnson says his father told his listeners that "our main job was ministering to the Lord, and . . . everything we did in ministry to people should be an overflow and outgrowth of that primary ministry".

To worship God, Johnson says, we need to consciously praise him and thank him continually.

That may be particularly hard when I'm feeling low.  But, as I praise him, I am making a sacrifice that shows I love him.

The scriptures - in particular, the Psalms - are an excellent launching pad into worship.  Growing familiar with the Word of God, I learn more about the Lord and worship him better.

As I look for God - and trust him - even in hard times, I learn how to be thankful.

Johnson urges us to worship God with all of our minds and bodies as well as our spirits.

He rightly points out that David was very expressive in his worship of God - even dancing before the Lord.  Some - myself included - would find that hard to do.  But there are many ways we can celebrate our God in private or public.

As the writer of Hebrews put it: "Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to him."

Praising God shows God - and everyone else - that we love him and care for him.

Why worship?

How important is worshiping God?

To be honest, I spend most of my prayer time on things that matter to me - my needs, my church's needs, the needs of my family and friends.

That's good.  But what about God?

John Piper, author of Let the Nations Be Glad, declares that worshiping God should be our main preoccupation.

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church," Piper writes.  "Worship is.  Missions exists because worship doesn't."

That thought is percolating in my mind.

As Christians, we believe that we should be reaching out to others with the gospel as Christ commanded us.  Piper agrees that is a vital task of every believer.

But he says that "worship is the fuel and goal of missions".

"It's the goal of missions because in missions, we simply aim to bring the nations into white-hot enjoyment of God's glory.  The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God."

He adds that "worship is also the fuel for missions".

"Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching.  You can't commend what you don't cherish."

The implications are clear.  We can talk about God but listeners will not be convinced if they don't see our passion for the Lord.

Is it possible for Christians to talk about the Lord without worshiping him?  I believe it is.  Sometimes we talk about Christ out of duty or a feeling that it is expected of us.

I have recently been reading through the Psalms slowly, meditating on individual verses as I go through.  Many Bible reading plans recommend including a psalm as part of daily devotions.

The psalms remind me of the character of God - his qualities, his terrifying power, his majesty, and his love.

They remind me, too, of one of the psalm writers - David the king.  David was in awe of God.  He counted on God to lead him in daily life.

When he strayed from God in seducing Bathsheba, he endured God's judgement and punishment and returned to worshiping him.

His psalms often exult in God - even when they begin with complaints.

The Bible says that David was "a man after God's own heart".

God is calling me to be a worshiper, too.

Drawing near to God

Picture yourself lost in a forest - you are bumping into trees because you are practically blind from the darkness.

Then, you see a distant light and head for it.  You find yourself at the edge of a clearing and God in his blazing glory is at the other end.

You stare at him and suddenly you react the way Peter did to Jesus in Luke 5:8 - you fall to the ground and say: "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man (or woman)."

But you feel compelled to move towards God.  You get up and take one step and, amazingly, you see God move toward you.

As you move towards each other you realize that God is reading your thoughts and emotions.  And you begin to get insights into what God is thinking.  You know he loves you despite your many faults.

This is the picture that comes to my mind as I read the wonderful words in James 4:8: "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you."

There is a world of meaning in those few words.

We know from scripture that as we draw closer to God, we feel unworthy and yet deeply loved and valued.  We feel humbled and more and more dependent on the Lord.

In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah describes his vision of the glorious and terrifying God and his reaction like Peter's:

"It's all over.  I am doomed, for I am a sinful man.  I have filthy lips and I live among a people with filthy lips.  Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of heaven's armies."

But far from turning away, God offers Isaiah cleansing and a commission - his life-long task as the Lord's prophet.  An angel touches Isaiah's lips with a coal and says: "Now your guilt is removed, and your sins forgiven."

When God asks who will go as a messenger to his people, Isaiah calls out: "Here I am.  Send me."

From this story, I draw this lesson: As I draw near to God, I am humbled.  I see myself as I really am - a needy man.  There is nothing I can boast about.

Now, I'm ready to be changed by God.  Through Jesus, he has provided forgiveness for my sins.  Through the Holy Spirit, he has provided a way for me to carry out his work in my world.

But first, I must draw near to God.  I must go to him in prayer.

Prayer and dreams

I have been reading recently about the power of dreams and visions in bringing Muslims to Jesus.

It reminds me that God still communicates to people in this way.

So, how are we to approach this as prayer warriors?

I believe the Holy Spirit speaks to us mainly through his word.  He also drops pictures and thoughts into our minds as promptings.

But, occasionally, he does give us dreams and visions to guide us.  Some of us are more sensitive to this way of hearing God than others.

I approach this subject with caution.  I realize that we can make huge errors by falsely interpreting dreams.

Dreams are often very symbolic and hard to understand.

In the Old Testament, Joseph and Daniel were called upon to interpret dreams by their royal masters in Egypt and Babylon.  In both cases, they said it was up to God to reveal and interpret the dreams - which the Lord did.

In the New Testament in Acts 10, Peter was praying when he fell into a trance and saw a sheet being lowered containing many four-footed animals, birds and snakes.  Then a voice asked Peter to kill and eat these living things and Peter said he could not because they were unclean.

However, God showed Peter the same vision three times and told Peter that he should not call something impure that God had made clean.

I really sympathize with Peter's puzzlement.  Clearly, God wanted him to do something, but what?

The answer became clear when visitors arrived telling Peter that the Roman centurion Cornelius, a non-Jew, had received a vision from God telling him to send for Peter because he had something to tell him.

Up to that moment, Peter and the other apostles considered Jesus' message of salvation for Jews only. After Cornelius and his household accepted Jesus as saviour, Peter knew the gospel was for everyone. It was a critical step forward in the spread of Christianity around the world.

Not all dreams are from God.  They can come from evil sources as well as from everyday concerns weighing on our minds.

But from the Bible stories I have mentioned,  I believe I should pray for God's interpretation if I receive a particularly striking and unusual dream.  And I should pay particular attention if I receive a dream several times.

Of course, anything that contradicts the scriptures is not from God.  And I should check with other mature Christians if it seems the dream is asking me to do something life-changing.  I should never take major steps without the confirmation of the scriptures and other strong believers.

Still,  sometimes God needs to get a message through to us - especially when we are blind to what he wants.

Clearly, the dreams I mentioned - and others in the Bible - were vital steps in God's story on earth.

It seems to me that God is speaking today to Muslims through dreams of Jesus because they are hard to reach through traditional means of spreading the gospel.  This is another step in God's plan for our world.

I will pray that God will speak to many more Muslims through dreams and visions.