Worship: Then and Now

   

     The concept of worship in the Old Testament truly shapes our New Testament worship today. However, there are some things that have been lost to us through the centuries. We are living in a time of newness, and yet there is really nothing new under the sun. The only thing that is new and old at the same time is God, therefore our Christian faith is both new and old because we worship a God that is not bound by time.

I went to a Messianic Synagogue recently for a Yom Kippur service and felt this to be pleasing to God. I am convinced that since we know what has been pleasing to God in the past, we cannot completely abandon the old for the new. Our worship must always be centered upon what is most pleasing to God and not what is most pleasing to us. Seeing Messianic Judaism and how they worship shows me more of who God is and who He has always been. God initiated the Jewish faith, so those roots are monumental to the Christian faith. Messianic Judaism recognizes that the Messiah has come in Jesus Christ just as the Christian faith. Messianic Jews are often called "completed Jews".

We are living in interesting times. We are living in the end of the Church era that began with the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ almost 2000 years ago. The church has gone through a sanctification process these past 2000 years, just as individual people have done in their personal walks with Christ. The church has undergone many different revivals and awakenings throughout the years. However, there has never been a time like now. We are living in the end of the end times. We are on the brink of eternity. We are living in momentous times. We are living in a time where what’s old is new and what’s new is old. We are living in the culmination of time. We are about to experience the Kingdom come.

     Because we know what has been pleasing to God in the past, we don’t have to look far to find the way to worship now. The Psalms have always been monumental to the Jewish and Christian faith. We cannot forget our roots. The Psalms are where we can go for inspiration for the present time. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Also,the Holy Spirit is still spontaneously inspiring new songs within us. We can also write new music led by the Holy Spirit today, just as they did in the Old Testament Psalms.

     What we must not do is write or sing worship songs that have been written or sung with the wrong motives. God sees the heart and will not tolerate “profane fire” (Leviticus 10:1). God wants pure fire offered with the right motives. Any worship done with even the smallest amount of self-worship is an abomination to God. People who lead worship must be really careful not to cross this line, ever. It would be better for a person to never again lead worship than to continue to offer “profane fire” before the Lord done with the wrong motives.

      God is pleased by songs of worship written in Spirit and in truth. I don’t necessarily think we should go back to the same worship as found in the Old Testament, but I think we should proceed further than we’ve ever been before. There has never been a pristine or perfect time of worship on this earth, as we are all corrupted, and the only time of pristine and perfect worship will be in heaven. However, there are things we can learn from the past in moving forward that will be valuable to us now and in the future. God is a God of eternity, constantly making all things new.

Revelation 21:5

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

     To God what’s old is new and what new is old. He is the God of the present and of the now. With God there is no old or new, and everything is both old and new. It is hard to comprehend, but God is not living bound by time. We change, but He does not. There are only things pleasing to the Lord or things unpleasing to the Lord. If something is unpleasing to the Lord there is never a time where it will be pleasing. If something is pleasing to the Lord there is never a time where it will not be pleasing.

We need to go back through the way in which we have come by remembrance. We need to remember our past, while at the same time proclaiming the victory of Christ- the gospel. We need to both remember and proclaim. This is the heart of Old Testament worship. They had feasts and festivals to remember what God had done for them and also to proclaim the coming Messiah. Our Messiah has now come, in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We need to accept our past, present and future in Christ. The Old Testament is full of foreshadowing the New. Because of Jesus we have been acquitted before God, because of the blood of Christ as atonement for our sin.

Old Testament:

Isaiah 43:26
"Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be acquitted."

New Testament:

Luke 22:19

And He (Jesus) took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”


     When we receive salvation in Christ something wonderful happens. It begins to sanctify and restore our past, present and future. The life in our mortal bodies now extends in every direction, outside, and beyond the bounds of time. When we receive salvation the Holy Spirit quickens our mortal bodies sending spiritual life rippling through the veins of time.

Romans 8:11

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

I believe we need to continue to observe and celebrate the high holy days of the past in Judaism with the knowledge that we have now received our Messiah and our salvation has come! We need remembrance of our past, recognition of our present, and revelation of our future in Christ. We have to study the new to see the old, and the old to see the new. We need to realize and remember what God has done for each one of us by saving us. Whatever time period we have lived in the Lord has saved. We need to constantly remember what God has done for each one of us.

Deuteronomy 5:15

"And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."

Deuteronomy 11:18

“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes."


In closing, it is interesting to note it was the prophets in the Old Testament who called the people back to true worship of God and the holy living that accompanied it. So, who are the modern-day prophets? Also, in the Old Testament the warriors in battle for the Lord sent the worshipers out first to lead the way, and it led to victory against the enemy (2 Chronicles 20:21). Worship done in spirit and truth is good for spiritual warfare against the enemy of this age, Satan and his army. So, who are the modern-day worship warriors? We can conquer anything if our eyes continually stay on the author and finisher of our faith, Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2

"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."




                                                                    Bibliography:

"BibleGateway." New King James Version (NKJV). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Shields, Bruce, and David A. Butzu. Generations of Praise: The History of Worship. Joplin, MO: College Pub., 2006. Print.

Towns, Elmer L., and Vernon M. Whaley. Worship through the Ages: How the Great Awakenings Shape Evangelical Worship. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2012. Print.

Witherington, Ben. We Have Seen His Glory: A Vision of Kingdom Worship. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010. Print.