## Preparation for Worship

## Psalm 122:1

Someone told me once that the way to succeed is to plan your work and then work your plan. Not bad advice. Nearly everything needs some planning and preparation if it is going to be successful. This morning, I want to speak concerning how to prepare for worship. It is not the same thing as preparing for church. To prepare for church we make sure that the building is clean and comfortable. To prepare for Sunday School, the teachers have studied their lessons and prepared their visual aids. Many of our folks have been preparing for several weeks for VBS. All of that is good and necessary, but it is not preparing for worship. If our worship is to be acceptable to God, we must plan and prepare for it individually. We want to consider three important aspects of preparation for worship this morning.

(PSA 122:1) "I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID UNTO ME, LET US GO INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD."

I. A Willing Spirit

A. David had a willing spirit.

1. The house of the Lord was the temple.

2. Today, the house of the Lord is not the building, but the assembly of baptized believers.

3. However, we can draw from this passage the attitude of wanting to go to the house of the Lord.

4. He was happy to have the opportunity.

B. We may be one who would never forsake an assembly.

1. We may have made a commitment to God to never miss the Church meetings.

2. Yet, have we been able to maintain the willing spirit, and the attitude of gladness of coming to the Church Services?

3. Do you remember how it was when you first came to Christ?

a. Sunday and Wednesday seemed too far apart.

b. We were so anxious to gather together for the fellowship and the teaching that we were actually excited about coming to the service.

c. Is enthusiasm still a real part of your life?

4. Perhaps the commitment to be here is still there, but are you still excited about the assembly?

C. Many did not view the house of the Lord with David's enthusiasm.

1. The Priest's of Malachi's day. cf Mal. 1:6-13

a. "Behold what a weariness it is..."

b. Their worship experience was not enthusiastic, it was something they endured.

c. God was not pleased with their attempts to bring worship without the commitment of their hearts.

d. When our attitude shifts from eagerness to "Oh, no, not again...", we begin to decline spiritually.

e. Some suggestions that might help you not fall into this spiritual trap...

1) Try to get some rest on Saturday evenings. When we physically wear ourselves out by staying up late, we are seldom in a frame of mind to bring a willing spirit to Church.

2) We need to remember worship is not something done to us, but something we do. Occasionally people suggest they did not get anything out of the time together. It is hard to get anything out of it, if we are unwilling to put anything into it.

3) As we become involved in daily personal worship, we discover it becomes a way of life, and the Church services become the icing on the cake.

2. The Israelites in the time of Amos.

(AMOS 8:5) "SAYING, WHEN WILL THE NEW MOON BE GONE, THAT WE MAY SELL CORN? AND THE SABBATH, THAT WE MAY SET FORTH WHEAT, MAKING THE EPHAH SMALL, AND THE SHEKEL GREAT, AND FALSIFYING THE BALANCES BY DECEIT?"

a. They could not wait for their religious obligations to be over, so they could get on with life.

b. Some suggest the Church meets too often, the services are too long, too many programs. We have our life to live you know.

c. When our worship degenerates to merely one of several obligations, we want to get it over with so we can move on to other things.

d. When Christianity becomes our way of life, seldom will we experience this sort of decay.

(MAT 6:33) "BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU."

C. Developing a Willing Spirit.

1. Our attitude nees to be continually developing.

2. The Psalms reveal to us the kind of attitude we need.

(PSA 63:1) " O GOD, THOU ART MY GOD; EARLY WILL I SEEK THEE: MY SOUL THIRSTETH FOR THEE, MY FLESH LONGETH FOR THEE IN A DRY AND THIRSTY LAND, WHERE NO WATER IS;"

3. This attitude toward God is one that is eager and enthusiastic.

4. If we come together without a spirit willing to worship, participate, and learn, then the adventure of worship deteriorates to boredom and monotony.

(MAT 15:8-9) "THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. {9} BUT IN VAIN THEY DO WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN."

II. We need a Reconciled Heart.

A. What is Reconciliation?

1. It means to bring together on common ground.

2. As Christians we have been reconciled to God through Christ.

3. What was once a hostile relationship is now one of peace.

4. As reconciled people, we have the ministry of reconciliation to perform.

(2 COR 5:18) "AND ALL THINGS ARE OF GOD, WHO HATH RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF BY JESUS CHRIST, AND HATH GIVEN TO US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION;"

a. We are to undertake the reconciliation of the world.

b. Helping each one come into a peaceful relationship with God through Christ.

5. We will not be prepared to worship until we have been reconciled to God and are actively seeking to bring reconciliation to others.

III. We need Holy Hands.

A. Holy hands = a posture of worship and the heart!

(1 TIM 2:8) "I WILL THEREFORE THAT MEN PRAY EVERY WHERE, LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS, WITHOUT WRATH AND DOUBTING."

1. The lifting of holy hands is not a Pentecostal teaching, it is a Bible teaching.

2. It is a universal symbol of surrender.

3. Holy hands are surrendered hands.

B. However, holy hands raised in worship to God are meaningless unless our hearts are holy as well.

1. In reality, holy hands are merely a symbol of a surrendered and holy heart before God.

2. As we gather each Lord's Day we seek to draw nearer to our God in our time of worship.

(JAMES 4:8) "DRAW NIGH TO GOD, AND HE WILL DRAW NIGH TO YOU. CLEANSE YOUR HANDS, YE SINNERS; AND PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, YE DOUBLE MINDED."

3. James was writing to believers here, and he tells us how we can remain near to God.

a. We need to have clean hands.

1) If we are going to worship our Almighty God, we need to do so with clean hands.

2) This speaks of what we do when we approach Him.

3) We will never be sinless, but we need to be continually clean before Him.

(PSA 24:3-4) "WHO SHALL ASCEND INTO THE HILL OF THE LORD? OR WHO SHALL STAND IN HIS HOLY PLACE? {4} HE THAT HATH CLEAN HANDS, AND A PURE HEART; WHO HATH NOT LIFTED UP HIS SOUL UNTO VANITY, NOR SWORN DECEITFULLY."

b. We need to have a purified heart.

1) Hearts that are pure are hearts that will see God.

(MAT 5:8) "BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART: FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD."

2) Our goal is not to allow our sinful nature to reign in our heart, mastering us.

3) As we find ourselves caught up in our sinfulness, we discover that although God has not deserted us, we have certainly distanced ourselves from Him.

4) That distance can become a wall.

5) Our sins can be easily forgiven as we confess to God our sinful nature, our failures and our need.

As we come to worship the Lord as the Body of Christ, there are several things we need to bring to worship.

A willing spirit: I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

A reconciled Heart! At peace with God and man.

Holy Hands which are symbolic of a holy heart.

An old proverb says, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink." Folks, we can put together a good song service, prepares some nice worshipful special music. We can offer a sermon from the Word of God, and sing an invitation song. But we cannot make worship happen.

We can give the opportunity to worship God...but we cannot make it happen. It is up to each individual. We are the only one who can make it happen.