Title: Thanksgiving Worship
Contents
11 At that time the priests did not go according to their order, but after cleansing themselves, they came out of the sanctuary. 12 The singing Levites Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, all dressed in linen cloth, stood on the east side of the altar with cymbals, lyres, and harps. One hundred and twenty priests who sang and blew the trumpets stood together. 13The trumpeters and the singers all uttered their voices in unison, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. They blow the trumpets, beat the cymbals, and sound all the instruments, and lift up their voices to praise the Lord, saying, "Good. And his mercy endures forever." Then the house of the LORD was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priest could not stand and serve because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
1. Words that begin
It is not an easy task to give thanks to God in this age of I.M.F., when it is difficult to make a living, families are shaken as a result, and churches are experiencing serious financial difficulties as their offerings are reduced by 30-40!%. When a lot of good things happen, everything goes according to our plans, and a lot of useful things happen, it is easy to give thanks. However, what we need to know is that the Bible teaches that thanksgiving to God is not a human-centered lifestyle, but a God-centered lifestyle. Gratitude to God is not about being thankful for your good or beneficial conditions, but rather an attitude of recognizing, trusting, and relying on God.
After King Solomon built the temple and made all the scriptures, he placed the silver and gold and all the utensils that David had given him in the treasury of the temple. Then he assembled all the people, including all the priests, and placed the ark of the covenant containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments under the wings of the cherubim in the Most Holy. And there was a service of thanksgiving for all mobilization.
2. All-in-one thanks and praise
In this special worship service, this special thanksgiving service, the priests did not take turns, but purged themselves and left the sanctuary before coming out. What makes this worship service for all mobilization more meaningful is that it was not offered because good things happened, everything was prosperous, and many useful things happened, but it was given in the opposite situation. How difficult is it to build a temple, then and now? Before this I. M. F. economic system, even when the economy was good, didn't it say that when the construction of the temple started, a third of the church members would move to another church?
However, Israel in the time of King Solomon contributed materials, body, mind, mind, devotion, and all kinds of skills to build the great temple in Jerusalem, and also contributed the rest of the work to make all the scriptures for the temple. Literally, my pockets were empty and I was exhausted, but nevertheless, the king and all the people mobilized to offer a heartfelt thanksgiving service. It was truly a national thanksgiving service. All the priests cleansed themselves and came out of the sanctuary, and Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the singing Levites, and their sons and brothers, all dressed in linen cloths, stood on the east side of the altar, playing cymbals, harps, and harps. They said that they were standing with the choir and uttering their voices in unison, praising and giving thanks to God. The main content of the praise and thanksgiving with all instruments is as follows “He is good, and his mercy endures forever.”
Dear all! We who have been saved by the grace of God, who is a good God and whose mercy is eternal, we who are enjoying eternal life through God’s eternal goodness and mercy, and we who will enjoy eternal life in heaven with God the Father, because of the temporary suffering and misery of this life, Should I forget to be thankful? Should we forget the praise of thanks? Shouldn't our lives be consistent with gratitude and praise? Create a life that gives thanks to God and build a life that praises God. By mobilizing all your talents, talents, knowledge, wisdom, skills, body, mind, will, and devotion, including the grace and blessings you have received from God in the Lord, special musical talents and aptitudes, become saints who give thanks to God, and create such a church. You will have to leave.
A poor Indian woman who had just started her life of faith came to a missionary. The woman told the missionary that her only son was seriously ill and asked him to pray. Then he promised, “If God spares my son, I will give him the most precious thing I have, a jeweled ring.”
Shortly after that, the Indian woman came to the missionary again. The woman presented the jeweled ring in front of the missionary and said that she would offer it to God. Hearing this, the missionary asked with a bright face, “Your son is well.” But the Indian woman's answer was completely unexpected. "no. My son died yesterday. But I will dedicate this ring to God. My son's body is dead, but I am dedicating this ring to thank God for saving our son's soul and allowing him to live forever.”
People should not complain about what they do not have, but should learn to thank God for what they have. A complaining heart accumulates complaints, a resentful heart accumulates resentment, and a grateful heart overflows with gratitude. God makes you reap what you sow. God is eternally good and merciful, and it is a serious problem that church members say they believe in Him but do not live under His wings. Matthew 23:37 says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times have I tried to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you did not want it. There are words of Jesus who said, “Everything.”
3. Jehovah's Glorious Presence
When all the people, including King Solomon, finished building the temple and made the scriptures with all their heart, and gave thanks with all mobilization, the temple was so full of clouds that the priests could not stand and perform the worship service. . The cloud symbolizes the presence of God in the Bible. The Spirit of God's glory is fully present in the worship of praising and giving thanks to God in spirit, in truth, and with all things.
A long time ago, I went into a food court and read an interesting article on the wall. “You came yesterday, and you are here today. How great would it be if you came tomorrow as well.” I'd like to change the article to something like this: “After having a daytime service, you also have an afternoon service.
As we go through life, aren't there many times when we really want to meet the Almighty God? No, are there times when you are in a situation where you must meet God? Are there times when we encounter problems that no other person in the world can solve except for God? Now you don't have to worry anymore. Please believe that the decisive meeting with God is achieved when we praise and give thanks to God in spirit, in truth, and with all tangible and intangible things in this temple where we gather to worship. At that time, God who is present to us gives us words of love and power.
Worship scholar Micks introduces three types of false worshipers in his book The Joy of Worship. The first is an idolatrous worshiper, a worshiper who has brought pagan tendencies into Christianity as it is, the second is a lukewarm worshiper, an excessive intellectualist who lacks emotion and passion, and the third is an overzealous worshiper, an emotional worshiper who seeks only ecstasy.
The third trend is particularly noticeable in the Korean church.
Even though they actually came to the temple, there are some church members who do not meet God because they cannot worship like worship. If you have not met God and have not received the words of God's love and power, you cannot say that you have worshiped properly, no matter how magnificent you are in the temple.
Not all knowledge is acquired by attending school. There are students who come to study and sit blankly and then go, some students who come late and go to sleep, some students just go to sleep, and there are students who only cause problems. Not everyone who comes to church meets God and gains the knowledge and wisdom of the Word.
In order to meet God, the Spirit who is waiting for us, it is not enough to worship God with all our heart. We must pour out our souls into worship. In John 4:23 we read, “The hour is coming, and now is, when those who truly worship the Father will worship the Father in spirit and truth. There is a word from the Lord that said, “You shall worship with
4. Conclusion
Gratitude to God is not about being thankful for your good or beneficial conditions, but rather an attitude of recognizing, trusting, and relying on God. When we are grateful, we have more to be thankful for in our lives, and when we complain, we have more to complain about. We earnestly pray that all of us will mobilize all things to worship and praise God in the temple, so that we may meet the eternal God of goodness and mercy, solve all problems, and receive new grace and abundant blessings.