Worship God’s Way….
2 Samuel 6: Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
There are times when I believe our ‘culture’ and our upbringing brings us undone in the things of God. For example I have heard people say that Australia is too hard a place for the gospel of Christ to impact. If that statement was indeed true then Paul’s letter to the Romans where he writes .. Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek, would also not be true. The gospel is not hindered by any culture in the way its power is able to save a man’s soul. Whether he be in Africa, Mongolia or the furthermost reaches of the planet.
However, in the wonderful blessing of worship, I often think we in Australia are hindered by our traditional stoic and unwavering roots of our heritage. King David, the Bible tells us, was a man after God’s own heart. He wrote most of the Psalms which a great deal of the churches use as or in worship, and the saints of the Old Testament following David, used as the core of much of their worship and praise of God. How would David’s worship be viewed in ‘your’ eyes today? Would you rejoice with him in his heartfelt worship of God? Or would you be as Michal, his wife and consider his worship improper? I think there is a lot we can continue to learn from King David. Hear David’s retort to Michal as he returned home from worshiping the Lord and the return of the ark to the Temple.
21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
The lesson would be our worship of God will be unfruitful and barren if we allow our culture to rule it instead of the Holy Spirit’s leading. May you this week worship God with All your heart, All your soul and All your strength…and leave your culture out of it.
To God be the glory!