Let’s lay the corners of the “puzzle” first.
Luke 19.37-40 — And as He was now approaching, the near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all of the miracles which they had seen, saying “Blessed is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” And He answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.”
1 Peter 2.9 — But you are a Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People for God’s Own Possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Hebrews 13.15 — Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
John 4.23-24 — An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
There’s a story about a small boy sitting by his parents in a morning worship service (NOT YOUR congregation!!) Like most small boys, his attention was neither easily captured not readily held. So he began looking around – all over – for something to look at. After counting all the bald heads, the cell phones, and tattoos, his eyes fell on a bronze plaque on the wall. It had stars, letters, and the outline of an American flag. He nudged his mom and pointed to it, “What’s that?”
She replied, “That is in memory of all those who died in the service.”
There was a long pause. Then, with a sense of concern, nearing panic, he said, “Which service, morning or evening?”
All of us (again, never at OUR meetings) have attended worship services that began at 11:00 sharp and ended at 12:00 dull. (but not OUR congregation, we start at 10!)
My brethren, may it never be! However, we are in a battle. Galatians 5.17 tells us that the flesh sets itself against the spirit. We have an enemy. This enemy does not want us to proclaim the excellencies of our Lord. This enemy does not want us to offer the fruit of our lips – the praise due His name. This enemy does not want us to be true worshipers, who worship in spirit and truth.
There is a reason it is called the “sacrifice” of praise. We have to take action. We have to open our mouths. We have to speak.
Worship is a verb! Worship is more than a church meeting. It is more than singing songs. It is more than praying. I can attend a meeting, but did I worship?
Worship is an encounter with God – a living celebration in which we are in the presence of and drawing life from the Lifegiver. It is a dynamic encounter with the living Lord in which we offer Him the adoration, honor and glory He rightly deserves, and at the same time we enjoy His presence and are transformed by Him.
Like those around the throne in heaven that we see in Revelation 4, when we see Him face to face, we say HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord God Almighty, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come, worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory, and honor and power.
The Old Testament tabernacle had 3 sections, the Outer Court, the Inner Court, and the Holy of Holies. I certainly do not have space here to describe the entire scope of the tabernacle and its meanings, both literal and symbolic, but I do need to say this.
The Outer Court is where you enter. It is in the Outer Court that you wash your hands – you “come clean”. You ask Holy Spirit to reveal your sin. It is here that you are washed in the blood of the Lamb. You are forgiven, and you receive assurance of that cleansing. Indeed, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah.
So we proceed into the Inner Court. After being washed, what can we do? What should we do? We can and should REJOICE! Shout it from the mountaintops. Proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called us out of darkness. Yell, scream, brag on HIM. Give Him honor. Give Him glory.
We enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. We enter His courts with praise. He has made me glad.
Yet why are so many of so quiet, so reluctant? We yell, scream, stomp, pull, and cheer for our favorite sports teams. we go to games and get so excited. Sometimes we even jump out of our seats. We sit on the edge, anxious for the next play, full of anticipation.
We go to concerts and holler and clap. We want to get as close as we can to the stage. We pull out our cell phones (well, I don’t!) and wave them in the air. It is so nice. We take selfies so folks will know who we’ve been in the presence of (well, I don’t!)
we go to movies and get so caught up in the drama. We cry. It is so touching.
Yet if anyone – anyone – who ever lived deserved the greatest applause, the loudest cheer – if anyone deserves to be hollered at, chased after, and yelled for – I say it is Jesus Christ!
He is the most exciting, the most dynamic, the greatest. There is none like Him! He deserves more than some little polite golf clap! Our excitement and enthusiasm for Him should surpass the sum total of everything else we enjoy in our lives.
In 1 Samuel 16 we see King Saul haunted by an evil spirit. Verse 14 tells us that it terrorized him. Verse 16 brings the solution. “Now command your servants to seek a man who is skillful on the harp and it shall come about that when the evil spirit is on you the harp shall be played and you will be well.” So they located David and sure enough as David played Saul was refreshed. What caused the evil spirit to depart” Praise and worship. You see, IF YOU BUILD A THRONE, HE WILL COME! And there, we enjoy the divine exchange. We give up our ashes, mourning and heaviness, and He gives us beauty, joy, and the garment of praise.
Later in 2 Samuel we find David, now king, leading the procession bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem after many years of absence. David is so thrilled by this that he begins leaping and dancing. He is completely uninhibited, before the Lord, and all the people. Most of them, including his wife, are embarrassed. Miriam leads the way in publicly rebuking him for “making a fool of himself”.
But let me say this. When you see what David saw, and you feel what David did — when you are so focused on and thrilled by the Father, you’ll do what David did!
Like David did in Jehovah’s sight, we will dance with all our might!
You see, praise is His address.
Now, the Holy of Holies.
In Luke 7.36-50 we have Jesus invited as a guest to the house of Simon, a Pharisee, for a dinner engagement. We see Jesus “reclining” at Simon’s table. Then uninvited, a woman – an immoral woman – enters.
Please read the passage for yourself.
Here I want to point out 5 things about this woman.
There is desire and recognition. She recognized her own need and then was birthed a desire to locate and go to Jesus. She investigated. She searched until she located Him. She knew of Him, maybe she had previously been ministered to by Him. But certainly we can say that she knew enough that all that mattered was to find Him and be with Him. To be in His presence. His presence, where healing is, where forgiveness is, where restoration is, where lives are changed.
Next, she came prepared. She brought with her a vial of costly perfume. She did not come empty-handed. She is making a sacrifice – a sacrifice of praise. She is entering with thanksgiving. She is pouring herself out – like David – for Him.
She is focused and uninhibited. She enters this house uninvited. But no one is ever uninvited to the presence of Jesus! She throws herself at His feet. She disregards everything and everyone else. “And the things of earth grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” When we enter the Holy of Holies, it is just Jesus and me.
And what does Jesus do?
He recognizes her. Jesus does not pull away. He does not rebuke her for who she is or what she is wasting. He does not tell her that this is the wrong time and she is inn the wrong place. No. He gives her His personal attention. As she focuses on Him, He focuses on her.
Next, Jesus is provoked to respond. He desires to minister to her, and as He knows the innermost parts of her being, He is able to pinpoint her need.
And we can be convinced that Jesus also came prepared. Are we not worth more than the lilies of the field and birds of the air? How He longs to love His children. When we come into His presence, when we worship Him in spirit and in truth, all the power of God meets us.
Lastly, Jesus is also uninhibited. Jesus was invited to this house – the house of Simon the Pharisee. There were other “important” people there. Jesus COULD HAVE thought, “This is the wrong time, the wrong place; what will they think of Me; would it be rude to ignore the one who invited Me?”
But He did not. This woman meant business. She had dared enter the Holy of Holies. And so did He! It is never the wrong time. It is never the wrong place. Whenever and wherever I am, there He is.
And then there is Simon. The religious man. The worship meeting attender. He wanted no part of this sinner. She disgusted him. Further, Simon’s reaction to her shows that he really wanted no part of Jesus either. “You gave Me no water for my feet; you gave me no kiss; you did not anoint My head with oil.” In other words, Simon extended none of the common courtesies that a guest should have expected and was common in that era.
In other words, Simon desired a form of religion, but with no power, no love. Simon wanted Jesus in the room, but had no interest in getting close. Simon wanted an “outer court” experience, but wanted no part of the Holy of Holies.
Simon’s worship was shallow; hers was extravagant. Simon stiff-armed the Lord; she eagerly embraced Him. Simon’s “applause” was a finger clap; hers was a “thunder-clap!”
When I look into Your holiness, when I gaze into Your loveliness; when all things that surround become shadows in the light of You. When I’ve found the joy of reaching Your heart, when my will becomes enthroned in Your love; when all things that surround become shadows in the light of You.
And I close with this, the inspiration for the title. And thanks once again to Bill and Gloria Gaither.
“If the rocks would cry out, should His praises die out then the stones must keep silent as long
As long as I’ve breath for the singing, His praise will keep ringing and I will keep singing my song
Keep silent ye mountains, ye fields and ye fountains
For this is the time I must sing
It’s the time to sing praises to the Rock of the Ages
For this is the time I must sing”