Scripture
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
Hosea 6:6-7
Observation
The prophet Hosea is calling Israel to remember the lesson of the first man, Adam. He had an unbroken relationship with God in the Garden. Adam knew God and they walked together in the “cool of the day” (Gen 3:8) which most scholars believe was at dusk as the sun was setting and the day's work was done. Yet, this passage in Genesis shows that Adam and Eve were not there to meet God at their usual time for they were hiding in their sin. Notice that in verse 4 of Hosea 6, God talks about how his people show up with songs and devotions in the morning but by the time the sun rises their hearts are far from Him, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” Prior to this God is inviting His people through His prophet to return to the Lord, to be healed, revived, and live daily and constantly in His presence. The invitation involves leaving behind the appearances and convenience of religious practices that assuage the conscience. God is requiring a constant pursuit of knowing Him and showing Him through mercy towards others. It’s truly heartbreaking to see that the people of God remained unrepentant and preferred their religious traditions over true relationships. They worshipped God in the morning and then worshipped the false gods of their neighbors the rest of the day. Though God had an appointed harvest of healing awaiting (Hosea 6:11) they chose to abandon Him and “sow the wind and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7). God wanted to spend time with them but they couldn’t be bothered to even get out of their beds, “They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds.” (Hosea 7:14) The prophet Amos issued a similar challenge to God’s people, “23Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:23-24)
Application
When Governor Newsom of California issued the ban this past Friday on all singing indoors for all religious services I was quite angry about the overreach of government. Then, the Lord showed me He wanted to use this to reestablish the government of the Kingdom of God and his heart to reach our hearts again. For the longest time, the greatest challenge to me as a pastor wasn’t sinners far from Christ or those who were sold out for Christ. The hardest ones for me to reach were the multitudinous middle, the many convenient Christians who attended out of tradition, to uphold an image, or to make their spouse happy. I was glad they were in the room but I had a sneaking suspicion, born out by the fruit of their lives, that once the dew from the morning burned away, once that closing song was sung, their hearts were long gone in various pursuits. One advantage of the constantly changing gathering guidelines is that it is no longer convenient to be a Christian. For those who participate in our online congregation, it requires an immense amount of determination and concentration to stay engaged in the worship and message through a screen. To stay connected to a faith community requires a commitment to remain accountable to a weekly House Church whether through Zoom or in person. There’s nothing remotely easy about true discipleship and living life on life. Then, for those who choose to attend in-person gatherings, we are required to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, and limit the number of people who can gather. Now, as of this new edict from the Governor, we will be holding the singing portion of our service outside in the parking lot to remain in compliance. This is incredibly inconvenient and, can I suggest, this might be exactly what we need? Before you get upset with me let me explain. For most of my ministry, I have worked hard to make attending church as convenient as possible while simultaneously bemoaning the reality of “convenient Christianity”. In one fell swoop, our current circumstances have resulted in a sifting of The Church. The only way someone is “coming to church” these days is because they are desperate to seek God or desperate to meet Him. This is a really good thing! Could it be that the death of convenient Christianity is the beginning of an awakening in God’s Church? Could it be that God would use the overreach of our earthly government to reach our hearts in a fresh way? I’m not celebrating the “no singing rule” but rather returning to the fact that true worship was never limited to singing anyway. God is calling us back to the heart of worship and it’s all about Him! What if Paul and Silas had stopped worshipping because they were chained up in jail and couldn’t join in with their house church on Sabbath (Acts 16)? What if our brothers and sisters in China stopped worshipping God because instruments and singing would give away their underground gatherings and they would be thrown in prison or worse? In contrast, the American Church is not under persecution. The moment I’m told I can’t preach Jesus is the moment I will no longer be in compliance or quiet. For now, though, we are experiencing a massive disruption that is an interruption to our convenient Christianity and a call back to a passionate pursuit of our God. Where we sing is not nearly as important as where we surrender, sacrifice, and serve. Worship is not a lyric it’s a lifestyle. When we come together on the weekend, whether in person or online, it’s a celebration of how we have been worshipping God all week. What does that look like? It doesn’t involve bands, music, lights, or screens. It looks like real-time mercy instead of religious sacrifice, it looks like justice over prejudice, it looks like righteousness over self-righteous arguments. This is the kind of worship Jesus is looking for and their’s nothing convenient about it.
Prayer
Thank You Jesus for this perspective. Governor Newsom is not the enemy. I pray that You would turn His heart towards You. The true enemy coming as an ally to our hearts is bitterness, hatred, anger, and offense. I repent for allowing these to find root in my heart recently and for allowing it to dilute my worship to You. This week when we worship together in the parking lot under the shade of the awnings in the back let it be an act of defiance against the very spiritual darkness that would seek to silence the heart of worship in us. God, You are using this to refine us as your people and remind us what true worship is. It’s not the location of our singing, not a fixation on our traditions, but a transformation of our souls that You are after. We choose to seek You first all day, every day, not just on Sundays. Maybe worshipping outside will remind us that worship was never meant be kept inside in the first place!
Comments