Sometimes we get the idea that our devotional life needs to
be quiet. The still small voice. Candles. Hushed voices. Songs sung
unaccompanied, in unison during worship. And that’s all true, but our
experience of God can also be exuberant and our giving of ourselves to
Him extravagant:
·
God is our model. He is
exuberant in all He does:
- In creation (Gen 1). Gen 1:20-22
- In mercy and grace Exo 20:6 showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exo 34:5-7 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…"
- In his relationship with His people – His covenant with us, His faithful love.
·
We are extravagant in our
giving and exuberant in our worship because that is how we have been made. If
we weren’t those things in worship we would be in something else that matters
to us (cycling, golf, football…)
o A mission worker, single
lady, was retiring to the UK after many years of service in the Bhutan. It
became known that she didn’t know where she would live, but someone in the
church gave her a house. A whole house to live in!
o
Gifts needn’t be large –
they can still be extravagant and life-changing. John Bechtel, a missionary in
Hong Kong, wanted to start a Christian camp to reach people for Christ. A
bankrupt multimillion-dollar hotel and conference center became available for
sale. He made an offer to purchase the property and then traveled around the
world to raise the millions he would need. But no one was willing to help and
he returned to Hong Kong discouraged. Then one day he got a letter from a young
girl that included $1 and a note saying she wanted him to use this to buy the
camp. John Bechtel prayed and took the girl’s $1 to the real estate closing and
the corporation decided to accept the $1 as full payment! Since the camp first
opened, over a million people have come and over 100,000 have accepted Christ.
o Here's an example of some football supporters showing some exuberance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSbro76eX9s&feature=related
·
Prayer and worship are
spiritual warfare – hence the ‘battle-cry’ (Teru`a) in Psalms:
6 Then I
will hold my head high
above my
enemies who surround me.
At his
sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and
praising the LORD with music.
3 Sing a
new song of praise to him;
play
skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.
5 God has
ascended with a mighty shout.
The LORD
has ascended with trumpets blaring.
15 Happy
are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they
will walk in the light of your presence, LORD.
5 Praise
him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him
with loud clanging cymbals.
o PSA 27:6;
33:3 ;47:6; 89:16; 150:5 respectively (Hebrew verse no.s) all from NLT. Amazing that each is translated differently because of
the different contexts.
o
Psa 41:12; 47:2; 60:10;
65:14; 66:1; 81:2; 95:1f; 98:4, 6; 100:1; 108:10 have the word rawa`
which is a shout with joy or triumph. Likewise rina and ranan.
o
So lots of words for loud
shouting, and I think these need to be taken into account when we lead worship,
however unpopular it may be with some folk who aren’t used to it.
Conclusion: let’s be extravagant in all
we do in service of God. Worship should be loud. Joyful. Giving (time and
money) extravagant. Our times with God should be as envigorating as a 5-mile
run. You should feel pumped afterwards. If you don’t, maybe it’s time to up
your game!
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