Worship
Course: The Higher Calling to Worship
Lesson Fifteen:
Lesson
Title: The Desire of Worship: That I
might know Him
Text:
'That I may know him' (Philippians
Introduction:
No matter how high the level we have reached
in worship, there are always greater heights to reach. This is what is so
exciting about worship. There is always
more and we should always be seeking to come into a closer relationship with
the Lord. Paul experienced being carried
to the third heaven where he heard things he could not repeat, (2 Corinthians
12:2-4).
I believe that it is impossible for anyone
who has been to such heights of glory experientially to tell about it, because
we are incapable of understanding. How
can anyone explain eternity to us? We
have only lived in time. How can we
understand the glory of the place where holiness alone can dwell? We have only experienced living in a sinful
world. Paul had been carried to these
heights, but even though he had worshipped at such a high level, still he cried
'that I might know Him'. There are
always more heights to climb. Worship in
eternity will bring the worshipper into higher and higher realms of glory. The cry ' that I might know Him' must be the
cry of the worshipper at every level of worship.
Main Points:
A worshipper who has entered into worship
through praise and thanksgiving can only worship to the extent of his or her
experience. The height that we reach in
worship is dependent upon the closeness of our relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Some worshippers have not yet
reached the level of a surrendered life but they can offer 'praise and thanksgiving'
and say with Paul 'that I might know Him'.
We should always be seeking to know Him and to move higher in
worship. Whether we have just begun to
go up to worship or if we are on the highest level, the prayer is the same
'that I might know Him'.
The height of our worship will depend upon
how much we desire to know the beauty of the Lord. The prayer of Paul for the Ephesian believers was 'that Christ may dwell
in your hearts'. Paul was praying for
people who knew the Lord. He was not
praying for their salvation. His prayer
was for the Ephesians to fulfil the higher calling to worship. He wanted Christ to be at the centre of their
affections that they would know the love of God. This is the higher calling to worship.
'That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints
what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes
knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fulness of God.' (Ephesians 3:17-19)
Worship is always centred upon the love of
Christ, and the beauty of Jesus is revealed through the cross. When we know the 'love of Christ' then our
response will always be to worship. The
Apostle John says look at this love that God has shown to us. The Son of God was willing to leave heaven
where the angels worshipped Him, and come down to earth to identify Himself
with us. He was willing to be scourged,
spat upon, and crucified, yet He did it with joy because He knew the Father had
given Him a people for His inheritance.
'Behold, what manner of love the
Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not.' (1 John 3:1)
We are
called to enjoy a wonderful love relationship with the Son of God. It is a relationship that many Christians
never reach. The one who is a worshipper will stand in awe
when He beholds 'the King in His beauty' (Isaiah 33:17). Peter had this love for Christ in mind when
he wrote that to us who believe 'He is precious' (1 Peter 2:7). He is the One
described by Solomon as 'Altogether Lovely.'
'he is altogether lovely. This is my
beloved, and this is my friend,' (Song
of Solomon
Song of Solomon is written for worshippers
who rejoice saying: 'I am
my beloved‘s, and my beloved is mine' (Song of Solomon 6:3). When we desire to see the King in His beauty then the pull of worldly
things will be taken away. The honours and pleasures of the
world are as nothing in comparison to the glory of knowing Christ. The call to worship is the most exciting
calling that it is possible to be given.
When
believers who have never learnt to worship get to heaven they will be so sad
when they realise they were robbed of their opportunity to worship the Lord
with their lives. They will see their
brothers and sisters in Christ worshipping with joy at the judgement seat of
Christ, but they will have nothing to present to the Lord in worship. This is not a judgement of fear, it is a
judgement of love, and how we worship then will depend on how we worship
now. In the book of Revelation, the
Laodicean church had been drawn away from their relationship with Jesus. They gloried in their wealth, possessions,
abilities, and their self-reliance. The
Lord wanted them to have fellowship with Him.
'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with me.'
(Revelation 3:17-18)
When we
talk together with believers it is easy to know those who have a close
relationship with Christ. They are
excited about Jesus, they talk about Jesus, and they are full of the joy of the
Lord. I love to be with people who are
like this. Paul had so much that he
could have trusted in, but in order to be a worshipper he had to disregard all
of this and become a fool for Christ. He
did this with joy.
When we
pray 'that I might know Him', then we must also say 'I consider all things as
rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ'.
If we mean it then we will be willing to face anything with joy in order
to win Him. The King of Kings and Lord
of Lords gave everything for us so that we can be His, but now that we are in
Christ, all that is His is ours. How can
we ever understand this love? How can we
ever understand the greatness of this calling that we have been called to?
Paul
desired only to worship on the highest level.
He counted all things as rubbish that he might win Christ. He wanted to be one with Christ in His
righteousness, and to worship on the highest levels. He desired to know the power of His
resurrection, and worship on the level of the anointing. He desired to worship on the higher level as
a fellow participator of His sufferings.
He wanted to worship on the highest level of being united with Christ in
His eternal purpose by being made conformable to His death. Paul's sights were on having a glorious
entrance into heaven so that he could rejoice with great joy, united for all
eternity with the One He loved above all.
'That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death; If by any means I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead.'
(Philippians 3:10-11)
The desire of the worshipper at every level
is to know Christ. The desire to worship
begins with being drawn to Christ, but there is no limit to the heights of
worship. Paul desired to know Christ
even though he had experienced the glory of the Lord in paradise and heard
things that he could not repeat.
The beauty of the Lord is seen according to
the extent of our worship. A Christian
who only knows the Lord as the Saviour will not understand those who have come
through worship to see Him as 'the Altogether Lovely One'. The desire to know Him increases as we move
to higher realms in worship, and the desire for the things of the world will
decrease according to our longing after Christ.
Worship is born out of the desire to 'know Him'. The worshipper will always find more heights
in worshipping the Lord because there are no limits to His glory. What we desire will determine what we seek
after. The longing of our hearts should
always be to 'know Him'.