Spontaneity is not the Ultimate Form of Worship

Coming into his presence.

The gathering of the saints on the Lord's Day and our liturgical practices carry a great deal of meaning. Various reasons and explanations are given in defense of 'high church' and 'low church'  services. More and more I see the Scriptures desire us to hold to a high church liturgy but not at the height of Goliath's helmet or the Pope's hat. No, I prefer the height of Mount Zion where Christ rules. It should be a high church kind of service that every aspect of the service communicates gospel covenant with God. All parts of the service should communicate an accurate representation of what Scripture teaches: call to worship, confession of faith, confession of sin, assurance of pardon, prayers, sermon, Lord's Supper, baptism, new members, church discipline, psalms, commission. All these may or may not be the norm in your setting but all these must have clear definition and proper representation of what it means to have access to the heavenly places, Mount Zion, where Christ and the saints are gathered. As we progress through this series I hope you keep in mind the procession of the Lord's Day service. We must remember that although every day is the Lord's there is a significant day called the Lord's Day and it is no mere coincidence that Christ said of a particular day, the Sabbath, he was Lord over it. Because the day is his and we meet in his name to glorify him we must seek to do all this as he himself has set forth for us. "For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ" Colossians 2:5. Being orderly is commendable. 

Many Christians today confuse spontaneity with being filled with the Spirit. To be sure you will find instances where men are filled with the Holy Ghost and are therefore used mightily in the context of preaching and evangelizing but we must remember that spontaneity is not itself listed among the fruit of the Spirit. What this means is that we should expect self-control, discipline, and order as the norm. When we approach the throne of Christ we do so in an orderly fashion. We do not do this in a frazzled frenzy as if it is all about me but we also do not do it in a single-file line as if every fiber of excitement must have been exorcised out of us beforehand. Perhaps it is because we have exalted evangelism that spontaneity is desired. As evangelism is held as the standard Spirit-filled expression, which is often spontaneous, it is no surprise we come to expect God to respond  to us on spontaneous terms. In evangelical churches we have exalted evangelism as a Christian virtue to a position that has left many in the pews hungry every Lord's Day, both physically and spiritually. Their physical palate is devoid of bread and wine and their spiritual palate is like the dog eating scraps under the table. This is in part due to the fact that we reason since you must become as a child to enter the Kingdom that you must remain childlike to remain therein. The Apostle counseled otherwise. "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men" 1 Corinthians 14:20. This is in the context of conducting an orderly and God glorifying worship service. We must mature. But this maturity is not like a rebellious teenager whose angst has led him to a love of Rock N Roll against his parents love for Bach. No, it should be a maturity that is closer to going from 'Jesus loves Me' to 'The Son of God Goes Forth to War'. With this I hope that the reader, especially from a contemporary worship style, will be patient, take the rebukes as from a trusted friend and truly think about what is being communicated throughout their service. Does it communicate the gospel?

What you will find in the following segments could easily be described as covenant renewal worship. There are resources available to give a good deal of insight on this particular kind of worship service and I would recommend them to you. The CREC pamphlet is a good place to start as is Douglas Wilson's 'A Worship Primer'. This series you are reading will not be as focused on the insight of the Levitical laws and what we should glean from them but the focus will be driven by the most cited passage in the New Testament. "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool" Psalm 110:1. Because Christ is Priest, sacrifice, Prophet and King our worship service should always contain these elements. The particular focus of Christ's kingship is in no way meant to detract from his other offices and other writings on those offices should be considered. None of these will contradict the other as Christ being king does not contradict his being the lamb of God but all these must be rooted and harmonized in Scripture. Christ is where is now and we must approach him there. He is not offering sacrifice but he is seated on his throne because he offered himself as sacrifice. That is where he is and so we must conduct our services to honor his kingship and approach him and congregate before him in the way in which he has prescribed. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16.