一个来敬拜的邀请 : 丘其威牧师著

 

我们敬拜因我们是敬拜者。我们被创造时灵里有个很深的洞，唯有神才能填满。而让自己持续不断的被神充满，是我们最能履行的事。这就是我们受造之由。真正的敬拜是由我们悟性上的心思、事奉上的力量、心灵里的惊叹、灵里的赞美所结合成的 。我需全心向神和全然专注于他的代领。这是保罗所指的当他说无论做什么，都是为了神的荣耀而作（歌罗西3：17）。是我们的生命，使我们成为敬拜者，而不是通过一个敬拜的崇拜。

 

敬拜是犹太人群体里很重要的一部分。敬拜是神的要求和我们灵里的实践。

神邀请我们进入他的同在里，而和神的交流之一其实就是敬拜。当我们成为敬拜神的群体时，诗篇95表达了那种邀请。

我们以喜乐来敬拜神（1-6）

1 来 啊，

  我 们 要 向 耶 和 华 歌 唱 ，

  向 拯 救 我 们 的 磐 石 欢 呼 ！

2 我 们 要 来 感 谢 他 ，

   用 诗 歌 向 他 欢 呼 ！

3 因 耶 和 华 为 大 神 ，

  为 大 王 ，

  超 乎 万 神 之 上 。

4 地 的 深 处 在 他 手 中 ；

   山 的 高 峰 也 属 他 。

5 海 洋 属 他 ，

   是 他 造 的 ；

  旱 地 也 是 他 手 造 成 的 。

6 来 啊 ，

  我 们 要 屈 身 敬 拜 ，

  在 造 我 们 的 耶 和 华 面 前 跪 下 。

 

诗人以邀请来向耶和华欢呼为启端。这里所用的代名词是“我们”，意表着一个群体聚集来敬拜神。诗人很清楚的表示敬拜的对象惟独神。我们向他歌唱、把自己献上给他、向他表达感恩。这全是关于神而不是我们。

我们因着神是伟大的事实喜乐，它是创造者。

我们也因着他是个人的神的事实喜乐。这就是说，我们跟他有一种关系。在第七节里，提到我们是他草场的羊，是他手下的民。

敬拜是那些认识神和与他有一种关系的人的特权。

让我们敬拜神时能常常喜乐。

 

我们以尊崇来敬拜神(6-7)

6 来 啊 ，

  我 们 要 屈 身 敬 拜 ，

  在 造 我 们 的 耶 和 华 面 前 跪 下 。

7 因 为 他 是 我 们 的 神 ；

   我 们 是 他 草 场 的 羊 ，

   是 他 手 下 的 民 。

   惟 愿 你 们 今 天 听 他 的 话 ：

 

第二个邀请是在我们敬拜里尊崇和在神面前谦卑。“来啊，我们要屈身敬拜，在造我们的耶和华面前跪下”

从喜乐欢呼的赞美，诗人现在邀请我们来安静和尊崇。这是一个我们安静自己来崇拜和敬拜的地方。 这就使神要向我们说话的时刻，这就是当神说话而我们聆听的时候。

“惟愿你们今天听他的话”而我们真的会。

 

我们以忏悔来敬拜神（8-11）

8 你 们 不 可 硬 着 心 ，

  像 当 日 在 米 利 巴 ，

  就 是 在 旷 野 的 玛 撒 。

9 那 时 ，

   你 们 的 祖 宗 试 我 探 我 ，

   并 且 观 看 我 的 作 为 。

10 四 十 年 之 久 ，

我 厌 烦 那 世 代 ，

 说 ：

这 是 心 里 迷 糊 的 百 姓 ，

竟 不 晓 得 我 的 作 为 ！

11 所 以 ，

我 在 怒 中 起 誓 ，

 说 ：

 他 们 断 不 可 进 入 我 的 安 息 ！

 

 

最后的邀请就如同来自神的讲道，他首先告诉我们要记得他的好处。第八 – 九节里挑战我们专注在米利巴和玛撒的史迹。我们对神的话语不可硬着心，我们要常常记得伸所赐给我们的恩惠。

然后我们要从我们的道上悔改。，神的子民在心里犯错。 。

心里刚硬会最终引导我们至心里昏暗和灵里麻木。

最后我们必须进入神的安息。愿我们不像以色列人那般不得进入安息。安息是意表着一种与神 常交通和完全信靠他的关系。耶稣邀请我们， ,”凡劳苦担重担的人，可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。”

 

亲爱的弟兄姐妹们，愿我们成为一个晓得尽心、尽性、尽意、尽力以心灵和诚实敬拜神的群体。

An Invitation to Worship: by Pastor Daniel Yaw

We worship because we are worshiper. We are created with this big cavity in our souls that can’t be filled with anything but God, and filling ourselves with God on a continual basis is the most fulfilling thing we can do.  It is what we were made for.  True worship incorporates our minds in understanding, our strength in service, our souls in wonder, and our spirits in praise.  It takes my mind on God and my whole being focused in His direction.  This is what Paul meant when he said to do everything we do to the glory of God (Col. 3:17).   It’s our life, not a worship service, which will make us worshipers.

 

Worship is an integral part of the Jewish community.  Worship is God’s requirement and our soul’s fulfillment.

 

God invites us to His presence and one of those communion is really worship.  Psalm 95 expresses that invitation as we grow into that community that worships God.

 

We Worship God with Rejoicing (1-6)

¹Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

²Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

³For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

⁵The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

(Psalm 95:1-6 ESV)

The Psalmist started by an invitation to sing for joy to the LORD.  The pronoun used here is “us” indicating a corporate gathering to worship God.  The Psalmist made it clear that worship is directed to God alone.  We sing to Him, we offer ourselves to Him, our gratitude is expressed to Him.  It is all about Him and not us.

We rejoice over the fact that God is great.  He is the creator and the 

We also rejoice over the fact that He is Personal God.  That is to say, we have a relationship with Him.  In verse 7, it is said that we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Worship is exclusively to those who know God and have a relationship with Him. 

Let us always be joyful when we worship God.

We worship God with Reverence (6-7)

⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

⁷For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you hear his voice,

(Psalm 95:6-7 ESV)

The second invitation is reverence and humility before God in our worship.  “O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!”

From joyful loud praises, the Psalmist now invites us to be quiet and reverent.  There is a place we quiet ourselves to adore and worship.  This is when the Lord would minister to us.  This is when the Lord speaks and we hear Him.

“Today if we hear his voice...” and indeed we will.

 

We worship God in Repentance (8-11)

⁸ do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

⁹when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways."

¹¹Therefore I swore in my wrath,

"They shall not enter my rest."

(Psalm 95:8-11 ESV)

The last invitation is like a sermon from God as He speaks.  He tells us first to remember His goodness.  Verses 8 - 9 challenges us to pay attention to history in Meribah and Massah.  We are not to harden our hearts towards the word of God.  We do that by remembering constantly His goodness in our lives.

Then we are to repent of our ways.  The people of God erred in their hearts.  Hardening our hearts will eventually leads us to a dull conscience and a deaf spirit. 

Lastly we are rest in God.  May we not be like the Israelites who missed entering that rest.  The rest is a constant communion with God and a complete trust in him.  Jesus invites us, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

My dear brothers and sisters, may we grow to be a community that worships God with all our hearts, mind, soul and spirit and worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

FROM MATTHEW 16

Peter's Confession of Christ

 ¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

 ¹⁴They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

 ¹⁵"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

 ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

 ¹⁷Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." ²⁰Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

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Wow! Thanks God that He is so clearly stated here. He, Jesus Christ, will build His Church. He, Jesus Christ, will establish and develop His Church. Not anyone else. Not even Peter, the Rock.

Then, I went to check the dictionary about “founder”. One of the meaning that we “common sense”ly know is a person who founds or establishes some institution. The other meaning of “founder” are

1. to break down or fail

2. to sink (of a ship)

3. to sink into or become stuck in soft ground

4. to stumble or go lame (of a horse)

(Quoted from Collins Dictionary)

Let's go back the “common sense” meaning of founder. If I say I am the founder of the company, I must be the person who builds – establishes and develops the company. If I say I am the founder of a church, then I am the person who builds – establishes and develops the church. However, the bible – Matthew Chapter 16:18 (NIV, ESV or KJV) stated clearly that Jesus Christ will build His Church. If we build, we establish, we develop or we found a church, then that is not the Christ's church and it is not God's Kingdom. If it is not belong to Jesus Christ, then it is belong to me, who is the builder or the founder.

What is point that I build my church? I do not want to build my church, establish my church, develop my church or found my church. I just want to stay in His church, which the gates of Hades will not overcome it.