Audience of One

Pastor Stan was the only staff member of a small church. He showed up one Sunday after spending hours that week preparing for the worship service. He was the one that typically led the singing while playing his guitar. He was the one that usually unlocked the doors and turned on the lights. He was the person that would get everything prepared for the start of service. He was the one that preached the sermons. And he did all of that this week as he waited for people to arrive.

Jim was always the first person to arrive on Sundays. He would greet Pastor Stan and then make the coffee. As Pastor Stan and Jim waited for the coffee to finish brewing, Jim talked about the weather, fishing, and his favorite football team. Pastor Stan did not engage much in the conversation because he was wondering when someone else would arrive. 

It wasn’t that Pastor Stan disliked Jim, he just was a little worried that nobody else had shown up yet. He excused himself and went outside to look down the road to see if any cars he recognized were there. With only a few minutes until time to start the service, the pastor went back inside where Jim was sitting in a chair drinking his coffee. I understand how Pastor Stan felt. We have had a few of those days when if Collin had not been here it would have been only our family.

Pastor Stan said, “Well, Jim, it looks like you are the only one here today.” Jim replied, “Not the only one, pastor.” Stan smiled, realizing that Jim must also be counting him. Pastor Stan started singing the first song. Jim was not a very good singer, so he sang very softly. Pastor Stan really couldn’t hear him sing, so after the first song he said, “Well, since we only have one in the audience today I think we will just move on to the sermon.”

Pastor Stan felt very awkward preaching to just Jim, so he made his sermon short. He knew that Jim was a believer, so he didn’t do any time of invitation or commitment at the end. He knew that Jim was very poor, so he didn’t take an offering. He wrapped things up by saying, “Well, Jim, since you are the only one in the audience today, I think we will end early today.”

Jim stood up and said, “Pastor, I don’t want you to think I am trying to tell you how to do your job, but I think you got things a little wrong today.” Pastor Stan was somewhat shocked, because Jim had never been one to complain about anything. Pastor Stan asked, “What did I get wrong today?” Jim said, “Well, Pastor, you said I was the only one here today, but you are here and God is here. That makes three. Now you were right when you said we only had an audience of one today, but you were wrong when you said I was the only one in the audience. I’m not in the audience, Pastor. I’m part of the worshippers today. The only One in the audience is Jesus.”

This is week 6 in our Pure Praise series. We have learned what worship is and that it is comprised of praise (our response to who God is) and thanksgiving (our gratefulness for what God has done). We have learned who God is and how we can hear from God. We have experienced ways we can worship Him visibly, vocally, and audibly. We have also expressed our worship artistically this past week. Today we learn all about who is involved in worship as we continue in 2 Chronicles 20.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple before the new courtyard. He said:
Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. Are You not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? They have lived in the land and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name and have said, “If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple. We will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver.” (2 Chronicles 20:5-9)

Directed to God

The first thing we must understand about worship is that it is not for us. Worship is for an audience of One, and that person is God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Three in One. God is the sole beneficiary of our praise. We elevate Him, we exalt Him, we proclaim Him, we commune with Him, we plead to Him, we bow to Him. Everything is for God. Jehoshaphat stood before the people of Judah as he called out to God. Later in this chapter we see that all of Judah worshipped God that day.

When it comes to worship, it is very tempting to involve our own personal tastes and desires. For example, I love certain styles of music and feel that I can worship easier when I sing that kind of music. There are certain styles of music that I do not like and it makes it harder for me to worship when I hear them. But God loves all styles of music when they are used to bring honor and glory to Him. We will actually discuss that more next Sunday.

But when I begin to project my own tastes into my worship, I have made worship more about me than about God. As we learned a few Sundays ago, worship requires sacrifice. Sometimes we must sacrifice our own desires, or own likes and dislikes, so that we can focus on the object of our worship rather than on the vehicle of our worship.

It is vitally important that we understand that God is the only object of our worship. This was of such importance to God that the very first commandment is that we are not to have other gods besides God. The second commandment was that we are not to make idols. Sadly, many churches have made idols of worship itself. They have decided that only certain styles of music, only certain elements of worship, only certain expressions of worship are allowed. They have dictated exactly how the service should look and feel and smell. They make it clear that any other method of worship is heresy. Their worship has become an idol.

Worship Involves Everyone

The second thing that we need to understand is that worship involves everyone. God did not give us an outline for worship. He didn’t tell us that we must include 3 songs and a prayer. What God did through His Word is provide some ideas of what could be included in worship. We discussed those a few weeks ago. But from these ideas we can see that God desires for us to use our creativity in our worship.

It has been said that humans are the only creation of God that is able to create. All of the rest of creation can only duplicate at best. But humans have an ability to start with an idea and create something beautiful out of that. Whether it is poetry, music, paintings, buildings, and even mechanical devices.

Some people refuse to participate in worship because they feel that they have no skills to provide for the experience. That is a lie that they have believed for far too long. Everyone has at least one skill and God wants you to use that skill to worship Him.

While writing my thesis for my master’s degree I was studying the sacred music of Duke Ellington. He was best known for his big band jazz music, but he also wrote some excellent jazz-style church music. One song that he wrote was called Every Man Prays in His Own Language.

In the notes about this song, Duke Ellington told the story of a juggler in the Middle Ages. This juggler went to church one Sunday and the priest asked for everyone to give an offering to God. The juggler felt bad because he did not have any money. He spoke to the priest about it after the service and the priest said, “Perhaps you could present an offering of some skill or talent that you have instead.” The juggler explained that he had no skills or talents. The only thing he knew how to do was juggle. The priest said, “Then next week we will have you give a demonstration of your juggling as an offering to God.”

This song and the story behind it led me to write this hymn:

Prayer

(A hymn inspired by the words of Duke Ellington who said, "Everyman prays in his own language. And there is no language that God does not understand.")

When through the soft and gentle night,

With timid voice and tear-soaked face,

Someone lifts up some words in light

Of searching for God's loving grace

When with a loud, gigantic voice,

Proclaiming it from town to town,

Remembering that grateful choice,

Someone thanks God for life and crown

When in a tongue from distant lands,

If nasal, gruff, or even odd,

With open eyes or unclasped hands,

Someone calls out, "Forgive me God"

With trumpet, harp, and tambourine,

With cymbals, lyres, and flutes, and strings,

With dancing, clapping, sights unseen,

Someone lifts up his voice and sings.

REFRAIN:

To God the Father, Christ the Son,

The Holy Spirit, Three in One

He understands each word we pray.

So share your heart with Him today.

Worship is not meant to be a spectator sport. Everyone is to be involved in one manner or another. Singing, playing, reading scripture, dancing, clapping, lifting hands, praying, drawing, drama, serving, sights unseen. Worship is directed to God and worship involves everyone. If you are unsure how you can participate in worshipping God at Elevate, come talk to me and together we can find a way for you to use your skills and talents.