Today at The Way Assembly of God we are finishing up a series out of the Psalms. I have spent a lot of time in the psalms over the years. They have taught me things. Things like, it is okay to express what is in my heart to God, He understands my humanity. They have taught me that it is not just okay but encouraged to allow myself the freedom of praise that encompasses, clapping, dancing, singing, shouting joyfully. They have taught me about God Himself, His compassions, protections, and presence. They have taught me about worship.
We are finishing up our series with the second half of Psalm 95. In the first half, the psalmist invited us to “Come.” “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout triumphantly to the Rock of our salvation…. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” (vs 1, 6)
The second half of this song, what we are focusing on today, reminds us that there is a cost to not worshipping our God. Beginning in verse 8, it is no longer the Psalmist encouraging us, it is God warning us. Failure to worship, hardens our hearts. God used the nation of Israel following their deliverance from Egypt as an example to us. “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.” (v 10)
Worship, remember, is more than what we do during a song service on a Sunday morning. It is what we do, who we are all the time. If we think God revolves around us, we will fail to worship Him as we should. Our hearts will go astray and then they will grow hard against Him. When we come to the realization that we have both a duty and a privilege to worship the Lord of Creation, the Shepherd of our soul, that will keep our hearts tender toward Him. Worship, whatever expression it takes, becomes the core of our being.
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (v 8)
