MONDAY October 29, 2018
The Shout of War
And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.
1 Samuel 4:5-6
Notice, there was a loud, emotional shout from within the camp of Israel. The Ark of the Covenant was now in the midst of them; surely they would defeat the Philistines in the next battle, but God was not with them. Israel was so excited, but God would bring their hypocrisy to an end.
I think of how many people become moved emotionally to worship the Lord; they get excited by the music. True worship has to come from the heart––in spirit and in truth. It brings the people into God’s holy presence. Before the message is given by the pastor, worship prepares the people’s hearts to receive from God’s Word.
Yet some people in the congregation will raise their hands to worship the Lord, but their hands are filled with sin. They want the blessings of God without true repentance. No way! One thing God will not stand for is hypocrisy and sin. You may continue in your sin a little or a long time, but if you do not repent, the time will come when your road ends. You see, God desires to use your life, but He will also put a stop to your hypocrisy.
Jesus sat at a well and spoke to a Samaritan woman. He explained to her: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Even though her life was sinful, she had a pretense of worshiping the Lord (John 4:16-19). It is important to daily examine your life before the Lord to see if there is any unrepentant sin or hypocrisy. Is your worship sincere, from the heart, in spirit and in truth?
Without the heart it is no worship. It is a stage play. It is an acting of a part without being that person, really. It is playing the hypocrite.
~Stephen Charnock~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!