BY JONAS EDSON ARRAIS DE MATOS

he story is told of a pastor of a large church standing before the almost empty sanctuary. Looking at the empty pews, he found only four people in the congregation—a young man and three elderly women.

The minister began to speak. "I am thankful to thee, O God, because at least some people made an effort to come and worship You, to nurture themselves on the Word of God, and do not believe that You are less important than the football game that is being broadcast on TV." Suddenly the young man seated in the last pew jumped up. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed, "I forgot the game!"—and rushed out of the church.

The big question that we should ask ourselves is: "Do we have anything better to do than coming to worship?" We are always very busy with domestic tasks—books to read, films and games to watch, surfing the Internet. What motivates us to put the television aside, postpone the trip to the mall, and come to worship God?

I suppose that for some the answer is habit—and, to tell the truth, not a bad habit. But there may have been a time in our lives when worship was not a question of habit. Rather, we had to make a decision that this was a discipline we wanted to follow. Why did we make that decision?

Others come to worship because they are fighting with God. Because they're sad or hurt. Because they feel lost or alone. In such cases, worship attendance becomes part of the search for answers. Still others come to worship against their will—their parents made them do it, or a spouse. They gave in for the sake of peace.

Why do we worship? Consider the following points.

1. Not as an escape from reality. Worship is something that takes place in real life. In Isaiah 6 we find an excellent place to begin. Isaiah says: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord" (6:1).

This is the same as saying today, "In the year they bombed Pearl Harbor, I worshiped God. In the year the Russian nuclear submarine sank, I worshiped God. In the year of Hurricane Andrew, I worshiped God. In the year the Twin Towers fell, I worshiped God. In the year I got married, in the year my son was born, in the year my friend died—in the midst of good and bad experiences, I was worshiping the Lord."

Worship in the sanctuary does not ignore what happens outside. We don't worship as an escape from what happens outside, but to find ways to deal with those situations.

"Hear my prayer, O Lord," David prayed, "listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me" (Ps. 86:6-7). It is a natural part of worship to bring the anxieties of life with us. We bring our fears, our concerns for our family, the world's problems; and we present them to God through prayer in search of comfort and guidance.

2. To receive something/to give something. True worship is centered on God. Many are mistaken in assuming that worship is only for our benefit. We hear people say: "I'm not being nourished." "I'm not receiving anything from worship. I'm not being strengthened." "I didn't receive any blessing from worship."

Why do we worship? It's true that we worship to receive something from the experience. But our first motivation should be to offer something to God. And until God receives something from our worship, we'll not receive anything. Until God is glorified by our worship, we'll not be blessed. Worship is not entertainment. We are here to worship God. The prophet Isaiah "saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted," with "the train of his robe fill[ing] the temple" (6:1). True worship is focused on God, and it's His presence that completes it.

3. To acknowledge God's holiness. True worship begins with the knowledge of God's holiness. We've lost some of this in our worship services. When Moses became aware of God's presence in the burning bush, he was afraid. When Jacob awoke from his dream of the ladder, he was afraid. "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it," he said (Gen. 28:16).

Why do we worship? Because God is holy, and His holiness requires our attention.

4. To understand ourselves. In worship we come to know our weaknesses and our need of forgiveness from God. As heavenly beings sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isa. 6:3), immediately the prophet cried, "Woe is me!" (vs. 5); the experience giving him a sudden recognition of his sinfulness.

We cannot come into the presence of God without becoming aware of His holiness and without perceiving our own iniquity. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). It is impossible to truly worship Him without being aware of our weaknesses and sins.

For this reason prayer and confession should always be part of our worship. And our confession and repentance always result in God's forgiveness. When Isaiah became aware of God's holiness, it led him to recognize and admit his sinfulness. Confession, in turn, leads to forgiveness of sin, symbolized in this vision by the heavenly being symbolically touching Isaiah's lips with a live coal from the altar (6:7). "If we claim to be without sin," says John's epistle, "we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).

Why do we worship? To experience forgiveness. We need to hear the same message heard by the ancient prophet: "Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for" (Isa. 6:7).

5. So that our lives might be different. This difference involves service. Worship, at its best, always motivates the worshiper to roll up their sleeves and get to work. We enter to worship and leave to serve. In the context of the Bible, worship and service are the same, they go hand in hand. In the Christian life there's no way to offer worship without also serving.

After Isaiah comes to the temple, He hears the call to worship: "Holy, holy, holy" (Isa. 6:3). He is led to confess his sins, which is followed by the certainty of forgiveness. And then he hears the voice of God saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" (Isa. 6:8). What follows is service. Action. Rolling up the sleeves to reach others: "Here am I. Send me!" (vs. 8).

Why do we worship? To be challenged to do something.

The Fundamental Goal of Worship
The first question, then, is not why we worship. Or why we go to church when there are so many other things to do. The real question is: What will we do when we leave the house of worship? The prophet Isaiah was sent to preach a message to the people. What is our task? What does God want us to do this week? Who do we need to love a little more? Who in our community do we need to reach with only a little more effort? Whom do we know that's not attending worship and should be invited? The answer may change from week to week, because opportunities and challenges change.

What is God calling us to do this week? May our response be the same as Isaiah's: "Here am I, Send me!"

QUESTIONS FOR SHARING:
Discuss each of the author's five reasons why we worship.
a) Which did you find most meaningful for you personally?
b) Which do you think is most relevant for the church?
c) Which do you think will be most persuasive for your friends and colleagues in your office or workplace?

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Jonas Edson Arrais de Matos is an associate ministerial director in the South American Division located in Brasilia, Brazil.