Characteristics of Acceptable Worship

Pastor D.L. Richardson, Instructor

Introduction:Nehemiah 9

What are characteristics of acceptable worship, worship that God desires and honors?

In Nehemiah 9, we learn a great deal about worship specifically. On the 24th day of the same month that the Israelites celebrated the feast of booths in Nehemiah 8, the Israelites gathered together for a day of national repentance and worship.

In John 4:23, Jesus said this: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

  • The reality that God the Father is seeking worshipers who worship in spirit and truth, implies that there is both a wrong and right way to worship God.
  • In fact, we see the importance of proper worship early on in Scripture. Cain and Abel both brought offerings before the Lord, but Cain’s was rejected (Gen 4). Cain brings the fruit of the ground and Abel offers a firstling of his flock which would require the shedding of blood. God's lesson to Adam and Eve in the clothing of skins was passed down to their sons. Cain does not listen and obey, and his offering is rejected. The way of Cain as Jude 11 mentions involved worshiping God on his own terms, doing the work of his own hands, and being selfish in his reasoning. God is more concerned about our obedience towards Him than our sacrifices.

Similarly, we see rejected worship throughout much of Israel’s history. God derailed Israel for their fasting in the book of Isaiah and said that it would not be accepted. He shared their unrighteous complaints and then answered them. In Isaiah 58:3-4 it says:

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Israel noticed that their fasting was unprofitable and they asked, “What good is it?” God rebuked them and said that the type of worship they were offering was unacceptable. How could they be living in quarreling and strife and expect their offering to be accepted by God? God said their voices (i.e. their prayer and worship) would not even be heard by him. In Malachi 1, God rejected the offerings of the priests because they were offering the lame and the blind, instead of offering a lamb without blemish.

Many people in the church have the same dilemma. They recognize that their devotions aren’t profitable, the church services they attend aren’t alive, and they wonder why it is so. Sometimes the problem is that their worship has been rejected by God.

  1. Acceptable Worship Includes Preparation

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners

Nehemiah 9:1-2

We cannot but notice that the Israelites prepared for worship. Clearly, they did not just fall out of bed and head to service, as often happens in church today. Many Christians give no thought to preparation for worship, small group, or even daily devotions. No wonder many people leave these activities saying, “I didn’t get anything out of that.”

Why does this happen? It happens in part because most believers don’t prepare for worship. As demonstrated in the Parable of the Sowers (Matt 13), nothing is wrong with the seed of the Word sown in worship; the problem is with the ground of our hearts. Therefore, as with farming, the ground of our hearts must be cultivated to worship God. An unprepared worship is an unacceptable worship.

Observation Question: How did Israel prepare for worship in verses 1 and 2?

  1. They prepared for worship by fasting.

Nehemiah 9:1

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads.

FASTING

Refraining from eating food. The Bible describes three main forms of fasting.

  • The normal fast involves the total abstinence of food. Luke 4:2 reveals that Jesus “ate nothing”; afterwards “He was hungry.” Jesus abstained from food but not from water.
  • In Acts 9:9 we read of an absolute fast where for three days Paul “did not eat or drink” (HCSB). The abstinence from both food and water seems to have lasted no more than three days (Ezra 10:6; Esther 4:16).
  • The partial fast in Dan. 10:3 emphasizes the restriction of diet rather than complete abstinence. The context implies that there were physical benefits resulting from this partial fast. However, this verse indicates that there was a revelation given to Daniel as a result of this time of fasting.
  • Fasting is the laying aside of food for a period of time when the believer is seeking to know God in a deeper experience. It is to be done as an act before God in the privacy of one’s own pursuit of God (Exod. 34:28; 1 Sam. 7:6; 1 Kings 19:8; Matt. 6:17).
  • Fasting is to be done with the object of seeking to know God in a deeper experience (Isa. 58; Zech. 7:5).
  • Fasting relates to a time of confession (Ps. 69:10).
  • Fasting can be a time of seeking a deeper prayer experience and drawing near to God in prevailing prayer (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:12).
  • The early church often fasted in seeking God’s will for leadership in the local church (Acts 13:2).
  • When the early church wanted to know the mind of God, there was a time of prayer and fasting.
  • Fasting is never given as a command in the New Testament, but it is given as an expectation. Christ said to his disciples, “When you fast, do not look somber like the hypocrites...” (Matt 6:15).
  • Also, when John’s disciples asked why Christ’s disciples didn’t fast, Jesus replied that when he was taken away, they would fast (Matt 9:15).

It seems that God expects each of us to fast in some form or another. Fasting is meant to help focus our heart, mind, and spirit on God by neglecting some great priority in our lives. Fasting doesn’t necessarily have to be food; it can be anything that demands a tremendous amount of our time, focus, or energy. (Internet, Phone, Facebook, TV, hobbies, etc.

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  1. They prepared for worship by mourning as they put on sackcloth and dust.

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. (v. 1)

Essentially, they prepared their hearts for worship by mourning over sin in their personal lives and that of the community.

  • Mourning is not only preparation for worship, it is part of worship. Look at how Isaiah responded when he saw God in Isaiah 6:5: “’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty’.”
  • The natural reaction for a person who truly sees God will be mourning. When Peter encountered Christ, he fell down and cried, “Leave me, Lord, I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). We mourn because our sin and the sin of our communities appear so ugly, as we look at God’s beauty and perfect righteousness.
  • Mourning is a part of worship because it is the natural response of meditating on God, who is perfect.
  • In fact, Scripture declares that God blesses those who mourn. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted” (Matt 5:4). God blesses those who mourn over their own sin and the sin of the world.

(It is clear that Israel was meditating on God, even before coming to public worship.)

  • They came with hearts that had been looking at God, which revealed their sinful condition because when you see God you will always see your impurities. Therefore, they dressed with sackcloth and dust. In the same way, we must prepare our hearts for worship by meditating on God and His holiness.
  • Mourning is an expression of their need for God’s grace. In Nehemiah 8, Israel listened to the Word of God read and taught for six hours and while listening they wept because of their sin (v. 9). We cannot truly worship God unless we know how much we desperately need him. (Heb. 4:16).
  1. They prepared for worship by separating themselves from all foreigners.

Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. (v. 2)

Israel separated themselves because the foreigners were leading them into sin.

  • They needed to be separate from anything that might contaminate (cf. James 1:27).
  • When Israel separated from the foreigners before worship, it was a protection from temptation and a consecration of themselves to God alone.
  • In a similar way, God calls the church to be separate from the world (cf. 2 Cor 6:17). He has established it as a necessary aspect of true worship.
  • James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” A religion that is not separate is a worship that is not acceptable to God. This must be our necessary practice as well.
  • A person trying to live for God and walk with the world is a “double-minded man.” James 1:7-8 says that this person will receive nothing from God. We must be single minded because it is the “pure in heart” who will see God (Matt. 5:8).

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