Let Me Get a Taste One More Time

 

       I believe that every good cook always has a taste of the meal they are preparing. I have been known to dabble in the kitchen and I know that has been my experience for sure. Before the meal is set out on the table, the cook tends to take a little bite of the food that has been prepared. This happens for me every Thanksgiving meal. Just before the turkey is presented, I might take a bite when no one is looking.

    When we do this it gets us excited for what is to come. We get just a little taste of the meal we are about to chow down on. It prepares our taste buds and leaves us with an expectant urgency for the meal to come soon. 

    I think that this is how it should be when we think about our church services as well. When we think about church services we should think of it as just a little taste of what's to come. The experiences we have as we gather together in church should wet our appetite to what we will one day experience together in the presence of God. I think church should prepare our spirit with an expectant urgency for the Lord's return. 

    I have been going to church for most of my life. My father was a pastor, and my mother was a Sunday school teacher. In my 46 years of being a Christian, I have been in a few church services that really stand out to me. 

    I remember as a teenager when my father was preaching, an elderly man whose son had just come to Christ began to cry out loud during the invitation. With tears streaming down his face, he confessed his sins before the church and his desire to follow Jesus. I will never forget how there wasn't a dry eye in the entire church.

    I also remember several years ago when my family and I attended a camp meeting at Parkers Creek. The service started at 5:00 PM and lasted until 10:00 PM. The church had two preachers, and the music was wonderful, but what I remember the most is how I felt the Holy Spirit move throughout the service. I remember how God spoke to my family and me in that moment.

    Just a few Sunday's ago we had the privilege to have a joint worship service with Impact Ministries Church, a Haitian church. We sang songs both in English and Haitian Kreyol. We had pastor Gephte Jospeh translate my message in another language. We enjoyed a sweet fellowship with fellow brother's and sisters in Christ. It was a wonderful service and one that I will never forget. 

    While I can remember a few other services with fondness, I wish I could say that every Sunday service was just as powerful. However, in my 46 years as a Christian, that has not always been the case. There are moments when, for one reason or another, the worship service isn't as powerful as others. There were moments when my preaching was lack luster. There were times when it just did not feel like the spirit was moving. 

    However, as I study the Scriptures, I am reminded that a day is coming when I will worship with fellow believers in a way I have never experienced before. I personally believe that day is coming soon, but how soon no one knows. However no matter when that day comes there is a day coming when all of us who are saved will gather together to worship. A day is coming when with one voice, we will sing praises to God. A day is coming when we will all cry out loud and worship God before His throne. It's a day that will be like no other. A time that will be unlike any other time in all of history. 

A day is coming when there will be no divisions, no denominations, and no barriers to worship. A day when we will all be united as one singing praises and worshiping together. Listen to what the Word of God tells us about that day:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:9-12)

    I don't think we can fully grasp what this worship service will be like on this side of Heaven. These words while powerful, cannot present a full picture of what that day will be like.  However, this passage gives us a glimpse, a taste if you will, of what is to come.

    The first thing we see is that it will be a worship service where a great multitude will be gathered. Too many churches today have too many empty pews. Too many Christians are absent from church because, in their opinion, there are more important things to do in life. There are ballgames, concerts, fishing and hunting that to many are more important, or just as important than church. Some believe that they need to get there rest and rather sleep in.  But a day is coming when true believers will be gathered together, a day when we all will have the right priorities and will put God first.

    Secondly, we see that this worship will be all about God. Far too often, we make church about ourselves—our preferences, our comfort, or the people who are there. Some churches can idolize a pastor. Some churches can make the service all about what the people in the pews are wanting. Church should not be like that. Church is not about us it's about HIM. Church is all about bringing God glory! Church is all about drawing closer to Him and His desire for our lives. Our worship should be for God and God alone. One day, God will be the focus of our affections, and He will be the sole purpose of our singing. One day He will be the sole reason for our rejoicing! 

    I don't know exactly what that worship will be like, but I believe it will be, hands down, the greatest worship service I have ever experienced. It will beat all the other powerful and emotional services that I have ever experienced here on this earth. Those powerful worship services that I have already experienced will never hold a candle to what we are about to experience one day.

While all of that is true, I am also challenged to do my part to bring the sweetness of Heaven down to this earth. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Knowing the worship that awaits us one day should compel us to desire a taste of what is to come. We should strive to make our worship all about God! It should compel us to reach out to more and more people to be saved that they too can be apart of this worship. This should challenge us to encourage one another and even correct our brothers and sisters in Christ to make worship a priority in their lives once more. We should desire and fight for the unity of the church. A unity that is not built on what I want or what the pastor wants, or even what the community around us wants. A unity that is built on what does God wants.

    As we go to church this Sunday, we should desire for God to move, for the Spirit to descend, and for us to experience a season of refreshing—a slice of His glory. Lets pray about that this week and see if God will grant us a taste of what's to come. 

Practical Applications for Your Life

1. Prioritize Corporate Worship: The Bible shows us that the saints in Heaven will be gathered together in worship. This is a model for us to follow now. Make it a priority to gather with fellow believers for worship, even when it's not a "powerful" service. Your presence is a part of the greater multitude, and your worship adds to the collective sound.

2. Shift Your Focus. When you attend a church service, check your heart and your motives. Are you there to be entertained, or are you there to worship God? Make your worship all about God and what He has done for you. This change in perspective can transform a mundane service into a moment of true intimacy with God.

3. Pray for God's Presence. Before you even walk into the church doors, pray that God's will would be done and that His Spirit would move among His people. Ask for a "taste" of Heaven. This prayer isn't for your personal experience alone but for the entire body of Christ to be refreshed and renewed.

4. Live a Life of Worship. Worship isn't just a Sunday event; it's a lifestyle. True worship flows from a heart that is surrendered to God throughout the week. When you are living for Christ, your Sunday worship becomes a natural overflow of the relationship you have with Him.

5. Acknowledge the Gospel: If you are not a Christian, the idea of a great multitude worshipping God might seem strange. But the Bible teaches that this worship is only for those who have been forgiven and restored to God through faith in Jesus Christ. The "white robes" in the passage symbolize the righteousness of Christ given to those who believe. To have a part in this future worship, you must first respond to the Gospel and receive the salvation that "belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."