Strong Souls (7)

So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Acts 14.23

Disciplines of self-denial
I think we can assume that what we see Paul doing in these churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch is pretty much what he did everywhere: point people to the Kingdom, warn them to get ready for tribulation, ground them in Kingdom disciplines, and appoint elders to watch over their souls. So I think we can assume that his parting act of committing all this to the Lord was also important in helping the followers of Christ grow strong in their souls.

We note here the mention of three matters: prayer, fasting, and some act of committal. Each of these would have been specific, overt actions, done in, for, and with the community of God’s people, and done probably as a way of showing these congregations what they needed to do over and over again.

In other words, Paul led them in worship in the ways he expected them to continue worshiping for the strengthening of their souls.

And it’s important to note that each of these specific acts is an act of self-denial. Strong souls begin and end in self-denial, in public acts of abject, utter, and entire dependence upon the Lord of glory, rather than on ourselves.

Strong souls require self-denying worship.

When worship fails
What is the goal of worship? What are we trying to accomplish when we come together as a community on the Lord’s Day and offer Him our worship? Looking at the state of worship in churches today suggests a variety of answers to that question.

Some churches seem to think that the purpose of worship is to preserve a peculiar kind of status quo. Worship always goes so long, sings these kinds of songs, follows this order and not that, and involves the same leaders, week after week. We like our worship the way it is, and we see no need of changing anything.

Other churches would seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum. They only want what is new and different – new songs, new forms of worship, new environments, new people leading, new forms of spontaneity in worship, and so forth. The purpose of worship in such churches appears to be to accommodate whatever is new, “exciting,” or “relevant.”

Many churches treat worship as an activity people engage in to feel good about or at least within themselves. The challenge to worship leaders in such a setting is to figure out what will make the people “enjoy” worship so that they’ll go away with a good feeling and want to come back next week. Above all, we don’t want anything in worship that might offend someone or make anybody feel bad.

The danger in each of these approaches to worship is that they lose sight of the proper focus of worship, which is God, not us. Worship is not about what we want or what we like or what makes us feel good or better or whatever. Worship should focus on the worthiness – the “worth-ship” – of God. Any church that structures and conducts worship for the sake of the worshipers has lost sight of the purpose of worship as such, and cannot expect that its worship will strengthen the souls of those who participate. They might indeed “enjoy” such worship, or feel better for having gone through the experience, but they will not be strengthened for the Kingdom, and will make little progress toward full faith in Christ.

Worship is for God
The purpose of worship is to engage with God, using elements and forms, prescribed by Him, that bring us into His presence so that we commune with and participate in Him. Such elements and forms will have to accomplish several things if we are to realize the purpose of worship unto the strengthening of our souls.

First, they will need to be the elements and forms God prescribes. Do we really think we can come before the Lord doing whatever seems right to us in whatever ways make us feel OK? Are we insane? Would you attend a meeting at the White House on those terms? Why do we think we can do worship without doing it in the ways and with the elements and forms God teaches us in His Word?

Second, in our worship we empty ourselves before the Lord, giving ourselves to Him from the inside-out. Worship is not a matter merely of what we do with our bodies, although it certainly includes that. We want our minds to focus on God in His greatness, goodness, majesty, holiness, and might. We want our hearts to pour out expressions of admiration, love, and conviction toward Him. We employ the elements and forms of worship to renew our commitment to God and to firm up our consciences in His presence.

Thus, when we empty ourselves and focus our souls entirely on the Lord, worship becomes a setting where the strengthening of our souls takes on a corporate dimension, precisely as Paul intended.

We cannot grow in full faith without strong souls, and we will not realize strong souls without following the example of the apostles and the teaching of Scripture. Focus on Christ and His Kingdom, persevere through the struggle to grow, and take up the spiritual, relational, and communal disciplines that conduce to the strengthening of your soul. Thus you may hope to realize the Lord’s expectations for full faith in Him.

For reflection
1.  What is the purpose of worship? How does the worship in your church strive to accomplish that purpose?

2.  What’s the difference between worship that is self-denying and worship that is self-seeking?

3.  Meditate on Psalm 50. Why did God reject the worship of His people in this psalm?

Next steps: Does your church teach about worship, or does it have a statement explaining its practice of worship? See what you can find out. Talk with a church leader or pastor about the purpose of worship and how your church tries to realize that.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 4 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Strong Souls” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.