Worship Preparation Guide for Sunday, August 7

Worship Preparation Guide for Sunday, August 7

Sermon Text:  Isaiah 36

Parallel Text:  2 Kings 18

Progression on the highway of holiness is never easy.  When the walk of faith gets tough, when opposition arises, or when enemies threaten us or question our faith, or when the very existence of God is questioned, we can be tempted to pause or take an alternate route or even stop altogether. 

But God is always faithful, even when we are not (2 Tim2:13).   His way is always best and his word can always be trusted.  If you are one of those people who always has to know where and what and when and how……all in advance before you obey God, then you are not living by faith.  We cannot please God living this way – it is impossible (Heb. 11:6).  He will put us where we need to be to learn that our only hope is in Him.  Just as He did for Hezekiah and the people of Judah, God puts us in difficult places so we will grow in our faith and confidence in Him. 

The taunt thrown up by the enemy of God’s people in Isaiah 36:4 is a valid question for each of us: “On what do you rest this trust of yours?”  Challenges and opposition are guaranteed for those traveling the Way of Holiness.  When they arise, in whom do you trust?

That’s a question we should ask ourselves as we prepare for worship. 

King Hezekiah was a man with many faults, but Scripture tells us he was a king who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and “held fast to the Lord” (2 Kings 18:3&8).  His desire was to walk the Way of Holiness.  Worshipping according to the way God had prescribed was a central part of the reforms Hezekiah inaugurated.  He did what was necessary to remove all vestiges of idolatry and purify the worship of Israel (2 Kings 18:4). 

Faith is essential as we come before God in worship.  He is looking for worshippers who will worship him in spirit and in truth.  “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)

Worshiping in spirit means our worship is not shallow, it is not based on external methods or formalisms or traditions. Worshiping in truth is the opposite of worship based on an inadequate view of God.  In Isaiah 36 and 37 we are given a glorious view of God.  This view of God was essential for Hezekiah’s walk of faith.  It is essential for ours, too. 

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

And those who know your name 

put their trust in you,

for you, O LORD, have not forsaken 

those who seek you.

Sing praises to the LORD, 

who sits enthroned in Zion!  

(Psalm 9:9-11)