Worship: Devotion

There was one act of worship which Jesus said would be spoken of wherever the Gospel was preached. It was when a woman took an alabaster box full of expensive perfume and poured it all over him. You know the story. This was an incident that he wanted everyone to know about. Something about it excited him: it was risky, spontaneous and shocking. It wasn’t predictable, it wasn’t number 73 in the songbook. She let her hair down, something a woman only did for her husband on her wedding night. Then she poured a year’s salary worth of precious liquid all over Jesus and on to the floor. Unpredictable, extraordinary devotion: and Jesus loved it.

God is looking for devotion and intimacy. He wants us to enjoy his presence. The Hebrew word for presence can also be translated as ‘face’. We are talking about a face to face encounter. I hope that in our worship we have times of celebration and great declaration of truth; but I also hope that we have beautiful moments where individuals are encountering him face to face in deep devotion.

Many saints still struggle with acceptance and significance. They battle with questions like whether God loves them, and why they are on the planet; or why they haven’t been promoted, asked to be a small group leader, or found a husband or wife. People are grappling with all kinds of pain. Where can they find healing? The place of healing is in encounter with God. It’s knowing he loves me and is for me. This makes everything else pale into insignificance. Jesus gives people significance in the context of worship and devotion. People need to encounter God, and this takes time in a meeting: you can’t rush it.

I’ve been reading a new biography of Hudson Taylor, and have been freshly amazed by his faith, courage and sacrifice. He started the China Inland Mission at the age of twenty three. The voyage to China took six months and he was nearly shipwrecked twice. Several of his children died in China, and also his beloved first wife Maria. As you read his story you are shocked by his incredible sacrifice. So it is interesting to observe the kind of hymns that Christians were singing at that time, hymns that expressed love and sacrificial devotion  by writers like Francis Ridley Havergal. It was in the church culture which encouraged selfless lifestyles.

Today, people are also making costly decisions involving moving families to different towns and countries for the sake of the Gospel. But such sacrifice isn’t born out of nothing: it has to come out of a culture where believers lay down their lives,  and this is cultivated in a context where true worship is expressed.

I remember some years ago, as a church, we were drawing near to one of our regular gift days. I had bought into an investment called a TESSA which you paid into monthly over seven years. It was just coming up to maturity.  I remember vividly we were worshipping in church and singing, “I will worship with all of my heart….I will give you everything…” and I heard the Lord say, “Thank you, I’ll have the TESSA!” It was so clear. So the TESSA  money and the interest it had made went in to the gift day. People do all sorts of crazy things— giving away inheritances, money saved for an extension, holiday savings— for the glory of God and to make Jesus famous over all the earth. It often starts in worship.

John Flavel, a Puritan of centuries ago, wrote this: