Prepared Hearts

Last week I pointed out that one advantage of worshipping on Sabbath was that we met God at the appointed time. Today we'll see that God blesses and hears us even when we DON'T worship Him at the time He specified.

Yesterday's Doing Life Together Bible reading was 2 Chronicles 29-31. Here good King Hezekiah begins to clean up the temple and the nation of Judah after the disastrous reign of his father Ahaz. After only 16 days the priests had reopened the temple in Jerusalem and cleaned all the rubbish out. Hezekiah invited the people to come and hold a Passover feast even though it was a month late. The service was so inspiring that after the seven allotted days the people decided to keep another seven days.

It's a good story, worth reading but I want to draw out a few points relevant to Inspiring Worship Service from 2Chronicles 30. Remember that the three parts of Inspiring Worship are "Praise", "Worship" and "the work of the people"

Praise and Teaching played a big part

"...the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments... all the Levites... taught the good knowledge of the LORD" v21,22.

The Work of the People - Prepared hearts

People were invited not just from Judah, but also Israel which had just fallen to to the Assyrians and thousands had been deported. Hezekiah urged these defeated people "yield yourselves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary"(v8). But the message was laughed at and mocked (v10). Sadly only "some... humbled themselves and came"(v11). The rest missed the blessing of genuine worship.

Many were not ritually clean and should not have taken part in the service, "But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God"... And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.(v18-20)

If you want an inspiring worship experience, first humbly submit yourself to God. This is the preparation of heart we all need in order to "seek God".

When you think about it, this makes sense. Only if we realise how great and awesome God is, and how little and "humble" we are, can we really worship God. Proud people are really only worshipping themselves, or they laugh and stay home and miss even that.

The result of this inspiring worship was "great gladness"(v21) and "great joy" (v26) and "the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven." (v27).

Heaven hears genuine worship from humble hearts. And it's good fun.

That's inspiring.