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Show PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP Therefor if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go they way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." (Matthew 5: 23-24) church, to the house of prayer, to the place of worship, where God promised to meet His children for People come to all sorts of reasons. Some it is the Some come politically correct thing come because to do. to make the connection and leave with the hook-up. Some economic attainment and come for political gain. Some come for show and fashion. Some come to be seen by others 1 and others to come Then, there are those who worship the most high God and give Him the praise. Multitudes were beginning to follow to come to see. Jesus . Jesus wanted to start His So He gave them be called the operating followers out right. might manual or opening charge what call the Sermon on in what we the Mount. He wanted them to know what would be expected heave. It of them in the might well be Kingdom of liked to the new members class when you join another congregation. So Jesus lays out the rules and expectations of the King of kings. He affirms the mosaic law not as something to be done away with but as that which He came to fulfill. He offers the perfect standard for which those who 2 would strive to follow Him and walk in His footsteps. He reminds us of what we ought to be in the beatitudes, how we are light in the world. What the relationship between Christ and to be like salt and the law is, and then he talks to us about our relationship to one another. Among other things, Jesus gives us instructions about how to prepare for worship. Notice that we are to bring something, a gift when we come for worship. In Genesis, Cain and Able came before God to present their gifts. Cain brought that which was of the fruit of the ground and Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and of the fat, a lamb. Cain brought that which was bloodless, thus rejecting God's way. Abel, on the other hand, brought a Lamb 3 symbolic of innocence and harmlessness, confessing that he did not measure up.(Isaiah 53: 7) The Bible says that God rejected the offering of Cain but accepted the gift of Abel. God appreciate what Abel brought but did not appreciate what Cain brought.(Genesis 4: 1-5) In other words, there are some things we just ought not bring to offer to God. Jesus tells us to bring something to the Lord. Bring yourself, bring your confession and repentance, bring your talents, bring your time, bring your resources. Bring something to the Lord and bring it to the altar. Have your attitude right. Come for the right reason. Come with the right motive. When you come, come thoughtfully. Think about what you are doing. 4 Remember that God knows and sees So you might as well come clean. Remember what you have done. everything. aught again you, leave what you brought and go get that straight. F or as long as there is disagreement and If another has division between you and your brother, you and God will not have a meting of the mind. The Bible says we have to get right with one another before we can get right with God. Finally, then come and bring your offering and offer it to the Lord. With clean hands and a pure heart, God awaits . your commg. 5 |
