Hebrews 11:7 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Observation: In reverence Noah prepared an Ark. What does this mean? In respect? In humble awe? With somber foreboding? Is reverent preparation meant to be joyless? Some Adventists have suggested we shouldn't laugh; that we should be a serious people who are living in a serious time. I'm not sure this is the complete picture.
Jesus came as a man of sorrows, yet he was accused of hanging with tax collectors and sinners; those whose pursuit of pleasure was compulsive. Christ took the children on his lap. He slept in the storm. His life was more than sorrowful discontent. So reverent preparation isn't misery if we look at Jesus. Than what is it?
The Greek word is eulabeomai. It means to be cautious. Noah was cautious in his preparation of the ark. He was attentive to detail. He wanted to make sure he did it right.
Hmmm. Reverence is caution. Caution is not always quite or calm. Proceeding with caution can mean warning lights, a father yelling at his child about to cross a busy street.
Caution in the worship service doesn't always mean the music is soft. It does mean it has been planned with thoughtfulness.
Application: I hear God calling to me to minister with caution. To be thoughtful about the way I spend my days. To seek his direction and guidance in every aspect of my life. This morning's text is an invitation to prudence. Picking songs that would be most excellent and praiseworthy. Songs which would bring the greatest glory to God. Loud music in not irreverent because it is loud. It becomes irreverent when there is a spirit of carelessness.
When we begin to do things for the sake of personal preference and taste, regardless of whether they are loud or soft, contemporary or classical, that is when they become irreverent.
We serve a dangerous God, who comes with a warning label: Approach with Caution. Be prudent in your praise and wise in your worship. Don't worship to draw attention to yourself. Worship with thoughtfulness and a heart of sincere gratitude. Come cautiously and courageously before His throne.
I think we have the tendency to believe that caution and courage or mutually exclusive. That raucous and reverant are mutually exclusive. But is it possible that there are times when rowdy is reverant, and when orderly is irreverent? If order turns to a cold and lifeless formalism this might be possible.
I believe the biggest question is: Are we proceeding with caution when we come before God? Decibles don't make the difference. Direction does. Prayerful preparation does.
Prayer: Lord, whether I be loud or soft, my motives are tainted. The only way I can come before You with the kind of God honoring caution You desire is by the infilling of Your Spirit. If I don't know how to pray as I should (Romans 8:26), than I surely don't know how to worship like I should either.
There are those who would say throw caution to the wind, but this morning I hear You saying to my heart that the wind is caution. Not the kind of caution this world thinks of; Your caution is dangeous to the world. But it is a shelter for the righteous. You caution is honest, open, real, and heart-felt. The reverent caution of Your Spirit does not attempt to box You in or limit You to one form of worship. But it is always careful to honor Your desire and Your will.
Father, I don't want to worship the way I want, but as You want.
NAU Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.
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