Worship 28 We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder

[HKHaugan]

“And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. (Gen.28:10-16).”
A disciple of Jesus is a worshiper. A worshiper who knows there's always something more, something fresh and something new with each next step in each next moment. I could think of no better quote than this one from an extraordinary disciple of Jesus who said at the end of his very last book, “Basic to all discipleship is our resolve not only to address Jesus with polite titles but to follow his teaching and obey his commands (John R.W.Stott, The Radical Disciple, InterVarsity Press, Downer's Grove, Ill. 2010).”

It's a lot like mountain climbing. The trek through the woods, the beauty of the trees, birds singing, an occasional deer or fox up ahead and maybe even a bear at times, are scenes along the way. You may stop to rest for a water break, chew on a sandwich and just listen to the sounds, feel the breeze and the cooler air. No sounds of traffic, phones ringing, TV blaring.

As you make your way the trees start to thin out and get smaller. The sky begins to expand and you know you're near the tree line and the goal is just ahead. Above the widening view a hawk glides, its wings adjusting to the currents rocking it back and forth. Then you come through some boulders and the path is all rocks. Maybe some greenery in the cracks but you have burst into the nothing between you and endless blue space. As you shift your gaze in a moving 360 degree circle the horizontal vista of mountain top after mountain top covers the world lying below you. The valleys and forests blend into a broad quilt. As you gaze down you can see where you've come from and the exhilaration of having reached the peak is filled with a sense of oneness not only with the seen universe but the unseen beauty and reality behind it all. Creation beneath your feet, above your head, side to side, the endless peaks and He gave it all to you. You feel it and Him, the fullness of nature and its Creator. The old Woody Guthrie folk song rings true, “This land was made for you and me.”

It's a celebration.

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor (Ps.8:3-5).”

The long trek and its many challenges along the way, stops to rest and reflect, water and snack breaks, animal encounters, a stumble or two, the colors, shimmering leaves, decaying branches, rock formations and the singular trail; all can be seen in the unseen realities to which they point on our spiritual path. The body's limitations, the mind's questions and the spirit's calling in our dreams, hopes, relational high's, low's and emotional shifts. Each are part of the path we are climbing in the spiritual space the Lord God has put us on. We pack our knapsacks with belief, store trust in the Scriptural maps and our Lord Guide and fill our spirits with faith powered by the Holy Spirit for every next step.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth (Ps.19:1-6).”
The Lord has given us not one but a whole range of mountains to climb, valleys to traverse and trails to follow. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph.2:10).” In His forests He provides the sun by day and the moon by night. Endless streams and springs make the rest stops places to pause and enjoy the wonders of the combined steps through the amazing panoply of grace that covers us.

“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness (Ps.96:11-13).”

Note in this Psalm, and many others too, the inclusive calling of all Creation to worship the Lord, both its seen and unseen parts. In vs.9 especially, “Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness” then “tremble before Him, all the earth.”
This isn't just celebration.
This is awesome celebration.
We are climbing Jacob's ladder.
Is there anything in our personal existence that is absent from this calling? Is there a time limit, a special day, a physical building, a chosen method, denominational form or tradition that can contain worship? Considering the breadth of the eternal tremors in the Psalmists' hearts, I think not. When you put David before your mind and read his psalms he was worshiping God with every fiber of his being in his every next moment. He was involved in personal worship. His every day was a worship experience.

Relational worship is built on having first a relationship with the Lord. The Lord defines what that means through His Word. If we look back at David and Jonathan we can see their close friendship . “He loved David as himself (1Sam.18:3)” and it was evidenced in the way Jonathan stood up for David in spite of his father Saul's insane obsession to kill David. But it was based on something deeper than having a friend in the usual sense or even a close buddy in whom he could confide. That something deeper was a covenant he made with David in the Lord (1Sam.20:16-17, 42). It was a spiritual covenant. It superseded blood family, heritage and tradition. This is what a small group experience builds, a spiritually grounded interchange based on God's Word. “Let us consider how we can spur each other on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together...let us encourage one another...(Heb.10:24-25).” Paul carries this forward as well, “Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal.6:2).”

But we are not on this journey alone. We come together with others, at special times and places, whose shared realities mesh with ours. It's the time to celebrate the Lord's impact on our personal and interpersonal experiences. There is a joint chorus of realization that makes every step, stop and start part of an ongoing worship experience. It may be on a Sunday in a traditional building, an arena, a barn or a gym but a once a week assembly of groups and individuals coming together to celebrate in this third form of worship is a special event. We gather to praise, sing, share testimony, pray, hear the Word taught and preached, see the larger Body of Christ in joint adoration of the Lord. “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up (1Cor.14:26).” While the time may be brief in comparison to personal and relational worship it is the cap on what has been going on in all our worship.

What I hope we have done in this series is to broaden the concept, the anticipation and the horizon of worship in our individual every day life. The Lord Jesus summed it all up when He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these (Mk.12:30-31).”