True worshipers can never perceive God as merely the “man upstairs.” As the Sovereign Maker, he is alone worthy of extravagant worship.
- A limited theology will lead to lackluster worship and eventually to a liberal worldview.
- Any attempt to domesticate God will always lead to devastating results.
- We will never give God the worship He deserves if we perceive Him as merely “the man upstairs.”
Proper Perspective (95:1-7a)
- The only acceptable response to such an incredible God is unbridled, enthusiastic worship.
- God deserves far more than stoic routines of obligatory worship gestures.
- God made everything, and therefore, God owns everything.
- If blatant humility is absent from your worship, you have yet to comprehend who you worship.
Persistent Protest (95:7b-11)
- During the wanderings, Israel tested God by doubting His ability to sustain them in the wilderness (cf. Ex. 17:1-7; Num. 20:2-13).
- God’s people making the same mistake twice shouldn’t shock you if you honestly evaluate your personal history.
- An insufficient perspective of who God is will always lead to a defiant rebellion against what God commands.
- Some of us will never find true rest because we are fighting against God’s path to experiencing it.
Jesus is the rock of our salvation – innocently struck for our hardened hearts (cf. John 19:34).
- Would God describe you right now as having wholehearted worship or a hardened heart?
- Do you see Jesus as the man who lives upstairs or the God who came downstairs?
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.