When Satan Wins, Part II - Worship

"Keep silent, and Satan wins."

Have those words crept into your soul and made you a little uncomfortable in the past couple of weeks? Did you notice a stir in your spirit to speak when usually you would be silent on matters of faith? I would love to tell you that I have been batting 1000 in evangelism since this quote wriggled into my heart. I would love to tell you that since I raised the challenge and awareness of this idea in my last post that I have done nothing but share the Gospel with everyone...saved or unsaved!

But, I haven't.

Disappointing, I know. I am disappointed myself, but I hope that it serves to encourage you with the subtle reminder that we all need this Gospel. We all need this repentance. We all need this challenge to speak of what we have seen and heard because when we do keep silent, Satan wins...even if it is just for that moment.

With that in mind, let us not pretend that our insistence that Jesus Christ is our only means of salvation merely manifests itself in evangelism. To be sure, that is when it is precariously placed under the scope of the lost, unbelieving world. But our silence is not only our own defeat in the public sector. It also happens every Sunday when we gather for corporate worship. Or, as we call it in South Carolina "going to church."

Wait...isn't our mere presence in the sanctuary a palpable witness of the power of the Gospel because we are there? Isn't sitting in the pew, putting in the plate, and hearing the sermon what church is all about anyway? While those are valuable, silent affirmations of who we are as a people of God, I fear that Satan wins just as much on Sunday morning at 11 (or whenever you folks get together) as he does when we sit with a lost coworker and do not mention the name of Jesus. Let me explain...

David Peterson says this in his book Engaging with God:

Worship in the New Testament is a comprehensive category describing the Christian's total existence. It is coextensive with the faith-response wherever and whenever that response is elicited. Consequently, our traditional understanding of worship as restricted to the cultic gathering of the congregation at a designated time and place for rite and proclamation will no longer do. This is not what the New Testament means by worship (emphasis added).

 There must be a response of faith when we worship. There must be something that exalts God for what He did for us in Christ Jesus. That is hard to do if we passively sit. Let me give you 5 ways that Satan wins by our silence in worship:

1. Standing or sitting in the congregation on Sunday and actively refusing to sing (A). I hear the excuses "I can't sing", "I don't know the words/melody", etc. That is conceding defeat. When I was in children's church in kindergarten, Mrs. June Boyette worked tirelessly with us to memorize Psalm 100. Most of us who have been in the church for a long period of time probably are at least familiar with it. Psalm 100:2 says this "Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing" (NASB, emphasis added). The word "Come" is not a suggestive term. It is a command. We are told that when we come before God, it is to be with joyful singing! Maybe your translation has verse 1 saying "Make a joyful noise". Maybe that is all you can muster is noise. The NASB says "Shout for joy". Maybe next time your worship leader delves into "Always" or "Cornerstone", rather than stand silently and disobey the command of Scripture, you make a noise to God thanking Him for Jesus Christ. Perhaps when the organ starts playing the troublesome melody of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" or "And Can It Be?", shout for joy that God is our refuge and His love did send Christ Jesus to the cross for us!
2. Standing or sitting in the congregation on Sunday and actively refusing to sing (B). Yes, I realize that is the exact same statement. However, there is a second component to it that I don't want anyone to miss: the congregation impact your silence has. I remember in seminary I took a class on Worship Leadership with Dr. David Nelson. He had been a worship pastor at a church and noticed that many of the men in his church did not sing with the hymns. This troubled him to see so many men not engaged in worship. He later noticed a pattern that his pastor had developed in reading over his sermon notes rather than singing along. When he spoke to the pastor about it, it was decided that this pastor would no longer rehearse his notes, rather he would actively participate in the singing. Within just a couple of months, the men in the congregation followed suit. My point is this: When you actively participate, you are spelling defeat for Satan because your willful obedience to the command of Scripture is also an encouragement to someone else to participate. Acts 2:42 speaks of the first church being devoted to worshiping God together. Your devotion to worshiping God might show your son or your daughter how to worship and Satan loses. Your devotion to worshiping God might draw your brother or sister in Christ to share in the joy of worship and Satan loses. Keep silent, and Satan wins.
3. Hearing the sermon without listening to the sermon. My goal in preaching is singular: to magnify Christ and His work on the cross for our sins. My approach in this is twofold: first, what does this passage of Scripture mean? And, second, why did God find it important to include the Bible? You could say it this way as well "What does it mean and why is it significant for me?" Remember that worship requires a faith response. That means active listening. Here is what I do NOT mean by this: hooping and hollering just because. I have been in those churches...you know where they have The Amen-guy. It does not matter what has just been said, this guy chimes in with a hearty (and usually 1 octave lower than his normal speaking voice) "Amen." (examples: "There was no pizza in the first century church...Amen!" or "Today our message will be on the great harlot of Revelation 17...Amen!" you get the point). If you are part of a church where the Bible is preached and Christ Jesus is exalted, you will make some sort of response to that sermon. Passivity is equated with apathy and Satan has just won. Activity that is prompted by the Holy Spirit of God is a cause for some sort of vocalization of what He is doing in your life. It might be a "joyful noise" during the sermon or it might be a prayer at the altar during an invitation. Or, it might be a thoughtful discussion with your wife or kids on the way home about what that passage of Scripture did in your heart during the service.
4. Festering negativity within the worship experience. Go ahead and strap your boots a little tighter. This is a tough one to stomach because none of us really want to be in the middle of a confrontation. We take Jesus' admonition of Matthew 7 to check our own eyes for telephone poles before addressing the grain of sand in our brother's eye as a free pass to avoid a Christ centered rebuke of encouragement. When we do that, we keep silent and Satan wins. I think Satan has won by and large in this area of worship more than any. We fail to encourage one another in love and good works (Heb 10:24) when we do nothing to curb the negativity in our worship experience. We live in a day when we are literally at war with one another when it comes to worship. James 4 tells us that it is because we put our own desires and preferences above one another. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that it is because we do not love. When you keep silent before a brother or sister who is festering negativity in the worship service, Satan wins because you did not take the opportunity to point back to Christ. Believe me, this is not an easy task. But that does not mean it is not necessary, for it is. When negativity comes your way ("we do too many new songs" "we don't have enough rocking worship" "the worship leader can't sing" "we do ______________ too often" "the sermons are too long" "we stand too much" "we don't stand enough"), you are given an opportunity to listen, to affirm the value of that person as a worshiper, and to point them back to the cross. I don't like __________________ song, now becomes "but the lyrics so beautifully portray the work of Christ on the cross, let's give God glory together for that." "We do too many new songs" becomes, "Yes, and it is great to see that God is raising up a new generation of worshipers and that praising His name is not stagnant or stale." "We don't have enough rocking worship" becomes, "We have such a great legacy of faith and our older hymns reflect the biblical heritage of honoring Christ with our hearts and our voice." You get the idea, we must not remain silent.
5. Not using our abilities to praise God. Have you ever sung? Why not assist your worship pastor in the praise team or choir? Does your kid play in the school band? Share his or her gift with the congregation by helping them do a special/solo or playing along with the praise team or choir. Can you talk? Speak with your pastor about how you can offer a testimony of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness during the worship service. Can you read? Be willing to read a passage of Scripture before the congregation as part of the worship. No, not everyone is Harry Connick, Jr. or Francesca Battistelli. But, you have something you can use your voice to do in assisting in corporate worship that is not just "being there". You might fall in the category of those who can't even carry a tune in a bucket or fail at playing the radio, help generate a culture an atmosphere within your church where others can use their gifts to praise God.

See, there are a lot of ways that we can keep silent. When we do, Satan wins. We might not see it at first, but look at the landscape of the stagnant and declining church in America. At some point worship became a preference and silence became a legitimate option. Satan won. But the Good News that I preach is that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer and Rescuer. He can rescue our churches from stagnant silence in worship. He can redeem our minds as we proclaim His glory TOGETHER in worship. Pray this week that God will not let you be silent in His house when you gather this weekend. I hope to see you all Sunday!